18/05/2011
Saudi pension agency invests SR2bn in stocks
Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) 0.26 percent to 6,651.37 points
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's public pension agency invested SR2 billion in the Kingdom's stock market in March, its governor said on Tuesday.
"We bought (stocks) worth 2 billion riyals ... we will keep investing. The market is promising," Mohamed Al-Kharashi told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.
He said the agency invested in the bank, telecom, pharmaceutical and cement sectors.
"Our asset management strategy is 47 percent external and 53 percent internal. Our investment strategy is open both ways but we focus on maximizing internal investments," he said.
Al-Kharashi said all its investments are "secure and intact" adding the agency invested abroad in the Europe, the US and emerging markets.
Meanwhile, investor interest focused on food and agriculture stocks on Tuesday, which helped lift the Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) 0.26 percent to 6,651.37 points.
The agriculture and food index gained 0.81 percent to 5,113.17 points. Qassim Agriculture and Food Products rose 3.1 and 10 percent respectively.
"The bulk of the activity will remain on small and mid-cap stocks, namely in the agriculture and construction sectors on pure retail speculation," said Amro Halwani, a senior trader at Shuaa Capital in Riyadh.
The value of Saudi traded shares reached SR5.27 billion on Tuesday.
