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Bahrain gains the fourth day straight
November 7, 2012--The Bahrain All-Share Index added 0.33% Wednesday to finish at a three-week high at 1,066.20 points.
Al Barak Banking Group surged 7.80% to $0.83. Al Salam Bank fell 4.55% to close at BD0.042.
Qatar National Bank appoints banks for issuance of dollar bonds
November 7, 2012-The Doha-based Qatar Exchange Index closed unchanged at 8,570.30 points Wednesday.
The country's largest lender by assets Qatar National Bank, known as QNB, closed unchanged at QR133.80. In a statement to the exchange, QNB said it has appointed Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities International, QNB Capital and Standard Chartered Bank joint lead managers to arrange fixed income investor meetings on behalf of QNB Group. A USD benchmark offering under the bank's Euro Medium Term Note Program may follow subject to market conditions. In November 2011, QNB established a $7.5 billion euro medium term notes programme.
Aldar, Sorouh decline in lockstep, release quarterly results
November 7, 2012--The ADX General Index gained 0.06% to hit 2,676.40 points.
Dana Gas, as the most liquid share and gained 2.44% to reach Dhs0.42 after the Sharjah-based energy firm said it reached an in-principle agreement on the restructuring terms of the $1bn sukuk-al-mudarabah due 31 October 2012 with the Ad Hoc Committee of sukuk holders The Ad Hoc Committee holds a majority of the outstanding Islamic bond. Dana said "$80mn of the Sukuk currently held by the firm will be cancelled and that sukuk holders will receive a partial paydown from the company’s balance sheet cash. The remaining sukuk will be reinstated as two pari passu instruments comprising a new ordinary sukuk and a new convertible sukuk which will have revised economic terms." Shares of merger candidates Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate fell both by 2.24% and 2.50%. Aldar reported a 43% year-on-year increase in third quarter profit, amounting to 1 to Dhs205.7m. Sorouh said its Q3 profit rose 55% year-on-year to hit Dhs129.2m.
Dubai market drops to one-month low
November 7, 2012--Western market's modest euphoria on U. S. president Barack Obama's re-elaction failed to trigger a rebound at the Dubai bourse, were the benchmark index DFM General Index fell 0.70% to 1,604.73 Wednesday.
Heavyweights like Emaar (off 0.83%), DFM (down 1%) or Arabtec (off 1.60%) ended in the red. NASDAQ Dubai-listed Dubai Ports (DP) World, which are also quoted at the DFM, surged 4% to hit $13.00, representing the highest price level sind June 2011. Trading turnover remained dull as 60.8m shares were traded, valued at Dhs75.6m.
SAMA expects inflation pressure to ease in Q4
November 6, 2012--The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) has said inflationary pressures in the biggest Arab economy will continue to fall in the fourth quarter of this year, Reuters has reported.
"The available data indicates...the expectation of a continuing slowdown in inflation levels during the fourth quarter of 2012," Sama said in its report. Annual inflation for September slowed to 3.6% from 3.8% in August. "Local prices for products and services have witnessed a large decline in growth rates for the third quarter. There was also a decline in inflation in the renovation, rents, fuel and water category, and the transport and communications category, which is expected to continue through the fourth quarter of 2012," the report said.
Saudi bourse soars ahead of U. S. presidential race
November 6, 2012--The Riyadh-based Tadawul All Share Index advanced 1.11% to reach 6,919.17 amid strong gains in the petrochemicals and real estate development sector.
The world's largest petrochemicals producer Sabic jumped 2.25% to hit SR91. Shares of Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Company soared 3.45% to reach SR9.00. "Saudi Arabia is a promising, non-speculative makret as the kingdom has a housing gap of 5 million objects," said Thorsten Schneider, business unit manager at Germany chemistry Henkel, Dubai- Jebel Ali branch, at the ongoing construction fair BIG 5 in Dubai. Oil prices rebounded Tuesday by one percent (U. S. crude), which helped the Saudi bourse to regain territory.
Kuwait Bourse struggles with year-to-date break-even
November 6, 2012--The KSE Market Index was the only gauge in the GCC which lost value on Tuesday, closing 0.53% lower at 5,712.44 points.
Industrials and financial service providers weighed on the gauge. Year-to-date the KSE market index fell 1.75% amid ongoing political stalemate in the northern Gulf state.
UAE foreign trade up 10.% in H1 2012
November 5, 2012--According to the UAE National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), total value of the country's foreign trade in the first half of 2012 climbed 10.5% to Dhs499bn, compared with Dhs451.6bn for the same period in 2011, Gulf News has reported.
The total non-oil foreign trade rose 39.7% to Dhs77bn in the first half of 2012, compared with Dhs55.1bn in 2011, NBS said. Non-Arab countries in Asia were the main trade partners of the UAE in the first half of 2012, the report noted. “Non-Arab Asian countries ranked first amongst UAE trade partners with traded commodities amounting to Dhs230.4bn, 46.2% of the traded volume of commodities with the rest of the world,” it said.
Alinma Tokio Marine Co. soars on regulator's approval for new products
November 5, 2012--The Riyadh-based equity benchmark Tasi gained against the suggish global trend Monday, closing 0.43% higher at 6,843.15.
While petrochemical leader Sabic closed flat at SR89.25, insurers fuelled the market's surge. For the second day straight, ACE Arabia Co-operative Insurance Co. advanced the most (up 9.93% at SR229.75). Shares of Alinma Tokio Marine Co. soared 9.78% to close at an alltime-hgh at SR101. Earlier in the day, Alinma Tokio Marine said it received approval from the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency for a period of 6 months from the date of November 2 on for the sale of the three insurance products "fidelity guarantee", "money" and "personal accident".
Depa wins design contract in Abu Dhabi
November 5, 2012--The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 Index closed 0.43% higher at 1805 Monday.
Global maritime port operator DP World jumped 2.43% to hit $12.20. Interior design firm Depa Limited, which was responsible for the interior fit-out of the Burj Al Arab hotel and the 828m-tall Burj Khalifa closed flat at $0.25. Earlier in the day, Depa said it was awarded a Dhs93.5m contract to undertake the supply and installation of interior decoration works for the Hilton Hotel in Abu Dhabi which is set open in mid-2013. The Hotel is the second phase of the Al Forsan International Sports Resorts development. Depa will undertake "the complete interior decoration works for 400 rooms covering a total area of 34,000 square metres and the installation of all the furniture, furnishings and equipment.
