Saudi Shura Council Asks Capital Market Authority to Stimulate Listings for Small Enterprises

An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia January 18, 2016. (Reuters)
An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia January 18, 2016. (Reuters)
TT

Saudi Shura Council Asks Capital Market Authority to Stimulate Listings for Small Enterprises

An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia January 18, 2016. (Reuters)
An investor monitors a screen displaying stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia January 18, 2016. (Reuters)

The Saudi Shura Council called on the Capital Market Authority to promote local and international institutional investment, in addition to working on activating the rules, regulations and procedures and strengthening oversight over trading, corporate performance and listings for new and small enterprises to protect investors and the Saudi market.

During its 42nd regular session for the first year of the eighth session, which was held on Tuesday via video conference, the Council also issued a decision regarding the latest annual report of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, calling for speeding up the completion of its new system and finalizing its updated strategic plan for the year 2025. It also stressed the need to develop and diversify the city’s financial resources through the establishment of endowments and national funds.

The council asked the city to strengthen its efforts to expand research, development and innovative programs and projects pertaining to national security and defense, in coordination with the competent authorities. It also pointed to a strategic project launched by the city under the name of, “the Kingdom’s National Laboratory”, asking the relevant authorities to equip it with the latest technologies in order to enable it to contribute to the transfer and localization of technology, and upgrade the system of research, development and innovation.

Meanwhile, the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank, Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak, emphasized the efforts made by the Banking Information and Awareness Committee for Saudi banks, in order to spread and strengthen the financial culture within the Saudi society and raise the level of financial awareness.

Al-Mubarak stressed the keenness of the Saudi Central Bank, in cooperation with the financial sectors, to raise the level of financial guidance and awareness among clients of the banking and financial sector, using the various available communication channels, in the context of serving and protecting the interests of the customers.

The governor urged all financial institutions to deploy more efforts to develop education programs for clients on financial fraud methods, and to continuously measure the effectiveness and efficiency of awareness tools.



Oil Prices Edge up as Market Assesses Trump's Tariff Plans

FILE PHOTO: A ship is moored near storage tanks at an oil refinery off the coast of Singapore October 17, 2008. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A ship is moored near storage tanks at an oil refinery off the coast of Singapore October 17, 2008. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo
TT

Oil Prices Edge up as Market Assesses Trump's Tariff Plans

FILE PHOTO: A ship is moored near storage tanks at an oil refinery off the coast of Singapore October 17, 2008. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A ship is moored near storage tanks at an oil refinery off the coast of Singapore October 17, 2008. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash/File Photo

Oil prices picked up on Tuesday, after the previous session's sell-off, as the market assessed US President-elect Donald Trump's planned trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada and his aim to increase US crude production.

Oil prices had fallen more than $2 a barrel on Monday after multiple reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to the terms of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. A senior Israeli official said Israel looks set to approve a US plan for a ceasefire on Tuesday, but some analysts said Monday's sell-off in oil prices had been overdone.

Brent crude futures were up 43 cents, or 0.6%, at $73.44 a barrel as of 1414 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were at $69.38 a barrel, up 44 cents, or 0.6%.

Brent crude futures fluctuated between $73.30 and $73.80 a barrel in afternoon trading.

"Today’s intra-day fluctuations are probably more of the function of assessing Trump’s overnight pledge to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China," PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

On Monday, Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the US from Mexico and Canada.

The vast majority of Canada's 4 million bpd of crude exports go to the US Analysts have said it is unlikely Trump would impose tariffs on Canadian oil, which cannot be easily replaced since it differs from grades that the US produces.

On Monday, Reuters reported that Trump's team is also preparing an energy package to roll out within days of his taking office that would increase oil drilling.

A senior executive at Exxon Mobil said on Tuesday that US oil and gas producers are unlikely to "radically increase'' production.

OPEC+ MEETING

Market reaction on Monday to the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire news was "over the top" as the broader Middle East conflict has "never actually disrupted supplies significantly to induce war premiums" this year, said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva at Phillip Nova.

Elsewhere, OPEC+ at its next meeting on Sunday may consider leaving its current oil output cuts in place from Jan. 1. The producer group is already postponing hikes amid global demand worries.