Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index edges up to close at 11,626 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.57 billion ($953 million), as 199 of the stocks advanced and 37 retreated.    
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Updated 20 April 2025
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Closing Bell: Saudi benchmark index edges up to close at 11,626 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, gaining 73.62 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 11,626.60. 

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.57 billion ($953 million), as 199 of the stocks advanced and 37 retreated.    

Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market, Nomu, gained 264.47 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 28,978.19. This comes as 46 of the listed stocks advanced while 34 retreated.    

The MSCI Tadawul Index gained 5.14 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 1,474.53.     

The best-performing stock of the day was Alistithmar AREIC Diversified REIT Fund, whose share price surged 10.00 percent to SR7.26.   

Other top performers included Saudi Cable Co., whose share price rose 9.90 percent to SR135.40 as well as Saudi Printing and Packaging Co., whose share price increased 9.89 percent to SR11.56. 

Riyadh Cement Co. led the declines, dropping 3.15 percent to SR33.80.

Leejam Sports Co. slipped 2.03 percent to SR135.20, while Almoosa Health Co. edged down 1.21 percent to SR163.20. 

On the announcement front, Almarai Co. reported a first-quarter net profit of SR731.19 million for 2025, up 5.62 percent year on year, driven by a 6 percent rise in revenue, according to a Tadawul filing.

The company noted that higher energy costs partially offset the earnings growth. Almarai shares closed 1.90 percent higher at SR53.30. 

Jarir Marketing Co. posted a net profit of SR217.3 million in the first quarter of 2025, down 0.91 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to a Tadawul filing. 

The marginal decline came despite a 2.7 percent increase in both sales and gross profit, as well as a rise in other income, with higher selling and marketing expenses weighing on earnings. 

Its shares closed flat at SR12.82. 

Altharwah Albashariyyah Co. signed a binding agreement to acquire 100 percent of Amjad Watan through a mix of cash and share issuance, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, the company said in a Tadawul filing. 

The deal includes SR7 million in cash, 95,804 shares worth SR5 million, and 536,501 conditional shares valued at SR28 million, to be transferred upon meeting performance targets. 

Shares of Altharwah Albashariyyah closed 3.57 percent lower at SR46.05. 


Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

Updated 50 min 19 sec ago
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Reforms target sustained growth in Saudi real estate sector, says Al-Hogail

RIYADH: The Real Estate Future Forum opened its doors for its first day at the Four Seasons Riyadh, with prominent global and local figures coming together to engage with one of the Kingdom’s most prospering sectors.

With new regulations, laws, and investments underway, 2026 is expected to be a year of momentous progress for the real estate sector in the Kingdom.

The forum opened with a video highlighting the sector’s progress in the Kingdom, during which an emphasis was placed on the forum’s ability to create global reach, representation, as well as agreements worth a cumulative $50 billion

With the Kingdom now opening up real estate ownership to foreigners, this year’s Real Estate Future Forum is placing a great deal of importance on this new milestone and its desired outcomes and impact on the market. 

Aside from this year’s forum’s unique discussions surrounding those developments, it will also be the first of its kind to launch the Real Estate Excellence Award and announce its finalist during the three-day summit.

Minister of Municipalities and Housing and Chairman of the Real Estate General Authority Majed Al-Hogail took to stage to address the diverse audience on the real estate market’s achievements thus far and its milestones to come.

Of those important milestones, he underscored “real estate balance” as a key pillar of the sector’s decisions to implement regulatory tools “with the aim of constant growth which can maintain the vitality of this sector.” He pointed to examples of those regulatory measures, such as the White Land Tax.

On 2025’s progress, the minister highlighted the jump in Saudi family home ownership, which went from 47 percent in 2016 to 66 percent in 2025, keeping the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of 70 percent by the end of the decade on track.

He said the opening of the real estate market to foreigners is an indicator of the sector’s maturity under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said his ministry plans to build over 300,000 housing units in Riyadh over the next three years.

Speaking to Arab News,  Al-Hogail elaborated on these achievements, stating: “Today, demand, especially local demand, has grown significantly. The mortgage market has reached record levels, exceeding SR900 billion ($240 billion) in mortgage financing, we are now seeing SRC (Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co.) injecting both local and foreign liquidity on a large scale, reaching more than SR54 billion”

Al-Hogail described Makkah and Madinah as unique and special points in the Kingdom’s real estate market as he spoke of the sector’s attractiveness.

 “Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has become, in international investment indices, one that takes a good share of the Middle East, and based on this, many real estate investment portfolios have begun to come in,” he said. 

Al-Ahsa Gov. Prince Saud bin Talal bin Badr Al-Saud told Arab News the Kingdom’s ability to balance both heritage sites with real estate is one of its strengths.

He said: “Actually the real estate market supports the whole infrastructure … the whole ecosystem goes back together in the foundation of the real estate; if we have the right infrastructure we can leverage more on tourism plus we can leverage more on the quality of life … we’re looking at 2030, this is the vision … to have the right infrastructure the time for more investors to come in real estate, entertainment, plus tourism and culture.”