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FILE PHOTO: Bahraini traders are seen at Bahrain Bourse in Manama, Bahrain, November 4, 2020. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
(Reuters) - Major Middle East stock markets ended lower on Sunday, tracking a slide in global markets at the end of last week and after Saudi Arabia extended measures to fight the coronavirus crisis.
Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.2%, after the government said COVID-19 vaccines were being delayed. The kingdom extended its travel ban for citizens and port closures to May 17 from March 31.
Shares in Al Rajhi Bank dropped 1%, while National Commercial Bank slipped 2.4% lower.
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the Gulf’s largest petrochemical maker, slid 1.8% despite posting a net profit of 2.22 billion riyals ($592 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with a net loss a year earlier.
Wall Street’s Eyes on Riyadh Just as Wealth Fund Pivots Home
Bloomberg 1/27/2021 Abeer Abu Omar, Matthew Martin and Vivian Nereim
(Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia’s $400 billion sovereign wealth fund will find it tough to repeat its success of recent years when it made its mark globally as a source of cash for asset managers, tech entrepreneurs and tycoons.
Ahead of the kingdom’s flagship investment conference this week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out the fund’s strategy through 2025. It’ll spend at least $40 billion a year at home, creating new cities and industries, along with 1.8 million jobs. It plans to more than double assets it controls to over 4 trillion riyals ($1.1 trillion), putting it on par with the current size of Norway’s sovereign fund, the world’s biggest.
Wall Street’s Eyes on Riyadh Just as Wealth Fund Pivots Home
Bloomberg 1/27/2021 Abeer Abu Omar, Matthew Martin and Vivian Nereim
(Bloomberg) Saudi Arabia’s $400 billion sovereign wealth fund will find it tough to repeat its success of recent years when it made its mark globally as a source of cash for asset managers, tech entrepreneurs and tycoons.
Ahead of the kingdom’s flagship investment conference this week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman laid out the fund’s strategy through 2025. It’ll spend at least $40 billion a year at home, creating new cities and industries, along with 1.8 million jobs. It plans to more than double assets it controls to over 4 trillion riyals ($1.1 trillion), putting it on par with the current size of Norway’s sovereign fund, the world’s biggest.
(Jan 23): State oil producer Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is among suitors vying for a chemicals business being sold by Lonza Group AG, people with knowledge of the situation said.
Petronas is working with an adviser as it considers a second-round bid for the Lonza Specialty Ingredients business, according to the people. Switzerland-based Lonza has asked for offers by early February, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
German chemical producer Lanxess AG and a crop of top private equity firms have also been shortlisted for the next round of bidding for the business, which could fetch around 3.5 billion Swiss francs (US$4 billion or RM15.98 billion),