Zain bucks trend as Gulf stocks slip

Most Gulf stock markets fell yesterday, with Qatar falling for a third straight session to a new five-year low, but shares in Kuwaiti telecommunications operator Zain jumped on a rumour that Oman Telecommunications might expand its stake in the firm.

The Saudi index lost 0.4 per cent, with the banking sector, which had been relatively robust this week, falling back. National Commercial Bank lost 1.2 per cent.

Saudi-based insurer Metlife AIG ANB Cooperative Insurance rose 1.1 per cent to 20.04 riyals in its heaviest trade since May 2016, but closed well below its intra-day high of 21.80 riyals.

The company announced that the industry regulator had approved the opening of three new outlets in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar. Metlife said the positive financial impact would be reflected in its fourth-quarter results.

Arabian Cement rose in early trade after announcing that it is in initial talks with privately held Safwa Cement for a potential merger, but it closed 0.1 per cent lower.

This would be the first merger in the sector in Saudi Arabia, according to NCB Capital. The sector has been hit by a demand slowdown and a slump in profits over the last two years. Arabian Cement has an annual production capacity of 5.4 million tonnes while Safwa produces 3.35 million tonnes.

“The combined capacity of both players would make the potential new entity the second-largest player in the market by overall installed capacity after Southern Cement,” said NCB Capital in a note.

Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical, a joint venture between state-owned Saudi Aramco and Japan’s Sumitomo, lost 0.9 per cent after saying it had shut its vacuum gas oil unit for 32 days as part of scheduled maintenance.

In Kuwait, Zain surged 3.4 per cent while Omantel rose 1.1 per cent. Regional television network Al Arabiya quoted a securities analyst as saying there were rumours that Omantel was in talks with Kuwait’s Al Kharafi Group to buy a further 12 per cent stake in Zain.

The Dubai index gave up gains made earlier in the day to close 0.2 per cent down. Deyaar Development, which had jumped 3.1 per cent the previous day, lost 1.6 per cent.

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.4 per cent as First Abu Dhabi Bank lost 1.5 per cent.