Push for global standard leaves Sukuk market at a crossroads
March 30, 2018--Islamic finance market is torn between need to innovate and desire for a global standard
Source: FT.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi retreats after winning FTSE emerging status, rest of region strong
March 29, 2018--Saudi Arabia's stock market fell back because of moderate profit-taking on Thursday after index compiler FTSE Russell decied to upgrade Riyadh to emerging market status, a move likely to draw billions of dollars of new foreign money.
Source: Zawya.com
Saudi Stock Exchange Joins FTSE Global Equity Index Series
March 28, 2018-- Index inclusion affirms positive impact of market reforms Tadawul and Saudi government have introduced as part of Vision 2030
The Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) is pleased that FTSE Russell announced today that Tadawul will be classified as a "Secondary Emerging" market in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series from its previous status as "Unclassified".
This decision was issued following a series of market enhancements introduced by Tadawul and the Capital Market Authority (CMA) over the past two years. Many of those developments have fulfilled market quality criteria set by FTSE Russell that must be met in order for a market to be classified as Emerging in its indices.
Source: Tadawul
Mideast funds more wary on Saudi after market surge, bullish on Egypt
March 29, 2018--Middle East fund managers have become more cautious about ploughing additional money into Saudi Arabian equities after the market jumped on expectations that it would be included in global indexes, a monthly Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
Source: Zawya.com
FTSE to upgrade Kuwait to emerging market in two stages
March 28, 2018--Kuwait's stock market will enter FTSE Russell's emerging marketindex in two equal stages in September and December this year, and 10 Kuwaiti stocks currently look likely to join the benchmark, the company said on Wednesday.
Source: Zawya.com
MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets subdued as investors take stock of missile attacks
March 26, 2018--Stock exchanges in the Gulf were mainly subdued early on Monday as investors digested news of missiles fired overnight at Saudi Arabia, the region's largest economy.
Source: Zawya.com
Saudi stocks drop at opening after kingdom shoots down missiles
March 26, 2018--Saudi Arabia's main stock index dropped by 0.5 percent at opening on Monday as investors were spooked by news of missiles fired overnight into the kingdom.
Source: Zawya.com
Kuwait's Silk City is key project in China's One Belt One Road initiative
March 22, 2018--Kuwait's Silk City and the five-island developments are a key project in the One Belt One Road initiative, and will strengthen Kuwait-China relations, said Mr. Jiang Zengwei-Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC).
In a keynote address at the Kuwait Investment Forum (KIF 2018), Mr. Jiang Zengwei said Kuwait was one of the first GCC nations to have diplomatic ties with China and relations between the two countries have strengthened over the years. He said the One Belt One Road initiative complements Kuwait's Vision 2035 in fostering development in several core sectors.
Source: AMEInfo.com
Qatar Stock Exchange welcomes the largest Islamic ETF in the World by Al Rayan
March 21, 2018--Al Rayan Qatar ETF (QATR) commenced trading today with initial assets in excess of 120 million USD
Al Rayan Investment will operate the ETF which tracks the price performance of the QE Al Rayan Islamic Index.
The ETF has the lowest management fee of any Shari'a-compliant fund globally
Qatar Stock Exchange today admitted to trading the Al Rayan Qatar ETF under the symbol "QATR". To mark the launch of the ETF, the exchange today welcomed the fund's founder, Masraf Al Rayan,and fund manager,Al Rayan Investment, to open trading in Doha. The Fund will track the QE Al Rayan Islamic Index (Price) which is comprised of large and medium sized, Shari'a-compliant, listed Qatari companies.
The Al Rayan Qatar ETF becomes the largest single-country Islamic ETF in the world and is the latest addition to QSE's burgeoning exchange-traded fund lineup.
Source: Qatar Stock Exchange
Economic Growth in Gulf Region Set to Improve following a Weak Performance in 2017
March 19, 2018--The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region witnessed another year of disappointing economic performance in 2017 but growth should improve in 2018 and 2019, according to the World Bank's biannual Gulf Economic Monitor released today in Kuwait.
The region eked out growth of just 0.5% in 2017-the weakest since 2009 and down from 2.5% the previous year. The GCC region’s economies experienced flat or declining growth as lower oil production and tighter fiscal policy took a toll on activity in the non-oil sector. External debt issuance continued to rise to help finance large fiscal deficits.
Source: World Bank