The appointment of MBS sends a clear message to the enemies of the holy land.
Regardless of that, this is fantastic news and as predicted by me here and elsewhere (and many others) 2 year ago, the second he became Deputy Crown Prince, this next step was very logical.
Saudi stock market soars 5.5% after crown prince appointment, MSCI update
FRANK KANE | ARAB NEWS | Published — Wednesday 21 June 2017
(AFP)
DUBAI: The Saudi stock market index on Wednesday jumped by 5.5 percent to an 18-month high, following news that King Salman has placed his 31-year-old son next in line to the throne.
The Tadawul index, the largest in the Middle East, was also boosted by news that some benefits for civil servants were being restored,
as well as an announcement that the Tadawul had been added to a watchlist for an upgrade to “emerging market” status.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) stood at 7,334.87 at its close on Wednesday, with 159 stock prices having risen and only 12 falling.
In a series of royal decrees issued Wednesday, it emerged that Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been appointed as the country’s crown prince, replacing Prince Mohammed bin Naif.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also serves as defense minister and oversees a vast economic portfolio, had previously been second in line to the throne.
It was also announced that all allowances, bonuses and financial benefits would be restored for civil servants and military personnel.
In another move that boosted the market, it emerged earlier on Wednesday that global stock benchmark provider MSCI had added the Tadawul to a watchlist for potential inclusion as an “emerging market.” That is something closely followed by fund managers and could mean a lot more foreign investment coming into the Kingdom.
The MSCI upgrade could take effect as early as next year, financiers said, in a boost to the forthcoming sale of shares in Saudi Aramco, the flagship oil company that could be valued at $2 trillion.
Emerging market status would be regarded as giving the green light to international investors to buy stocks on the Riyadh exchange. It would also be regarded as a nod of approval for the Kingdom’s ambitious plans to diversify its economy away from oil dependency, known as the Vision 2030 plan.
Financial analysts welcomed the potential upgrade to emerging market status, saying it would increase Saudi Arabia's attractiveness to foreign investors.
Deutsche Bank estimated that some $43 billion of foreign funds would flow into the Kingdom under the new status. “The key beneficiaries will be large capitalized companies that currently have a low level of foreign ownership,” the bank said.
Capital Economics, the London consultancy, also welcomed the MSCI move as positive for the country, but warned that full inclusion needs to come quickly to get the maximum economic benefit.
Analyst Jason Tuvey said: “If it is delayed to September 2019, Saudi Arabia will have to rely on other sources of financing to fund its current account shortfall, including fresh dollar bond sales and/or a further drawdown of its FX reserves.”
George Elhedery, chief executive officer of HSBC in the Middle East, told Bloomberg the upgrade to the Kingdom’s stock markets was a positive development for the county’s financial status. “It puts Saudi Arabia in good stead to achieve its Vision 2030. Passive inflows into Saudi equities could draw approximately $9 billion. This has the potential to rise even further if active funds increase their allocations,” he said.
Passive investors are those that include a country’s stocks in their overall portfolios. Active investors pick individual stocks for inclusion.
The MSCI move follows a long process of modernization of the Kingdom’s investment infrastructure, opening it up to international investors and accelerating the process of share dealing and settlement.
MSCI said: “Following the introduction of these major enhancements to the accessibility of the Saudi Arabian equity market, MSCI will be consulting with international institutional investors to gather informed feedback on their practical experience of accessing the Saudi equity markets and in particular on the effectiveness of the recently implemented enhancements.”
While many countries remain two to three years on the watch list prior to index inclusion, Saudi Arabia expects the process to happen sooner, according to Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority vice-chairman.
“Given the pace and the magnitude of capital-markets reforms that have been made in Saudi Arabia and the commitment that has indicated, the duration that we will be on the watch list will hopefully be shorter,” he said in a television interview.
Inclusion in MSCI’s developing-country indexes would “put Saudi Arabia in the top 10 emerging markets, even excluding Aramco,” according to Mohammed Al-Hajj, and equities analyst at investment bank EFG Hermes in Dubai.
He estimated that adding passive inflows alone would be equivalent to two-and-a-half to three current active holdings by foreigners in the Saudi market. “It would finally place Middle East, North Africa on the map as an important subset of emerging markets.”
Saudi Arabia allowed money managers outside the Gulf to own local shares directly only two years ago. Since then, authorities have relaxed the guidelines even more, yet total foreign ownership has stalled at about 5 percent.
As crude oil prices declined this year, the Tadawul index has dropped, lagging behind an average of its peers as measured by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which increased 17 percent through June 19.
The addition to the watch list should result in “substantially improved valuations, liquidity and foreign inflows to the country’s market,” according to Jaap Meijer and Michael Malkoun, analysts in Dubai at Arqaam Capital Ltd. They estimate Saudi Arabia would have a weighting of 2.2 percent in that emerging markets index, excluding Aramco.
The 173 stocks traded on the Tadawul have a value of SR1.65 trillion, according to the market’s website.
- With AP
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1118261/business-economy
Well wishes from the entire Arab and Islamic world and all relevant countries.
الله يوفقه و ينصره و نحن نبايعه على كتاب الله وسنة نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم في المنشط و المكره و في العسر و اليسر
و الحمد لله على تيسيره للامور بلا ثورات او انقلابات "وامرهم شورى بينهم" على كتاب الله و سنة نبيه صل الله عليه وسلم
قيادة شابة و واعية و نسئل الله ان يجعلها و يفتح على يديها بما فيه صلاح العباد والبلاد للأمة العربية والاسلامية
well guys
all of you don,t know shit about internal politics of ksa.
we are happy of this young crown prince i think our economy will be an industrial economy by 2040
PDF and internal Arab affairs in particular Saudi Arabian, do not mix well. Oil and water.
