Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Saudi might enrich uranium for nuclear plants
June 17, 2010--A consultancy firm has said that Saudi Arabia could mine and enrich uranium to fuel power plants if it embarks on a civilian nuclear energy program, Reuters has reported. Finnish management consultancy Poyry, which is preparing a draft nuclear strategy for Saudi Arabia, said the kingdom wants to play a role in as many of the stages of generating nuclear power as possible.
"They want to be involved in as many aspects as possible and our study is to evaluate what part of it is possible at a reasonable economic cost," David Cox, president for energy at the UK branch of the firm said. "Enrichment could happen there and the same with mining uranium," Cox told the news service.
Source: AME Info
Iran reveals huge oil discovery
June 17, 2010--Iranian and Chinese oil firms have discovered 30 billion barrels of oil in place at a south-western oilfield that borders Iraq, Reuters has reported, citing the Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper.
Average recovery factors are between 20% and 50% of oil in place, enabling the Arvand-Kenar field to boost Iran's proven reserves by as much as 15 billion barrels, according to calculations by Reuters.
Source: AME Info
Qatar Exchange adds 0.68%
June 16, 2010--Investors in Doha continued to add positions in the real estate and banking sector. The QE Index, consisting of 20 constituents, ended 0.68% higher at 7,029.21 points. Qatar Islamic Bank advanced 2.35%, closing at QR73.30. QE heavyweight Qatar National Bank (QNB), however, failed to jump on the bandwagon and finished insignificantly lower at QR137.
Qatar Navigation closed at QR81.80 (up 0.61%) after the company said that it plans to set up a QR1bn Logistics City in Al Thumama near Doha's industrial area to meet the Gulf state's growing demand for logistics and warehousing requirements, the company's Projects Manager, Ahmed Al-Kowsi said, investment bank EFG Hermes reports, quoting The Gulf Times.
Source: AME Info
Energy, bank shares lift Abu Dhabi exchange
June 15, 2010-Abu Dhabi joined the general recovery mood in the GCC after strong gains at US exchanges yesterday (the Dow Jones Industrial Index surged 2.10% on Tuesday, closing at 10,404.77 points following signs of strengthening industrial production).
Advances in the energy and bank sectors helped the ADX General Index advancing 0.34% and closing at 2,519.17 points. After several days of posting heavy losses, Dana Gas rebounded 1.61% at Dhs0.63. A number of banks also lifted the UAE capital's market, such as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) or First Gulf Bank (FGB), closing at Dhs1.52 (up 1.99%) and Dhs14.65(1.74% higher) respectively.
Source: AME Info
Riyadh market finishes the trading week positively
June 16, 2010--Saudi Arabia's Tadawul market, which remains closed during the Saudi weekend on Thursday and Friday, was mainly driven by construction and energy-related shares on Wednesday.
The main index TASI advanced 0.26%, closing at 6,346.44 points. Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company added 0.73% and finished at SR13.80. Yanbu National Petrochemical Company posted the third largest advance, rising by 3.53% to SR41.10. The Saudi Stock Exchange gained 3.85% during week.
Source: AME Info
Egypt cancels plans to give free shares to citizens
June 16, 2010--The Egyptian Investment Minister has said the government has cancelled plans to partially privatise some public sector firms through distributing free shares to citizens, Reuters has reported.
"No shares shall be distributed among people under the proposed 'citizen ownership' programme, neither through free bonds nor through any other forms," Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin said in a statement. The proposal included giving all Egyptians over the age of 21, about 41 million people, free coupons for shares in public firms slated for privatisation.
Source: AME Info
Regional M&A deal values drop by 59% in Q1 2010 over Q1 2009
June 15, 2010--However, deal value climbs by 30% in Q1 2010 over Q4 2009
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan saw the highest number of domestic deals announced in Q1 2010
Banking and Real Estate dominate domestic deals by announced deal value in Q1 2010
Dubai 15 June 2010: Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) deal values announced in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region dropped by 59% to US$6.5Bn in Q1 2010 compared to deals worth US$15.8Bn announced in Q1 2009. According to Ernst & Young's MENA M&A update, the number of announced deals dropped by 16% from 91 in Q1 2009 to 76 in Q1 of this year.
But there were improvements over the previous quarter
The total number of M&A announced deals in Q1 2010 increased by six, from 70 announced deals in Q4 2009 to 76, while announced deal value jumped by 30% from US$5Bn in Q4 2009 to US$6.5Bn in Q1 2010.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan are the most active
Egypt (10 deals), followed by Saudi Arabia (8 deals), Qatar and Jordan (each with 4 deals) are the key target countries for domestic deals announced in Q1 2010 in terms of the number of transactions.
In terms of total disclosed deal value in the region, Qatar attracted 39% of M&A activity with deals valued at US$1,083.5Mn, followed by Lebanon with US$450Mn and Saudi Arabia with US$381.4Mn.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait bank shares buck index decline
June 15, 2010--The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) closed at 6,528.60 points (down 0.38%) on Tuesday. The KSE bank index was the only industry sector which added value (up 0.86%).
Financial services bellwether National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) ended 1.72% higher at KD1.180. Commercial Bank of Kuwait (CBK), the number five in the northern Gulf state, jumped 4.65% and finished at KD0.900. Al-Themar International Holding Company posted the largest loss, plummeting 8.5% at KD0.108.
Source: AME Info
Energy stocks pull Abu Dhabi index down
June 15, 2010--The ADX General Index dropped 0.65% lower, closing at 2,510.69 points. Dana Gas plummeted 6.06% down to Dhs0.62. Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, dubbed Taqa, ended 0.93%, closing at Dhs1.08. Around 9% of the world's proven oil reserves are located in Abu Dhabi.
Real e state firms also underperformed on Tuesday. Abu Dhabi National Insurance Group (ADNIC) bucked the trends, jumping 10% and closing at Dhs6.60. Ras Al Khaima Ceramic, the world's largest ceramic producer form the emirate of Ras al-Khaima, finished 5.88% higher at Dhs1.44.
Source: AME Info
Qatar market hit by profit taking
June 15, 2010--Advances from earlier this week were stopped at the Qatar Exchange (QE), ending 0.61% lower at 6.981.79 points. Qatar National Bank (QNB) lost insignificantly and closed at QR136.90. Qatar National Bank (QNB), following a detailed compliance audit, has been certified against the global ISO 27001:2005 standard by Bureau Veritas, which issues international ISO-standard certifications.
This makes QNB the first bank in Qatar to have its disaster recovery operations certified. Barwa Real Estate was the most liquid share, losing 0.33% at QR29.70. According to Credit Suisse-analyst Mohamad Hawa, Qatar was a preferred market in the GCC due to its high economic growth.
Source: AME Info
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