Saudi banks and building materials favored by Daman Investments

Saudi cars line up during rush hour on the King Fahd Causeway, a bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Fuel retailers in the Kingdom are benefiting from rising demand as travel restrictions are eased. (Reuters)

• Cyclical stocks favored in Saudi Arabia and UAE
• Kingdom's big banks to tap privatization lending growth

RIYADH: Saudi banks and building materials are among the top regional recovery play stocks picked by Daman Investments.
The Dubai-based asset manager sees such companies as Yanbu Cement and Saudi Ceramics as benefiting from a pickup in construction activity.
The Shareek privatization program is expected to drive lending growth for some of the Kingdom’s biggest banks, Ali El Adou, head of asset management at Daman Investments, told Bloomberg TV on Sunday.
The recovering economy may also benefit fuel retailers Aldrees and bookstore Jarir as the reopening of schools mean more books sales and fuel being consumed from schools runs.
Petrochemical firms such as Sahara and SABIC also stand to benefit from a broader cyclical recovery in consumption globally.
Among its top investor picks for the UAE are developer Emaar, food company Agthia, budget carrier Air Arabia and the country’s two biggest banks, Dubai’s Emirates NBD and Abu Dhabi’s FAB.
“The UAE government has been very proactive in terms of inoculations. This is helping the reopening theme from an investment case perspective,” he said.