Saudi ports ahoy!

Saudi Ports Authority (SPA), which runs nine ports around the kingdom, is being lined up for possible privatisation, according to a 1 March report in online news service Middle East Economic Digest (MEED). Citing unnamed bankers, it said the government was considering restructuring SPA, possibly along the lines of Dubai’s DP World. Such a move would allow it to raise funds on the debt market or to list shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).