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Kuwait market, Qatar Exchange dip slightly
March 13, 2012--The Kuwait Stock Exchange ended off 0.03% at 6,148.6 Tuesday, while the Doha-based QE 20 Index declined 0.05%, finishing at 8,629.79 points.
Industry shares at both markets edged higher, but a lackluster trading could not move the indexes into a clear direction.
Aldar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate rise, but not in lockstep anymore
March 13, 2012--The Abu Dhabi market gauge ended up 0.31% to reach 2,623.02 points.
Shares of the emirate's leading developers Aldar and Sorouh gained 1.45% and 2.24%, respectively. Both firms, which started merger talks on Sunday, advanced in lockstep he last on Monday and on Sunday. The lockstep rise triggered an investigation by the ADX market supervision department. The UAE's first telecom provider Etisalat ended even at Dh9.30. Earlier in the day, Etisalat said it started legal procedures for winding up its Indian subsidiary Etisalat DB Telecom (formerly Swan Telecom). Etisalat, which was confronted with a legal row with the India's telecom regulator and eventually the supreme court on licences, blamed in its statement to the ADX its jointventure partners in India of 'unwillingness and lack of cooperation' to meet funding requirements in the licence issue. As a consequence, Etisalat to shut down operations in India.
Emaar, Arabtec help Dubai bourse to rebound
March 13, 2012--The DFM General Index added 0.88% to reach 1,682 points.
Market bellwether Emaar Properties as the most liquid share surged two percent to close at Dhs3.05. Arabtec Construction added 2.04%, ending at Dhs3.00. Banks edged lower as investment bank Shuaa Capital fell 3.16% and Islamic financial institution ended off 1.20%. Some 241.6m shares were traded, valued at Dhs269m.
Jordan's inflation dipped to 3.8% in February
March 13, 2012--Jordan's Department of Statistics has revealed that the Kingdom's consumer price inflation dropped to 3.8% year-on-year in February compared to 5.1% in January, Reuters has reported.
Headline inflation was predicted to increase above 6% in 2011 compared to an official forecast of between 5 to 5.5%, according to economists.
Saudi Arabia's dairy leader Almarai soars on sukuk issuance
March 12, 2012--The Saudi Arabian Tadawul market gained the trading session straight Monday, closing 0.10% higher at 7,539.7 points.
The GCC's largest dairy producer Almarai jumped 2.28%. Earlier in the day, Almarai added to its statement from March 11 on its successfull completion of the first Sukuk issuance for an amount of SR1bnon 7th March 2012, that tha "total order book reached more than SR4.7bn , i.e. 4.7 times the issuance size. The Sukuk are private offering to sophisticated investors resident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Almarai would like to clarify the Sukuk are seven years floating rate," the firm said in a statement to the Tadawul bourse. Petrochemical leader Sabic dipped 0.70%. on profit booking. Sabic gained over nine percent year-to-date.
Abu Dhabi market investigation blurs real estate merger euphoria
March 12, 2012--The ADX General Index gained one percent to close at 2,614.83 points Monday, but a reported investigation of the ADX regulator casted a shadow on the announced merger talks between real estate giants Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate (both up 9.84%).
The National reported earlier today the lockstep rise of both shares prior to the merger talks announcement triggered an investigation by the ADX market surveillance. If the merger succeeds, combined assets of Aldar and Sorouh would stand at Dhs13.61bn ($3.77bn), according to Gulf News. Sanyalak Manibhandu, real estate analyst at National Bank of Abu Dhabi told AMEinfo.com that "the key challenge for a merger would ebe to determine an exchange ratio of existing shares in a new company that would be acceptable to shareholders of both companies", as Aldar would contribute slightly more in euqity than Sorouh, but Aldar is highly indebted (Aldar: 87.3% debt to total liabilities vs. 12.7% at Sorouh). ADX market bellwether Etisalat and Dana Gas ended flat. Investbank ended as a top loser (down six percent).
Muscat market advances for the third consecutive trading session, as financials soar
March 12, 2012--The Omani MSM30 Index added 0.28% to reach 5,901.82 points Monday. Shares of Bank Sohar surged two percent.
Earlier in the week Bank Sohar announced it has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Dar al Sharia Legal and Financial Consultancy to help the bank launch its Islamic Banking Window. The Sultanate of Oman has legalized Islamic Banking in May 2011. The U-turn triggered a run among local and foreign lenders, such as Swiss private bank Sarasin, to launch Shari'ah-compliant products and services in the south-eastern GCC state.
Dubai bourse slips despite Abu Dhabi merger euphoria
March 12, 2012--The DFM General Index edged up higher at the opening Monday but eventually lost steam and closed 0.74% lower at 1,674.14.
Dubai's first developer and market bellwether Emaar Properties, as the most liquid share, added 0.67% to reach Dhs3.02. Emaar, which added surged over three percent at the opening on news that its Abu Dhabi rivals Aldar Properties and Sorouh Real Estate entered merger talk, failed to keep momentum after The National reported that the Abu Dhabi ADX supervision decided to examine 'unusual shareprices movements' prior to the announced merger yesterday, when both shares rose by the same percentage (as they did today). At the DFM, Arabtec Construction gained 1.70% to close at Dhs2.98. Market breadth turned into negative territory as five stocks advanced and 23 declined.
Saudi Arabia's February inflation at 5.4%, 14 month high
March 12, 2012--According to data from Saudi Arabia's Central Department of Statistics, the Kingdom's inflation increased to a 14-month high of 5.4% on an annual basis in February, mainly due to higher food and housing costs, state news agency SPA has reported.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.3% after a 0.1% rise in January, the data has shown.
Dubai Investments looks to exit some businesses as economy recovers
March 12, 2012--The CEO of Dubai Investments PJSC (DIC) has said that the company is looking to exit some of its businesses as the emirate's economy shows signs of recovery, Bloomberg has reported.
CEO Khalid bin Kalban has added that DIC, which owns stakes in more than 40 companies, has three companies under evaluation or due diligence for private placements and by summer we can decide on exits. The company sold 40% of its private equity unit Masharie LLC for Dhs400m ($109m) in 2008. One of the companies it will divest this year is part of Masharie, Kalban said.
