The Saudi Arabian Stock Market, operated and managed by Tadawul, continued to break records in the first part of June, with the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) at one point breaking the 3,700 barrier to reach its highest ever level. TASI ended the week at 3,532, a rise of more than 1000 points since the start of the year.
The week also saw record trading volumes, with more than 175 million shares worth 24.33 billion Saudi riyals ($6.48 billion), traded. Musaed Al-Nemer, head of Marketing and Public Relations at Tadawul, said investor interest in the Saudi stock market, particularly in the last two years, had translated into massive increases in the number and volume of trades since 2001.
“Investor confidence in the Saudi economy is very strong and has been further boosted by a number of major economic initiatives. Company profitability has also created positive cash flow and this has helped to underpin the stock market’s record performance so far this year,” he added.
Market capitalization at the end of May was SR426.25 billion ($113.6 billion) against SR265.04 billion ($70.6 billion) just two years ago, an increase of more than 60 percent, further consolidating Tadawul’s position as one of the major emerging markets in the world, and placing it significantly ahead of the other major regional stock markets of Kuwait and Bahrain. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
