Saudi Cement Company rose to the highest in more than 3 years after the producer of the building material said cement companies are in talks to sell as much as 600,000 tonnes of extra clinker supplies.
The shares advanced 1.8% to SAR 84 at 3.30 PM in Riyadh, the highest close since June 2008. Southern Province Cement Company which last month posted 52% gain in quarterly profit, rose 0.9%.
The benchmark Tadawul All Share Index increased 0.4% to 6,758.87, the highest close in more than a year. The cement index climbed 1.3% bringing this year's advance to 7.7%. Saudi Arabia's cement makers are benefiting from increased government spending including USD 384 billion plan for infrastructure in the largest Arab economy.
Jordan Telecom Corporation said profit dropped by 5.6% to JOD 89.8 million in 2011 from a year earlier. The drop is due to a decrease in operating income and lower interest rates on bank deposits, Amman based Jordan Telecom said in an emailed statement yesterday. The company's subscriber base rose by 17.7% from a year earlier to 3.55 million.
According to a company making a competing offer, a GDF Suez led group made the best bid to build Kuwait's planned Al Zour North power plant.
Mr Winston Shim the Kuwait representative for SK Engineering & Construction Company, which took part in the Malakoff proposal said that the GDF led bid beat offers from Marubeni Corporation and Malakoff International of Malaysia.
Commercial Bank of Kuwait posted a full year profit of JOD 810,000 compared with JOD 40.45 million per year ago. The lender said its board recommended withholding the dividend.
The International Finance Corporation said it agreed to buy 15% stake in Mediterranean & Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance Company for USD 124 million. Medgulf, as the Riyadh based insurer is known will use the funds to expand into Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.
Ras Al Khaimah Cement, a maker of building supplies said that its full year loss widened to AED 20 million from AED 3.9 million in the year earlier period. The company's board recommended not paying a dividend for 2011.
(Sourced from Gulf News)
