Mubadala completes Egypt gasfield acquisition | GulfNews.com:
"Mubadala Petroleum announced on Wednesday that it completed the acquisition from Italy’s Eni of a 10 per cent stake in the offshore Shorouk concession in Egypt as the subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company aims to increase production to boost growth.
Shorouk concession contains the Zohr gasfield, which is the largest natural gasfield ever found in the Mediterranean, with a total potential of up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas.
“The acquisition of a 10 per cent interest in the Shorouk concession with the producing Zohr gasfield is a significant portfolio addition for Mubadala Petroleum and marks our entry into Egypt. This world-class asset will provide Mubadala Petroleum with increasing future production, and substantial reserves, all of which support our drive for long-term and profitable growth,” said Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri, Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Petroleum."
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Wednesday, 20 June 2018
Saudi stocks receive landmark emerging markets upgrade from MSCI
Saudi stocks receive landmark emerging markets upgrade from MSCI:
"Saudi Arabian equites are poised to attract up to $40 billion worth of foreign inflows, following a landmark decision by index provider MSCI to include the Kingdom’s stocks in its widely tracked Emerging Markets index. "MSCI will include the MSCI Saudi Arabia Index in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, representing on a pro forma basis a weight of approximately 2.6% of the index with 32 securities, following a two-step inclusion process," the MSCI said in a statement late on Wednesday night Riyadh time. “Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in MSCI’s EM Index is a milestone achievement and will likely bring with it significant levels of foreign investment,” Salah Shamma, head of investment for MENA at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity, told Arab News. "
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"Saudi Arabian equites are poised to attract up to $40 billion worth of foreign inflows, following a landmark decision by index provider MSCI to include the Kingdom’s stocks in its widely tracked Emerging Markets index. "MSCI will include the MSCI Saudi Arabia Index in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, representing on a pro forma basis a weight of approximately 2.6% of the index with 32 securities, following a two-step inclusion process," the MSCI said in a statement late on Wednesday night Riyadh time. “Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in MSCI’s EM Index is a milestone achievement and will likely bring with it significant levels of foreign investment,” Salah Shamma, head of investment for MENA at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity, told Arab News. "
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Mideast risk scares sukuk investors away
Mideast risk scares sukuk investors away:
"Islamic bond sales slumped 15 percent in first half of the year as political risk in the Middle East scared investors away. Geopolitical risks from issues such as the economic boycott of Qatar by four of its regional neighbors and the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran have added to investor unease, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings. The value of Islamic bond sales fell to $44.2 billion compared with $52.2 billion in the first half of 2017 according to data from S&P Global Ratings. The decline in foreign currency sukuk was even greater at 45 percent."
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"Islamic bond sales slumped 15 percent in first half of the year as political risk in the Middle East scared investors away. Geopolitical risks from issues such as the economic boycott of Qatar by four of its regional neighbors and the reinstatement of sanctions against Iran have added to investor unease, according to a report from S&P Global Ratings. The value of Islamic bond sales fell to $44.2 billion compared with $52.2 billion in the first half of 2017 according to data from S&P Global Ratings. The decline in foreign currency sukuk was even greater at 45 percent."
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QSE to launch new incentives for local and global investors
QSE to launch new incentives for local and global investors:
"The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) is poised to launch new investment incentives after a series of steps taken this year aimed at developing its systems, making it a platform for attracting local and international investments.
These steps have contributed to the increase in demand of local and international entities to invest in the world’s largest emerging market listed in the global indices in the region, and the second largest exchange in the Middle East in terms of capital.
The latest steps that have been taken in this regard is the launch by the QSE of two investment funds for the first time in its history, at a time when it plans to launch a market for trading shares of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the second half of this year."
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"The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) is poised to launch new investment incentives after a series of steps taken this year aimed at developing its systems, making it a platform for attracting local and international investments.
These steps have contributed to the increase in demand of local and international entities to invest in the world’s largest emerging market listed in the global indices in the region, and the second largest exchange in the Middle East in terms of capital.
The latest steps that have been taken in this regard is the launch by the QSE of two investment funds for the first time in its history, at a time when it plans to launch a market for trading shares of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the second half of this year."
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Saudi Moves Forward With Plan to Turn Qatar Into Island - Bloomberg
Saudi Moves Forward With Plan to Turn Qatar Into Island - Bloomberg:
"Saudi Arabia is moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would physically enshrine its yearlong rift with Qatar by turning the emirate from a peninsula bordering the kingdom into an island, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.
