Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
DIFC: GCC oil reserves worth $18trn
October 29, 2009--According to the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority, the present value of oil and gas reserves of the six GCC countries is estimated at $18.3 trillion, larger than last year's US GDP, Gulf Daily News has reported.
The total amount was based on a price of oil at $50 per barrel and gas at $9 per million BTU. If oil prices were to average $100 per barrel and gas $15, the present value of GCC energy reserves would be $37.7trillion.
Source: AME INFO
Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) Becomes International Islamic Financial Market Member
October 28, 2009--The Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX) a multi-asset international exchange, in the Middle East and North Africa, which will be internationally accessible to trade cash instruments, derivatives, structured products and Shari’a-compliant financial instruments, announced today that it has become a member of the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM), an international institution focused on the development of the global Islamic capital and money markets.
IIFM’s primary focus lies in the advancement and standardisation of Islamic Financial Services Industry’s documentation, wider market products, processes and the issuance of guidelines & recommendations for the enhancement and unification of the Islamic capital and money market globally.
Director of the BFX commented on this development, “I am delighted that the BFX is part of the IIFM. This is an important step for the BFX so that it can utilise industry best practices and ensure that its Islamic products remain innovative and market led. I look forward to a long and successful relationship with IIFM”.
The IIFM is an international infrastructure development body established and supported by the central banks/ regulatory authorities of Bahrain, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sudan, Dubai International Financial Centre and the Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Arabia, as well as a number of regional and international financial institutions
Source: Bahrain Financial Exchange (BFX)
Dubai Financial Market to launch the new trading platform “X-Stream” tomorrow
October 28, 2009-Dubai Financial Market (DFM) announced today that it will launch the new trading system “X-Stream” as of the trading session on Thursday, 29th October 2009. The new platform was delivered by NASDAQ OMX and is replacing the previous system (Horizon).
The migration to the high capacity platform comes after DFM organized extensive training sessions for brokerage firms, involving over 200 trading managers representing 99 brokerage firms.
Source: Dubai Financial Market (DFM)
Emirates International Securities Becomes Member Of NASDAQ Dubai
October 26, 2009--Dubai-based broker Emirates International Securities (EIS)
has become a Member of NASDAQ Dubai, the region's international exchange. EISEIS is one of the largest brokers active in the UAE equity markets and is a subsidiary of Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East by assets.
Hamood Abdulla Al Yasi, General Manager of EISEIS, said: "NASDAQ Dubai is achieving an increasingly prominent position in the region's capital markets, through the growing range of its listed securities, its accessibility to regional and international investors and its promotion of world class transparency and governance standards.
"As the financial climate continues to improve in Dubai and across the region, we look forward to working with the exchange in the interests of our clients and the further development of the regional financial sector. We will actively support NASDAQ 's growing synergies with regional capital markets institutions."
Companies from 10 countries in the region and around the world have listed equities on NASDAQ Dubai including DP World, which in 2007 listed the Middle East's largest IPO at $4.96 billion. The exchange also operates the UAE's only on-exchange equity derivatives platform and is the listing venues of Dubai Gold Securities.
Jeff Singer, Chief Executive of NASDAQ Dubai, said: "As we prepare to expand our market and the range of products available to investors, we are delighted to be working with EISEIS, as one of the country's leading brokers able to link thousands of individual and institutional investors to the exchange.
"Through joining the exchange directly from the regulatory jurisdiction of the UAE, EISEIS can provide easy and straightforward access to NASDAQ Dubai for its clients."
Source: NASDAQ Dubai
Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Weekly Market Views-October 25, 2009
October 26, 2009--Commodities Overview
Commodities prices in general have continued to show strength.
This trend has been particularly evident in the prices of gold, silver, and petroleum, covered in these reports.
Prices may be expected to continue to strengthen, although from a short term prospectus these three major traded commodities may be over-due for a short-term downward correction due to profit-taking.
Currencies Overview
The dollar has continued to lose value against the euro while rising against the pound sterling and yen.
The decline in the dollar has been relatively modestly paced in recent weeks, suggesting that there is not a great deal of panic selling based on short– or long-term negative views toward the dollar. Rather, the dollar has been slipping against the euro as investors globally have become ever more convinced that the recession is moving toward its end, to be replaced by economic recovery. In this environment, investors are moving away from U.S. Treasury securities and U.S. government backed bank CDs toward a broader array of investments. Some investors are moving toward higher yielding bonds, while others are converting dollars to euros and other currencies in order to re-deploy long-sidelined assets in Europe and elsewhere. The British pound and yen have been weak reflecting more pessimistic views of the economic prospects of those countries. The dollar may continue to slip against the euro this week. The dollar carry trade definitely has been a negative for the dollar.
The absence of U.S. government action to encourage banks to increase corporate lending also has sent a negative message to the market.
