MIDEAST STOCKS-Alawwal, SABB soar on merger talks, TAQA sinks on credit rating downgrade | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Alawwal, SABB soar on merger talks, TAQA sinks on credit rating downgrade | Reuters:

"Two Saudi banks soared in early trade on Wednesday after saying they were in initial stages of a merger helping lift the mood in other lenders while shares of Abu Dhabi's TAQA slump after a corporate rating downgrade. On Wednesday Alawwal Bank agreed to start talks with Saudi British Bank (SABB) about a tie-up that could create the kingdom's third biggest bank with assets of nearly $80 billion. Shares in Alawwal soared by 9.5 percent, not far off the 10 percent daily limit, after 20 minutes of trade while SABB jumped 6.8 percent."



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