Five international companies that specialize in digging canals have been invited to vie for the project, with bids closing on Monday and the winner to be chosen within 90 days, Makkah newspaper reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The canal should be completed within one year of work starting, it said. The report was also carried by Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya and shared on Twitter by Saudi royal court adviser Saud Al Qahtani.
The Saudi government’s Center for International Communication didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The government has never confirmed the plan, first reported in April."
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"Saudi Arabia is moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would physically enshrine its yearlong rift with Qatar by turning the emirate from a peninsula bordering the kingdom into an island, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.
Five international companies that specialize in digging canals have been invited to vie for the project, with bids closing on Monday and the winner to be chosen within 90 days, Makkah newspaper reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The canal should be completed within one year of work starting, it said. The report was also carried by Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya and shared on Twitter by Saudi royal court adviser Saud Al Qahtani.
The Saudi government’s Center for International Communication didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The government has never confirmed the plan, first reported in April."
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UPDATE 1-Air Arabia has $336 million overall exposure to Abraaj | Reuters
UPDATE 1-Air Arabia has $336 million overall exposure to Abraaj | Reuters:
"Air Arabia has an overall exposure of $336 million to Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj, which has filed for provisional liquidation, the airline said on Wednesday. The carrier said in a statement emailed to Reuters that it had appointed a legal representative to protect its business. Shares in Air Arabia, the only listed airline in the United Arab Emirates, plunged 7 percent this week because of the link between the airline and Abraaj."
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"Air Arabia has an overall exposure of $336 million to Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj, which has filed for provisional liquidation, the airline said on Wednesday. The carrier said in a statement emailed to Reuters that it had appointed a legal representative to protect its business. Shares in Air Arabia, the only listed airline in the United Arab Emirates, plunged 7 percent this week because of the link between the airline and Abraaj."
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Exclusive: Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar in advanced merger talks - sources | Reuters
Exclusive: Barwa Bank and International Bank of Qatar in advanced merger talks - sources | Reuters:
"Qatari lenders Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA and International Bank of Qatar are in advanced talks to merge after discussions for a three-way merger with another bank collapsed last week, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The proposed merger between the two banks could be announced as early as next week, one of the three sources close to the deal said.
The value of the transaction was not immediately available. The two banks had total assets of 81.7 billion riyals ($22.45 billion) at the end of last year, according to their financial reports.
"
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"Qatari lenders Barwa Bank IPO-BABK.QA and International Bank of Qatar are in advanced talks to merge after discussions for a three-way merger with another bank collapsed last week, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The proposed merger between the two banks could be announced as early as next week, one of the three sources close to the deal said.
The value of the transaction was not immediately available. The two banks had total assets of 81.7 billion riyals ($22.45 billion) at the end of last year, according to their financial reports.
"
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For OPEC, oil tariff spat is short-term gain, long-term pain | Reuters
For OPEC, oil tariff spat is short-term gain, long-term pain | Reuters:
"OPEC, which has lost Chinese market share to U.S. oil producers, should in theory view a tariff spat between Beijing and Washington as a boon.
But while OPEC can sell more oil to China as a result of import tariffs on U.S. crude, in the long term the trade dispute could hit economic growth and oil demand, OPEC officials and oil executives said.
“In the long term, this will have a negative effect on the global economy even if, in the short term, it might be positive for other non-U.S. producers,” Austrian oil company OMV’s chief executive Rainer Seele said on the sidelines of an OPEC seminar in Vienna. “In the long-term, (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s policies will weigh on the global economy.” "
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"OPEC, which has lost Chinese market share to U.S. oil producers, should in theory view a tariff spat between Beijing and Washington as a boon.
But while OPEC can sell more oil to China as a result of import tariffs on U.S. crude, in the long term the trade dispute could hit economic growth and oil demand, OPEC officials and oil executives said.
“In the long term, this will have a negative effect on the global economy even if, in the short term, it might be positive for other non-U.S. producers,” Austrian oil company OMV’s chief executive Rainer Seele said on the sidelines of an OPEC seminar in Vienna. “In the long-term, (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s policies will weigh on the global economy.” "
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Iran may agree increase in OPEC oil output - minister | Reuters
Iran may agree increase in OPEC oil output - minister | Reuters:
"Iran may agree to an increase in oil output by OPEC and its allies through producers who have overdelivered on cuts moving up to their quotas, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in an interview with CNN. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and several other producers had agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) starting from January 2017. The agreement has driven down inventories and pushed up oil prices. However, a number of producers including Saudi Arabia have been cutting more deeply than planned despite outages in Venezuela and Libya, meaning they could modestly boost output while complying with their quotas."
