Zain shares fall as $950 million deal is scrapped

Kuwait's Zain fell today after bidders for a stake in its Saudi affiliate said they will not proceed with the deal.

Kingdom Holding and Bahrain Telecommunications have scrapped their joint $950 million bid to buy a quarter of Saudi telecom Zain Saudi, saying terms for the deal could not be met.

The shares dropped 3.1 per cent, the biggest decline since May 15, to 940 fils in Kuwait City. Kuwait's index dropped 0.2 per cent to 5835.70 points.

In the UAE, shares slipped as investors closed positions ahead of the weekend. Dubai's benchmark, the Dubai Financial Market General Index lost 0.6 per cent to 1438.41 points.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was down 0.3 per cent to 2534.70 points.

Elsewhere in the region, Bahrain's index lost 1.4 per cent to 1183.25 points. Oman's index was little changed at 5612.05 points. Qatar's index was also little changed at 8422.25 points. The Saudi Tadawul was closed for the day.

halsayegh@thenational.ae