Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
First Gulf Bank dips after announcing new $900m syndicated loan
November 14, 2012--Struggling with the 2,700-resistance level, the Abu Dhabi market measure ADX General Index closed 0.13% lower at 2,691.34 Wednesday.
ADX heavyweights Etisalat (telecom), Aldar and Sorouh (both real estate) closed even. First Gulf Bank or FGB ended down 1.42% at Dhs10.55. On Tuesday, FGB said it signed up for a 3-year, unsecured $900m term loan. The facility would be used for general financing purposes, the UAE's third largest lender by assets said.
Source: AME Info
Bahrain Bourse back to square one
November 14, 2012--In the last three days, the Manama-based Bahrain All-Share Index almost completely erased gains from the start of the month.
The gauge fell Wednesdy by 0.61% to 1,057.22 points. Financials such as Islamic bank Ithmaar (off 8.82%) or Ahli United Bank (down 0.91%) weighed on the measure in particular. Since Jan. 1 2012, the bourse lost 7.56% of its value. Earlier in the week, the IMF said Bahrain's real GDP growth would increase in 2013 to 2.8%, up from an estimated 2% in 2012.
Source: AME Info
Financials push Kuwait market index higher
November 13, 2012--The KSE Market Index extended its week-long gaining streak and closed half a percentage point higher to reach 5,815.80 points Tuesday.
While the country's largest lender National Bank of Kuwait ended even, Islamic banks Burgana and Kuwait Finance House gained slightly, as well as Kuwait International Bank. Thanks to its recent gains shortly before the parliamentary elections in December, the KSE Market Index broke even today on year-to-date basis. Since January 1, the gauge advanced by 0.03%.
Source: AME Info
Saudi Stock Exchange index decline halted
November 13, 2012--The Riyadh-based Tadawul All-Share Index ended a four-day losing streak Tuesday by closing unchanged at 6,828.19 points.
Petrochemical giant SABIC also ended even at SR89.75. Sanad Insurance & Reinsurance Cooperative Company gained 8.84% to hit SR32.
Source: AME Info
SABIC and Shell to expand partnership
November 12, 2012--Declining oil prices weighed on the Saudi equity index Tasi, closing Monday trading off 0.80% at 6,829.53 points.
Oil (WTI) fell 0.60% as investors were hit by surprise on Japan's shrinking GDP, indicating the world's third largest economy might fall into a recession. In Riyadh, market bellwether SABIC, the world's first petrochems firm, closed half a percentage point lower at SR89.75. Earlier in the day, SABIC said it will expand its partnership with Royal Dutch Shell through their Saudi Arabia Petrochemical Company (SADAF) 50/50 joint venture. "SABIC and Shell will jointly conduct the necessary studies on the SMPO (Styrene Monomer/Propylene Oxide) and polyols projects before taking a final investment decision," the firm said in a statement to the Tadawul bourse. SABIC and Shell have also agreed to build on their strong long-term relationship to explore international petrochemical opportunities beyond SADAF and Saudi Arabia, SABIC added.
Source: AME Info
Divergent Economic Performance Continues Across the Middle East
November 11, 2012--The economic outlook for the Middle East and North Africa region is mixed. Most of the region's oil-exporting countries are growing at healthy rates while the oil importers face subdued economic prospects, the IMF says in its latest assessment.
The IMF’s Regional Economic Outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2012/mcd/eng/mreo1112.htm, released November 11 in Dubai, projects growth in the Middle East and North Africa region at 5.1 percent in 2012, up from 3.3 percent in 2011.
Owing to higher oil prices and production, the region’s oil-exporting countries—Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen—are forecast to expand by 6.6 percent in 2012 before moderating in 2013.
Source: IMF
Reduced Saudi Arabian growth prospects drag Tadawul bourse down
November 11, 2012--The Saudi Stock Exchange's benchmark index Tasi fell by half a percentage point Sunday and closed trading at 6,884.29 points.
Earlier in the day, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the kingdom's real GDP growth would slow down to 4.2% in 2013 from an estimated 6% in 2012. The IMF warned MENA oil exporters' combined current acccunt surpluses which reached $400bn this year could decline significantly if oil-rich nations would not reduce spending. "Increasing expenditure on wages and salaries in the GCC rose dramatically in recent years," said Masoud Ahmed, the IMF director for the Middle East and Central Asia on Sunday in Dubai.
Source: AME Info
Bahran Bourse buoyant on bank gains
November 11, 2012--The Bahrain All-Share Index gained 0.40% Sunday, finishing at 1,072.87 points.
Islamic bank Gulf Finance House surged 4%, while its rival Al Baraka Banking Group surged 3.11%. Earlier in the day, Al Baraka said its that it has achieved a net income of $183m in the first nine months of 2012, an increase of 10% on the net income achieved in the first nine months of 2011. "Similarly, statement of financial positions witnessed good increases," the bank added. Total assets increased by 7%, investments and financing portfolio by 13%, deposits by 7% and total equity by 7% as at the end of September 2012 as compared with the end of December 2011, Al Baraka said in a statement to the Manama-based exchange in its home market Bahrain and to the NASDAQ Dubai.
Source: AME Info
NBAD Enhances Region First ETF
November 11, 2012--The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the Number One Bank in the UAE, will implement enhancements to the region's first exchange trade-fund (ETF), the NBAD OneShare Dow Jones UAE 25 ETF (1UAE), all of which are in step with advances in the industry.
The enhancements to the ETF, which resulted from consultations with regional and international investors, brokers, and authorised participants, will shift the benchmark provider to MSCI UAE IMI 10/40 Index from Dow Jones UAE 25 Total Return Index (Local); and will also move to physical replication from swap based replication.
Source: Gulf Base
Moody's maintains Kuwait credit rating
November 8, 2012--Credit ratings agency Moody's Investors Services has said political unrest in Kuwait is unlikely to affect its strong credit fundamentals, maintaining the Gulf country's 'Aa2' rating with a 'Stable' outlook, AFP has reported.
"The recent escalation in political protests in Kuwait is not, in our view, likely to affect the government's very strong credit fundamentals,” Moody's said. "In our view, a credit-negative situation could only develop if there were a severe turn for the worse in Kuwait's political and social stability that would paralyse government fiscal operations or undermine domestic financial system stability,” it said. "At this juncture, we consider such an outcome unlikely.”
Source: AME Info
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