Source:Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Weekly Market Views-Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange
October 20, 2009--Commodities Overview
Commodities prices continue to benefit from growing optimism about global economic trends and conditions. Gold,silver, and oil all have benefited from this. Other commodities also have done well, as investors, some fabricators, and others have built inventories.
The inventory building largely ended when the prices of many commodities, including base metals, rose sharply in the second quarter. This has left commodities vulnerable to a sell-off and a drop in prices.
Currencies Overview
The U.S. dollar continued to sell off against most major currencies last week. The dollar index fell to 75.45 points on 15 October, which was the lowest level so far this year. Growing optimism over the state of the global economy has been encouraging many investors to part from some of their dollar-denominated assets and diversif into higher yielding assets.
Source: Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange (DGCX)
Commentary By Majd Shafiq United Advisors: Middle East Investors Stake In Plus Markets
October 21, 2009--Recent news that a group of Middle East investors have taken a stake of around 17% in Plus Markets, an alternative trading platform in London, is an interesting development and a possibility that I had mentioned in a recent article entitled Middle East Exchanges: The case for consolidation.
The investment in Plus should prove a profitable exercise for Amara Dhari Investments. Plus is run by Simon Brickles, the former head of AIM, the London Stock Exchange’s junior, and at times, controversial sibling. So far, Plus has managed to capture most of the trading in about 300 AIM quoted companies. The alternative venue seems to have a defendable business model. Its core revenue stream is data sales; an increasingly coveted commodity given what MiFID has wrought on the European landscape.
It is not clear whether the Middle Eastern investors will attempt to take Plus home or not. There is certainly ample room for an alternative such as Plus, Chi-X or BATS to launch a regional network for the trading of certain securities in the Middle East. Riding on the coat tails of price discovery on the region’s established, government-owned exchanges, the alternative route could offer cheaper and more efficient trading and data dissemination services.
Source: Mondo Visione
Arabian Gulf hydrocarbon projects worth $690bn
October 20, 2009--A full 30 per cent by value of hydrocarbon projects in the Gulf Arab countries have been put on hold or cancelled according to a new report, however GCC countries remain the most active construction markets in the world for the oil, gas and petrochemical industries with projects budgeted at more than $690bn.
The report published today by Dubai-based research house Proleads Global, was compiled following research into a total of 578 hydrocarbon projects across the six GCC countries, and found that 30 per cent by value have been placed on hold or cancelled with a further 30 per cent currently in construction and 40 per cent in the pre-construction phase.
Source: Power Engineering
Qatar to sell 379m Barclays shares
October 21, 2009-Qatar Holding, a unit of the Qatar Investment Authority, said today it plans to sell more than 379 million shares of Barclays. Qatar will first exercise warrants at 197.775 pence, and stands to make more than 630 million pounds ($1bn) on the transaction at today's market price, according to Bloomberg.
'The decision to exercise the warrants and dispose of the resultant shares forms part of Qatar Holding's portfolio management program and does not impact on our current intention to remain a long-term strategic shareholder in Barclays,' Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Al-Sayed said in a statement
Source: AME Info
ADX Signs MoU with ADCCG
Agreement to Enhance Investor Awareness and Market Transparency
October 19, 2009--Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abu Dhabi Center for Corporate Governance (ADCCG) aimed at enhancing institutional cooperation in the UAE.
The agreement was signed by Rashed Al Baloushi, ADX’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations, and Khalfan Al Kaabi, Chairman of ADCCG in the presence of a number of officials from both organizations.
On this occasion Rashed Al Baloushi proposed that the agreement will assist in strengthening the mechanisms the exchange requires to ensure an orderly market while improving investor awareness.
Mr. Al Baloushi emphasized that the agreement reflects the desire of ADX and ADCCG to cooperate in all mechanisms aimed at supporting integrity, transparency and disclosure and related research and studies.
“The MoU with the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange will help clarify the need for Corporate Governance for all the sectors including, public and private companies and government organizations through seminars, discussion groups and awareness sessions in addition to training and development programs”, said Khalfan Al Kaabi, Chairman for the Abu Dhabi Center for Corporate Governance.
“There are a lot of misunderstandings on the proper use of tools for Corporate Governance implementation in the market”, said Mr. Khalid Deeb, Director General for the Abu Dhabi Center for Corporate Governance (ADCCG), "This topic is still vague to many organizations, therefore, ADCCG intends to benefit from those MOU’s to increase the level of awareness in the country and get it to the required level”, Deeb added.
Rashed Al Baloushi also revealed that “achieving that goal will include organizing seminars and conferences, and providing training programs and specialized consultations in the field of corporate governance and related issues.”
“These tasks are to be accomplished by ADCCG in cooperation with ADX and in accordance with the highest standards, where the exchange plays a vital role in supporting economic development. Such a role is enhanced by this kind of agreement, which makes a direct contribution to the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030,” the Deputy Chief Executive stated before adding, that this will further fortify international best practice principles of integrity, transparency and disclosure.”
Source: Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)
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