RIYADH: Shares of the Saudi Investment Bank, known as SAIB, surged over 2 percent after it declared cash dividends of SR300 million ($80 million) for the first half of 2022. The bank’s share price reached SR20.88 by 12:16 p.m. Saudi time on Sunday, up from an open price of SR20.5. Earlier in the day, SAIB announced in a bourse filing that the per-share payout stands at SR0.30 which will be distributed to 1 billion eligible shareholders on Aug. 14, Last year, SAIB paid an annual dividend of SR0.7 per share – the highest in years after freezing dividends for two straight years and distributing SR0.4 per share for 2020. In terms of earnings, the Saudi-listed bank saw a 34-percent profit growth to SR287 million in the first quarter of 2022 which it attributed to higher operating income.