Tadawul up on labour minister appointment

The Saudi stock market jumped yesterday after the weekend appointment of a prominent businessman as labour minister, a move widely welcomed by the private sector.

Ahmed bin Suleiman Al Rajhi is expected to create a friendlier business environment, enhance communication between the public and the private sectors and help support small and medium enterprises, economists said.

The Saudi exchange closed up 2 per cent, with banking stocks Samba Financial Group and Al Rajhi Bank rising 4.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.

The new minister is a son of the founder of Al Rajhi.

The best performer was dairy firm Almarai, which jumped 8.5 per cent. The Arabian Gulf’s largest dairy company announced last week it aims to spend 10.6 billion Saudi riyals ($2.83bn) under a five-year business plan.

In Dubai, the index gained 0.8 per cent, lifted by a 2.1 per cent surge by bluechip Emaar Properties and a 2.8 per cent gain by Dubai Islamic Bank.

According to a monthly Reuters poll of leading Middle East fund managers published on Thursday, sentiment is shifting in favour of UAE equities after their poor performance so far this year. In Abu Dhabi the index shed 0.9 per cent, with Taqa plunging 8 per cent in thin trade. The stock has been volatile after soaring earlier this year on rising oil prices.

Real estate firms Aldar Properties and RAK Properties were down 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

In Qatar, the index climbed 0.6 per cent, lifted by Qatar Gas Transport, which jumped 7.5 per cent.

The stock has been under pressure since mid-March as focus shifted to other Qatari listed names benefiting from an increase in foreign ownership limits, said QNB in a research note.

Kuwait’s index lost 0.4 per cent, while in Bahrain it was flat.

Ahmed bin Suleiman Al Rajhi is expected to create a friendlier business environment and enhance sectors