Wednesday 25 December 2013

FINANCE - 2014 to be toughest year for Turkish banks: Garanti CEO

FINANCE - 2014 to be toughest year for Turkish banks: Garanti CEO:

"A tough year lies ahead for Turkish lenders because of the challenges expected to erupt with the U.S. Fed’s plan to taper its stimulus plan and macroeconomic conditions in the country, the CEO of Garanti Bank has said.

“I think 2014 will be hardest of the past 10 years for banking sector,” Garanti CEO Ergun Özen has told Anadolu Agency in a wide-ranging interview yesterday.

Özen said there were two main structural worries ahead of the economy: repercussions from the uncertainty arising from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s monetary exit strategy and reflections of measures taken for balancing growth components into banks’ balance sheets."

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Saudi Gazette - Ma’aden wins $4.2b funding

Saudi Gazette - Ma’aden wins $4.2b funding:

"Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden) has commitments from banks for financing worth up to SR15.75 billion ($4.2 billion) for a $7 billion phosphate project in Saudi Arabia, it said on Wednesday.

The project in the northern city of Waad Al-Shimal is a joint venture between Ma'aden, Saudi Basic Industries Corp and Mosaic and is part of the government efforts to create a stronger industrial base beyond oil refining and export.

The rest of the funding should come from two Saudi government funds – the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) - as well as some export credit agencies (ECA)."

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UAE stocks have more room for growth | GulfNews.com

UAE stocks have more room for growth | GulfNews.com:

"The UAE stock market is capable of growing by around 15-20 per cent next year while the short- to medium-term outlook is bullish, industry experts said.
“Real estate shares are recovering due to the recovery in real estate market, Dubai in particular. Abu Dhabi realty sector still has room for growth in 2014. The recovery in Abu Dhabi real estate market has not reached the same level as in Dubai,” Mohammad Ali Yasin, managing director at NBAD Securities, told Gulf News.
Emirates NBD, Emaar, Waha Capital, DIB and Dubai Investments have done pretty well this year.
The best performers on Dubai bourse for the year are Union Properties with 206.33 per cent, DIC with 187.56 per cent, Deyaar with 183.24, DIB with 164.68 per cent and GGICO by 150.86 per cent.
The bellwether Emaar rose 100.53 per cent year to date while Emirates NBD by 117 per cent."

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Russia Micex Index Trims 2013 Gains as Mechel to Gazprom Drop - Bloomberg

Russia Micex Index Trims 2013 Gains as Mechel to Gazprom Drop - Bloomberg:

"Russian shares dropped, curbing this year’s advance, as OAO Mechel to OAO Gazprom retreated on bets gains this month were overdone.

The Micex Index (INDEXCF) lost 0.4 percent to 1,501.12 by the close in Moscow, trimming the 2013 increase to 1.8 percent and the advance in December to 1.5 percent. Mechel, the nation’s biggest coking coal producer, which has slumped 67 percent this year, fell 2 percent to 67.90 rubles. Gazprom decreased 0.6 percent to 140.80 rubles.

The Micex reversed some gains it’s made since the Federal Reserve announced plans on Dec. 18 to cut its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $75 billion, citing an improved outlook for the U.S. employment market. Stocks were also boosted by President Vladimir Putin’s decision to pardon imprisoned former Yukos Oil Co. owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky last week. U.S. and most global markets are closed for the holidays today."

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Top Sukuk Manager Sees New Issuers Aiding Sales: Islamic Finance - Bloomberg

Top Sukuk Manager Sees New Issuers Aiding Sales: Islamic Finance - Bloomberg:

"Debut Islamic bonds from governments and companies seeking to cut financing costs will drive sukuk sales next year, according to HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), with issuance probably rebounding to a record.

Growth will be boosted as borrowers follow governments from Dubai to Malaysia, which are seeking to promote Shariah-compliant bonds and become centers for Islamic finance, said Mohammed Dawood, global head of sukuk financing at HSBC, the bank that managed the most sukuk sales in 2013. The London-based lender is also working to introduce new instruments to help the securities compete with conventional bonds, he said by phone Dec. 22.

Islamic bond sales fell 9.5 percent in 2013 to $42 billion after reaching a record $46.4 billion last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, in a market dominated by repeat borrowers. About $60 billion of sukuk will be sold in 2014, primarily by Malaysia and the Gulf countries, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report last month."

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Turkey Stocks Slump With Lira as Minister Urges Erdogan to Quit - Bloomberg

Turkey Stocks Slump With Lira as Minister Urges Erdogan to Quit - Bloomberg:

"Turkey’s stock index slid to the lowest in four months and the lira fell after a third minister implicated in a corruption probe resigned, saying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was responsible and should quit.

The Borsa Istanbul 100 Index fell 4.2 percent to 66,096.57 at the close in Istanbul, the lowest level since Aug. 28. The currency weakened 0.4 percent to 2.0861 per dollar at 5:40 p.m., after gaining as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The 10-year bond yield rose one basis points, or 0.01 percentage point, to 10.05 percent.

Environment and Urban Works Minister Erdogan Bayraktar said in an interview with NTV television that Erdogan should step down as well because all of his actions were done with the prime minister’s approval. Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan quit earlier today after police detained his son on Dec. 17 in probes into bribery, money laundering, corruption in government tenders and gold smuggling, his office said in a statement. Interior Minister Muammer Guler, whose son was jailed too, also resigned, NTV said. Bayraktar’s son was also detained, then released in the investigation."

