Tuesday 4 February 2014

Europe exposed: over $3 trillion in emerging market loans — RT Business

Europe exposed: over $3 trillion in emerging market loans — RT Business:



"The Fragile Five, BRICS and MINT are acronyms for countries like Turkey, Mexico, Indonesia, and China that are at the focus of the emerging crisis. But Europe may be the most vulnerable, as banks have more than $3.4 trillion in loans in shaky markets.



European companies have a bigger exposure to emerging markets than US or Japanese firms, according to research by Morgan Stanley Capital International.



Europe’s most vulnerable banks- the ones with the most risk in emerging markets- are BBVA, Erste Bank, HSBC, Santander, Standard Chartered, and UniCredit, according to analysts, Reuters reported. Deutsche Bank analysts estimate the six most exposed European banks have more than $1.7 trillion tied up in developing markets.



Spain’s Santander is deeply intertwined in Latin America with bank earnings sourced from Brazil (23 percent) and 132 billion euro in loans across the region at the end of 2013."



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Dubai: alive to the financial competition | beyondbrics

Dubai: alive to the financial competition | beyondbrics:



"The competitition to attract financial business in the Gulf is hotting up.



Dubai’s financial centre says it will slash telecommunications rates as it seeks to sustain growth amid increasing competition from neighbours such as Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.



The DIFC is set this year to roll out a technology transit zone within its data centre, offering prices that can compete with London and other western cities to ease costs for trading desks and asset managers."



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Qatar owners inject $124m into UK Islamic lender - Banking & Finance - ArabianBusiness.com

Qatar owners inject $124m into UK Islamic lender - Banking & Finance - ArabianBusiness.com:



"Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB), the country's only sharia-compliant retail lender, has received a 75.8 million pound ($124 million) injection from its new Qatari owner to support the bank's expansion plans.



The investment bring IBB's capital to 100 million pounds, after it was acquired in January by Masraf Al Rayan, Qatar's largest Islamic bank by market value.



This will allow IBB to grow its retail operations and develop its commercial business, targeting both British and Gulf-based firms, Sultan Choudhury, IBB's interim managing director, said in a statement."



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UPDATE 1-Kuwait Finance House Q4 net profit more than doubles | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Kuwait Finance House Q4 net profit more than doubles | Reuters:



"Feb 3 (Reuters) - Kuwait Finance House (KFH) more than doubled its fourth-quarter net profit and executives at the Gulf state's largest Islamic bank proposed a 13 percent dividend distribution and 13 percent bonus shares.




Net profit rose to 26.4 million Kuwaiti dinars ($94.7 million) in the three months to the end of December compared to 11.8 million dinars a year earlier, a calculation based on figures released on Monday showed. 




Broker EFG Hermes had expected the bank to earn 29.9 million dinars in the quarter while HSBC saw its quarterly profit at 56 million dinars."



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EM: It feels like a rout - YouTube

EM: It feels like a rout - YouTube: ""



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Abu Dhabi's Waha Capital says 2013 profit jumps 43 pct | Reuters

Abu Dhabi's Waha Capital says 2013 profit jumps 43 pct | Reuters:



"Feb 4 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Waha Capital said on Tuesday it made a profit of 306.4 million dirhams ($83.42 million) in 2013, up from 214.4 million dirhams a year earlier.



The firm's total assets grew to 5.2 billion dirhams from 4.4 billion dirhams."



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The Peninsula Qatar - Qatar to make huge investments in Italy

The Peninsula Qatar - Qatar to make huge investments in Italy:



"DOHA: Qatar is planning to make huge investments in various sectors of cash-strapped Italian economy, including energy, healthcare and tourism. This was announced by the visiting Prime Minister of Italy, Enrico Letta, at a joint press conference with H E Dr Mohamed bin Saleh Al Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry, here yesterday.  



The current investment plans include building of a Museum of Islamic Art in Venice and a hospital in Olbia, in northeastern Sardinia (Italy). However, the size of investments was not disclosed.



“We held a very successful meeting with the Emir, H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this morning”, said the Italian premier. “We discussed host of important issues of mutual interests, including industrial investments in Italy and the current political scenarios in Iran, Syria, Libya and Egypt.”"



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Russell Napier on the implications of Turkey's troubles - YouTube

Russell Napier on the implications of Turkey's troubles - YouTube: ""



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UAE’s united front to guard against financial meltdown repeat | The National

UAE’s united front to guard against financial meltdown repeat | The National:



"Abu Dhabi and Dubai are coordinating more closely in development planning to help guard against a repeat of the financial crisis of 2009, says the Minister of Economy.



Sultan Al Mansouri was speaking in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of the UAE Economic Outlook, the first event of its kind. In previous years, the two emirates have held separate events about their future economic plans."



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Giving financial offenders no room to hide | GulfNews.com

Giving financial offenders no room to hide | GulfNews.com:



"The world has changed radically since the global financial crisis. In a concerted effort both to restore public confidence in the integrity of the financial system and to immunise it from the worst effects of any similar future events, governments are putting in place stronger laws, regulations and regulators.



To respond to these developments, many recruits are joining compliance and related functions of financial institutions in an environment where these functions have far more power than before. Indeed, such is the level of regulation that banks are reexamining rigorously where and with whom they do business and, in many cases, seeking to exit territories or relationships that fail to meet standards in the current environment.



And while contraction of available finance is an unintended consequence of tougher regulation, the upside is that it is now harder for criminals to hide their illicit gains, harder for insider trading rings to profit, and harder for money launderers to blend their funds with funds obtained legitimately. Moreover, transparency itself is no longer just a buzzword, it has become an integral part — if not requirement — of modern international business."



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Asia Stocks Extend Rout as Japan Plunges; Aussie Rises - Bloomberg

Asia Stocks Extend Rout as Japan Plunges; Aussie Rises - Bloomberg:



"Asian stocks tumbled, extending a global selloff, with Japanese and Hong Kong shares dragging the regional index toward its lowest close in five months. The Australian dollar surged as the country’s central bank held rates, while emerging-market currencies rose.



The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2.6 percent by 3:28 p.m. in Tokyo, the most since June. Japan’s Topix index plunged 4.8 percent, entering a correction, and the Hang Seng Index slid 2.6 percent in Hong Kong. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) futures rose 0.2 percent after the gauge sank the most since June in New York. The so-called Aussie climbed 1.5 percent while currencies in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia gained at least 0.2 percent. Zinc fell 0.3 percent, declining for a 10th day and heading for the longest run of losses since January 1989."



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