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Saudis to make further oil supply cut to 'encourage' peers
May 11, 2020--Kingdom to reduce production by another 1m barrels a day from June
Saudi Arabia will cut its oil production by a further 1m barrels a day next month, as the kingdom seeks to provide further support to crude prices battered by the effects of the pandemic.
Stock Market to Launch New Index "EGX 100 EWI"
May 9, 2020--The Egyptian Stock Exchange announced that it will launch a new equal-weighted index "EGX100 EWI", which measures the performance of the best 100 publicly traded companies in the market in terms of liquidity and activity.
The Stock Exchange added in a press statement on Saturday that the index includes the companies that make up the EGX30 index and the companies that make up the EGX70 EWI, noting the cancellation of the older index "EGX 100".
Mideast Stocks: Major Gulf indexes fall alongside subdued global equities
May 6, 2020--Nine of 11 Saudi banks decline
Major stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday as doubts about the easing of coronavirus lockdowns and simmering U.S.-China tensions cast a shadow over global equity markets.
U.S. President Donald Trump has kept up the pressure on China, urging the country to be transparent about the origins of the coronavirus, which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
MIDEAST DEBT-Gulf debt market shows signs of recovery as issuers line up
May 6, 2020--Several Gulf issuers, including Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and the Saudi-headquartered Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP), will likely issue bonds as soon as next week, sources said, signalling a revival in the region's primary debt market.
Public international bond issuances screeched to a halt in late February, with activity only tentatively restarting early last month.
Banks pitching for potential Saudi Arabia euro-denominated bonds-sources
April 28, 2020--The Saudi issuance is likely to be around June
Saudi Arabia is likely to issue euro-denominated bonds this year and some banks have started pitching for the possible debt sale, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the kingdom plans to boost borrowing to offset a sharp drop in oil revenue.
The Saudi issuance is likely to be around June and about the same size as the country's last euro bond issuance, one of the sources said.
Dubai investors buy gold online despite COVID-19, surging prices
April 23, 2020--UAE retailers say online sales will not compensate for volume from offline sales.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and surging gold prices, the gold retailers in the UAE are getting a reprieve thanks to an Indian festival.
Forced to move sales online by the outbreak, the retailers are now reporting an increasing demand for gold bars, gold coins and light jewellery.
UAE clears 100% ownership rules
April 19, 2020--Nation issues list of all 122 activities under 100% foreign ownership regime
The UAE has released the full list of 122 categories for 100 per cent ownership in the mainland under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law.
Cabinet Resolution No.(16) of 2020 determines the 'Positive List' of sectors and economic activities in which foreign direct investment is permissible and the percentage of ownership is 100 per cent.<>view more
Saudi Arabia may tap debt market as oil output cuts hit revenues-sources
April 13, 2020--Riyadh increased its debt ceiling to 50% of GDP from a previous 30% in March.
Saudi Arabia is likely to sell new international bonds soon as Sunday's historic deal to cut oil output among major producers puts further pressure on revenues already hurt by the collapse in crude prices, four banking sources said.
Riyadh increased its debt ceiling to 50% of GDP from a previous 30% in March. Neighbours Qatar and Abu Dhabi emirate successfully sold a combined $17 billion of bonds last week.
World Bank MENA Economic Update: How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa
April 9, 2020--Transparency about critical economic issues-such as public debt and employment-will be the key to driving growth and enhancing trust in government in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The need for greater transparency comes as the MENA region faces unprecedented dual shocks from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and the collapse in oil prices.
The shocks have exacerbated already slow economic growth in the region, due, in part, to lack of data transparency. As of April 1, changes in forecasts implied that the costs for MENA were about 3.7% of the region's 2019 GDP (approximately US$116 billion) compared to 2.1% as recently as March 19.
view the World Bank-MENA Economic Update: How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa
BlueStar Israel Market Update-April 2020 Israeli Equities fall in sync with Global Markets; Energy, Real estate & Discrectionary stocks lead downdraft.
April 6, 2020--Israel’s Government Responds Dramatically To Contain Covid-19 And Mitigate Health & Economic Impact.
Israeli stocks, as defined by the BlueStar Israel Global Index(R) (BIGI(R)), fell precipitously, in tandem with the global market sell-off, losing 16.57% in March. BIGI continues to outperform MSCI EAFE by 3.27%, MSCI EM by 4.15% and the S&P500 by 0.15% YTD, respectively.
Israeli technology stocks, as defined by The BlueStar Israel Global Technology IndexTM (BIGITech(R)), lost 13.68% in March, underperforming the Dow Jones US Tech and S&P Global Tech indexes by 4.29% and 2.97%, respectively.
BIGI outperformed the flagship local Israeli TA-125 Index in March by 3.03% and maintaining a 3.66% lead for 2020 YTD.