Middle East News Older Than 1 year-If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
IMF Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues Report
July 24, 2013--ASSESSING SAUDI ARABIA'S SYSTEMIC ROLE IN THE OIL MARKET AND GLOBAL ECONOMY1
Oil remains the most important energy source in the global economy, accounting for approximately one third of total global energy consumption. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that disturbances in the oil market have the potential to significantly impact global
economic activity.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer and exporter of oil, has long
played a systemically important role in the global oil market. In particular, with its unique ability to relatively quickly raise production due to its sizable spare capacity, Saudi Arabia is
a stabilizing force in case of oil supply disturbances.
This chapter attempts to quantify the importance of Saudi Arabia for the global economy, using both event studies and model simulations.
A. A Historic Perspective of Saudi Arabia in the Global Oil Market
1. Saudi Arabia is a central player in the global oil market. Over the period 1990–2011, Saudi Arabia produced over 78 billion barrels of oil (approximately 13 percent of global supply). This is
significantly more than both Russia and the U.S. which come in second and third place with cumulative production levels of 70 and 60 billion barrels, respectively.
view the IMF Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues Report
Saudi Hotels rise as board recommends cash dividend distribution
July 23, 2013--The Tadawul All-Share Index slipped 0.07% to 7,800.92 points. Sabic fell 0.27% to SR93.50.
Saudi Hotels & Resort Areas Co. added 0.65% to reach SR31.20. Earlier in the day, Saudi Hotels said its board of directors has recommended the distribution of dividend to the shareholders for the period as following: 1.Total amount of distribution of dividend SR50m 2.Divided per share SR0.50 3.Divided represent 5% of the Face value.
Gulf Bank of Kuwait net profit up, shares down
July 23, 2013--The Kuwait market index KSEMI consolidated above 8,000 points on Tuesday, ending 0.13% higher at 8,046.64 points.
Gulf Bank of Kuwait lost 1.25% to hit KD0.395. Gulf Bank announced a net profit of KD14.3m for the first half of 2013, an increase of 12%, against KD12.8m for the same period last year. Commenting on the results, Mr. Omar Kutayba Alghanim, Gulf Bank's Chairman said he was "very pleased to report the steady progress the bank has made so far this year. We have been able to deliver good results in a difficult market and have continued to maintain the positive trend we have seen in previous quarters, especially the significant decline in the nonperforming loan ratio from 30.6% in 2009 to 7.6%. This continues to be one key focus area at the bank."
Bahrain Bourse in stutter mode
July 23, 2013--The Bahrain All Share Index fell 0.04% to 1,185.10 on Tuesday.
Banks weighed on the gauge wth Islamic bank Al Salam and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BK) losing 2% and 0.50%, respectively. BBK reported yesterday its net profit for first half of 2013 rose 8.2% to BD25.2m. Islamic bank Ithmaar bucked the trend, finishing 1.96% higher.
Saudi Arabian Amiantit sells majority ownership to German trading firm
July 22, 2013--The Saudi Stock Exchange advanced 0.85% on Monday, closing at 7,806.03 points, the highest level since April 7 2009.
Sabic added 0.27% to reach SR93.75. Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co. closed even at SR14.00. Earlier in the day, the producer of pipes and tanks said he Group sold its 70% ownership in Jos Hansen & Soehne, GmbH, a German trading company established in Hamburg, for an amount of 4m Euros (Approx. SR19.7m). "The disinvestment is motivated by the fact that neither the scope of activities of this company nor the geographical territories in which it operates are aligned with the core lines of business of the Amiantit Group," said the company in a filing to the Tadawul bourse.
Kuwait bourse shaves resistance at 8,000 points
July 22, 2013--The KSE market index added 47.82 points on Monday and closed at 8,036.18 points.
IFA Hotels and Resports gained the most (up 9.10%). National Bank of Kuwait ended flat. Hayat Communications posted the biggest drop (off 4.92%).
Doha Bank half-year profit rise lags behind GCC peers
July 22, 2013--The Qatar Exchange 20 Index advanced 1.17%, finishing at 9,652.67 points on Monday.
Doha Bank edged up 0.52% to hit QR48.10. The lender said ist net profit rose 1.1% in the first six months, amounting to QR748m. The result showed that the bank was able to perform "through any business cycle", said Doha Bank in a statement. Total assets increased by more than QR6.9bn, a growth of 13%. Earlier last month, CEO Raghavan Seetharaman said he plans to expand with Doha Bank to Hong Kong, India and Saudi Arabia in order to unlock growth potential abroad.
Dana Gas shares stabilise on restored Kurdistan operations
July 22, 2013--The ADX General Index added 0.20% to reach 3,864.91 points.
Dana Gas gained 0.62% to reach Dhs0.63. The Sharjah-based energy firm and its largest shareholder Crescent Petroleum announced the completion of the rebuild of the LPG loading and dispatch facilities at the Kor Mor LPG Plant in Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. "The LPG (liquified petroleum gas) production capacity of 900 tonnes per day has been fully restored." The reconstruction and upgrading of the loading facilities at a cost of $15m was carried out following an accident in 2012 by a third party tanker operator. National Bank of Umm al-Qaiwain or NBQ plummeted 9.10% to Dhs3.00. Earlier in the day, NBQ said its net income in the first six months was Dhs184.6m, up 16% year on year. The second quarter net profit increased by 11%, amounting to Dhs87.6m.
Dubai market upbeat about ENBD half-year results
July 22, 2013--A roller coaster trading session left the Dubai bourse index DFMGI 0.24% higher at 2,547.59 points on Monday.
Market breadth was negative as 13 shares advanced, while 17 declined. Emirates NBD, the 1st lender in the UAE and the 2nd in the GCC in relation to assets, was the stock of the day as it soared 6.02% to reach Dhs5.11. ENBD was it earned in H1 a group profit of Dhs1.808bn, a 40.37% increase over H1 2012. The lender improved interest, non-interest and Islamic income and repaid during the last 6 months Dhs1.3bn of subordinated debt and Dhs7.8bn to the ministry of finance (the latter was public support dating back to 2009 when during the financial crisis liquidity in the interbanking market dried up). DIB rose 1.15% to hit Dhs3.51. DIB said it appointed Dr. Adnan Chilwan CEO. Chilwan, formerly deputy CEO and chief of consumer and wholesale banking, replaces Abdullah Al-Hamli who is DIB's new managing director. 656.8m shares were traded, valued at Dhs1.03bn.
Sabic bucks market drop, Dar Al Arkan dips on sluggish H1 results
July 18, 2013--The Saudi Tadawul bourse fell 0.42% to 7,667.07 points on Thursday. Market bellwether Sabic halted a 3-day losing streak, gaining 0.27% to reach SR94.25.
Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co. declined by 0.49% to SR10.10. Earlier in the day, Dar Al Arkan said its net income for the half of 2013 dived 45.27% year on year to SR341.3m. The developer said "the decrease in net income is due to lower properties sales, particularly during Q2 2013 and the increase in marketing and admin expenses and finance costs and lower non-operative income due to negative change in SWAP valuation during 2013." For the second quarter the y-o-y decline was even more dramatic as Dar Al Arkan earned in this period SR103.7m, a drop of 66.67% compared to Q2 2012. This decrease was due to lower properties sales, "as in Q2 2012 properties sales was exceptionally high due to sale of land parcel to Sabic. Net income also impacted by lower gross margins which is attributable to the product mix sold and the geographical location," said the firm in a filing to the Tadawul bourse.
