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Saudi Insurance Companies Gain USD349 Million in Nine Months

Saudi Insurance Companies Gain USD349 Million in Nine Months
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Saudi Insurance Companies Gain USD349 Million in Nine Months

Saudi Insurance Companies Gain USD349 Million in Nine Months

Insurance companies listed in Saudi domestic stock market earned additional profits worth SAR1.13 billion (USD349.3 million) during the first nine months of 2017. Twenty-three listed companies witnessed an increase in profits, six others witnessed a fall in profits, and four firms suffered losses.

The 23 companies, whose profits grew in the past nine months, represent 69.7 percent of the total listed companies in the insurance sector in the Saudi capital market. This reflects the remarkable growth in the kingdom's insurance market, the fact that indicates that Saudi Arabia is heading towards motivating and organizing the insurance sector to fulfill its vital role in diversifying the economy.

These positive developments coincide with launching Saudi plans to provide more vacancies to nationals in the insurance sector.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, companies operating in the insurance sector will submit monthly details of vacancies nationalized to Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), given that SAMA tends to apply nationalization to companies operating in all sectors and companies of all sizes.

Based on this information, the insurance sector ended Thursday’s trading with a drop of 1.46 percent.

In a related matter, SAMA noted on Friday that its decision to exempt listed firms from disclosing initial financial lists of the fourth quarter of the current year will grant listed companies the right to disclose results or not -- it won't be compulsory.

“The decision serves the authority's continuous quest to develop the capital market in the kingdom out of keenness to go along with uninterrupted changes in global markets and to apply the best international standards and practices,” stated SAMA.

The financial sector development program in Saudi Arabia works on boosting development of capital market, enhancing experience of operators and users as well as the position of these markets on the regional level in which the Saudi capital market becomes a key one in the Middle East.

These updates come at a time when the Saudi insurance company has become one of the basic investment pillars depended on by investors in the capital market.

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BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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BP Nears Deals for Oil Fields, Curbs on Gas Flaring in Iraq

British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minster Keir Starmer (L) welcomes Prime Minister of Iraq Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and British oil giant BP are set to finalize a deal by early February to develop four oil fields in Kirkuk and curb gas flaring, Iraqi authorities announced Wednesday.

The mega-project in northern Iraq will include plans to recover flared gas to boost the country's electricity production, they said.

Gas flaring refers to the polluting practice of burning off excess gas during oil drilling. It is cheaper than capturing the associated gas.

The Iraqi government and BP signed a new memorandum of understanding in London late Tuesday, as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and other senior ministers visit Britain to seal various trade and investment deals.

"The objective is to enhance production and achieve optimal targeted rates of oil and gas output," Sudani's office said in a statement.

Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel Ghani told AFP after the new accord was signed that the project would increase the four oil fields' production to up to 500,000 barrels per day from about 350,000 bpd.

"The agreement commits both parties to sign a contract in the first week of February," he said.

Ghani noted the project will also target gas flaring.

Iraq has the third highest global rate of gas flaring, after Russia and Iran, having flared about 18 billion cubic meters of gas in 2023, according to the World Bank.

The Iraqi government has made eliminating the practice one of its priorities, with plans to curb 80 percent of flared gas by 2026 and to eliminate releases by 2028.

"It's not just a question of investing and increasing oil production... but also gas exploitation. We can no longer tolerate gas flaring, whatever the quantity," Ghani added.

"We need this gas, which Iraq currently imports from neighboring Iran. The government is making serious efforts to put an end to these imports."

Iraq is ultra-dependent on Iranian gas, which covers almost a third of Iraq's energy needs.

However, Teheran regularly cuts off its supply, exacerbating the power shortages that punctuate the daily lives of 45 million Iraqis.

BP is one of the biggest foreign players in Iraq's oil sector, with a history of producing oil in the country dating back to the 1920s when it was still under British mandate.

According to the World Bank, Iraq has 145 billion barrels of proven oil reserves -- among the largest in the world -- amounting to 96 years' worth of production at the current rate.