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Saudi executives more confident in overall business outlook
May 24, 2010--The second Oliver Wyman / Zogby International survey of C-suite (including CEOs, CFOs and COOs) executives in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar finds the business mood in the region upbeat.
The 134 GCC executives surveyed expressed uniform confidence when asked about immediate and near term prospects: 58% of those surveyed regionally find current conditions improved (with 67% of the executives in Saudi Arabia perceiving conditions to have improved), and 82% are optimistic about the prospects for the next two years (with 85% of executives in Saudi Arabia expressing optimism).
Saudi banks focus on equity to back private firms
May 24, 2010--Official figures by Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) have showed a continued decline in money supply in the kingdom and that Saudi banks had raised their investment in securities to support a cash-hungry private sector in April, Reuters has reported.
M3 growth slowed for a seventh straight month in April to 2.6% - the lowest in at least seven years.
Egypt to cut deficit to 3.5% of its GDP in 2015
May 24, 2010--Egypt's finance minister has said the country aims to cut its budget deficit to 3.5% of its gross domestic product in 2015 and raise the growth rate by that time to 8.5%, Reuters has reported.
Youssef Boutros-Ghali said the target was for growth of 7.55% in 2013, 8.1% in 2014 and 8.5% in 2015.
Ogilvy & Mather’s Research Defines the Global Rise of the ‘New Muslim Consumer’
May 24, 2010– As political and business leaders of the Muslim world come together in Kuala Lumpur for the 6th World Islamic Economic Conference, a tectonic shift is happening in the Muslim world. According to Ogilvy & Mather’s survey on “Islamic Branding,” a new generation is redefining what it means to be modern and Muslim, creating new meanings of religious pride, economic progress and global citizenship.
In partnership with TNS, Ogilvy & Mather’s two-year survey in the making reveals what drives Muslims as consumers, against the vast backdrop of ethnic, economic, political and religious diversity of the Muslim world. Researchers looked at Islam through the lens of the tangible effect it has on how lives are lived and how that in turn affects brands and business. The research has identified trends and opportunities that are emerging from the world’s most interesting, dynamic yet controversial “marketplace.”
The report, entitled ‘Brands, Islam and the New Muslim Consumer’ also serves as the launchpad for Ogilvy Noor, a multidisciplinary global Islamic Branding practice that aims to help brands better engage with Muslim consumers worldwide. The Muslim consumer is viewed as a critically important segment for marketers, with the halal segment alone worth US$2.1 trillion, and growing at US$500 billion annually.
The report debunks many of the stereotypes that surround Muslim consumer attitudes towards brands and their marketing communications. For example, halal labels, while important to showcase certification, are no longer sufficient to persuade the New Muslim Consumer that the company behind the product conducts its business in line with Islamic values.
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Views-May 23, 2010
May 23, 2010--Commodities Overview
Commodities prices are likely to continue to be volatile, although perhaps not at the levels that were seen over past couple of weeks. Heightened concern over economic prospects, and volatile equity and currency markets have helped increase price activity in most commodities markets.
Investor sentiment over near-term problems turned increasingly negative last week as prices for many commodities declined. Investors moved toward safe haven investments, but buying of gold and silver was not strong enough to support prices. That said, ongoing anxieties over financial markets, economic conditions, and the political environment should provide support for gold and silver. As prices for these metals find a base there could be a surge in buying from longer term investors. Short-term investors may return in force as prices begin to rise, accentuating price activity on the upside.
Currencies Overview
Wide trading bands should be expected for most currencies this week. Investors rushed to the U.S. dollar and yen last week amid increased financial market volatility and declining equity values. There was rising uncertainty over how European debt problems may affect a still fragile economic recovery being seen in most parts of the world. Confidence in the euro weakened early last week, but sentiment turned as the currency recovered from multi-year lows by week’s end. Political stresses in Europe are at high levels amid the recent financial package for heavily indebted nations, adding to volatility in the euro.
OPEC Monthly Report May 2010
May 20, 2010--Oil Market Highlights
Optimism about the global economic recovery and higher oil demand expectations supported the oil
market in April. The OPEC Reference Basket moved above $81/b in the second trading day of the
month for the first time since January and then followed an upward trend to end the month to reach
$84.13/b, the highest level since early October 2008. In monthly terms, the Basket averaged
$82.33/b, for a gain of $5.12 or 6.6%.
