Thursday 11 September 2014

Arabtec Tumbles Second Day Amid Stake Speculation: Dubai Mover - Bloomberg

Arabtec Tumbles Second Day Amid Stake Speculation: Dubai Mover - Bloomberg:



"Arabtec Holding Co. (ARTC) declined for a second day as some investors speculated that stake talks between former chief executive officer Hasan Ismaik and state-controlled Aabar Investments PJSC have broken down.



The United Arab Emirates’ biggest publicly traded construction company fell 3.4 percent to 4.30 dirhams at 11:18 a.m. local time, the lowest since Aug. 24. The shares dropped 9.2 percent yesterday. Hisham Khairy, the Dubai-based head of institutional trade at Mena Corp. Financial Services LLC, said there is speculation that talks between Ismaik and Aabar ended without a resolution, and Aabar may sell some of its holding.



Arabtec was at the center of a selloff in June that wiped more than 20 percent off the value of Dubai’s benchmark stock index, triggered by management changes and investor concern the company may be losing support from Abu Dhabi. Khadem Al Qubaisi, chairman of the builder and its second-largest shareholder Aabar, said July 2 the investor may raise its holding in Arabtec. Ismaik, who owns about 28 percent of the company, said last month he rejected an offer from Aabar to buy part of his stake."



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Qatar to launch venture share market early next year -exchange | Reuters

Qatar to launch venture share market early next year -exchange | Reuters:



"Qatar will launch a venture share market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) early next year, Qatar Exchange chief executive Rashid al-Mansoori was quoted as saying.



Ten SMEs have applied to list on the new market and five of them have so far fulfilled the requirements, Mansoori told Qatar's The Peninsula newspaper in an interview.



The five companies "are in the process of getting listed, which means that by early 2015 we will have not less than five companies as part of the new and emerging SMEs stock market," Mansoori was quoted as saying, without naming the firms."



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Bahrain Launches $1.25 Billion Bond Issue Amid Strong Demand - WSJ

Bahrain Launches $1.25 Billion Bond Issue Amid Strong Demand - WSJ:



"Bahrain launched a $1.25 billion bond issue Wednesday amid strong demand, an amount larger than previously expected as the Arab Gulf kingdom benefits from renewed investor confidence following political unrest over the past few years. 




Pricing of the 30-year bond, yielding 6%, is expected later today, an arranging bank told its clients in an email viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Bahrain was expected to issue a benchmark sized bond, which is usually of about $500 million in size.



Bahrain's economy is on the mend as it enjoys a period of relative stability following unrest in the tiny kingdom amid broader political turbulence in the region since early 2011. Its gross domestic product grew 5.3% in 2013, supported by a rebound in the hydrocarbons sector, according to the International Monetary Fund."



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OPEC reduces demand outlook again on shale | Economy | Saudi Gazette

OPEC reduces demand outlook again on shale | Economy | Saudi Gazette:



"The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)  expects it will need to pump an average of 29.2 million barrels a day of crude this year, 200,000 a day less than it forecast a month ago. The group boosted estimates for supplies from countries outside OPEC by the same amount. The change implies that OPEC’s 12 members would need to cut output by about 1.1 million barrels a day from the 30.3 million they produced in August.



Brent crude futures declined below $100 a barrel on Sept. 8 for the first time in 14 months amid constrained global consumption, swelling US output and speculation that threats to supply in Iraq, Libya and Russia are fading. US crude production will surge to a 45-year high next year, lowering prices and reducing the need for imports, the nation’s Energy Information Administration said yesterday.



“Supply concerns appear to be receding, as geopolitical tension in Ukraine and the Middle East have not led to major supply disruptions,” OPEC’s Vienna-based secretariat said in its monthly oil market report."



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Saudi Arabia Said to Weigh Opening Nation’s Debt Markets - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Said to Weigh Opening Nation’s Debt Markets - Bloomberg:



"Banks with experience arranging Islamic bond sales may stand to benefit from the potential opening of Saudi Arabia’s debt market to foreign investors, according to the investment banking unit of Mashreqbank PSC. (MASQ)



“There’ll be a lot of potential for non-Saudi banks to get involved on the advising and arranging side,” Abdul Kadir Hussain, who oversees about $700 million as chief executive officer of Mashreq Capital DIFC Ltd. in Dubai, said by telephone. “They’re also some of the biggest sukuk buyers.”



Saudi Arabia is working on new rules aimed at promoting the local currency bond and sukuk market, three people with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The rules are expected to allow foreign investors to buy local currency bonds for the first time and could be published early next year, they said."



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Dubai Home-Price Gains Slowed in Second Quarter - Bloomberg

Dubai Home-Price Gains Slowed in Second Quarter - Bloomberg:



"Dubai residential property-price growth slowed in the second quarter after mortgages were restricted and the government increased a transaction tax to damp the market, broker Colliers International said.



Property values rose 3 percent from the first quarter, down from 6 percent in the previous three months. Colliers regional director Ian Albert said today by phone. They gained 20 percent in the second quarter on an annual basis.



“Government measures so far have been successful,” Albert said. “If price increases are sustained around 9 to 12 percent annually, that would be a good sustainable growth.”"



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Russian ADRs Gain as EU Ends Meeting Without Sanctions - Bloomberg

Russian ADRs Gain as EU Ends Meeting Without Sanctions - Bloomberg:



"OAO TMK, a maker of pipes for oil and gas producers, led a gain in U.S.-traded Russian stocks as European Union ambassadors ended a meeting without a decision on new sanctions linked to the Ukraine war.



The company’s American depositary receipts rose 2.6 percent to $9.86 in New York yesterday. It was the best performance on the Bloomberg Russia-US Equity Index, which increased 0.1 percent to 87.22 after reversing a loss of as much as 0.5 percent. Natural-gas producer OAO Gazprom added 1.3 percent to $7.55, ending a two-day drop. Futures (VEA) on the dollar-denominated RTS index expiring this month gained 0.9 percent in U.S. hours.



Stocks rose as an EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said diplomats ended a meeting without deciding whether to impose new sanctions on Russia or when penalties would take effect. They’re gathering amid an uneasy cease-fire between Kiev and rebels in the east. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Russia, which denies involvement in the conflict, has withdrawn more than two-thirds of its troops."



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Dubai index tumbles over 3% as investors pile up cash | GulfNews.com

Dubai index tumbles over 3% as investors pile up cash | GulfNews.com:



"Dubai’s benchmark index fell more than 3 per cent on Wednesday, extending losses to their lowest level in three weeks as investors piled up cash for Emaar unit’s initial public offering next week. The Abu Dhabi index fell more than a per cent.



The Dubai Financial Market General Index fell 3.36 per cent to end at 4,912.14, after hitting a low of 4,857.52, a level last seen on August 20. The index shed 0.15 per cent in the previous session.



Among the most active stock on the index was the UAE’s biggest listed builder Arabtec, which shed 9.18 per cent. Emaar, whose unit’s initial public offering will start on Monday, shed 2.67 per cent."



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