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"Iran may agree to an increase in oil output by OPEC and its allies through producers who have overdelivered on cuts moving up to their quotas, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in an interview with CNN. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and several other producers had agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) starting from January 2017. The agreement has driven down inventories and pushed up oil prices. However, a number of producers including Saudi Arabia have been cutting more deeply than planned despite outages in Venezuela and Libya, meaning they could modestly boost output while complying with their quotas."
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Argentina, Saudi Arabia to be part of MSCI emerging markets index | Reuters
Argentina, Saudi Arabia to be part of MSCI emerging markets index | Reuters:
"Index provider MSCI said on Wednesday it will reclassify Argentina as an emerging market and start including Saudi Arabia in that classification, sharply broadening the investor base for both countries in a move that could be supportive of their local equities.
The decisions will be effective beginning in mid-2019.
International investors’ expectations are now “that the current privatization effort in Saudi Arabia will continue to grow the investable opportunity set available to them and hence, all other things being equal, contribute to an increased weight of Saudi Arabia in the Emerging Markets Index in the future,” Sebastien Lieblich, MSCI managing director and global head of equity solutions, said in a statement.
"
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"Index provider MSCI said on Wednesday it will reclassify Argentina as an emerging market and start including Saudi Arabia in that classification, sharply broadening the investor base for both countries in a move that could be supportive of their local equities.
The decisions will be effective beginning in mid-2019.
International investors’ expectations are now “that the current privatization effort in Saudi Arabia will continue to grow the investable opportunity set available to them and hence, all other things being equal, contribute to an increased weight of Saudi Arabia in the Emerging Markets Index in the future,” Sebastien Lieblich, MSCI managing director and global head of equity solutions, said in a statement.
"
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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi shares fall amid profit-taking ahead of MSCI decision | Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi shares fall amid profit-taking ahead of MSCI decision | Reuters:
"Saudi stocks declined on Wednesday as investors cut risk ahead of a decision from global index compiler MSCI on whether to include Saudi Arabia and its $526 billion bourse in its emerging market indexes. “It would not be surprising to see some profit taking in the Saudi market after a strong run up into the MSCI inclusion date,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at First Abu Dhabi Bank. “Valuations of Saudi equities are at the higher end of historic ranges even though the medium-to-longer term underlying fundamentals for companies remain strong.”"
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"Saudi stocks declined on Wednesday as investors cut risk ahead of a decision from global index compiler MSCI on whether to include Saudi Arabia and its $526 billion bourse in its emerging market indexes. “It would not be surprising to see some profit taking in the Saudi market after a strong run up into the MSCI inclusion date,” said Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at First Abu Dhabi Bank. “Valuations of Saudi equities are at the higher end of historic ranges even though the medium-to-longer term underlying fundamentals for companies remain strong.”"
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A Ghost Army of Workers Is Paid to Do Nothing in the Gulf - Bloomberg
A Ghost Army of Workers Is Paid to Do Nothing in the Gulf - Bloomberg:
"Show up, swipe in. The routine is familiar to office workers everywhere. In Kuwait, it proved too much to ask. The government was trying to trim a wage bill that eats up more than half its budget -- an outlandish share even by Gulf standards. Last year, it required public employees to swipe their fingers on a biometric reader every morning. The following quarter, about 5,000 quit. Many of them rarely if ever turned up, and were worried they’d get caught under the new rule, according to Khalifa Hamada, the undersecretary at Kuwait’s Finance Ministry. All Persian Gulf monarchies have some version of this problem. Government is the employer of first resort -- even when it has nothing much for its employees to do. That’s part of a tacit agreement between ruling families and citizens. The latter may not get a say in how their countries are run, but at least they get looked after."
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"Show up, swipe in. The routine is familiar to office workers everywhere. In Kuwait, it proved too much to ask. The government was trying to trim a wage bill that eats up more than half its budget -- an outlandish share even by Gulf standards. Last year, it required public employees to swipe their fingers on a biometric reader every morning. The following quarter, about 5,000 quit. Many of them rarely if ever turned up, and were worried they’d get caught under the new rule, according to Khalifa Hamada, the undersecretary at Kuwait’s Finance Ministry. All Persian Gulf monarchies have some version of this problem. Government is the employer of first resort -- even when it has nothing much for its employees to do. That’s part of a tacit agreement between ruling families and citizens. The latter may not get a say in how their countries are run, but at least they get looked after."
