Saudi’s MMG Given Go-Ahead To Sell Suspended Shares Over The Counter

The Saudi bourse has given permission to construction firm Mohammad Al-Mojil Group (MMG) to have its suspended shares traded over the counter, it said on Tuesday.

Shares in the company have not traded since July 2012, when they were suspended by the regulator after breaching rules relating to accumulated losses.

However the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority ruled in September it would allow off-market – over-the-counter – trading of shares in companies which had been suspended or delisted from the exchange.

The concession appeared designed to help shareholders realise some value from such companies as the regulator reforms the market in preparation for its opening to direct foreign investment early next year.

MMG, which ran up extensive debts when seeking to take advantage of the construction boom in the kingdom before the global financial crisis, in November outlined a recovery plan involving collecting up to SAR900 million ($240 million) in claims from other firms.

Its accumulated losses at the end of October stood at SAR2.79 billion, equivalent to 223 per cent of its capital, according to a Nov. 13 bourse filing.