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Saudi 'could boost output' by 4.5m bpd
April 1, 2010--Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali Al- Naimi has said that once demand recovers from recession, the kingdom could boost output by as much as 4.5 million barrels-a day, Bloomberg has reported.
The kingdom is waiting for usage to rise after increasing capacity to 12 million barrels a day, he said. "Demand is gradually growing right now," Al-Naimi said.
Saudi bank lending up 1.6% y-o-y
April 1, 2010-The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) has said that lending by Saudi Arabian banks to businesses rose in February at the fastest pace for five months, helping to revive the economy after a credit squeeze, Bloomberg has reported.
Lending to the private sector increased an annual 1.6% in February, double the rate of the previous month, Sama said. "It's only one month's data, but the trends are consistent with an economy coming back to life," Simon Williams, a Dubai-based economist at HSBC Holdings said.
DFM posts slight rise
April 1, 2010--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM)rose 0.90% to 1,859.96, with 17 stocks rising, five falling and four holding steady.
Shuaa was the day's biggest riser, moving up by 4.83% to Dhs1.52.
ADX falls 1.68%
April 1, 2010--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) fell 1.68% on its last day of trading of the week, going to 2,859.57.
Nine stocks fell, 14 rose and eight held steady. Finance house was the day's biggest faller, going down by 9.19% to Dhs4.15.
Agthia was the day's biggest gainer, moving up by 5.79% to Dhs2.03.
Mena mergers, acquisitions value down 67%
April 1, 2010--According to Ernst & Young's annual Mena update, mergers and acquisitions deals announced in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region fell by 67% in value to $34bn in 2009 compared to deals worth $102bn that were announced in 2008.
The number of announced deals dropped by 24% from 465 in 2008 to 353 in 2009, the report said.
Qatar to post QR9.7bn surplus
April 1, 2010--Qatar's finance minister Youssuf Hussein Kamal has said that the government expects to post a budget surplus of QR9.7bn ($2.67bn) in the fiscal year 2010/11 as rising oil prices counter a 25% jump in spending, state news agency QNA has reported.
Qatar drafted its budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts in April, with expenditures of QR117.9bn, above the QR94.5bn budgeted for the current year. Revenues were set at QR127.5bn for fiscal 2010/11, compared with QR88.7bn in 2009/10.
Mideast firms take DRs route to raise funds
March 31, 2010--Firms in the Middle East are seen mopping up funds by issuing depositary receipts (DRs) in the international markets as the traditional source of capital dries up due to the financial crisis.
DRs are used as the preferred vehicle for portfolio diversification and cross border investments, where an investor can invest in equities of other countries where they can be traded on the local exchange.
The region witnessed $9.2 billion (Dh33.8bn) of DRs trade on the US and non-US exchanges last year.
"The GCC is one of the last markets where DRs will really kick off. There are a number of companies in the Gulf that we are talking to, several have mandates to do DRs. After the Dubai World announcement, lots of companies will be making announcements that involve DRs," said Peter Gotke, Vice-President for DRs at BNY Mellon.
OPEC chief says current oil price range is fair
March 31, 2010--The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday that current international oil prices hovering around $80 a barrel are good for the world economy and oil-producing countries.
But OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El Badri said that “anything below $70 will not permit us to invest.” Oil prices have ranged from $70 to $80 a barrel in recent months.
Nasdaq, LSE wait for shifting sands to settle
March 31, 2010--Ever since the London Stock Exchange rebuffed a hostile takeover by US rival Nasdaq OMX in 2006, the future of the two western bourses has lain in the shifting sands of the Gulf.
This week the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi said they were in talks about a possible merger of their two exchanges. Borse Dubai is the largest shareholder in the LSE, with 20.6 per cent, and has 28.6 per cent of Nasdaq OMX.
The question is, if the financially stronger Abu Dhabi ends up as the key shareholder in both exchanges, perhaps through an acquisition of the Dubai exchange, how would this realign the strategic balance between the LSE, Nasdaq and – further south in the Gulf – NYSE Euronext,
Dubai Financial Market announces performance report for March 2010
March 31, 2010--Dubai Financial Market overall performance increased by 15.7% to reach 1843.47 points the end of March 2010 compared to 1592.91 points at the end of February.
The market capitalization increased at the end of this month by 8.4% to reach Dhs214.8bn compared to Dhs198.2bn at the end of February.
