Doha Bank QSC (DHBK), Qatar’s fourth- biggest lender, will increase its capital by as much as 50 percent, in part by offering stock at a 44 percent discount to the current share price in a rights offering.
The company will initially raise capital 25 percent by offering the shares next month at 30 riyals apiece and also plans to issue global depositary receipts to expand capital by as much as a further 25 percent, chairman Sheikh Fahad Bin Mohammad Bin Jabor Al Thani said today on the bank’s website.
“The planned capital raising will potentially remove our main concerns on the stock, weak visibility on loan growth and risks of dividend cuts due to a stretched capital base,” Elena Sanchez-Cabezudo, a Dubai-based analyst at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, said in an e-mailed report to clients.
Doha Bank Offers Shares at 44% Discount in Capital Increase Plan - Bloomberg
Monday 14 January 2013
Divisions deepen in two-speed Mideast - FT.com
The new year has brought a disturbing reminder of how the economic chasm between the Middle East’s rich and poor countries is widening with each day in the wake of the Arab uprising.
While Egypt’s currency crisis has continued despite an injection of $2.5bn from Qatar, the Gulf state and its fellow energy producers in the Opec cartel are basking in the record $1.05tn net revenues they raked in last year.
The contrasting fortunes are part of stark broader picture laid out in a report last week by HSBC. It describes a region whose countries occupy not merely different worlds financially, but parallel dimensions.
Divisions deepen in two-speed Mideast - FT.com
While Egypt’s currency crisis has continued despite an injection of $2.5bn from Qatar, the Gulf state and its fellow energy producers in the Opec cartel are basking in the record $1.05tn net revenues they raked in last year.
The contrasting fortunes are part of stark broader picture laid out in a report last week by HSBC. It describes a region whose countries occupy not merely different worlds financially, but parallel dimensions.
Divisions deepen in two-speed Mideast - FT.com
Is Qatar About To Destroy The GCC?
Qatar and its relationship with other members of the GCC was discussed in the first part of this series. Now let us look at something which the media seems to be missing.
As we pointed out, and is known to anyone following the GCC, Shia Iran is the issue which unites the GCC. However, what everyone else is missing is that the Iranian issue might not be enough to hold the six allied countries together, the culprit, Qatar. Qatar’s aggressive action regarding some of the more extreme Sunni groups is frightening other members, and it is hard to imagine that Saudi Arabia will allow this to continue.
Is Qatar About To Destroy The GCC?
As we pointed out, and is known to anyone following the GCC, Shia Iran is the issue which unites the GCC. However, what everyone else is missing is that the Iranian issue might not be enough to hold the six allied countries together, the culprit, Qatar. Qatar’s aggressive action regarding some of the more extreme Sunni groups is frightening other members, and it is hard to imagine that Saudi Arabia will allow this to continue.
Is Qatar About To Destroy The GCC?
Abudhabi Securities Exchange close - January 14, 2013
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MENA stock markets close - January 14, 2013
| Exchange | Status | Index | Change | ||||
 | TASI (Saudi Stock Market) | 7087.83 | -0.38% | ||||
 | DFM (Dubai Financial Market) | 1735.74 | 0.15% | ||||
| ADX (Abudhabi Securities Exchange) | 2766.29 | 0.89% | ||||
 | KSE (Kuwait Stock Exchange) | 6106.91 | -0.04% | ||||
 | BSE (Bahrain Stock Exchange) | 1072.82 | 0.07% | ||||
 | MSM (Muscat Securities Market) | 5851.32 | 0.12% | ||||
 | QE (Qatar Exchange) | 8639.68 | -0.52% | ||||
 | LSE (Beirut Stock Exchange) | 1177.17 | 0.30% | ||||
 | EGX 30 (Egypt Exchange) | 5738.96 | 0.66% | ||||
 | ASE (Amman Stock Exchange) | 2005.51 | 0.25% | ||||
 | TUNINDEX (Tunisia Stock Exchange) | 4672.01 | -0.02% | ||||
 | CB (Casablanca Stock Exchange) | 9173.06 | -0.64% | ||||
 | PSE (Palestine Securities Exchange) | 468.93 | 0.09% | ||||
Dubai Lender Amlak Said to Restructure $2 Billion Bank Debt - Bloomberg
Amlak Finance PJSC, the Islamic mortgage company part-owned by Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), is in talks with creditors to restructure about $2 billion of bank and government debt, two bankers familiar with the matter said.
