Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
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.
Source: AME Info
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.
Source: Zawya
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.
Source: Todays Zaman
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,
Source: FT.com
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.
Source: AME Info
DFM chief says UAE markets should consolidate
March 30, 2010--The head of the Dubai Financial Market said today that he believes the stock exchanges in the UAE should consolidate, Reuters reported. 'It is in the interest of everybody to consolidate.
There have been discussions at the top level, meaning the owners of the exchanges,' executive chairman Essa Kazim was quoted as saying by the news service. Kazim also said DFM's planned takeover of Nasdaq Dubai will be completed within two weeks.
Source: AME Info
Egyptian equity market downgraded by HC
March 30, 2010--The Egyptian equity market has been downgraded to 'neutral' from 'overweight' by HC Research due to macro headwinds and an expected asset allocation shift by investors to dollar-denominated assets and strong global governments, Reuters has reported.
'The domestic economy has yet to see return of key external growth drivers, which, combined with inflationary pressures and government imbalances, will hold the equity market back,' the brokerage said.
Source: AME Info
DGCX Indian Rupee/Dollar futures achieve new record
* Volume reaches 1,074 contracts on March 26, valued at US $ 47.37 million
March 29, 2010--Trade in the Indian Rupee/Dollar futures surged to a new daily high on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange last Friday, March 26, 2010. 1,074 contracts valued at US $47.37 million were recorded on the exchange - the highest value and volume achieved since the contract was launched in 2007.
The new high surpassed the earlier record of 957 contracts achieved on May 19, 2009, valued at US $40.04 million. DGCX offers the only Indian Rupee futures contract outside of India and the contract is cash settled against the US Dollar reference rate published by the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai. The DGCX contract is available for trading from 8.30am to 11.30pm (Dubai time), extending eight hours beyond the closing time of the domestic futures markets.
"The increased activity in DGCX Indian Rupee futures supports the trend of stronger international interest in the currency," said Eric Hasham, Chief Executive Officer, DGCX. "Improved liquidity, tighter on-screen prices and the large contract size have encouraged participants, especially ‘hedgers’, to trade the DGCX Indian Rupee contract. We have also received feedback from clients who want to move business to the exchange from the OTC market in order to better manage their counterparty risk by both trading and clearing in a well regulated environment", he said.
In addition to Indian Rupee/Dollar futures, DGCX offers currency contracts in Euro/Dollar, Sterling/Dollar and Yen/Dollar futures. Total volume on DGCX gathered momentum in February, increasing 146% year-on-year to reach 179,278 contracts, valued at US $10.7 billion. Trading in the DGCX Indian Rupee/Dollar futures contract was also higher in February compared with last year at 7,796 contracts.
Source: DGCX
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Views-March 28, 2010
March 30, 2010--Commodities Overview
Precious metals have become a volatile battleground between shorter term investors exiting from long positions in response to a stronger dollar and improving economic conditions in many parts of the world on the one hand, and longer term investors who remain interested in these metals due to the fact that major trade, current account, savings, debt, and currency market imbalances remain unaddressed by governments.
Liquidations by the shorter term investors have pushed prices lower, while the longer term investors have been heavy buyers in response to the lower prices. Precious metals may rise from last week’s low levels this week, perhaps into the ranges seen in the second week of March. Slightly longer term, gold and silver prices could fall back to make new short-term lows in the first half of April. Petroleum prices may follow a similar price pattern, albeit for different reasons.
Currencies Overview
The U.S. dollar had a good ride last week. The longer term impetus for the dollar to strengthen against other major traded currencies is more clearly defined. This week, however, there could be some short-term profit-taking, as investors and trading banks assess whether the dollar has moved too strongly too fast. Also, financial market opinions toward Europe and the euro could back off from some of the bleaker views that were so prevalent last week. In this environment, the dollar could fall this week. It is not likely to fall sharply, and any decline may be limited to a week or two.
Source: Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange (DGCX):
Saudi Arabia to spend $170bn on energy projects
March 29, 2010--Saudi Arabia plans to spend $170bn over the next five years on energy and oil refining projects, $90bn of which is to come directly from Saudi Aramco, while current and future capital investment will add the remaining $80bn of joint refining and marketing projects to the total.
These investments are in line with the Kingdom's plans to increase production capacity as well as refining and marketing, in addition to directing an increased proportion of these investments to gas projects.
Source: AME Info
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