Thursday 16 June 2011

MENA stock markets close - June 16, 2011

ExchangeStatus IndexChange
TASI (Saudi Stock Market)
6546.06-0.34%
DFM (Dubai Financial Market)
1600.98-0.04%
ADX (Abudhabi Securities Exchange)
2761.480.65%
KSE (Kuwait Stock Exchange)
6336.9-0.14%
BSE (Bahrain Stock Exchange)
1345.21-0.06%
MSM (Muscat Securities Market)
6021.12-0.51%
QE (Qatar Exchange)
8319.65-0.79%
LSE (Beirut Stock Exchange)
1360.91-0.20%
EGX 30 (Egypt Exchange)
5541.64-0.34%
ASE (Amman Stock Exchange)
2159.290.01%
TUNINDEX (Tunisia Stock Exchange)
4231.140.31%
CB (Casablanca Stock Exchange)
11838.6-0.70%
PSE (Palestine Securities Exchange)
500.930.14%

UAE's Axiom to sell 35 pct stake to Qatar's Mannai

Qatar's Mannai Corp MCCS.QA will buy a 35 percent stake in Axiom Telecom for an undisclosed amount, the Dubai-based retailer said in a statement on Thursday.

The sale follows Axiom's aborted initial public offering (IPO) last year, when it planned to sell up to one-third of its shares to institutional investors. Axiom cited "market conditions and liquidity" concerns. [ID:nLDE6B51YK]

Axiom had been expected to list on the Nasdaq Exchange with a market value of up to $1 billion, but the company said the Mannai deal was at a higher valuation, without offering further details on pricing.

Gulf stocks hold steady as global markets drop

Dubai's markets came back down to earth this morning, but an improving economic picture gave hope that the emirate would find a soft landing as global markets plummet.

After a day spent blissfully detached from the troubles engulfing Europe yesterday, the Dubai Financial Market General index fell 0.8 per cent in the opening hours of trading before rising slightly, currently off 0.07 per cent at 1,600.36.

Leading the decline was Dubai Islamic Bank, which fell 0.47 per cent to Dh2.10 per share, though construction stocks including Emaar Properties and Arabtec saw large volumes traded.

Dmitriev Says China. Kuwait May Invest More in Russia - The Washington Post

كونا : Kuwait''s PISS makes up for ledger losses, investments up to KD 15.9 bln - الشؤون الإقتصادية - 15/06/2011

Fahad Al-Rajaan, Director General of the Public Institution for Social Security (PISS), said Wednesday that the institution has managed to fully make up for its losses last year.

Al-Rajaan added, in a statement made to Arabia news channel today, that the PISS which saw its ledger investment dropping to KD 1.8 billion during the financial crisis in 2008, had investment revenues exceeded eight percent to hit some KD 15.9 billion last year.

He also said that PISS faced criticisms against the backdrop of its ledger losses, though the decline in its profits did not exceed 12.7 percent, while it ranged between 20 to 30 percent within global institutions, noting that PISS has been able to make up for these losses in view of its surefootedness on selecting its investments, and their sound geographical and sector distribution.

HSBC, Rasmala Units Among 90% of U.A.E. Brokers With Loss as Volumes Slump - Bloomberg

Almost 90 percent of brokerages in the United Arab Emirates, including units of HSBC Holdings Plc and Rasmala Holdings Ltd., reported first-quarter losses as political unrest and debt restructurings pushed trading volumes to six-year lows.

Of the 64 brokerages listed by the U.A.E.’s Securities & Commodities Authority as “active,” 56 posted losses in the quarter, according to financial statements on the regulator’s website. Five brokerages reported declining income, two returned to profit and one had a yearly loss.

“Brokerages are a function of the market value, and that value has dropped significantly,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief investment officer at Abu Dhabi-based financial services company CAPM Investments PJSC. “It’s a constant challenge and it doesn’t look like things will improve in the second quarter.”

Qatar's Aamal pulls London listing plans - sources | Reuters

Qatar's Aamal Co AHCS.QA has postponed plans to list shares in London after failing to reach the valuation it had hoped for, two sources close to the deal said on Thursday.

The diversified trading, property and industrial company had aimed to list up to 24 percent of its share capital in the form of global depositary receipts, boosting its free float from a previously illiquid 0.3 percent.

"Ultimately when there is a listed price and the price the market is willing to pay is meaningfully below that ... they weren't happy to sell the stake and decided to postpone," said one of the sources.

$2bn MAF bond program shows hidden strength of UAE private sector « ArabianMoney

Gulf shopping mall owner Majid Al Futtaim has established a $2 billion global bond program, the first by a UAE private sector group since the global financial crisis.

Government-owned Dubai airline Emirates issued a $1 billion bond earlier this month, and 32 per cent government owned Emaar has raised $500 million. However, MAF Holding is one hundred per cent owned by its reclusive founder who never gives interviews.

Dubai start-up numbers to halve - The National

Dubai expects the number of new firms setting up in the emirate will be cut by half this year, partly because of fading appetite for new property ventures.

