Tuesday 16 June 2015

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets slip in line with oil; Egypt up after China deal | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets slip in line with oil; Egypt up after China deal | Reuters:



"Most stock markets in the Gulf fell on Tuesday after a rebound in the Brent oil price proved short-lived and foreign fund inflows into Saudi Arabia remained tiny following the market's opening to international institutions this week.



The main Saudi index slipped 0.2 percent as heavyweights Saudi Basic Industries and National Commercial Bank lost 0.4 and 0.8 percent respectively.



Most other components of the provisional MSCI Saudi Arabia index also fell, having rallied in previous weeks in anticipation of increased demand when the market opened to direct foreign investment on June 15."



'via Blog this'

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi blue chips slip further; Egypt edges up after China deal | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi blue chips slip further; Egypt edges up after China deal | Reuters:



"Most Saudi Arabian blue chip stocks fell in early trade on Tuesday on disappointment over the slow entry of foreign investors into the market, while Egypt's bourse turned positive after Cairo struck a $10 billion deal with China.



The main Saudi index slipped 0.2 percent as heavyweights Saudi Basic Industries and National Commercial Bank lost 0.9 and 0.4 percent respectively.



Most other components of the provisional MSCI Saudi Arabia index also fell, having rallied in previous weeks in anticipation of demand when the market opened to direct foreign investment on June 15."



'via Blog this'

Recruitment in UAE oil and gas down by a fifth, new study shows | The National

Recruitment in UAE oil and gas down by a fifth, new study shows | The National:



"Online recruitment in the UAE grew last month compared to the same period last year even as the price of Brent crude oil has nearly halved since then.



The pace of online demand grew 5 per cent on the year, according to the Monster Employment Index UAE compiled by online job portal Monster.com.



Reflecting a slowdown in the construction sector, the activity fell by 23 per cent in engineering, construction and real estate sectors followed by a 19 per cent drop in the oil and gas sectors. This is in line with the rest of the Middle East region where online hiring demand in manufacturing, automotive and oil and gas sectors have dipped."



'via Blog this'

Oil slump to cost GCC $240 billion in assets | GulfNews.com

Oil slump to cost GCC $240 billion in assets | GulfNews.com:



"Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, stand to lose $240 billion in hard-earned assets in 2015 if oil prices will remain at low levels, or average at $55 per barrel, for the rest of the year, an economist at a local bank said.



GCC governments have been urged to find other sources of revenue amid low oil prices, cut subsidies and budgets, and curtail excessive government spending, to avoid job losses, project cancellations, low bank liquidity and other economic challenges.



Alp Eke, director and senior economist at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s (NBAD) economic department, said the biggest loss will be incurred by Saudi Arabia, estimated to be around $160 billion, while the UAE will lose around $55 billion."



'via Blog this'

Dragon Oil shares soar to record high on improved Enoc offer - FT.com

Dragon Oil shares soar to record high on improved Enoc offer - FT.com:



"Shares in Dragon Oil jumped more than 8 per cent to a record high in early trade on Monday after the Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) sweetened its offer to buy out minority shareholders at the crude producer by just over 2 per cent, valuing the company at £3.7bn.



Enoc, which owns 54 per cent of Dragon, improved its offer to 750 pence a share compared with the initial proposal of 735 pence a share put forward in March.



The improved offer represents a 47.2 per cent premium to Dragon’s closing stock price of 509.5p on March 13, the last trading day before Enoc approached the crude producer about its intention to make an offer. The initial premium was 44 per cent."



'via Blog this'

Dubai Cable Building First Aluminum Plant as Copper Losing - Bloomberg Business

Dubai Cable Building First Aluminum Plant as Copper Losing - Bloomberg Business:



"Dubai Cable Co., the second-largest cable manufacturer in the Middle East, is building its first aluminum plant as customers in Saudi Arabia to the U.S. seek cheaper alternatives to copper for power transmission.



The $60 million factory in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates will have capacity to produce 50,000 metric tons of aluminum rod and overhead conductors annually, Andrew Shaw, managing director of Dubai Cable, said in an interview Monday at the company’s copper rod plant in Dubai. The project, called Ducab Aluminium Co., will create 120 to 140 jobs with its opening planned for the first quarter of 2016, he said.



Copper is losing about 2 percent a year of demand to less costly materials such as aluminum, or about 500,000 tons, London-based researcher CRU estimates. Aluminum is a third the cost of copper and supplies of aluminum in warehouses monitored by the London Metal Exchange are almost 12 times higher."



'via Blog this'

Dubai Used-Car Startup Turns to U.S. Seeking $1 Billion Value - Bloomberg Business

Dubai Used-Car Startup Turns to U.S. Seeking $1 Billion Value - Bloomberg Business:



"SellAnyCar.com has shown that used-car sales in the Middle East can be turned into a point and click exercise. Now its founder is hoping that U.S. venture capital investors will give his company a $1 billion valuation.



Saygin Yalcin met with investors in New York and California this month, seeking to raise as much as $100 million to help fund an expansion into Europe. The fundraising could value his company at about $1 billion he said in an interview in New York.



Yalcin, 31, is coming to the U.S. to capitalize on soaring private valuations and record fundraising by venture capital firms. American venture funds had an estimated $76 billion in uninvested capital at the end of 2014, compared with just $1.5 billion for those in the Middle East, according to PitchBook Data Inc."



'via Blog this'