#Kuwait picks new finance and trade ministers in cabinet shuffle | Reuters

Kuwait picks new finance and trade ministers in cabinet shuffle | Reuters

Kuwait has named Nora Suleiman Al-Fassam and Khalifa Abdullah Ajeel as its new finance and trade ministers respectively, as part of a cabinet shuffle, according to a decree issued by the country's Emir on Sunday.

Al-Fassam, who was also appointed minister of state for economic and investment affairs, is a banker with extensive experience in corporate finance and investment banking. She most recently served as chief strategy officer at Kuwait's Sharia-compliant Boubyan Bank.

Ajeel headed Kuwait's State Bureau of Financial Control and was a member of the board of commissioners at the Capital Markets Authority.

Kuwait retained Mahmoud Bushehri as minister of electricity, despite a recent power crisis that led the Gulf state to impose scheduled outages in parts of the country due to a disruption in gas supplies.

During the summer, temperatures in Kuwait typically exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), leading to increased power consumption amid demand for cooling.

#Saudi Telecom Jumps Most Since 2008 After Dividend Boost - Bloomberg

Saudi Telecom Jumps Most Since 2008 After Dividend Boost - Bloomberg

Shares in Saudi Arabia’s top telecom company rose the most in almost 16 years after the company announced plans to boost quarterly dividends and said it may consider handing over more money to investors via special payments.

Saudi Telecom Co. jumped 9.9% on the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday to 43.70 riyals ($11.65) a share, its biggest move on a closing basis since October 2008.

#Saudi bourse gains after Fed signals lower rates; #Qatar falls | Reuters

Saudi bourse gains after Fed signals lower rates; Qatar falls | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's stock market rose on Sunday after Friday's speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirmed the United States would soon begin interest rate cuts.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday endorsed an imminent start to interest rate cuts, saying further cooling in the job market would be unwelcome and expressing confidence that inflation is within reach of the U.S. central bank's 2% target.

Traders increased bets for a bigger rate cut in September following Powell's speech, with the fed funds futures now pricing in a 37% chance of a 50 basis point cut next month, up from about 25% late on Thursday.

Traders are also pricing in about 106 bps of cuts by the end of the year.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the UAE, is usually guided by the Fed's decisions, as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 0.6%, with Saudi Telecom Company (7010.SE), opens new tab jumping 9.9%, after the telecoms company announced a 0.55 riyal per share quarterly dividend for the next three years starting from fourth-quarter.

Elsewhere, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE), opens new tab gained 0.7%.

Oil prices on Friday jumped more than 2%, rebounding after losses earlier in the week on swelling U.S. crude stocks and a weakening demand outlook in China.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab eased 0.2%, hit by a 0.7% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA), opens new tab.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab lost 0.2%, with Commercial International Bank Egypt (COMI.CA), opens new tab down 1.1%.

#Saudi Perfume Maker Aims to Raise Up to $188 Million In IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi Perfume Maker Aims to Raise Up to $188 Million In IPO - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia-based perfume maker Al Majed for Oud Company plans to raise up to $188 million in an initial public offering on the kingdom’s main stock exchange.

The company will sell a 30% stake, or 7.5 million shares, to investors at a price range of 90 riyals to 94 riyals ($24 to $25), according to a statement. The offer period and bookbuilding for institutional investors will run from Aug. 25 to Aug. 29. Retail investors will be able to submit offers on Sept. 15.

Al Majed for Oud hired BSF Capital, the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi, for the offering.

Saudi Arabia’s equity capital markets have been busy this year, with a number of IPOs having occurred and oil giant Saudi Aramco’s $12 billion secondary offering ranking as the biggest equity sale of the year globally.

Oud perfume is a traditional Middle Eastern fragrance derived from the resin of the aquilaria tree native to Southeast Asia. Given only a small percentage of the trees produce the resin, it’s one of the rarest natural resources in the world.

Arabian Oud, another Saudi maker of the perfume, may also eventually come to the Saudi market. The company hired Emirates NBD Capital and SNB Capital earlier this year for a potential share sale, Bloomberg has reported.

In other consumer markets, Saudi flour milling company Arabian Mills for Food Products Co. last week said it plans to offer more than 15 million shares on the local stock exchange. It hasn’t yet provided a price range.

#Saudi Telecom Jumps Most Since 2014 After Boosting Its Dividend - Bloomberg

Saudi Telecom Jumps Most Since 2014 After Boosting Its Dividend - Bloomberg

Shares in Saudi Arabia’s top telecom company rose the most in almost a decade after the company announced plans to boost quarterly dividends and said it may consider handing over more money to investors via special payments.

Saudi Telecom Co. jumped more than 9.9% at the start of trading on the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday, its biggest intraday move since 2014.

The stock climbed after STC, as the company is known, said it will pay a dividend of 0.55 riyals (15 US cents) per share every quarter for the next three years, starting in the final three months of 2024. That raises the annual cash dividend program by 37.5% and is reflective of the company’s “solid financial position.”

Saudi Telecom also said it may consider paying special dividends after assessing its financial position, future outlook, strategic investments, and capital expenditure needs.

STC is pursuing expansion plans as it looks to boost its business beyond Saudi Arabia’s borders. It agreed in April to sell a majority stake in towers unit Tawal to the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund for $2.3 billion, in part to fund its growth strategy, and has had a keen eye on global acquisitions.

It purchased a stake in Spain’s Telefonica for $2.25 billion in 2023 and is reported to have recently sought approval from the Spanish government to raise its position further. The company also pursued a bid for Altice’s Portugal unit, but those talks recently fell apart, according to the Portuguese news site Eco.

STC in July reported second-quarter profit that topped estimates, though sales trailed expectations. The company has seen “steady growth” as domestic demand continues to be propped up by energy prices, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies. He sees mid-single digit revenue growth over the course of 2024.