Egypt’s Gasc Sells Almost 300,000 T of Wheat via New Commodities Exchange

Egypt’s Gasc Sells Almost 300,000 T of Wheat via New Commodities Exchange
TT

Egypt’s Gasc Sells Almost 300,000 T of Wheat via New Commodities Exchange

Egypt’s Gasc Sells Almost 300,000 T of Wheat via New Commodities Exchange

Egypt’s state grains buyer the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has sold around 300,000 tonnes of wheat via the new Egyptian Mercantile Exchange since its November launch, the exchange head Ibrahim Ashmawy said on Monday.

The wheat was mostly of Russian origin with some German wheat also sold, Ashmawy told Reuters.

GASC said last November it will be able to make international wheat purchases through the newly launched exchange, which is also aimed at eliminating local price distortions.



Kuwait Finance House Considering Expansion in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi flag
The Saudi flag
TT

Kuwait Finance House Considering Expansion in Saudi Arabia

The Saudi flag
The Saudi flag

Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the Gulf country's largest lender, is looking at opportunities to expand in Saudi Arabia, it said in a bourse filing on Tuesday, following a report that it was considering taking a stake in peer Saudi Investment Bank.

Trading in the company's shares, which were suspended before the market open, resumed after KFH issued a statement in response to the report.

KFH said it was conducting studies on the potential expansion and that these were in line with the bank strategy envisioning potential investments in the region, including in Saudi Arabia.

“Regarding the news published by Bloomberg, KFH confirms that it is still studying the available opportunities in more than one bank, and no memorandum of understanding or any agreement has been signed with any bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the lender said.

Amid news of the potential deal, shares of Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB) jumped as much as 4% in Riyadh trading Tuesday.

On Tadawul, the shares of SAIB, the second smallest listed bank in the Saudi financial market in terms of assets and capital following Bank AlJazira, ranged between 13.26 Riyals and 12.78 Riyals, closing on the latest figure.

Meanwhile, the share of KFH Bank, which is the largest in Kuwait in terms of assets and capital, rose by less than 0.50% at 0.717 Kuwaiti dinars.

The Kuwaiti government and the Public Authority for Minors Affairs own 31.5% of KFH’s shares. Vanguard Group owns 2.45% of the Bank’s shares and BlackRock owns 1.75%.

As for the Saudi Investment Bank, it is owned by the General Organization for Social Insurance - Saudi Arabia (25.6%), Yasser Mohammed Al Jarallah (4.6%), Vanguard Group (2%) and BlackRock (1.2%).