RIYADH: The board of Saudi Basic Industries Corp., or SABIC, recommended on Wednesday, a 22.5 percent cash dividend amounting to SR6.75 billion ($1.79 billion), for the second half of 2021, according to a bourse filing. As many as 3 billion shares will be distributed at SR2.25 per share, the company said in a statement on Saudi Stock Exchange, Tadawul. The distribution date will be announced later. The hike represents a 50 percent increase from the SR1.5 dividend per share offered for the corresponding period last year. SABIC’s share price was up 1.96 percent to SR114.4 in the prior trading session. The stock traded between an intraday high of SR114.6 and an intraday low of SR111.8, with around 2.2 million shares traded during the day.