| Exchange | Status | Index | Change | ||||
 | DFM (Dubai Financial Market) | 1573.94 | 0.16% | ||||
| ADX (Abudhabi Securities Exchange) | 2608.75 | 0.25% | ||||
 | KSE (Kuwait Stock Exchange) | 5792.71 | -0.72% | ||||
 | BSE (Bahrain Stock Exchange) | 1071.45 | -0.07% | ||||
 | MSM (Muscat Securities Market) | 5589.47 | 0.47% | ||||
 | QE (Qatar Exchange) | 8563.19 | -0.09% | ||||
 | LSE (Beirut Stock Exchange) | 1120.95 | -0.14% | ||||
 | EGX 30 (Egypt Exchange) | 5662.15 | -1.11% | ||||
 | ASE (Amman Stock Exchange) | 1907.19 | -0.19% | ||||
 | TUNINDEX (Tunisia Stock Exchange) | 5137.62 | -0.15% | ||||
 | CB (Casablanca Stock Exchange) | 9801.92 | -0.19% | ||||
 | PSE (Palestine Securities Exchange) | 419.93 | 0.14% | ||||
Solely aggregation of news articles, with no opinions expressed by this service since 2009 launch on this platform. Copyright to all articles remains with the original publisher and HEADLINES ARE CLICKABLE to access the whole article at source. (Subscription by email is recommended,with real-time updates on LinkedIn and Twitter.)
Thursday 13 September 2012
MENA stock markets close - September 13, 2012
Dubai Group eyes stake sale in Lafarge venture -sources - Yahoo! News Maktoob
Dubai Group is in talks to sell its 45 percent stake in a joint venture firm with cement maker Lafarge, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the state investment vehicle sells assets to repay its $10 billion debt pile.
Lafarge Emirates Cement, set up in 2005, is restructuring and needs additional capital to help support the business, something Dubai Group is unable to provide due to its debts.
While sources declined to put a value on the stake sale, one said it would essentially represent the amount required to be injected into the company by the stakeholder -- meaning Dubai Group might not receive a significant amount for the asset.
Lafarge Emirates Cement, set up in 2005, is restructuring and needs additional capital to help support the business, something Dubai Group is unable to provide due to its debts.
While sources declined to put a value on the stake sale, one said it would essentially represent the amount required to be injected into the company by the stakeholder -- meaning Dubai Group might not receive a significant amount for the asset.
* username: rupertbu
Dubai’s creditors: playing chicken | beyondbrics
Sorting out Dubai Group’s $10bn debts was always going to be tougher than most negotiations over the emirate’s total $110 debt pile.
Now RBS, Commerzbank, Standard Bank and Commercial International Bank of Egypt have raised the stakes by launching arbitration proceedings in London, calling for immediate repayment of their loans after claiming two years of talks had failed.
RBS was co-chair of a group of partially-secured banks that made up $4.5bn of the $6bn owed to lenders. The remaining $4bn lies in inter-company loans with Dubai Group’s parent, Dubai Holding, owned by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Now RBS, Commerzbank, Standard Bank and Commercial International Bank of Egypt have raised the stakes by launching arbitration proceedings in London, calling for immediate repayment of their loans after claiming two years of talks had failed.
RBS was co-chair of a group of partially-secured banks that made up $4.5bn of the $6bn owed to lenders. The remaining $4bn lies in inter-company loans with Dubai Group’s parent, Dubai Holding, owned by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
* username: rupertbu
STOCKS NEWS MIDEAST-Etisalat lifts Abu Dhabi to 6-mth high; Gulf mixed - Yahoo! News Maktoob
Abu Dhabi's etisalat helps lift the UAE capital's index to a six-month high after the telecom operator sold a stake in Indonesia's PT XL Axiata.
Shares in etisalat gain 1.1 percent to their highest close since June 25. The Gulf's No.2 operator said it raised about $510 million from the sale of a 9.1 percent stake in Axiata. It has retained a 4.2 percent holding.
Abu Dhabi's measure finishes 0.3 percent higher at 2,609 points, its highest close since March 15.
Shares in etisalat gain 1.1 percent to their highest close since June 25. The Gulf's No.2 operator said it raised about $510 million from the sale of a 9.1 percent stake in Axiata. It has retained a 4.2 percent holding.
Abu Dhabi's measure finishes 0.3 percent higher at 2,609 points, its highest close since March 15.
* username: rupertbu
MIDEAST DEBT-Turkey sukuk to test Gulf appetite to diversify - Yahoo! News Maktoob
Turkey's first-ever issue of a sovereign sukuk will test Gulf investors' willingness to leave their comfort zone within the region and settle for lower yields outside it - potentially signalling fresh flows of Gulf money into southeast Asian and African debt.
Turkey, rated BB by Standard & Poor's, held investor meetings for the dollar-denominated Islamic bond in several Gulf cities this week. The issue, which could raise up to $1 billion, is expected during the week starting on Sept. 17.
Traditionally, Gulf investors have tended to focus on their own region, where credit ratings tend to be high but
geopolitical risks keep yields higher than would normally be the case for such ratings.
Turkey, rated BB by Standard & Poor's, held investor meetings for the dollar-denominated Islamic bond in several Gulf cities this week. The issue, which could raise up to $1 billion, is expected during the week starting on Sept. 17.
