RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s main stock index, TASI, logged a monthly gain of 5.9 percent in July following two straight months of losses, bolstered by rising oil prices.

TASI rose 0.4 percent in the previous session to exit the month at 12,199, and the parallel Nomu market added 2 percent to 21,391.

This came in line with gains in fellow Middle Eastern bourses on Sunday, led by Qatar’s QSI which surged 1.9 percent.

Egypt’s blue-chip index was up 1 percent, followed by Oman with a 0.8 percent gain, while the Bahraini bourse edged 0.7 percent lower.

In energy trading, Brent crude reached $103.38 a barrel by 9:16 a.m. Saudi time on Monday, while US West Texas Intermediate traded at $97.62 a barrel.

The Kingdom’s gross domestic product grew at the fastest rate since 2011 at 11.8 percent in the second quarter of 2022, fueled by oil sector growth, according to flash estimates by the General Authority for Statistics.

SABB Takaful received the Saudi Central Bank’s approval for the merger with rival insurer Walaa Insurance, following a binding agreement between both parties last February

The National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia, known as Bahri, posted a 134 percent increase in profit to SR193 million ($51 million) for the first half of 2022

Bahri announced the full redemption of its SR3.9 billion Riyal-denominated sukuk on July 30

Profits of United Wire Factories Co., or Aslak, were up 40 percent in the first half of 2022 to SR42 million

Saudi Steel Pipe Co. won a SR95 million contract to provide oil and gas steel pipes to Uruguay-based Tenaris Global Services

Al-Baha Investment and Development Co.’s losses widened by 158 percent to SR4.2 million during the first half of the year

Unitholders of Alkhabeer REIT are set to receive SR0.125 per share in cash dividends for the second quarter of 2022

Zahrat Al Waha for Trading Co. reported a 73 percent profit drop to SR9.9 million for the first half of 2022

Future Care Trading Co. will start trading its shares on Nomu

Close of International Human Resources Co.’s IPO book building

Saudi Aramco will announce its financial results for the second quarter of 2022

RIYADH: UAE-based ride sharing company Swvl has terminated its estimated $100 million acquisition of UK SaaS platform, Zeelo.

Zeelo revealed that the deal has been dropped by mutual agreement amid a market downturn, MAGNiTT reported.

“The deal that was agreed no longer made sense right for the parties, not just in terms of the transaction, but also in terms of the growth opportunity,” co-founder and CEO of Zeelo, Sam Ryan, said in a statement.

Swvl has recently announced a 30 percent reduction in headcount as part of plans to achieve profitability by 2023.

The company has also made four acquisitions since 2021 and is currently listed on Nasdaq.

RIYADH: Egypt’s capacity of renewable energy projects has doubled during the fiscal year 2021/22.

Zooming in, Abu Dhabi’s Masdar is weighing a binding offer for a 40 percent stake in Iberdrola's German offshore wind farm, Reuters reported citing a source close to the matter. 

Looking at the bigger picture:

RIYADH: Saudi Arabian Mining Co., known as Ma’aden, has begun commercial production for its Ammonia 3 plant within the third phosphate project, which can produce 1.1 million tons of ammonia per year.

The Ammonia 3 plant, which has reached stabilization in trial operations, is expected to impact the company’s financial results during the second quarter of 2022, according to a bourse filing.

The plant belongs to Ma’aden Fertilizer Co., part of the Third Phosphate Project, which is 100 percent Ma’aden-owned.

RIYADH: Gulf Cooperation Council indexes recovered during July on the back of strong earnings and global recovery, reversing two consecutive months of decline.

The MSCI GCC index hit a six-month high of 6.1 percent in July, broadly in line with global equity markets, according to data by Kamco Invest.

Oman experienced the largest monthly gain of 9.9 percent, closely followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia with gains of 9.7 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively.

The ADX and DFM markets in the UAE lagged behind with smaller gains of 3.1 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.

The strong growth during the month of July has added strength to the performance of GCC markets for the year.

The MSCI GCC index gained 7.4 percent since the start of the year, with double-digit gains in Qatar and Abu Dhabi at 15 percent and 13.8 percent, respectively.

Oman and Kuwait were next with gains of around 10 percent while Saudi Arabia’s TASI showed a gain of 8.1 percent.

This was driven by gains across all sectors with the performance chart for the month showing gains across the board.

RIYADH: Kuwait-based gifting e-commerce platform Teeela plans to expand into Saudi Arabia and the UAE markets after raising $3.75 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Saudi investors. 

The round was led by Saudi investment firm Wealth Well with participation from other Saudi investors like Mad’a Investment Co. and Al-Akeel family. 

“This funding will underpin our regional expansion, support product development and strengthen our ability to attract top regional talent to be part of our journey,” Abdulwahab Al-Khulaifi, co-founder and CEO of Teeela said in a statement. 

The deal will strengthen Teeela’s regional presence beyond its Kuwait headquarters as it targets the Middle East’s $30 billion gifting market, including family products, children’s goods and toys, it said in a press release.

Founded in 2017, the company offers a large selection of toys as well as customizable and personalized gifting options.