The company is negotiating with a committee of five banks representing creditors, said the people, declining to be identified because the matter is private. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is advising Amlak on the talks, according to the people.
Shares of Amlak and Tamweel PJSC (TAMWEEL), another Dubai-based Islamic mortgage company, were suspended in November 2008 after the global credit crisis blocked their access to borrowings. Amlak reported a third-quarter loss of 40 million dirhams ($11 million in 2011, the last time the lender disclosed financial results, according to filings on the Dubai Financial Market.
Dubai Lender Amlak Said to Restructure $2 Billion Bank Debt - Bloomberg
The company is negotiating with a committee of five banks representing creditors, said the people, declining to be identified because the matter is private. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is advising Amlak on the talks, according to the people.
Shares of Amlak and Tamweel PJSC (TAMWEEL), another Dubai-based Islamic mortgage company, were suspended in November 2008 after the global credit crisis blocked their access to borrowings. Amlak reported a third-quarter loss of 40 million dirhams ($11 million in 2011, the last time the lender disclosed financial results, according to filings on the Dubai Financial Market.
Dubai Lender Amlak Said to Restructure $2 Billion Bank Debt - Bloomberg
Serbia Signs Russia Loan, Abu Dhabi Investment for Growth - Bloomberg
Serbia signed a Russian loan and an Abu Dhabi investment pledge worth more than $1 billion to the Balkan country as it seeks to support construction and agriculture, the two worst-performing industries in 2012.
Farming output fell more than 17 percent and construction activity declined 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2012, helping push gross domestic product down an estimated 2 percent. The five-month-old Cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic is trying to attract industrial investments, bolster growth and add jobs at a time when one in five is out of work.
The investments will “contribute to accelerating economic growth and significant improvement of Serbia’s foreign trade balance,” Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic’s press office said in a Jan. 13 statement.
Serbia Signs Russia Loan, Abu Dhabi Investment for Growth - Bloomberg
Farming output fell more than 17 percent and construction activity declined 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2012, helping push gross domestic product down an estimated 2 percent. The five-month-old Cabinet of Prime Minister Ivica Dacic is trying to attract industrial investments, bolster growth and add jobs at a time when one in five is out of work.
The investments will “contribute to accelerating economic growth and significant improvement of Serbia’s foreign trade balance,” Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic’s press office said in a Jan. 13 statement.
Serbia Signs Russia Loan, Abu Dhabi Investment for Growth - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia Says Oil Production Cut Not Designed to Boost Price - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia denied what it said were suggestions that it cut oil production in December to push crude prices higher and accused unidentified media of misinterpreting the kingdom’s response to weaker demand.
The world’s biggest crude exporter is “strongly committed to a stable oil market” and is “optimistic that economic uncertainties will pass and growth will resume in 2013,” Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, an adviser to Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, said today in a statement e-mailed to energy journalists.
Saudi Arabia reduced output in December by 4.9 percent to 9.025 million barrels a day, the lowest level in 19 months, a Gulf official with knowledge of the country’s energy policy said last week. The kingdom is the largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the only one with significant unused capacity to produce more.
Saudi Arabia Says Oil Production Cut Not Designed to Boost Price - Bloomberg
The world’s biggest crude exporter is “strongly committed to a stable oil market” and is “optimistic that economic uncertainties will pass and growth will resume in 2013,” Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, an adviser to Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, said today in a statement e-mailed to energy journalists.
Saudi Arabia reduced output in December by 4.9 percent to 9.025 million barrels a day, the lowest level in 19 months, a Gulf official with knowledge of the country’s energy policy said last week. The kingdom is the largest member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the only one with significant unused capacity to produce more.
Saudi Arabia Says Oil Production Cut Not Designed to Boost Price - Bloomberg
Middle East C-suite survey finds mixed results on confidence, risk management in the region - Business Intelligence Middle East - bi-me.com - News, analysis, reports
Continued uncertainty – stemming from events both within and outside the Middle East – looms large on the minds of the 157 senior executives from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar polled by Oliver Wyman and Zogby Research Services in late December, 2012.
