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Sunday, 28 December 2014
MIDEAST STOCKS-Markets rise, Saudi budget helps them shrug off oil below $60 | News by Country | Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Markets rise, Saudi budget helps them shrug off oil below $60 | News by Country | Reuters:
"Gulf stock markets rose on Sunday despite oil's weakness as Saudi Arabia's plan to maintain government spending at a high level boosted investor confidence.
The Saudi government released a 2015 state budget last Thursday that provides for a 0.6 percent increase in spending from this year's plan. That cheered the retail investors who dominate Gulf stock markets; they had feared falling oil revenues would trigger spending cuts across the region.
The new mood of optimism in the Gulf helped investors largely ignore the fresh decline in the price of Brent crude oil, which closed below $60 a barrel on Friday."
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"Gulf stock markets rose on Sunday despite oil's weakness as Saudi Arabia's plan to maintain government spending at a high level boosted investor confidence.
The Saudi government released a 2015 state budget last Thursday that provides for a 0.6 percent increase in spending from this year's plan. That cheered the retail investors who dominate Gulf stock markets; they had feared falling oil revenues would trigger spending cuts across the region.
The new mood of optimism in the Gulf helped investors largely ignore the fresh decline in the price of Brent crude oil, which closed below $60 a barrel on Friday."
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Russian tourists to Dubai down by half as rouble continues to fall | The National
Russian tourists to Dubai down by half as rouble continues to fall | The National:
"Fewer Russian tourists are expected to check into Dubai’s hotels and hotel apartments next month as a falling rouble takes its toll on middle-class visitors.
The biggest travel season for Russian guests is the first two weeks of January, when they take time off for Orthodox Christmas and the New Year that coincide with school holidays.
But as hotels and tour operators report, the demand is almost half compared to a year earlier."
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"Fewer Russian tourists are expected to check into Dubai’s hotels and hotel apartments next month as a falling rouble takes its toll on middle-class visitors.
The biggest travel season for Russian guests is the first two weeks of January, when they take time off for Orthodox Christmas and the New Year that coincide with school holidays.
But as hotels and tour operators report, the demand is almost half compared to a year earlier."
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Mashreq sees sobering of retail revenue growth in 2015 | GulfNews.com
Mashreq sees sobering of retail revenue growth in 2015 | GulfNews.com
"After achieving exceptional retail revenue and profit growth in 2014, Mashreq expects a moderation in the retail revenue growth rates in 2015, said Farhad Irani, Group Head of Retail Banking at Mashreq in an interview with Gulf News.
“In 2014 we exceeded all projections. All segments of our retail business such as our businesses in Qatar and Egypt beat the plan. The plan in itself was very aggressive to start with. In 2014, our revenues have grown close to 36 per cent year on year and the bottom line has doubled for the third time in three years,” said Irani.
The rate of growth in retail revenues is expected to drop by about 40 per cent in 2015 largely due to the already high denominator and some rationalisation in the wealth business."
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"After achieving exceptional retail revenue and profit growth in 2014, Mashreq expects a moderation in the retail revenue growth rates in 2015, said Farhad Irani, Group Head of Retail Banking at Mashreq in an interview with Gulf News.
“In 2014 we exceeded all projections. All segments of our retail business such as our businesses in Qatar and Egypt beat the plan. The plan in itself was very aggressive to start with. In 2014, our revenues have grown close to 36 per cent year on year and the bottom line has doubled for the third time in three years,” said Irani.
The rate of growth in retail revenues is expected to drop by about 40 per cent in 2015 largely due to the already high denominator and some rationalisation in the wealth business."
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Russia May Burn Wealth Funds in 3 Years Without Cuts - Bloomberg
Russia May Burn Wealth Funds in 3 Years Without Cuts - Bloomberg:
"Russia, poised to enter a recession, will burn through its rainy-day funds in three years if the government doesn’t change the budget structure, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
With oil prices at $60 a barrel, Russia’s economy may contract about 4 percent next year and have a budget deficit of more than 3 percent of output, Siluanov told reporters in Moscow today. The ministry will use these estimates and an exchange rate of 51 rubles per dollar to review the 2015 budget.
Russia is facing its first recession since 2009, and the contraction may last for two years, according to economists in a Bloomberg survey. Oil, its biggest export earner, is trading near a five-year low, compounding the effect of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies over President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in March. The deterioration puts Russia at risk of a downgrade to below investment grade, Standard & Poor’s said this week."
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"Russia, poised to enter a recession, will burn through its rainy-day funds in three years if the government doesn’t change the budget structure, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
With oil prices at $60 a barrel, Russia’s economy may contract about 4 percent next year and have a budget deficit of more than 3 percent of output, Siluanov told reporters in Moscow today. The ministry will use these estimates and an exchange rate of 51 rubles per dollar to review the 2015 budget.
Russia is facing its first recession since 2009, and the contraction may last for two years, according to economists in a Bloomberg survey. Oil, its biggest export earner, is trading near a five-year low, compounding the effect of sanctions imposed by the U.S. and its allies over President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in March. The deterioration puts Russia at risk of a downgrade to below investment grade, Standard & Poor’s said this week."
