Sunday 14 September 2014

Dubai Stocks Rise as Emaar Unit IPO Starts; Saudi Arabia Drops - Bloomberg

Dubai Stocks Rise as Emaar Unit IPO Starts; Saudi Arabia Drops - Bloomberg:



"Dubai’s benchmark index advanced a second day led by Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR) as the developer started selling shares in its malls unit. Saudi Arabia’s shares declined.



The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI), which fluctuated between gains and losses earlier, added 0.6 percent to close at 4,991.23. Emaar’s shares reversed losses to climb 2.3 percent, the most in almost two weeks. Arabtec Holding Co., the United Arab Emirates’ biggest publicly traded construction company, was the most traded stock, increasing 3.8 percent. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index slid 0.3 percent to 11,026.96, the lowest level since Aug. 26.



Emaar, which owns one of the world’s biggest shopping centers in Dubai, is seeking to raise as much as $1.58 billion from the initial public offering of its retail unit. Emaar Malls Group LLC plans to sell 2 billion shares with a price range of 2.5 dirhams to 2.9 dirhams per share, it said in a statement to the bourse today. About 5.3 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion) of proceeds from the public offering will be allocated as dividend payments to shareholders of Emaar Properties, the developer said in August."



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Aluminum Bahrain Plans Listing on Saudi Arabia Exchange - Bloomberg

Aluminum Bahrain Plans Listing on Saudi Arabia Exchange - Bloomberg:



"Aluminium Bahrain, the second-largest aluminum smelter in the Middle East, is planning to cross-list its shares in Saudi Arabia, according to four people familiar with the matter.



Aluminium Bahrain, also known as Alba, is seeking to improve its valuation rather than raise money from the listing, the people said, asking not be identified as the plan isn’t public. Alba has a primary listing in Bahrain with its global depository receipts trading in London.



The metals producer is hoping to capitalize on investor interest in Saudi Arabia as the biggest Arab stock exchange opens to direct foreign investment for the first time in 2015. The Saudi Tadawul benchmark index gained 30 percent this year and is the sixth best performing stock index in the world, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The compares with a 17 percent advance for the Bahrain Bourse All Share Index."



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#Ukraine Crisis Sours Efforts to Sell @Poroshenko's Chocolate Empire | News | The Moscow Times

Ukraine Crisis Sours Efforts to Sell Poroshenko's Chocolate Empire | News | The Moscow Times:



"A chance to buy the candy empire of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is the kind of opportunity in a fast-growing market that would normally have multinational confectioners — like Nestle or Cadbury's parent Mondelez — drooling at the prospect.



But despite owning factories in four countries and making $1.2 billion in annual sales, Ukraine's "chocolate king" may have a hard time finding a buyer for his company, now that its founder is the leader of a country at war.



"It's all academic given the political situation at the moment," said a financial source closely following the situation."



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Growing foreign fund influence a risk for emerging markets: BIS | Reuters

Growing foreign fund influence a risk for emerging markets: BIS | Reuters:



"The global fund management industry is a potential source of risk for emerging markets because of its vast size and herd-like investor behaviour that can exacerbate asset price fluctuations, a BIS report said on Sunday.



In its quarterly review, the Bank for International Settlements said the selloff that rocked emerging economies last year was a reminder of how "the activity of large asset managers can significantly affect small and illiquid asset markets".



The presence and influence of asset managers in emerging market economies (EME) has grown significantly in recent years, BIS said, citing data showing emerging bond funds alone had quadrupled assets under management (AUM) between 2007-2017."



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Conventional banks' sukuk to push limits of Islamic finance | Reuters

Conventional banks' sukuk to push limits of Islamic finance | Reuters:



"Islamic bond programmes from a trio of big conventional banks are set to expand the boundaries of Islamic finance, helping open the market to first-time issuers while testing the banks' ability to win over industry purists.



Since June, France's Societe Generale, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) and Goldman Sachs have set up sukuk programmes, aiming to tap the pool of cash-rich Islamic investors.



They are treading a fine line, having to reconcile the fact that their businesses mostly depend on conventional banking practices - interest payments, and to some degree monetary speculation - which Islamic principles forbid."



