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UAE's MSCI upgrade to bring $1bn windfall
March 22, 2014--About US$1 billion will flow into UAE stock markets from foreign index trackers alone as a result of the upgrade to emerging market status by MSCI later this year, experts believe.
Passive index trackers are institutional investors who follow certain fixed global investment trends via stock indexes, but many had been prevented from investing in UAE stocks when they had only "frontier" status.
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Sahara Petrochemical approves 8.5 per cent dividend
March 20, 2014--The Tadawul All Share Index closed 0.14 per cent lower at 9,305.64 points on Thursday, March 20. SABIC, the biggest producer of petrochemical products and metals, ended unchanged at SAR115.50.
The shares of Sahara Petrochemical fell by nearly four per cent to SAR20.55. Earlier in the day, Sahara Petrochemical revealed that that the ninth ordinary ...
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Qatar Exchange remains under pressure amid diplomatic row
March 20, 2014--The Qatar Exchange 20 Index fell by 0.18 per cent to close at 11,367.31 points on Thursday, March 20. The gas-rich Gulf state still has no solution in sight for its diplomatic row with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The three GCC states withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar, also a GCC member, two weeks ...
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Abu Dhabi developers weigh on stock market
March 20, 2014--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index (ADXGI) lost for the second day straight, closing 0.91 per cent to close at 4,792.25 points on Thursday, March 20.
Aldar Properties and Eshraq Properties were the most liquid shares, closing 0.92 per cent and 1.30 per cent, respectively. National Corporation for Tourism & Hotels hit a limit ...
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Dubai Ports World slips, reports rising profits
March 20, 2014--The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) closed a rollercoaster trading week 0.97 per cent higher at 4,296.80 points on Thursday, March 20.
Dubai Investments gained the most, closing up by five percent at AED3.58. The shares of Dubai Ports (DP) World, which are listed on the DFM and Nasdaq Dubai, fell by 0.556 per ...
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Macroprudential Policy in the GCC Countries
March 19, 2014--Summary: As undiversified commodity exporters, GCC economies are prone to pro-cyclical systemic risk in the financial system. During periods of high hydrocarbon prices, favorable economic prospects make the financial sector keen to lend, leading to higher domestic credit growth and easier access to external financing.
Fiscal policy is a very important tool for macroeconomic management, but due to the significant time lags and expenditure rigidities, it has not been a flexible enough tool to prevent credit booms and the build-up of systemic risk in the GCC. This, together with limited monetary policy independence because of the pegged exchange rate, means that macro-prudential policy has a particularly important role in limiting systemic risk in the financial system. This importance is reinforced by the underdeveloped financial markets in the region that provide limited risk management tools and shortcomings in crisis resolution frameworks. This paper will discuss the importance of macro-prudential policy in the GCC countries, look at the experience with macro-prudential policies in the boom/bust cycle in the second half of the 2000s, and use the broad frameworks being developed in the Fund and elsewhere to discuss ways existing frameworks and policy toolkits in the region can be strengthened given the characteristics of the GCC economies.
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Gulf Countries Should Refine Policies to Ensure Financial Stability-IMF Survey
March 19, 2014--Gulf countries remain susceptible to boom and bust of credit and asset prices
Reliance on oil revenues, importance of real-estate sector are sources of risks
Refining macroprudential policy is key to better manage financial cycles
The experience of the boom and bust in 2008-09 demonstrates the vulnerability of the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates-to credit and asset price cycles, and makes macroprudential policies especially important, says IMF.
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