Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Aldar uncertainty weighs on Abu Dhabi bourse
December 13, 2010--The ADX General Index weakened 0.77% to close at 2,744.89 points. RAK Bank posted the largest gain, closing 8.89% higher at Dhs4.90.
But uncertainty about how strongly the Abu Dhabi government will support Aldar Properties, the largest real estate developer in the oil-rich sheikhdom, weighed on the sentiment as Aldar has Dhs14bn or $3.81bn debt maturing next year. Ras al-Khaima (RAK)-based Gulf Pharmaceutical Company, also known as Julphar (the old name for RAK), gained 2.94% to close at Dhs1.75. "The GCC Pharmaceuticals Industry report projects a sharp increase in the healthcare needs in the coming years, primarily lead by growing and ageing population and a rise in chronic non-communicable 'lifestyle' diseases", says Sameena Ahmad, Managing Director at Alpen Capitali in Dubai. According to UAE Minister of Health Dr. Hanif Hassan, 19% of UAE nationals suffer from diabetes.
Source: AME Info
Dubai market loses 1.35%
December 13,2010--Chances diminish that the Dubai market will end with a profit year-to-date as the DFM General Index declined 1.35% to finish at 1,653.61, despite comments from Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai from yesterday, that Dubai will be able to meet debt obligations of $18bn in 2011.
Real estate bellwether Emaar Properties lost 2.44% to close at Dhs3.66. District cooling specialist Tabreed (off 5.61% at Dhs1.85) was the main loser. Islamic financial institution Ajmanbank (up 0.60% at Dhs0.84) was one of the five gaining shares. Trading volumes rose over 30% to 116m shares changing hands. On a year-to-date basis the local Dubai market dipped 5.91%.
Source: AME Info
DIFC revises the cost of doing business to stimulate further expansion and growth
December 12, 2010--Highlights:
DIFC encouraging its 780 existing companies to continue the expansion of their businesses from the Centre
Increased focus on attracting new players looking to benefit from the DIFC’s position as a global business and financial hub
Revised cost of doing business covers office rents and several operational fees
The Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”), the financial and business gateway between the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region (“MEASA”) and the world, announced today the details of its new revised pricing structure which is designed to enable new and existing companies operating from the Centre to continue the growth and expansion of their businesses.
Source: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly View- December 12, 2010
December 12, 2010--Economic Data Overview
The December 13 week presents a packed data calendar, including a number of major economic data releases. The FOMC meets on Tuesday, but after the announcement of the Large Scale Asset Purchase program in November, the statement after this last meeting of 2010 should be fairly routine.
Tuesday’s Retail Sales data for November will be one of the most important. The weekly data on retail activity and the monthly same-store sales comparisons indicate that shopping was robust for the month. This should be reflected in stronger sales at department and specialty stores. Additionally, sales of motor vehicles remained at the strongest levels since August 2009 when the cash-for-clunkers program boosted levels. Prices of gasoline were also on the rise, and should mean higher spending at service stations.
The November Producer Price Index (PPI) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Higher food and energy costs should be visible in the overall indices, but excluding food and energy there should be little upward pressure on prices.
Business inventories for October on Tuesday will incorporate the already reported 0.9% increase in factory stocks and the 1.9% gain in wholesale inventories with the new data on retail inventories. Wednesday’s November industrial production and capacity utilization is expected to be modestly higher, while levels of housing starts and permits issued for November will be reported on Thursday. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for November on Friday should incorporate positive contributions from supplier deliveries, money supply, interest rates and initial claims.
Source: Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange
OPEC looks set to maintain quotas
December 9, 2010--Analysts have said that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which accounts for 40% of global supply, is expected to maintain the limits set in 2008 when representatives gather in Quito, Ecuador on December 11, Bloomberg has reported.
Instead of changing quotas, OPEC is likely to focus on efforts to conform to production ceilings, according to Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corp.
Source: AME Info
Emaar shares lose, weigh on lacklustre Dubai exchange
December 9, 2010--The Dubai market finished a brief déjà-vu above 1,700 points during the week and closed 0.45% lower on Thursday at 1,692.83 points. Market bellwether Emaar Properties dived 0.80%, finishing at Dhs3.74. The market also suffered from the weak sentiment after Axiom Telecom cancelled its IPO at the international exchange Nasdaq Dubai, leaving the UAE without any going public in 2010.
Josef Schuster, CEO of IPOX Schuster, a firm specialised on going publics worldwide, told AMEinfo.com, that "despite record global IPO activity, capital structure IPOs where proceeds go to pay down rather than to growing the company still have a hard time to get done, in particular in emerging markets. The cancellation of the Axiom IPO is indicative of this". Trading volumes more than halved as some 96.7m shares changed hands, as five stocks gained, 17 securities lost value and three ended flat.
Source: AME Info
Aldar and Etisalat shares gain on fresh rumors
December 9, 2010--The ADX General Index added a quarter percentage to close at 2,761.60 points. Today's market action lifted the ADX on a year-to-date basis in the green (up 0.66%). Blue chips such as Aldar Properties extended their advances, gaining 2.04% to finish at Dhs2.47. Aldar is in talks with the Abu Dhabi government regarding a liquidity injection into the firm,
The National reported. Shares of the UAE's first telecom provider Etisalat added 0.46% to end at Dsh10.90 after Bloomberg reported that Kuwait's Zain Telecom was close to ink a deal regarding Etisalat's buying interest of a 51% stake in Zain as a major shareholder demanded a board decision. Etisalat is expected to sell Zain Saudi Arabia to get approval.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait's Zain Telecom dip slightly
December 9, 2010-Kuwait's lead index KSE ended 0.57% lower on Thurdays, closing at 6,821.4 points. Shares of Mobile Telecommunications Company, better known as Zain, closed at KD1.420 (off 1.38%). Bloomberg reported earlier that Etisalat was close to reach a deal in selling Zain KSA in order to get approval to buy 51% in Zain.
However, Al Fawares, which owns a 4.5 percent stake in Zain, threatened to sue any Zain KSA buyer as the shareholder was unhappy with the sales process. The Kharafi Group, the second largest shareholder in Zain demands for a board meeting of Zain to vote on the sale of the Saudi unit, Bloomberg added.
Source: AME Info
Publication of Economic Note 13 on The Role of Gold in the New Financial Architecture
December 9, 2010-Following the Publication of Economic Note 11 on the Case for Gold in the GCC, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) published a new Economic Note 13 on The Role of Gold in the New Financial Architecture.
Economic Note 13 looks at how gold can become a partial anchor for monetary aggregates in a world that is increasingly multipolar.
The international role of a currency depends on the weight of the issuing country in the global economy. With the shift of the world's economic epicenter to the East and the growing importance of emerging markets (foremost China and India) it will be increasingly difficult for the US to back the role of the dollar as the main medium of exchange and transactions in world trade and international capital markets. In fact, as famously pointed out in the '60s by Robert Triffin, the country issuing a reserve currency needs to run a current account deficit, to provide international liquidity. However when the size of this current account becomes too large, the country accumulates an unsustainable external debt due to the burden of debt service.
view the The Role of Gold in the New International Financial Architecture view The Role of Gold in the New International Financial Architecture - Arabic version
Source: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
Qatar Exchange eases on profit bookings
Qatar Fuel lost 1.86% in value, ending at QR216.70. Investment bank Masraf al-Rayan dipped 1.05%, finishing at QR18.80.
Source: AME Info
December 9, 2010--The QE Index in Doha ended 0.34% lower at 8,750.02 as investors cashed in profits after the market rallied during the week, raching a two-year high. Service firms in particular weakened.
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