The oil market turned bearish in May amid concerns about the
sovereign debt crisis in Greece with contagion risk and high oil inventories in the US. As a result,
prices fell more than $10 over three days before recovering slightly to stand at $78.08/b on 10 May.
World economic growth is kept unchanged at 3.5% for 2010. While the US, Japan and China showed encouraging signs of a recovery, the Euro-zone has just managed to avoid a spillover of the sovereign debt crisis of Greece to other economies. OECD growth remains unchanged at 1.9%, as the US forecast was increased to 2.8% from 2.6% and the Euro-zone’s forecast was revised down to 0.6% from 0.7%. China is expected to grow by 9.5% in 2010 and India by 7.1%. The global economy is improving, but the challenges of sovereign debt in the developed countries, the ability of China to avoid overheating and persistently high unemployment levels need careful monitoring.
World oil demand estimate for 2009 remains broadly unchanged, showing a contraction of 1.5 mb/d. In 2010, global demand growth is expected at 0.9 mb/d, in line with the previous month’s forecast. Although the economic recovery shows signs of improving momentum, important risks remain that could impact demand growth expectations for this year. China has been among the main drivers behind oil demand growth so far this year, which should continue for the rest of the year despite the recent price increase in its gasoline and diesel retail sales by 4.5% and 5% respectively.
Dubai World creditors agree to debt deal
May 20, 2010--Dubai World said today it has agreed in principle with a group of creditor banks on terms to restructure $14.4bn of loans. The company will pay $4.4bn in five years and the remaining $10bn in eight years.
Banks will have the option to choose from combinations of loan maturities in dollar or dirhams that carry different interest rates, according to Bloomberg. Banks will be paid 1% interest on $4.4bn of the loans maturing in five years. The lenders have three options in the eight-year maturities covering about $10bn of debt with at least 1% interest and varying additional rates between 1.5% and 2.5% at maturity.
DFM gains 0.35%
May 20, 2010-The Dubai Financial Market rose 0.35% today to close on 1,697, with 17 stocks ending higher and 10 closing lower.
Among more heavily traded stocks, Emaar gained 0.81%, Arabtec rose 1.30%, and Aramex fell 2.01%. International Financial Adivors had the day's biggest loss, falling by 9.83%.
ADX nudges higher
May 20, 2010-The Abu Dhabi Securities Index moved up 0.19% today to 2,780, despite the fact that declines (21) outnumbered gainers (8) by almost three-to-one.
Among the stocks that ended higher today were National Bank of Abu Dhabi, which climbed 1.73%, and First Gulf Bank, which rose 1.40%.
The GCC Economies Are Returning to Solid Growth
IIF forecasts 4.4% rise in 2010 GDP and 4.7% in 2011 – substantial gains in oil revenues also seen
May 19, 2010-The economies of the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – are now recovering and growth this year is likely to average 4.4% and then rise to 4.7% in 2011, following just 0.3% growth in 2009, forecast the Institute of International Finance (IIF). It noted that prospects vary considerably across the region.
Dr. George Abed, IIF Senior Counsellor and Director of the Middle East- Africa Department, stated, “Underpinning the robust GCC recovery are higher oil prices, likely continued expansionary fiscal policies, and the normalization of global trade and capital flows. On oil, we forecast a rebound in production of around 3% in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. We expect the GCC’s revenue from oil and gas to rise from $323 billion in 2009 to $419 billion in 2010 and to $457 billion in 2011. Accordingly, we anticipate that the net foreign assets of GCC countries will rise from $1,049 billion at the end-2009 to $1,340 billion by end-2011, equivalent to 125% of the regional GDP.”
IIF Managing Director, Mr. Charles Dallara, noted, “Despite recent challenges faced by some segments of the financial sector, banks in the GCC remain well capitalized and bank soundness indicators continue to exhibit stability across countries. The average capital adequacy ratio, defined as the ratio of capital and reserves to risk-weighted assets, was above 15 percent for every banking system in the region. Today, the IIF has about 90 of its more than 390 member institutions based in the Middle East and North Africa. We are seeing notable progress in the modernization of the banking systems in the region, in their engagement with the global financial system and in their contributions to the region’s economic development.”