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Russia can call in Ukraine loan if situation warrants - Shuvalov #EuroMaidan

Russia can call in Ukraine loan if situation warrants - Shuvalov:

"Russia can demand early repayment of the loan it is making to Ukraine if the situation warrants, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.

"The financial assistance agreement gives us the right to demand that the Ukrainian government repay this loan at any time, backed by the most severe legal consequences," Shuvalov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 television network when asked if Kyiv, having secured multi-billion dollar financial assistance from Moscow, might turn around and sign the EU association agreement after all.

"Russia has fully secured its rights on the legal plane," Shuvalov said.

Following talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych last week, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would use money from the National Welfare Fund to buy $15 billion in Ukrainian sovereign Eurobonds, including $3 billion before year-end. The coupons on the bonds, being placed on the Irish Stock Exchange, will pay 5% annually."

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Dana Jumps Most in 8 Years After Egypt Payment: Abu Dhabi Mover - Bloomberg

Dana Jumps Most in 8 Years After Egypt Payment: Abu Dhabi Mover - Bloomberg:

"Dana Gas PJSC (DANA), a United Arab Emirates natural gas producer, rose the most in eight years after a $53 million payment from the Egyptian government stoked bets the company’s cashflow is improving.

The stock surged 15 percent, the most since December 2005, to 86 fils at the close in Abu Dhabi. More than 311 million shares traded, almost nine times the three-month average daily volume. Egypt has paid Dana $130 million this year of a total $330 million owed, according to a statement to Abu Dhabi bourse. Dana led a 0.6 percent advance on the ADX General Index, which rose for a fifth day.

Egypt delayed payments for energy supplies after the 2011 popular uprising slowed economic growth and as local gas output declined, putting pressure on the government’s price-cap policy. Dana, based in Sharjah, UAE, restructured about $1 billion of Islamic bonds last year because of remittance holdups caused by political unrest in Egypt and Iraq."

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Hello 2014: factors to titillate EM investors in 2014 | beyondbrics

Hello 2014: factors to titillate EM investors in 2014 | beyondbrics:

"The 4th in our series of guest posts on the outlook for 2014 is by Jan Dehn of Ashmore Group Head of Research, Ashmore Group

The outlook for Emerging Markets (EM) going into 2014 is dramatically better than at the start of 2013. Better fundamentals, stronger technicals and attractive valuations after a sharp technical sell-off in 2013 will lure investors. Tapering also poses less risk now, while many EM countries are now taking reforms very seriously. The way to approach this opportunity is through active management, because credit stories and elections feature prominently in the 2014 outlook."

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Qatar’s international reserves may scale up to $485bn by 201..

Qatar’s international reserves may scale up to $485bn by 201..:

"
Qatar’s international reserves are likely to scale up to $485bn by 2017 even as the country continues to “build large financial buffers against adverse global shocks”, shows a new report.

Qatar, according to Beltone Financial, has the “appropriate policy mix to manage domestic and external risks”.

Qatar continues to build large financial buffers against adverse global shocks. Despite large external debt, Qatar has foreign exchange reserves of more than 100% of GDP.

It has been the government’s practice in recent years to transfer up to 50% of LNG export earnings to the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) as part of a strategy to diversify hydrocarbon income abroad, Beltone said. “Reflecting the buildup in foreign exchange reserves”, external assets by the QIA are estimated to have reached $175bn (90% of GDP) in addition to official reserves of around $39bn (20% of GDP) at Qatar Central Bank as of end-October in 2013."

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Dubai developer Nakheel mulls IPO once liabilities are cleared | The National

Dubai developer Nakheel mulls IPO once liabilities are cleared | The National:

"Nakheel, the property group behind some of Dubai’s most glamorous projects, is considering a stock market flotation once its financial restructuring has been worked through.

Ali Rashid Lootah, the chairman of the company behind the Palm Jumeirah and The World developments, revealed in an interview with The National that an initial public offering could go ahead once the company’s liabilities hd been cleared in 2018.

“At the moment we are looking at meeting commitments to lenders and investors, but we will look at an IPO in the future."

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Nakheel CEO talks Dubai construction and growth | The National

Nakheel CEO talks Dubai construction and growth | The National:

"Back in 2009, Nakheel was the barometer of the Dubai economy, and the pressure was falling fast.

As the company responsible for some of the emirate’s most jaw-dropping properties, most notably the Jumeirah Palm and The World archipelago, Nakheel had done a good deal to create Dubai’s global image.

Nakheel executives do not like the word bling, but that was the image often associated with the company, and with the emirate, and Nakheel was the bling merchant par excellence.

But at the height of the financial crisis, there was little glamorous in what was happening at Nakheel. The develper was responsible for the lion’s share of debts owned by Dubai World, which threatened the health of the Dubai financial system."

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Dana Gas Receives US$ 53 million from Egypt | GulfNews.com

Dana Gas Receives US$ 53 million from Egypt | GulfNews.com:

"Dana Gas announced on Tuesday that it has received from the Egyptian Government authorities the payment of Dh194 million ($53 million) from the current total outstanding receivables of Dh1,210 million ($330 million).
Payment of $42 million has been received in US dollars and the balance in equivalent Egyptian pounds. Including this tranche, during 2013, Dana Gas has received a total of Dh476 million ($130 million) from the Egyptian Government authorities. The Egyptian Government has committed to work with the Company on a plan to repay the remainder of the outstanding receivables over an agreed time frame."

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