Saudi Integrated Telecom was one of several public companies to be fined by the market regulator late on Sunday for not disclosing annual financial results in time.
The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has placed a 100,000 Saudi riyals fine on the fixed-line operator, along with Buruj Cooperative Insurance Company, Al-Baha Investment & Development, Allied Cooperative Insurance and Saudi Fisheries due to their "violation of clause (A) of Article (45) of the Capital Market Law and clause (E) of Article (26) of the Listing Rules."
The companies "failed to inform CMA or announce to the shareholders, during the specified period, [their] annual financial statements for the period closing 31/12/2011."
Saudi Arabia has introduced a series of regulations as it prepares to open up to foreign investors. At the moment, foreign investors can only buy shares through swap-agreements with international banks.
Fund managers say the kingdom's regulator has become a role model for the wider Gulf markets, adopting strict regulations and requiring corporates to be transparent and comply with local laws.
"The role of the regulator is to make sure that companies disclose information to their shareholders around the same time," said Tariq Qaqish, a senior fund manager at Al Mal Capital in Dubai.
"They can't just keep it open." When companies in the UAE do not disclose their quarterly and annual results on time, they are usually suspended from trading.
The Security and Commodities Authority requires companies to report their annual results within three months and quarterly results within 45 days. By contrast, Saudi Arabia's regulator requires companies to report their annual results within 40 days and quarterly results within 15 days.
"The UAE can learn some lessons from Saudi Arabia's strict adoption of its regulations," Mr Qaqish said. "If they reduce the allowed number of days to disclose at a specific reporting period, investors can exercise better judgement when making decisions," he added.
halsayegh@thenational.ae
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Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
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• For more information visit the library network's website.
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
THE BIO:
Sabri Razouk, 74
Athlete and fitness trainer
Married, father of six
Favourite exercise: Bench press
Must-eat weekly meal: Steak with beans, carrots, broccoli, crust and corn
Power drink: A glass of yoghurt
Role model: Any good man
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Brief scores:
Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
