Al Rajhi Bank stocks have been raised to 'buy' by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Ahmed Yosri / The National
Al Rajhi Bank stocks have been raised to 'buy' by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Ahmed Yosri / The National

Higher interest rates and cost cutting lifts Saudi banks outlook



Bank of America Merrill Lynch said it saw an improved outlook for Saudi Arabian banks due to higher interest rates and cost cutting measures that lenders have been taken to bolster profitability.

"We see an improved outlook for the Saudi banks in to the second half of 2017 and beyond on five core themes including net interest margin expansion accelerating on the back of the three rate hikes observed since 2016 as well as a further four hikes expected over the course of the next 18 months," analysts at the investment bank said.

The interest rate rises followed similar action by the US Federal Reserve, given the Saudi Arabian riyal's peg to the US dollar.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch also cited the banks' stronger asset quality than previously anticipated for its change in outlook, in addition to a potential pick up in asset growth and the possibility that Saudi Arabian stocks may join MSCI and FTSE emerging market indexes in the next couple of years.

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Separately, the bank raised its recommendation to "buy" for Al Rajhi Bank, the biggest publicly traded Saudi Arabian lender,  because it sees earning momentum picking up in the second half of this year and an improved asset quality outlook.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch also noted that shares of Al Rajhi are trading at a 24 per cent discount to historical 12-month forward price-to-book levels and are not reflecting the improved outlook for the lender.

OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS

Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)

Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye

Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine

Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye

Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)

Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)

Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra

Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh

Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar

Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine

 

Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule

Thursday December 27

Men's quarter-finals

Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm

Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm

Women's exhibition

Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm

Friday December 28

5th place play-off 3pm

Men's semi-finals

Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm

Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm

Saturday December 29

3rd place play-off 5pm

Men's final 7pm

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

Mina Cup winners

Under 12 – Minerva Academy

Under 14 – Unam Pumas

Under 16 – Fursan Hispania

Under 18 – Madenat

The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester

Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)

Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder

Transmission: Continuously variable transmission

Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm

Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)

The Lowdown

Kesari

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra

 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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