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Dubai Investments Sees $2.7 Billion of Property Projects - Bloomberg
Dubai Investments Sees $2.7 Billion of Property Projects - Bloomberg:
"Dubai Investments PJSC plans 10 billion dirhams ($2.7 billion) of real-estate projects in the next five years as it seeks to benefit from resurgent property demand.
Developments include Mirdiff Hills, a 2.5 billion dirham project in Dubai that will include 1,500 homes, a 230-room hotel, shops and 200,000 square-feet of office space, Chief Executive Officer Khalid Bin Kalban said in an interview. The company’s Dubai Investment Real Estate Co. unit will start tendering for the development in the next two months, he said.
Dubai Investments, whose largest shareholder is state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai ICD, is seeking to profit from a market recovery in the emirate after one of the world’s worst property crashes during the financial crisis in 2008. Local developers are reviving projects amid a surge in prices and new measures such as limiting mortgages and a doubling of transaction fees which have helped stabilize the market."
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"Dubai Investments PJSC plans 10 billion dirhams ($2.7 billion) of real-estate projects in the next five years as it seeks to benefit from resurgent property demand.
Developments include Mirdiff Hills, a 2.5 billion dirham project in Dubai that will include 1,500 homes, a 230-room hotel, shops and 200,000 square-feet of office space, Chief Executive Officer Khalid Bin Kalban said in an interview. The company’s Dubai Investment Real Estate Co. unit will start tendering for the development in the next two months, he said.
Dubai Investments, whose largest shareholder is state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai ICD, is seeking to profit from a market recovery in the emirate after one of the world’s worst property crashes during the financial crisis in 2008. Local developers are reviving projects amid a surge in prices and new measures such as limiting mortgages and a doubling of transaction fees which have helped stabilize the market."
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Dubai Shares Lead Gulf Stocks Higher as U.S. Confidence Grows - Bloomberg
Dubai Shares Lead Gulf Stocks Higher as U.S. Confidence Grows - Bloomberg:
"Shares in Dubai rose to the highest level in more than two weeks following a record close for U.S. stocks last week. Qatari shares also advanced.
The DFM General Index (DFMGI) climbed 2.5 percent to 3,984.64 at 12:22 p.m. local time, its highest since Dec. 9. Qatar’s QE Index and Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index both added 1 percent, and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index advanced 0.3 percent. The gauge has jumped almost 20 percent since a recent low on Dec. 16.
Data last week showed the world’s largest economy grew at the fastest pace since 2003 in the third quarter, spurring the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest close on record on Dec. 26. Dubai’s benchmark index recovered from a bear market with a 13 percent surge in the last five trading days, after markets in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council collapsed amid plunging oil prices."
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"Shares in Dubai rose to the highest level in more than two weeks following a record close for U.S. stocks last week. Qatari shares also advanced.
The DFM General Index (DFMGI) climbed 2.5 percent to 3,984.64 at 12:22 p.m. local time, its highest since Dec. 9. Qatar’s QE Index and Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index both added 1 percent, and Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index advanced 0.3 percent. The gauge has jumped almost 20 percent since a recent low on Dec. 16.
Data last week showed the world’s largest economy grew at the fastest pace since 2003 in the third quarter, spurring the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest close on record on Dec. 26. Dubai’s benchmark index recovered from a bear market with a 13 percent surge in the last five trading days, after markets in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council collapsed amid plunging oil prices."
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Saudi Arabia Said to Plan Bourse Opening to Foreigners in April - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia Said to Plan Bourse Opening to Foreigners in April - Bloomberg:
"Saudi Arabia is seeking to open its $509 billion stock exchange to foreign investors in April, according to three people briefed on the country’s plans.
The Capital Market Authority informed brokers and fund managers of the timeline in London last month, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the meeting was private. Saudi Arabia isn’t planning significant changes to draft rules published in August, the people said. The country announced in July that it would open the market in the first half of 2015.
The world’s biggest oil exporter is removing barriers to one of the world’s most-restricted major stock exchanges as it pursues a $130 billion spending plan to boost non-energy industries. Opening the market may prompt MSCI Inc. to include the bourse in its emerging market gauge by 2017, luring as much as $40 billion of foreign cash, Schroders Plc. said in July."
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"Saudi Arabia is seeking to open its $509 billion stock exchange to foreign investors in April, according to three people briefed on the country’s plans.
The Capital Market Authority informed brokers and fund managers of the timeline in London last month, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the meeting was private. Saudi Arabia isn’t planning significant changes to draft rules published in August, the people said. The country announced in July that it would open the market in the first half of 2015.
The world’s biggest oil exporter is removing barriers to one of the world’s most-restricted major stock exchanges as it pursues a $130 billion spending plan to boost non-energy industries. Opening the market may prompt MSCI Inc. to include the bourse in its emerging market gauge by 2017, luring as much as $40 billion of foreign cash, Schroders Plc. said in July."
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