The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) was established in 1978 to develop a national shipping line that could compete with foreign carriers for business on the busy cargo routes to the Red Sea and the Gulf.

The initial paid-in capital of SR 500 million ($133 million) was raised in the 1980s to SR 2,000 million ($533 million). The company initially focused on cargo routes and invested in a fleet of roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) vessels.

This activity proved to be very competitive in the 1980s due to the oil price fall and the subsequent decline in the value of imports into Arabia. The company now has eight wholly-owned vessels which it supplements with chartered vessels according to needs.

NSCSA has now been accepted as an abiding element of routes to and from the Gulf and Red Sea and it has entered agreements with international carriers to regulate rates on liner services in the region.

NSCSA has also invested in on-land facilities, including a container storage and repair yard in Jeddah Islamic Port, the most important of the kingdom's ports. It has also bought a new head office in Riyadh.

The company started to diversify away from general cargo into specialized services in the early 1990s. NSCSA has a 80 per cent stake in National Chemical Carriers, a joint venture with Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic).

National Chemical Carriers now operates 14 specialized chemical carriers. It serves about 150 ports and carries about one-quarter of Sabic's product exports.NSCSA has a 50 per cent stake in Arabian Chemical Carriers, a specialized chemical carrier.

Kuwait-based United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) holds the other 50 per cent of the shares. The sole responsibility of Arabian Chemical Carriers is to operate the Al-Farabi chemical carrier.

Individuals	N/A
Institutions	N/A
Floating	N/A
Government	29%

	2005	2004	2003
Total Assets	4,834,197	4,479,808	4,258,069
Shareholder's Equity	2,600,817	2,130,035	1,869,413
NIAT	437,840	427,840	155,663
Dividends	N/A	N/A	N/A

	2005	2004	2003
Assets Growth	7.91%	5.21%	-3.18%
Earning Growth	2.34%	174.85%	90.58%
ROaA	9.40%	9.79%	3.60%
ROaE	18.51%	21.40%	8.55%
No. Of Shares	39,947,644	39,947,644	39,947,644
EPS	10.96	10.71	3.90
EPS Growth	2.34%	174.85%	90.58%
Payout Ratio	N/A	N/A	N/A

	Trailing
PE
PB
DVPS
Div Yield
EV
EV/Equity

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