Saudi Arabia allocates 5 sites for mining complexes to boost investments

RIYADH: Six recently listed Saudi companies are set to join FTSE Russell’s global equity benchmarks, following the index provider’s latest quarterly review.

As part of the FTSE Saudi Arabia Inclusion in the Global Equity Index Series, these changes will take effect on June 23 and be reflected on the Saudi Exchange at the close of trading on Wednesday, June 19. The adjustment is being made early due to the market closure on Friday, June 21.

The newly included companies are Al Majed Oud Co., Arabian Mills for Food Products Co., Fourth Milling Co., Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing Co., Tamkeen Human Resource Co., and United International Holding Co. All six companies recently completed initial public offerings on the Tadawul.

FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, is a globally recognized index provider. Its indices, including the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, are widely followed by institutional and passive investors. Inclusion in these benchmarks is a notable milestone for any listed company, often resulting in increased passive fund inflows, improved liquidity, greater visibility, and enhanced credibility.

According to the index update, Al Majed Oud Co. will be included in the Mid Cap segment of the FTSE Global Equity Index. The other five companies — Arabian Mills, Fourth Milling, Nice One, Tamkeen, and United International Holding — will be added to the Micro Cap segment.

This move supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, a national strategy aimed at diversifying the economy, liberalizing capital markets, and boosting non-oil revenues. Reforms spearheaded by Tadawul and the Capital Market Authority — including the easing of foreign ownership restrictions and the modernization of trading systems — have helped make the Kingdom’s markets more accessible to global investors.

The momentum in Saudi Arabia’s IPO market continues to grow. In 2024, the main market witnessed 14 IPOs that raised approximately $3.8 billion, while the Nomu parallel market hosted 28 listings. Currently, more than 30 companies are in the IPO pipeline, and Tadawul is expecting a record year, with over 50 applications under review.

Despite the positive signal from index inclusion, all six companies experienced declines in share price as of 14:00 Saudi time on the day of the announcement. Al Majed Oud Co. dropped by 2.09 percent, Arabian Mills for Food Products Co. declined 1.87 percent, and Fourth Milling Co. fell 1.06 percent. Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing Co. slipped 1.96 percent, Tamkeen Human Resource Co. was down 2.89 percent, and United International Holding Co. edged lower by 0.71 percent.

While short-term price fluctuations are common, research suggests that being added to major global indices tends to enhance a company's visibility and appeal to institutional investors over time. The long-term impact, however, often depends on broader market conditions, investor behavior, and post-inclusion trading patterns.

CAIRO: Egypt is working to integrate the country into a railway network connecting Asia and Europe, but a long-planned bridge that would link Saudi Arabia to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has yet to be finalized, Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir said on Sunday.
Egypt has been expanding its railways along seven separate axes, he said. These include three high-speed lines that would connect Sokhna Port on the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and Alexandria in the north and with Aswan in the far south.
Israel and Iraq have likewise been spending billions of dollars on rail lines with an eye toward tapping the east-west trade. All the plans involve loading cargo onto ships for part of the journey.
“We have now completed the planning for the bridge between Egypt and Saudi Arabia and are ready to implement it at any time — whether a bridge or a tunnel,” Wazir told Reuters on the sidelines of an economic conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt.
“But the (current) solution for connecting Egypt with Saudi Arabia and Jordan is through the Arab Bridge Maritime Co., which currently has 13 vessels that can take cargo between Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.”
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman announced during a visit to Egypt in 2016 the idea for a bridge, which would complement a mega-city and business zone called NEOM the Saudis were building across the Straits of Tiran.
Rail cargo would be sent to a series of ports on the Mediterranean that Egypt has been upgrading over the last decade.
The high-speed train line connecting to Egypt’s south would skirt the edge of the pyramids area in the desert, while simultaneously serving the site, he added.
A proposed route through the site of Abydos, where Egypt’s first pharaohs were buried 5,000 years ago, has been diverted to pass over the plateau above and away from the antiquities site.