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OPEC Maths Reveals Gap Between Headlines and Real Barrels - Bloomberg
OPEC Maths Reveals Gap Between Headlines and Real Barrels - Bloomberg:
"When OPEC meets on Friday in Vienna to discuss a possible output hike in the second half of the year, there’s likely to be a significant gap between the headline numbers under discussion and the amount of oil that can actually be added to the market. The gap between real barrels and those that exist only on paper means that the impact on the market of any agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to increase supply is likely to be about one-third smaller than the headline announcement, according to Bloomberg calculations. To see why, look at the 1.5 million-barrel-a-day increase that has been floated by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. He said on Tuesday that his proposal would allocate the quota increase among all OPEC+ members in proportion to the original cuts each country agreed back in 2016."
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"When OPEC meets on Friday in Vienna to discuss a possible output hike in the second half of the year, there’s likely to be a significant gap between the headline numbers under discussion and the amount of oil that can actually be added to the market. The gap between real barrels and those that exist only on paper means that the impact on the market of any agreement between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to increase supply is likely to be about one-third smaller than the headline announcement, according to Bloomberg calculations. To see why, look at the 1.5 million-barrel-a-day increase that has been floated by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. He said on Tuesday that his proposal would allocate the quota increase among all OPEC+ members in proportion to the original cuts each country agreed back in 2016."
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A $600 Billion Decision Looms for Saudis, Argentina on MSCI - Bloomberg
A $600 Billion Decision Looms for Saudis, Argentina on MSCI - Bloomberg:
"Two nations divided by geography -- and united by a history of financial protectionism -- embarked on a journey toward more transparent markets three years ago. Today, they’ll learn whether foreign investors are ready to embrace their tales of transformation.
As MSCI Inc. decides whether to promote Saudi Arabia and Argentina to emerging-market status, expanding the asset class by as much as $600 billion, it’s not just those nations that are on the edge. An upgrade for either or both could boost sentiment after a selloff that erased $2.7 trillion from developing-nation equities since late January. The announcement is due after 4:30 p.m. New York time on Wednesday."
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"Two nations divided by geography -- and united by a history of financial protectionism -- embarked on a journey toward more transparent markets three years ago. Today, they’ll learn whether foreign investors are ready to embrace their tales of transformation.
As MSCI Inc. decides whether to promote Saudi Arabia and Argentina to emerging-market status, expanding the asset class by as much as $600 billion, it’s not just those nations that are on the edge. An upgrade for either or both could boost sentiment after a selloff that erased $2.7 trillion from developing-nation equities since late January. The announcement is due after 4:30 p.m. New York time on Wednesday."
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UAE’s economy to grow 3% in 5 years: IMF | ZAWYA MENA Edition
UAE’s economy to grow 3% in 5 years: IMF | ZAWYA MENA Edition:
"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected the UAE’s economic growth to reach 3% in the next year until 2023.
In 2018, the UAE’s economy is likely to advance by 2%, the Washington-based fund added.
The UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices is forecast to increase to around AED 1.89 billion by 2023, against AED 1.51 billion expected in 2018, while the Arab country's GDP at constant prices is forecast to hit AED 1.66 trillion in the same period, compared to AED 1.43 trillion this year, according to the IMF's data."
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"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expected the UAE’s economic growth to reach 3% in the next year until 2023.
In 2018, the UAE’s economy is likely to advance by 2%, the Washington-based fund added.
The UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices is forecast to increase to around AED 1.89 billion by 2023, against AED 1.51 billion expected in 2018, while the Arab country's GDP at constant prices is forecast to hit AED 1.66 trillion in the same period, compared to AED 1.43 trillion this year, according to the IMF's data."
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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi flat ahead of MSCI decision; other markets down | Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi flat ahead of MSCI decision; other markets down | Reuters:
"Saudi stocks were almost flat in morning trade as investors awaited a decision from global index compiler MSCI on whether to include Saudi Arabia and its $526 billion bourse in its emerging market indexes at a review of its widely-tracked benchmark on Wednesday. Other Gulf markets declined in largely muted trading as many investors are still on holiday for the Muslim festival of Eid. The main Saudi index shed 0.15 percent by 0821 GMT."
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"Saudi stocks were almost flat in morning trade as investors awaited a decision from global index compiler MSCI on whether to include Saudi Arabia and its $526 billion bourse in its emerging market indexes at a review of its widely-tracked benchmark on Wednesday. Other Gulf markets declined in largely muted trading as many investors are still on holiday for the Muslim festival of Eid. The main Saudi index shed 0.15 percent by 0821 GMT."
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