Aramco could return to the Tadawul with a second share sale: Saudi Aramco is considering selling shares worth USD 50 bn in a secondary listing on the Saudi stock exchange, in what would be the largest offering in the history of capital markets, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Saudi officials and other people it says are familiar with the matter. The planned listing, which follows months of consultations with advisors, could go through before the end of the year and would be the largest offering in the history of capital markets. The company is reportedly eyeing investors including other multinational oil companies and sovereign wealth funds.

Out with the wealth funds, in with the corporates: The UAE and Saudi Arabia have deployed USD 50 bn globally via state-owned firms so far this year — rather than sovereign wealth funds — as the Gulf monarchies look to create top companies that can compete internationally and help diversify their economies away from oil. (Bloomberg)

Also worth knowing this morning:

  • Country Garden has some breathing room: China’s largest developer has won creditors’ approval to push back the maturity date of a USD 540 mn onshore private bond, buying time to avoid a default that has for a month threatened to inflict more pain on the country’s tanking property market. (Reuters)
  • Europe’s most valuable company dethroned: Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Friday briefly surpassed Louis Vuitton parent company LVMH as Europe's most valuable company with a market cap of around USD 424.7 bn. (Reuters)

EGX30

18,874

+0.3% (YTD: +29.3%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.83

Sell 30.96

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

19.25% deposit

20.25% lending

Tadawul

11,491

-0.7% (YTD: +9.7%)

ADX

9,787

-0.2% (YTD: -4.2%)

DFM

4,090

+0.2% (YTD: +22.6%)

S&P 500

4,516

+0.2% (YTD: +17.6%)

FTSE 100

7,465

+0.3% (YTD: +0.2%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,283

-0.3% (YTD: +12.9%)

Brent crude

USD 88.55

+2.0%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.77

-0.1%

Gold

USD 1,967.10

+0.1%

BTC

USD 25,841

+0.3% (YTD: +56.4%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 0.3% at Thursday’s close on turnover of EGP 2.1 bn. Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 29.3% YTD.

In the green: Abu Qir Fertilizers (+2.4%), B Investments Holding (+2.1%) and CIB (+2.0%).

In the red: Orascom Construction (-2.9%), Beltone Financial Holding (-2.2%) and E-Finance(-2.1%).

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