Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
'Iran gains $5 bln in shift to euro'
November 23, 2009--Iran’s central bank governor says the country gained about $5 billion by shifting its foreign currency reserve basket from the US dollar to the euro.
Mahmoud Bahmani was quoted Monday by Iran’s state television as saying that “so far, we have seen a $5 billion benefit from shifting the [currency] basket to the euros from the dollar.” He did not elaborate. Earlier this year, Iran said it was switching to the euro for its crude oil sales, which account for about 80 percent of its foreign income.
Source: Todays Zaman
UAE to keep dollar peg, says central bank chief
November 23, 2009--The UAE is not planning to delink its currency from the dollar as the 'US dollar is the best medium of exchange in the international trade and we will continue to use it',
Central Bank Governor Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi was cited as saying by state-run Wam news agency. The UAE's economy has overcome the liquidity problem and time is needed to absorb liquidity, the governor added.
Sourec: AME Info
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Views -November 22, 2009
November 22, 2009--Commodities Overview
Commodities prices have continued to show strength which has surprised many market participants. Gold has moved to new rd levels, in part due to investor uncertainty about currency market trends, and in part due to concerns that the emerging al economic recovery could falter and send the world into a new recession.
In this environment, investors continued to view gold favourably, as a safe haven, portfolio diversifier, and hedge against all forms of economic and financial uncertainties.Silver has also risen sharply, but has not matched
gold’s move. This most likely reflects the fact that gold is universally
seen as a financial hedge, while silver has a more select following. Other commodities meanwhile have risen as investors see them
as likely to rise further as economic recovery becomes more
definitive.
Source: Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
DFM falls slightly
and Masq (0.55%, Dhs91.00) rose, while 19 fell and four held steady. [AMEInfo.com]
Source: AME info
Qatar bond issue given AA rating
'The ratings on Qatar are supported primarily by the country's solid fiscal and external balance sheets, its prosperous economy and strong growth prospects, and its prudent long-term policies,' the rating agency said.
Source: AME Info
UAE: Basel II system in place
Furthermore, main banks in the country are expected to migrate to the Foundation Internal Ratings Based approach, in due course.
Source: AME Info
UAE money supply growth slowing
M2 money supply, which excludes government deposits, rose 11%, up from 7% in September. M1 money supply, a narrower measure, had contracted 0.2% in October, compared with shrinkage of 6% the month before.
Source: AME Info
New Qatar income tax 'for corporations only'
Reuters has reported. The new tax will take effect as of January 1, 2010 - but there have been no specifics on the type of income to be taxed.
Source: Arab Daily
Exchange-traded notes to come under supervision similarly to mutual funds
Under the new amendment, exchange-traded notes will be supervised and regulated much as mutual funds are.
In addition, the amendment paves the way for launching exchange-traded funds in Israel, to compete with mutual funds that track indexes. ETFs currently do not exist on the Israeli market.
Source:Haaretz.com
Statistics Center- Abu Dhabi (SCAD) issued this week its first detailed report on consumer prices index (CPI) and the rate of inflation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. According to the report, the rate of inflation in the Emirate has dropped to only 1.17
Statistics Center - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) will be releasing its CPI report periodically, Considering that the report will constitute the only authorized source to monitor price developments and inflation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The report follows a precise methodology for calculating all official indicators related to prices movements within the emirate and is based on a broader and more representative basket of goods and services, thus enabling a more accurate calculation of the index, and putting an end to the conflicting figures and estimates concerning the rate of inflation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
In this report, the index base year has been shifted to 2007, on the basis of the data obtained from the household income and expenditure survey that was carried out in Emirate of Abu Dhabi during 2007 / 2008. The updating of the base year included updating of the weights of the index basket and assigning of 2007 prices as the base prices for the new index.
The report computed the inflation rate on the basis of the percentage rate of change in the overall index, which rose from 114.05 during the first nine months of 2008 to 115.38 over the same period in 2009. The percent change in the index represents the rate of inflation for the first nine months of this year.
Source: Statistics Center- Abu Dhabi (SCAD)
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The U.S. dollar has been moving sideways over the past few weeks. It has bounced off of recent lows against the euro and other
currencies, as well as on an indexed basis, unable to continue its
decline since the second quarter. It has also bounced off of recent
highs, unable to forcefully signal a definitive shift in trends toward
a higher dollar against these currencies. This trend may continue
this week, as the market seeks direction. Direction could come
during December. At some point over the next few weeks, the
dollar may break into a higher range, signaling a period of relative
strength against the euro and other major currencies. Seemingly
ironically, the trigger may well be a significant official revaluation
of the Chinese yuan against the dollar, perhaps on the order of
10% - 12%.
November 19, 2009--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) fell 0.81% to 2,129.75. Only four stocks; DIB (2.55%, to Dhs2.82), Alsalamsudan (2.48%, Dhs2.48), EmiratesNBD (1.54%, Dhs4.62)
November 19, 2009--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has assigned its 'AA-' senior unsecured debt rating to Qatar's (AA-/Stable/A-1+) $7bn global bond issue
November 19, 2009--The Central Bank of the UAE has said the Basel-II system has been implemented, asking for tougher capital adequacy levels for a sound banking industry, Khaleej Times has reported. Under the new system, lenders have been directed to maintain a minimum capital requirement of 11% at all times, which would be increased to 12% by June 30, 2010.
November 18, 2009--According to data by the UAE's central bank, the country's M3 money supply in October grew 10.9%, compared with 13.4% in September, Bloomberg has reported.
November 18, 2009--A Qatari government official has said that the country's new income tax law would apply to revenues of corporations and not that of individuals,
November 17, 2009--The Israel Securities Authority approved an amendment to the mutual funds law on Monday that will impose regulation on exchange-traded notes. ETNs are Israel's predominant version of index funds.
November 17, 2009--Statistics Center- Abu Dhabi (SCAD) issued this week its first detailed report on consumer prices index (CPI) and the rate of inflation in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. According to the report, the rate of inflation in the Emirate has dropped to only 1.17% during the first nine months of the current year, compared with the same period last year, as evident from the consumer price index.