Saudi Aramco Holds First General Assembly after IPO

Saudi Aramco will hold its first general assembly Monday after its IPO. (Reuters file photo)
Saudi Aramco will hold its first general assembly Monday after its IPO. (Reuters file photo)
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Saudi Aramco Holds First General Assembly after IPO

Saudi Aramco will hold its first general assembly Monday after its IPO. (Reuters file photo)
Saudi Aramco will hold its first general assembly Monday after its IPO. (Reuters file photo)

Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, will hold its first general assembly Monday after its partial initial public offering (IPO) in the Saudi market.

Aramco's board of directors issued a statement inviting its shareholders to attend its first ordinary general assembly through the Tadawulaty system.

The statement said the meeting will be held online following the directives of the Capital Market Authority (CMA), which called for the suspension of physical attendance of general assembly meetings until further notice, and urged all companies to hold such meetings remotely.

This also comes in line with the precautionary measures issued by health authorities to limit the spread of COVID-19.

In order to be able to attend the meeting and vote, Aramco encouraged all its shareholders to register via the Tadawulaty system.

The eligibility to participate in the general assembly meeting and vote electronically on its agenda will be for shareholders that are registered in Saudi Aramco’s shareholders register at the Securities Depository Center (Edaa) as of the end of the trading session on the general assembly meeting day, and as per the relevant rules and regulations, according to the statement.

The company explained that the ordinary general assembly meeting shall be valid only if it is attended by one or more shareholders representing at least one quarter of the ordinary shares, provided that the state is represented.

However, if the quorum is not satisfied, a second meeting shall be held one hour after the designated period for the first meeting has ended. The second meeting shall be valid regardless of the number of ordinary shares represented, provided that the State is represented.

The statement announced that the attendees will vote on the report for the FY 2019. It will also appoint an external auditor and determine their fees to review and audit the company’s: financial statements for Q2 and Q3 for FY 2020, annual financial statements of FY 2020, and financial statements for Q1 of FY 2021.

Electronic voting started last Thursday and will continue until the general assembly meeting is concluded.

Meanwhile, Aramco’s shares closed trading Sunday at $8.3, while Saudi shares closed at a 0.8 percent gain, a 54-point increase.



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.