JEDDAH: Middle East stock markets fell on Sunday as investors booked profits following a pull-back in oil prices and international stock markets, but some Saudi real estate shares bucked the downtrend because of the Kingdom’s economic reform plan.
Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development added 7.5 percent after a 20 percent jump last week. It has been strong since the developer said last week that it was in talks with the government to provide housing under the reform policies.
Emaar Economic City, another company which announced last week that it plans to build homes with the Ministry of Housing, advanced 1.7 percent.
The petrochemical sector was the main drag on Tadawul All-Share Index, which sank 0.6 percent. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. lost 1.2 percent.
Dubai’s index, the top performer in the region last week, lost 1.0 percent to 3,336 points, failing a test of technical resistance on the mid-May peak of 3,373 points.
Over nine-tenths of traded stocks declined, with Emaar Properties losing 2.0 percent and builder Arabtec down 2.1 percent.
Abu Dhabi’s main index declined 0.3 percent, extending Thursday’s losses, with banking shares the main drag. Union National Bank dropped 1.5 percent.
“Investors have now fully played out the recent oil rally and will continue to book profits and stay clear of the stock markets until Q2 results,” said one Dubai-based portfolio manager.
“The common adage for stock investors is that they are driven by two factors: fear and greed, and now the former is taking precedence over the latter,” he added. The main fears, he said, were Britain’s June 23 referendum on whether to leave the European Union, and the risk of further weakness in oil prices.
Egypt’s most heavily traded stock, Orascom Telecom Media , slumped 5.7 percent; sources told Reuters that Commercial International Bank (CIB) had dropped plans to sell its investment bank CI Capital to Beltone Financial, a subsidiary of Orascom, after failing to win regulatory approval. CIB dropped 2 percent.
Billionaire Naguib Sawiris, whose family controls OTMT, said in March that the deal was being held up by national security concerns and criticized the state for meddling in business, saying this would discourage investors.
But investment firm EFG Hermes jumped 2.0 percent after saying it planned to distribute 1.08 billion Egyptian pounds ($121.6 million) to shareholders through a cash distribution or share buy-backs, after its sale of a 40 percent stake in Lebanese bank Credit Libanais.
Cairo’s main index retreated 1.4 percent.
Saudi real estate shares bucked the downtrend
Saudi real estate shares bucked the downtrend
Saudi environmental compliance sector unveils opportunities worth over $8bn
RIYADH: The Invest Saudi platform offers specialized opportunities with expected revenues exceeding SR30 billion ($8 billion), according to the National Center for Environmental Compliance.
In a statement, the center invited local and international investors to seize the listed opportunities and benefit from various incentives, ranging from administrative support to direct financing.
Saad Al-Zubaidi, executive director of business development, explained that this market size reflects the specialized nature of the environmental compliance sector as a supporting sector for all economic activities.
Sectors such as industry, energy, mining, construction, services, and infrastructure rely on it to comply with environmental regulations and enhance operational efficiency.
Incentive and financing packages
The center, in integration with various government entities, is working on developing comprehensive incentive packages for investors in the field.
These packages include direct financing tools, soft loans, and guarantee programs, in addition to regulatory and procedural enablers aimed at accelerating the investment cycle and reducing operational risks.
The payback period for investments starts from 4 years and does not exceed 7 years at most, according to the center.
The current market size stands at SR14 billion, according to Al-Zubaidi, who expects it to double within 5 years.
The market diversifies across fields including the manufacturing of pollution control systems, the manufacturing of air and water quality monitoring devices, soil and groundwater rehabilitation, and building specialized technical capacities in the environmental field.
Trend toward localizing environmental technologies
Al-Zubaidi confirmed that the announced opportunities have had their preliminary studies completed and are available for investors to review their details and to complete technical and financial feasibility studies according to various business models.
The focus is not limited to maximizing economic return but extends to localizing environmental technologies, transferring knowledge, and building local value chains capable of meeting the growing demand across various sectors.