So let the hostile ones bark as they are not only ignorant but also completely irrelevant and let us instead focus on the fatherland and Arab nation.
Yes, the recent drama in Mecca might be part of that plan.
Sure. The House of Saud convinced a terrorist to blew himself up and others who plotted a terrorist attack to be arrested after shootings beforehand. All planned well in advance. Makes perfect sense. Great timing and great publicity. Very much needed! Just like last year!
Editorial: A vote of confidence in the new Saudi generation
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (SPA)
ARAB NEWS | Published — Monday 22 May 2017
The landmark appointment of Prince Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince represents a vote of confidence in the Kingdom’s younger generation, which makes up a large majority of the population. The new crown prince was supported by a landslide vote of 31 out of 34 members of the Royal Family’s Allegiance Council.
The decision came in the wake of King Salman making a number of changes over the past two years. He has appointed many young and highly qualified government officials as ministers, ambassadors, provincial governors and deputy governors.
The new direction has also caught on in the private sector, where we have seen a trend in young and qualified executives being hired. It is noteworthy that many of these executives are women, who have the same responsibilities as their male counterparts.
There are, as always, some international observers who will seek to deliberately misinterpret what has taken place at the top of the Kingdom’s power structure. The fact is, however, that former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif endorsed the decision in a letter to the king. He was also seen on video by viewers worldwide congratulating the new crown prince in person.
That Prince Mohammed bin Salman has made his impression on the world is evident from the number of congratulatory messages that have been sent in, including one by US President Donald Trump, who congratulated him and said he was looking forward to consolidating the Saudi-American partnership.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, in her congratulatory message, said she is looking forward to working with Prince Mohammed “to deepen our close bilateral ties in the years ahead, building on the constructive meetings we had in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.”
The Gulf states of Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and interestingly, even Qatar, have likewise endorsed the decision.
We can expect more rapid and drastic reforms if we take all of Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s accomplishments when he was deputy crown prince as an indicator of what is yet to come.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/1118671/editorial
The new generation and duo that the nation and people expects a lot form:
Development vision meets Saudi youth’s ambitions, say economists
Saudi stock market received the news of the appointment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with a surge which almost reached 5.5 percent.
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English
Sunday, 25 June 2017
A number of Saudi economists have confirmed their optimism in the pledge of the Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince, to an economic future that matches the aspirations of young people.
They say that this pledge is towards a modern state that is scientifically, industrially, economically and militarily strong and an important economic impetus for the region and the world, and towards everything new that meets the ambition and aspirations of future generations.
The economists in their statements in the ‘Riyadh’ newspaper considered that the implementation of Vision 2030 in the Kingdom, launched by Mohammed bin Salman, will support economic restructuring, privatization, investment promotion, diversification of economic resources, raising the contribution of marginalized sectors to the gross domestic product and moving ahead with the diversification of income sources.
Restoring allowances
Economists pointed to the decision to retroactively pay the allowances, stressing that it has a direct impact on the purchasing power of government employees who will receive the total allowances that were suspended from the first day until it was reinstated, which means greater capacity for consumer spending and a direct impact on the commercial sector.
For his part, Professor Ahmed Al-Sheikh, associate professor at the University of Jeddah and supervisor of the Tributaries House Expert for financial and legal consulting, said that those who would listen to the vision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman understand that the Kingdom is capable of overcoming global crises and has financial and human resources that help to manage the economic equation in difficult times.
Dr. Abdul Salam bin Saeed Al Rashid, the Dean of the College of Administrative and Financial Sciences, at King Khalid University, said that the Saudi stock market received the news of the appointment of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with a very large surge which almost reached 5.5 percent, that does not occur except with very exceptional events. This is an indication to the great economic optimism about the appointment of Prince Mohammed bin Salman as Crown Prince.
Positive market reaction
Economist Mosaed Al- Saied stressed that the Saudi financial market has reacted positively to the appointment of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and it was a very positive reflection of the investors' optimism for the economic future of the Kingdom in general and the financial market in particular.
Businessman Yasser bin Mohammed al-Harbi predicted that the retail and services market will witness a significant recovery after the decision to restore the financial allowances for public service salaries retroactively, which will provide cash to the banking and commercial sectors.
Financial expert Abdullah al-Rubdie said that, the pledge of allegiance to Prince Mohammed bin Salman has an important economic dimension, he is the guiding figure of the 2030 Saudi vision, which focuses on development and many economic aspects of Saudi Arabia over the next decade.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/Ne...ikh-Muslims-count-on-Islamic-institutes-.html
Saudi Crown Prince to Al-Azhar Sheikh: Muslims count on their institutes
The Crown Prince stressed Al-Azhar’s important role in showing what real Islam. (File photo: Reuters)
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Saturday, 24 June 2017
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Al-Azhar’s Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb that Muslims count on Islamic institutes in the upcoming period to encounter terrorism.
Egypt’s Al-Azhar is Sunni Islam’s most revered institution.
The conversation took place when Sheikh Al-Tayeb called the Crown Prince to
denounce Friday’s terrorist attempt to attack Mecca’s Grand Mosque area.
The Crown Prince stressed Al-Azhar’s important role in showing what real Islam is especially amid what the Muslim world is currently experiencing, hailing the sheikh’s efforts in encountering radical ideologies.
https://english.alarabiya.net/en/Ne...ikh-Muslims-count-on-Islamic-institutes-.html