Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Qatar bond issue given AA rating
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
'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
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.
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
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.
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'
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,
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
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.
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
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.
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)
Qatar to issue dollar-denominated bonds
November 17, 2009--Qatar plans to launch a sale of dollar-denominated bonds in overseas markets today, Bloomberg has report, citing a person familiar with the transaction. The proceeds will be used to provide 'contingency funding' for state-owned firms, pay for infrastructure projects, and invest in the international oil and gas industry.
Qatar may sell five-year bonds to yield about 1.9% points above US Treasuries, 10-year bonds to yield about 1.95% points more than US Treasuries and 30- year bonds to yield a spread of about 2.15% points, the person said, who declined to be identified because terms aren't set.
Source: Arab Daily News
Central Bank of Bahrain Sukuk Al-Ijara oversubscribed
The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the short-term Islamic leasing bonds, Sukuk Al-Ijara, has been oversubscribed by 200%.
Subscriptions worth BD10m were received for the BD5m issue, which carries a maturity of 182 days.
The expected return on the issue, which begins on 19 November 2009 and matures on 20 May 2010, is 1.00%.
The Sukuk Al-Ijara are issued by the CBB on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
This is issue No.51 (BH000A0T90Y8) of the short-term Sukuk Al-Ijara series.
Source: Central Bank of Bahrain
KFH-Bahrain Joint Lead Manager and Bookrunner for Landmark Sukuk issue for the International Finance Corporation
November 17, 2009--Kuwait Finance House - Bahrain (KFH-Bahrain) acted as a Joint Lead Manager and a Bookrunner for the $100m Sukuk issue for the International Finance Corporation (IFC; S&P AAA; Moody's Aaa), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
The five year Sukuk was oversubscribed and rated Aaa by Moody's, in line with IFC's issuer ratings.The deal marks another step forward in KFH-Bahrain and enhances its contribution in the capital markets throughout the GCC. The $100m Sukuk issue will be used to support IFC's plans to increase funding for development activities in emerging markets, including the MENA region.
"We are proud to be jointly managing the Sukuk issue with HSBC, Dubai Islamic Bank and Liquidity House for IFC. This issuance has seen strong interest from the investor community in Bahrain and the GCC. This interest is reflective of the high esteem with which IFC is regarded and also recognizes our credentials as a leader in the Sukuk and capital markets. KFH-Bahrain's name is synonymous with leadership, innovation and professional delivery and this issuance confirms our position as the premier Islamic finance provider in the region."
Mr. Lilian Le Falher, Executive Manager at KFH-Bahrain commented, "We at KFH are happy to lead another successful Sukuk offering for such a reputable international name and are proud to be associated and working with such prominent financial institutions in promoting this Sukuk issue. By managing this issue, KFH-Bahrain confirms its commitment to develop the Islamic Sukuk market and attract more international attention to the Kingdom and GCC markets."ing the MENA region.
Source: KFH-Bahrain
DGCX Weekly Market Views Sunday 15 November 2009
November 15, 2009--Commodities Overview
Commodity prices could be choppy this week. Gold and silver prices could be strong, while crude oil could bounce sharply in both directions. Gold and silver had been expected to experience some price weakness in early November, but then to rise later in the month.
The increase in late November was expected to reflect tight market conditions, including the need of shorts to roll large volumes of December futures positions into forward months in advance of the December delivery period. The weakness that was thought to posibly procede this has yet to appear, seemingly over-ridden by strong investment demand fueled by cur economic concerns.
Currencies Overview
The currency markets may be preparing to enter into a new period in which the dollar’s fate relative to various currencies diverges even more, making it even more difficult to forecast currency exchange rate trends. This coming week the dollar may benefit from some good-will toward the United States economy during President Obama’s Asian tour. While his visits to Japan and China may provide short-term support for the dollar, longer term it appears that the Chinese government is moving toward a significant revaluation of the yuan against the dollar. While this would be negative for the dollar’s exchange rate against the yuan, it actually could serve as a benefit for the dollar against the euro and other currencies. This could happen if a revaluation of the dollar-yuan exchange rate were interpreted by the currency markets and broader financial community as representing a significant positive development for longer term economic growth and stability across major economies.
Source: Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
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