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Egypt, Qatar edge up; UAE markets slip | Reuters

Egypt, Qatar edge up; UAE markets slip | Reuters:



"Egypt's stock market edged up in early trade on Sunday after the Cairo government said it would invite an International Monetary Fund mission to visit, while Qatar's bourse rose after the country took a step to reconcile with its Gulf neighbours.



The Cairo benchmark rose 0.6 percent shortly after opening as most stocks were up. Developers Medinet Nasr and Talaat Moustafa Group were the main supports, gaining 3.8 and 1.1 percent respectively.



Egypt will ask the IMF for a long-delayed economic assessment in the hope of improving the country's image before a February investment conference, the country's finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday."



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Three big listings promise to revolutionise Dubai Financal Market | The National

Three big listings promise to revolutionise Dubai Financal Market | The National:



"IPO fever is about to hit the UAE. Before the end of this month, barring last-minute hitches, three new stocks will be listed on the DFM, including Emaar Malls, the biggest initial public offering in Dubai since 2007.



In fact, October 2, when trading in the malls business begins, promises to be a mini-version of the “big bang” that blew open the London Stock Exchange in 1986. Things were never the same in the City of London after that, and the transformation that looks set to take place in the Dubai Financial Market – and by extension in all UAE markets – will be profound.



The country’s retail investors are about to embark on a stock market roller coaster the like of which the hitherto comparatively laid-back markets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have not experienced before."



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Britain plans first yuan bond outside China | GulfNews.com

Britain plans first yuan bond outside China | GulfNews.com:



"Britain on Friday said it would be the first country outside China to issue yuan-denominated bonds, as London seeks to become a Western hub for trading in the Chinese currency.



The UK Treasury said the government plans to issue the bond in the coming weeks, subject to market conditions, without giving an exact amount or other details.



“This will be the first non-Chinese issuance of sovereign RMB (yuan) debt and will be used to finance Britain’s reserves,” it said in a statement."



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Gulf countries considering unified prices for petroleum products | GulfNews.com

Gulf countries considering unified prices for petroleum products | GulfNews.com:



"The six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council have considered the possibility of unifying their prices of petroleum products at a recent meeting in Kuwait, according to Suhail Bin Mohammad Faraj Faris Al Mazroui, UAE Minister of Energy.



The GCC petroleum and energy ministers discussed the unification of petroleum products at the 33rd meeting of the GCC Petroleum Cooperation Committee last Thursday in Kuwait, Al Mazroui, who led the UAE delegation to the meeting said in a statement today.



Al Mazroui emphasised that the six GCC states will continue their cooperation on petroleum and energy.



In Kuwait, the GCC petroleum and energy ministers also convened the 27th meeting of GCC Electricity and Water Cooperation Committee."



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Emaar Seeking to Raise as Much as $1.58 Billion in IPO - Bloomberg

Emaar Seeking to Raise as Much as $1.58 Billion in IPO - Bloomberg:



"Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), owner of the world’s biggest shopping center, is seeking to raise as much as $1.58 billion from the initial public offering of its malls unit in the United Arab Emirates’ biggest IPO since 2007.



Emaar Malls Group PJSC plans to sell 2 billion of its founders’ shares, or about 15 percent of its equity, in a price range of 2.5 dirhams to 2.9 dirhams apiece, according to a company statement to the Dubai Financial Market today. The final price will be determined through a book-building process and will probably be set on Sept. 29, according to the statement.



“At the upper end of range, this IPO would be very expensive,” Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director of NBAD Securities LLC in Abu Dhabi, said today by ’phone. “Emaar Malls would be priced at about 30 times 2014 earnings.”"



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MIDEAST STOCKS-IMF rapprochement may lift Egypt's market; Emaar sets malls IPO range | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-IMF rapprochement may lift Egypt's market; Emaar sets malls IPO range | Reuters:



"Egypt's stock market may react positively on Sunday to news that the Cairo government will invite an International Monetary Fund mission to visit, while bourses in the United Arab Emirates may continue recovering from last week's profit-taking, with Emaar Properties setting the price range for the initial public offer of shares in its malls unit.



Egypt will ask the IMF for a long-delayed economic assessment in the hope of improving the country's image before a February investment conference, the country's finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday.



The assessment will not necessarily lead to an IMF loan deal, but it is key to maintaining working relations with the global lender and could provide the government with valuable feedback and recommendations."



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