The optimism uncovered in previous polls remains high, but has been dampened by ongoing fiscal worries in the Eurozone and by continued risks to the large and complex projects characteristic of the Gulf region. The survey results were presented at the 4th Oliver Wyman / Financial Times CEO Conference on Thursday, January 10th, in Dubai.
When asked to rate their firm-wide structures and processes in place to manage uncertainty, only 22% of all polled answered “no issues – we have an established firm-wide process to manage risk.” In the UAE, 69% of senior executives said their processes were either “mixed” (different parts of the firm have their own processes) or non-existent. Saudi executives were similarly negative, with 36% admitting they have no processes in place to manage risks.
Middle East C-suite survey finds mixed results on confidence, risk management in the region - bi-me.com
The optimism uncovered in previous polls remains high, but has been dampened by ongoing fiscal worries in the Eurozone and by continued risks to the large and complex projects characteristic of the Gulf region. The survey results were presented at the 4th Oliver Wyman / Financial Times CEO Conference on Thursday, January 10th, in Dubai.
When asked to rate their firm-wide structures and processes in place to manage uncertainty, only 22% of all polled answered “no issues – we have an established firm-wide process to manage risk.” In the UAE, 69% of senior executives said their processes were either “mixed” (different parts of the firm have their own processes) or non-existent. Saudi executives were similarly negative, with 36% admitting they have no processes in place to manage risks.
Middle East C-suite survey finds mixed results on confidence, risk management in the region - bi-me.com
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Present “Extreme Risk” to Investors – Survey | EurasiaNet.org
Investors operating in three post-Soviet Central Asian republics face an “extreme risk” of having their businesses expropriated, according to a survey released last week in the UK.
Maplecroft, a Bath-based political risk consultancy, said on January 9 that it had found plenty of reasons to be wary of the business climate in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan after “evaluating the risk to business from discriminatory acts by the government that reduces ownership, control or rights of private investments either gradually or as a result of a single action.” Recent fits of resource nationalism in Kyrgyzstan -- where the Kumtor gold mine, operated by Toronto-based Centerra Gold, accounted for 12 percent of GDP in 2011 and more than half the country’s industrial output – and rampant authoritarianism in places like Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have led Maplecroft to rank these countries among the most risky in the world. Not far behind, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan both fall in the “high risk” category.
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Present “Extreme Risk” to Investors – Survey | EurasiaNet.org
Maplecroft, a Bath-based political risk consultancy, said on January 9 that it had found plenty of reasons to be wary of the business climate in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan after “evaluating the risk to business from discriminatory acts by the government that reduces ownership, control or rights of private investments either gradually or as a result of a single action.” Recent fits of resource nationalism in Kyrgyzstan -- where the Kumtor gold mine, operated by Toronto-based Centerra Gold, accounted for 12 percent of GDP in 2011 and more than half the country’s industrial output – and rampant authoritarianism in places like Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have led Maplecroft to rank these countries among the most risky in the world. Not far behind, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan both fall in the “high risk” category.
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Present “Extreme Risk” to Investors – Survey | EurasiaNet.org
Bank secures sharia funding for Brazil - FT.com
A boutique Gulf investment bank has sourced millions of dollars of sharia-compliant funding for a Brazilian sugar and ethanol maker, in a deal that shows how smaller firms are creating increasing investment possibilities for the Gulf’s wealthy Islamic lenders.
The deal, brokered by Abu Dhabi Equity Partners, will finance an unnamed chemical alcohol producer in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, while at the same time creating a three-month investment opportunity for the undisclosed Gulf-based lender.
The transaction highlights how small banks are seeking to make up for the growing shortage in Islamic investment products, as large international financial institutions turn away from the sector.
Bank secures sharia funding for Brazil - FT.com
The deal, brokered by Abu Dhabi Equity Partners, will finance an unnamed chemical alcohol producer in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, while at the same time creating a three-month investment opportunity for the undisclosed Gulf-based lender.
