Saudi Cement Tells Shareholders to Digitise Certificates and Claim Dividends

The dividend check is a separate process. Shareholders can visit the official Saudi Cement website, go to the Investor Relations section, and use a portal called Unclaimed Cash Dividends to search for outstanding payments using several identification options. For more complex cases involving deceased shareholders or estate distribution, the company set up multiple communication channels. Those transactions require inheritance certificates or notarised estate division documents to ensure legal compliance and protect shareholder rights.

The practical risk for shareholders who do not act is that their shares remain in paper form and may not be tradeable on the exchange. Future corporate distributions could also be delayed or withheld until the certificates are converted. For Saudi Cement, unclaimed dividends represent a liability that sits on the balance sheet until collected. Clearing that backlog simplifies annual reporting and reduces administrative overhead.

The push fits a broader Saudi financial sector effort to eliminate physical certificates and improve shareholder record accuracy. The CMA's electronic-record requirement aims to reduce fraud, improve settlement times, and ensure accurate records. Other listed companies have issued similar notices in recent months. The CMA's rule is already in force. Saudi Cement set no deadline for the conversion. The burden falls on individual holders of paper shares to initiate the transfer themselves.