A total of 5,684 licences were granted to new businesses launching outside free zones between January and the end of last month, said Mohammed al Saadi, the chief executive of the Dubai Department of Economic Development's (DED) business registration and licensing sector. He did not provide a comparative figure for the same period last year.

DED anticipates annual growth in new businesses to fall from 18 per cent last year to about 9 per cent this year, he said. "Real estate and real estate-related services have declined a bit, but at the same time there is a positive sense towards the retail sector, food and beverages and luxurious products [firms]," Mr al Saadi said yesterday.

Oil Tumbles Below $95 a Barrel on U.S. Economy and European Debt Concern - Bloomberg

Crude oil tumbled below $95 a barrel for the first time since February on concern that Europe’s debt crisis will deepen and on signals the U.S. economy is slowing, reducing fuel consumption.

Futures dropped 4.6 percent as European finance ministers struggled to break a deadlock on a second rescue plan for Greece, sending the euro and most commodities lower. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index slipped to the lowest level since November. An Energy Department report today showed U.S. fuel demand fell for the first time in five weeks.

“The Greek crisis is making people worry about further bank failures in Europe and cascading defaults hitting the economy and fuel demand,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “The demand numbers in today’s report were terrible, especially for industrial fuels.”

MSCI upgrade hopes boost Qatar - The National

Qatar's measure rose to its highest in more than three weeks on expectation the country will become an emerging market next week.

The Qatar Exchange added almost 1 per cent to 8,386.30 ahead of the index compiler MSCI's decision on a possible status upgrade next Tuesday. The top gainers on the market included Barwa Real Estate, which rose 1.9 per cent to 30.3 Qatari rials, and lender Masraf al Rayan, which edged almost 1 per cent higher to 23.14 rials.

Qatar and the UAE are both vying for an upgrade by the MSCI to "emerging market" status from "frontier market" status.

Algosaibi Drops Defense of HSBC $250 Million Default Case - Businessweek

Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers Co., a Saudi investment company that defaulted on billions of dollars of debt, won’t defend itself against a $250 million U.K. lawsuit filed by HSBC Holdings Plc and four other banks.

Algosaibi switched course during a London trial after deciding the judge would likely find the company hadn’t done enough to prevent the forgery and fraud it alleges were behind the loans, the family said today in a statement. The company has said Maan al-Sanea, a family relation and founder of Saudi conglomerate Saad Group, wrongfully got about $9.2 billion of loans in Algosaibi’s name.

“It could be found in this case that if the Algosaibis knew there was” improper use of loans “they should have taken more aggressive steps to detect and prevent the massive forged lending scheme,” said Eric Lewis, Algosaibi’s legal coordinator with the law firm Baach Robinson & Lewis Pllc in Washington.

Dubai tempts once again but dangers still lurk | Reuters

Dubai is back in business, or at least on its way to repairing an image devastated by a debt crisis.

Less than three years ago foreign investors turned their backs on Dubai, the tiny desert city-state with grand ambitions built on massive debt, after state-conglomerate Dubai World announced it would restructure about $25 billion in debt.

But now, Dubai's flagship airline has successfully marketed a $1 billion bond, hotels have attracted thousands more guests and unrest across the Middle East has persuaded some businesses to move some their offices to the more stable emirate.

Mixed feelings in City of London over Dubai bond sale - The National

In various parts of the City of London this week, analysts are scratching their heads and trying to answer one question: should they lend more money to Dubai?

A stellar cast of investment bankers from Standard Chartered, HSBC, Emirates NBD and UBS has been hired to sell the Dubai Government's 10-year dollar bond with a five-year put option.

This follows the sale of five and 10-year bonds by the Government of Dubai in October last year that carry a coupon of 6.7 per cent and 7.75 per cent respectively, according to data from Reuters.

gulfnews : Dubai opens up utilities sector to private firms

The government of Dubai has amended Decree No 1 of 1992 establishing the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) to facilitate the participation of the private sector in power generation and water desalination, Dewa said in a filing to Nasdaq Dubai yesterday.

"The Decree has been amended in order to allow for the development of independent water and power plants [IWPPs] in the Emirate of Dubai as part of an IWPP programme," the Dewa statement said.

In conjunction with the Dewa Decree Amendment, Law No (6) 2011 (the Enabling Law) has been created to regulate the participation of the private sector in electricity and water production. The new law specifies regulations applicable to both public and private entities in electricity generation and water production.

Aabar to buy ADCB's RHB stake for 10.80 rgt a share-report | Reuters

Aabar Investments will buy a 25 percent stake in Malaysian lender RHB Capital from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank at 10.80 ringgit ($3.562)per share, the Edge Financial Daily reported on Thursday citing sources.

Aabar Investments wants a stake in RHB Capital, Malaysia's fifth largest bank that is currently in merger talks with top two lenders Maybank and CIMB .

The Edge said Aabar could end up holding a ten percent stake in the merged banking entity.