Aramco finds buyers for extra oil supplies

Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the world's largest crude exporter, found buyers in India, China and Japan for extra supplies it's offering in an effort to meet global demand, three people with knowledge of the sales said.

Refiners in the three countries agreed to take cargoes this year in addition to the supplies that they buy regularly under long-term contracts with the Saudi Arabian state oil company, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the transactions are confidential. Six of nine refiners contacted by Bloomberg said they declined offers of more oil. A Dhahran-based spokesman for the company couldn't comment immediately when contacted by telephone and email.

Saudi Aramco, as the company is known, offered extra cargoes as Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Naimi pledged to raise output as much as needed to meet consumption. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to reach a consensus on a Saudi Arabian proposal to increase production at a meeting in Vienna on June 8 as oil traded at about $100 (Dh367.3) a barrel in New York. Prices have slid 9 per cent since the Opec meeting, erasing all their gains made in 2011.

Investment Dar

Investment Dar Company, the Kuwait-based owner of half of Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd, appointed Abdullah Meshari Al Humaid as chief executive officer. Al Humaid was previously an executive vice-president, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Kipco

Kipco Asset Management Company, a Kuwaiti investment banking and financial advisory firm, said it fully repaid a 20 million-dinar (Dh266.4 million) bond with a maturity date of June 21, 2011.

Circle Oil

Circle Oil Plc reported its first full-year operating profit of $12.58 million and said recent political unrest in Egypt had "little impact" on its operations.

Yamamah Saudi Cement

Yamamah Saudi Cement said second-quarter profit will rise 17 per cent to 224 million riyals (Dh219 million) from 192 million riyals in the year-earlier period. Six-month earnings per share were estimated at 2.99 riyals, compared with 2.65 riyals in the year-earlier period, the company said in a statement on the Saudi bourse website Monday. The company's board recommended paying a dividend of two riyals a share for the first half of this year.

Teknosa

Teknosa, the electronics retail arm of Haci Omer Sabanci Holding, bought Best Buy's operations in Turkey after the US company withdrew from the country in February, Technosa said in an emailed statement yesterday.

Southern Province

Southern Province Cement Co., Saudi Arabia's biggest cement producer by market value, said its board recommended a dividend of 2.75 riyals a share for the first half of this year. The company made the announcement in a statement to the Saudi bourse yesterday.

Acibadem

Acibadem Saglik Hizmetleri & Ticaret, the Turkish hospital chain, surged in Istanbul after Abraaj Capital Ltd hired banks to find a buyer for its stake in Acibadem. Acibadem rose 1.45 liras (Dh3.33), or 6.5 per cent, to 23.9 liras at 9.52am, the highest since June 1, after gaining as much as 10.9 per cent. Abraaj Capital hired Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a buyer for Acibadem or offer its shares on the market, two people with knowledge of the sale said after the market closed on June 17.

Aksa Enerji Uretim

Aksa Enerji Uretim, a Turkish power generator owned by Kazanci Holding, said the group's wholesale power distributor Aksa Elektrik Toptan Satis has started supplying Syria with as much as 500 megawatts of power a year. Aksa Enerji will be the primary source for Aksa Elektrik's sales to Syria, Aksa Enerji said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange Monday.

Global Yatirim

Global Yatirim Holding's broker Global Menkul Degerler, known as Global Securities, will offer 10 million shares, or a 25 per cent stake, at a price range of 1.5 liras-1.65 liras a share on the Istanbul Stock Exchange tomorrow and Thursday, the bourse said Monday.