Traditionally, Gulf investors have tended to focus on their own region, where credit ratings tend to be high but
geopolitical risks keep yields higher than would normally be the case for such ratings.
* username: rupertbu
WAM | Etisalat Group Sells 775 million shares in PT XL AxiataTbk
The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), headquarters in Abu Dhabi confirmed today that it has sold a total of 775 million shares in PT XL AxiataTbk ("XL"), one of the Group's 16 Operating Companies, and located in Indonesia.
The 775 million shares represent a total of 9.1% of XL's issued share capital, representing a value of approximately AED 1.87 billion before commission and expenses. The settlement of the Placing is expected to take place on 18 September, 2012.
Following the completion, Etisalat will hold a 4.2% ownership stake in XL.
The 775 million shares represent a total of 9.1% of XL's issued share capital, representing a value of approximately AED 1.87 billion before commission and expenses. The settlement of the Placing is expected to take place on 18 September, 2012.
Following the completion, Etisalat will hold a 4.2% ownership stake in XL.
* username: rupertbu
Midlevel U.S. Chains Move Into Fast-Food Hungry Gulf - NYTimes.com
After twelve years of running two small, organic tea shops in the New York borough of Brooklyn, Jonathan Spiel had to close one down when his landlord increased the rent in 2009. Facing that setback, Mr. Spiel decided to look into selling Tea Lounge franchises to expand into new markets and keep his business going.
The Tea Lounge’s first franchise opened this year, in Kuwait.
“When I and my family and friends first heard ‘Kuwait,’ it seemed a little out of the blue,” Mr. Spiel, the Tea Lounge’s founder, said.
The Tea Lounge’s first franchise opened this year, in Kuwait.
“When I and my family and friends first heard ‘Kuwait,’ it seemed a little out of the blue,” Mr. Spiel, the Tea Lounge’s founder, said.
* username: rupertbu
International Adviser: Saudi Arabia regulator CMA surprises Gulf with “hostile” warning notice to non-licenced firms
Saudi Arabia’s regulator the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has surprised many in the Gulf region by issuing a strongly worded warning notice to those operating without a licence in the country.
The CMA warned in a notice that appeared in Saudi Arabia’s national newspaper that “conducting securities business without a licence shall be considered violating the relevant provisions of the capital market law and its implementing regulations and shall be subject to sanctions.”
A significant issue for financial services companies, such as funds or insurance providers, is the cost of getting a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia, as this requires an office to be set up and a minimum number of staff.
The CMA warned in a notice that appeared in Saudi Arabia’s national newspaper that “conducting securities business without a licence shall be considered violating the relevant provisions of the capital market law and its implementing regulations and shall be subject to sanctions.”
A significant issue for financial services companies, such as funds or insurance providers, is the cost of getting a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia, as this requires an office to be set up and a minimum number of staff.
* username: rupertbu
Arab spring leaves state frailties in its wake - FT.com
The rocket attack which killed the US ambassador in Libya and three other embassy officials in the eastern town in Benghazi has underscored the weakness of the central government in Tripoli and the magnitude of the challenges it continues to face in establishing security across its territory.
The inability of the Libyan security forces to protect the consulate and the use of heavy weapons against the building by an angry mob, which some analysts say may have included Islamist militants, has highlighted the difficulties faced by the new Libyan authorities in knitting together a functional state after the unifying grip of the ousted regime of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi disappeared.
The inability of the Libyan security forces to protect the consulate and the use of heavy weapons against the building by an angry mob, which some analysts say may have included Islamist militants, has highlighted the difficulties faced by the new Libyan authorities in knitting together a functional state after the unifying grip of the ousted regime of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi disappeared.
* username: rupertbu
Emirates takes off to Washington, DC | GulfNews.com
Washington, DC became Emirates’ seventh US destination on Wednesday as the carrier launched its non-stop daily service to the destination from its Dubai hub.
The Washington, DC route is also the airline’s 12th to join its international network in 2012, Emirates said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gradually strengthening its hold over the American market, Emirates already serves key US gateways such as to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — launched in February 2012, followed by Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) launch in March. Other American routes include New York, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco.
The Washington, DC route is also the airline’s 12th to join its international network in 2012, Emirates said in a statement on Wednesday.
Gradually strengthening its hold over the American market, Emirates already serves key US gateways such as to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — launched in February 2012, followed by Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) launch in March. Other American routes include New York, Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco.
* username: rupertbu
Too much of regulations may stifle economic growth, says an expert | GulfNews.com
The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) regulations enacted this month, that puts stringent approval process on the sale of foreign funds, do not augur well for the country’s young domestic mutual fund industry and could kill the fund sector.
That was a message from Shehab Gargash, group CEO of Daman Investments, a Dubai-based investment management company, during his annual press conference held on Wednesday.
“When you come in and straddle too much regulation too soon on a nascent industry, I can tell you right now that you will not see new, meaningful mutual funds in the UAE for the foreseeable future,” said Gargash. “That’s a shame. The ability to pull in money and deploy it, is key to any economy’s move to success.”
That was a message from Shehab Gargash, group CEO of Daman Investments, a Dubai-based investment management company, during his annual press conference held on Wednesday.
“When you come in and straddle too much regulation too soon on a nascent industry, I can tell you right now that you will not see new, meaningful mutual funds in the UAE for the foreseeable future,” said Gargash. “That’s a shame. The ability to pull in money and deploy it, is key to any economy’s move to success.”
* username: rupertbu