Saudi Companies to Conclude Announcing Financial Results on Monday

An investor walks past a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 29, 2016. (Reuters)
An investor walks past a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 29, 2016. (Reuters)
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Saudi Companies to Conclude Announcing Financial Results on Monday

An investor walks past a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 29, 2016. (Reuters)
An investor walks past a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia June 29, 2016. (Reuters)

Saudi companies will conclude on Monday the announcement period of their financial results for the Q3 2019.

These results are complementary to the first nine months of this year.

Meanwhile, 132 listed Saudi companies have already announced their financial results.

Seventy-one companies listed in the Saudi stock market have made remarkable positive progress in their financial results during the first nine months of 2019, compared to the same period in 2018.

The 132 companies made a net profit of SAR64.2 billion ($17.12 billion) during the first nine months of 2019, an average profit that was no better than that during the same period last year.

The 42 companies that have not yet announced their results are expected to play a major role in terms of the number of companies that may achieve better financial performance during the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

However, these results are not expected to have a significant impact on the value of profits realized, considering that most companies with large capital had announced their financial results earlier.

Cement sector companies are among the best performers, as the profits jumped 399 percent, compared to the figures achieved during the same period last year.

All companies have made a net profit during the first nine months of this year while seven had suffered losses during the same period last year.

This demonstrates the vitality of the Saudi economy and the revival of the construction sector.

Insurance companies are expected to disclose their financial results on Sunday and Monday.

Investors and traders in this sector have been awaiting the announcement of 17 companies for their financial results for the third quarter of this year.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.