The transaction highlights how small banks are seeking to make up for the growing shortage in Islamic investment products, as large international financial institutions turn away from the sector.
Bank secures sharia funding for Brazil - FT.com
Morgan Stanley to trim Dubai staff amid global cuts: sources | Reuters
Morgan Stanley Inc (MS.N), the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, is trimming staff at its Dubai office, mainly by cutting jobs in its equities division, as part of a global plan to reduce costs, three sources aware of the matter said.
The bank plans to slash 1,600 jobs globally, many of whom work in its securities unit, sources told Reuters last week.
Big U.S. and European institutions are cutting investment banking jobs in the Middle East as the promise of emerging markets is overshadowed by the need to slash costs and a dearth of deal activity.
Morgan Stanley to trim Dubai staff amid global cuts: sources | Reuters
The bank plans to slash 1,600 jobs globally, many of whom work in its securities unit, sources told Reuters last week.
Big U.S. and European institutions are cutting investment banking jobs in the Middle East as the promise of emerging markets is overshadowed by the need to slash costs and a dearth of deal activity.
Morgan Stanley to trim Dubai staff amid global cuts: sources | Reuters
Is Qatar on your entrepreneurial watch list? | EmergingMarkets.me
Entrepreneurs looking for potential investment opportunities ought to place Qatar high on their watch lists during the next year or two or else they could be missing out big time. Huge billion-dollar infrastructure projects, not to mention the 2022 FIFA World Cup competition, mean major companies from around the world eagerly eyeing the oil-rich Persian Gulf state and working out how to grab some of the action.
Little wonder. In terms of GDP per capita, Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world, with its economy still growing apace despite the global economic slowdown. Qatar is an outward-looking country, with modern infrastructure and sound financial institutions. So no problem then if you’re looking for a business bank account from HSBC or from one of the other multinational banks operating in the country!
But banks in Qatar aside, the country is the place to do business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Ask the Brits who have been heavily involved in trade with Qatar for several centuries. As the British government’s UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) department points out, exports to the country have more than doubled in recent years.
Is Qatar on your entrepreneurial watch list? | EmergingMarkets.me
Little wonder. In terms of GDP per capita, Qatar is the wealthiest country in the world, with its economy still growing apace despite the global economic slowdown. Qatar is an outward-looking country, with modern infrastructure and sound financial institutions. So no problem then if you’re looking for a business bank account from HSBC or from one of the other multinational banks operating in the country!
But banks in Qatar aside, the country is the place to do business in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Ask the Brits who have been heavily involved in trade with Qatar for several centuries. As the British government’s UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) department points out, exports to the country have more than doubled in recent years.
Is Qatar on your entrepreneurial watch list? | EmergingMarkets.me
Chart of the week: how important is manufacturing to emerging markets? | beyondbrics
For some emerging economies, large energy deposits can provide a fast, large boost to growth. But to move up towards middle income status or beyond, manufacturing has almost always been a necessary step for EMs to build a modern economy.
So what is the picture of the world’s top manufacturers? Who is the biggest, and which EMs have made the biggest strides?
According to a recent report by consultants McKinsey, manufacturing raises incomes and provides the machinery, tools, and materials to build modern infrastructure and housing.
Chart of the week: how important is manufacturing to emerging markets? | beyondbrics
So what is the picture of the world’s top manufacturers? Who is the biggest, and which EMs have made the biggest strides?
According to a recent report by consultants McKinsey, manufacturing raises incomes and provides the machinery, tools, and materials to build modern infrastructure and housing.
Chart of the week: how important is manufacturing to emerging markets? | beyondbrics
Egyptian bourse easily the regional exchange most vulnerable to a big fall this year « ArabianMoney
After being the best performing stock market in the Middle East and North Africa last year with a 40 per cent gain there is really only one way to go for Egypt in 2013 and that is down. it does not help that the Cairo bourse is on a high when the real economy is threatened with total collapse.
Last week Qatar came to its rescue with a $2 billion sticking plaster to support the Egyptian pound but it still dropped sharply in value anyway as worried Egyptians turned their pounds into dollars. And negotiations over a crucial $4.8 billion IMF rescue package appear to have stalled with the government unable to commit to tax hikes and spending cuts.
Egyptian bourse easily the regional exchange most vulnerable to a big fall this year « ArabianMoney
Last week Qatar came to its rescue with a $2 billion sticking plaster to support the Egyptian pound but it still dropped sharply in value anyway as worried Egyptians turned their pounds into dollars. And negotiations over a crucial $4.8 billion IMF rescue package appear to have stalled with the government unable to commit to tax hikes and spending cuts.
Egyptian bourse easily the regional exchange most vulnerable to a big fall this year « ArabianMoney
BankMuscat Gets Oman Islamic Banking License as Industry Grows - Bloomberg
BankMuscat SAOG (BKMB), Oman’s biggest bank by assets, received a license to offer services complying with Shariah as it seeks to benefit from the industry’s growth prospects.
The bank will open seven so-called Islamic windows this year operating under the brand “Meethaq Islamic Banking,” according to a regulatory filing today.
The move comes after the Persian Gulf country approved licenses for two Islamic banks last year. Islamic banking assets in Oman may account for a 10th of the total within a year of the lenders starting services, Hilal Al Barwani, vice president of banking supervision at the central bank, said in October. National Bank of Oman SAOG said in June its shareholders approved starting Islamic banking.
BankMuscat Gets Oman Islamic Banking License as Industry Grows - Bloomberg
The bank will open seven so-called Islamic windows this year operating under the brand “Meethaq Islamic Banking,” according to a regulatory filing today.
The move comes after the Persian Gulf country approved licenses for two Islamic banks last year. Islamic banking assets in Oman may account for a 10th of the total within a year of the lenders starting services, Hilal Al Barwani, vice president of banking supervision at the central bank, said in October. National Bank of Oman SAOG said in June its shareholders approved starting Islamic banking.
BankMuscat Gets Oman Islamic Banking License as Industry Grows - Bloomberg
Hidden Billionaire Milking Saudi Dairy Fortune in Desert - Bloomberg
At a sprawling complex in the Saudi desert, 60 miles north of Riyadh, dozens of black and white Holstein cows amble from their sandy surroundings into air- conditioned milking halls. Inside, they take their places on a motorized, rotating corral and are milked by machines while munching on shredded alfalfa and being misted with water.
The herd is one of hundreds owned by Almarai Co. (ALMARAI), the biggest food producer in the Persian Gulf, which processed about 235 million gallons of milk in 2012. The Riyadh-based company’s revenue has almost tripled in the past five years to 7.95 billion riyals ($2.12 billion) as demand for its products -- milk, cheese, processed chicken, baked goods and juices -- has surged with the nation’s population. Its shares are up 125 percent since its 2005 initial public offering.
Hidden Billionaire Milking Saudi Dairy Fortune in Desert - Bloomberg
The herd is one of hundreds owned by Almarai Co. (ALMARAI), the biggest food producer in the Persian Gulf, which processed about 235 million gallons of milk in 2012. The Riyadh-based company’s revenue has almost tripled in the past five years to 7.95 billion riyals ($2.12 billion) as demand for its products -- milk, cheese, processed chicken, baked goods and juices -- has surged with the nation’s population. Its shares are up 125 percent since its 2005 initial public offering.
Hidden Billionaire Milking Saudi Dairy Fortune in Desert - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabian banks report high earnings - The National
Early signs from Saudi Arabia's earnings season show the country's banking sector steamed ahead during the fourth quarter, with blowout earnings at each of the kingdom's lenders having reported so far. The profit growth figures are the envy of almost every bank in the region.
Banque Saudi Fransi topped expectations last week with profits for the fourth quarter of 808 million Saudi riyals, an increase of 22.2 per cent when compared with the same period in 2011.
Saudi Hollandi then followed on Saturday with profits of 313.4 million riyals, a 35.5 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.
Saudi Arabian banks report high earnings - The National
Banque Saudi Fransi topped expectations last week with profits for the fourth quarter of 808 million Saudi riyals, an increase of 22.2 per cent when compared with the same period in 2011.
Saudi Hollandi then followed on Saturday with profits of 313.4 million riyals, a 35.5 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier.
Saudi Arabian banks report high earnings - The National
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