European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi shares fall after OPEC+ output deal falters - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi shares fall after OPEC+ output deal falters - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia's stock market closed
lower on Sunday following eight winning sessions as investors
paused after OPEC and other oil producing countries struggled to
finalise a record deal to cut output and support crude prices.

Saudi's benchmark index fell 2%, weighed down by
index heavyweight Saudi Aramco down 1.3%, Al Rajhi
Bank down 1.6% and a 3.4% drop in petrochemicals maker
Saudi Basic Industries.

Shares in the United Arab Emirates, where the indexes last
week saw their biggest weekly percentage gains in years, rose
further as investors continued bargain buying.

Dubai's main share index rose 4.2% with Emirates
NBD Bank up 4.8% and Emaar Properties
closing 5.5% higher.

In Abu Dhabi, the index added 2.1% as First Abu Dhabi
Bank rose 3.3% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank
surged 9.3%.

#UAE pharma firm Julphar announces capital restructuring - Arabianbusiness

UAE pharma firm Julphar announces capital restructuring - Arabianbusiness:

Julphar, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Middle East and Africa, has approved capital restructuring at the company’s annual general assembly (AGM).

Under the plan, the Ras Al Khaimah-based company is looking to reduce its share capital by just over AED503m by cancelling shares to extinguish accumulated losses and raising AED500m through new shares issued, with a nominal value of AED1. 


Dr. Essam Farouk, who was appointed chief executive officer at Julphar in April last year, said: “The capital restructuring will mark a milestone in the transformation that is underway at Julphar, which has the clear objective to restore our position as a leading regional pharmaceutical company within three years.”

Julphar employs more than 3,500 people and distributes pharmaceutical products to more than 50 countries on five continents

QNB posts modest rise in Q1 profit as loan loss charge rises - Reuters

QNB posts modest rise in Q1 profit as loan loss charge rises - Reuters:

Qatar National Bank, the Gulf’s biggest lender, on Sunday posted a 1% rise in first-quarter net profit, as a double-digit rise in loan growth was partially offset by a jump in loan loss charges linked to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Qatari lender said loan loss provisioning rose 272 million riyals ($75 million).

Net profit was 3.6 billion riyals ($989 million), up from 3.56 billion riyals a year earlier, it said in a statement.

OPEC+ deal could boost oil prices, but oversupply remains - Reuters

OPEC+ deal could boost oil prices, but oversupply remains - Reuters:

An oil producer deal to make record output cuts will lend some support this week to oil prices that have lost half their value this year as the coronavirus hammers demand.

Total global oil supply cuts could come to 20 million barrels per day, around 20% of global supply, Kuwait’s oil minister said. After four days of wrangling, OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing nations, a group known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to cut output by a record amount of 9.7 million barrels per day, representing around 10% of global supply to support oil prices amid the pandemic, sources said.

Kuwait’s oil minister said the effective reduction in oil supply by OPEC+ and other G20 countries would be roughly 20 million bpd.

“If G20 adds about another 10 mln bpd, then the world is meeting the total imbalance from May and this would be a massive relief,” Rystad Energy said. “Still storage will be filled to nearly the top in April, but the market will stabilize.”

OPEC, Russia approve biggest-ever oil cut amid coronavirus pandemic - Reuters

OPEC, Russia approve biggest-ever oil cut amid coronavirus pandemic - Reuters:

OPEC and allies led by Russia agreed on Sunday to a record cut in output to prop up oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic and said they had an unprecedented deal with fellow oil nations, including the United States, to curb global oil supply by 20%.

Measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus have destroyed demand for fuel and driven down oil prices, straining budgets of oil producers and hammering the U.S. shale industry, which is more vulnerable to low prices due to its higher costs.

The group, known as OPEC+, said it had agreed to reduce output by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for May and June, after four days of talks and following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to arrest the price decline.

The biggest oil cut ever is more than four times deeper than the previous record cut in 2008. Producers will slowly relax curbs after June, although reductions in production will stay in place until April 2022.

Maaden to Focus on Preserving Cash Instead of Shareholder Payout - Bloomberg

Maaden to Focus on Preserving Cash Instead of Shareholder Payout - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabian Mining Co. will focus on keeping a cash cushion rather than returning money to shareholders, Chief Executive Officer Mosaed Bin Sulaiman Al Ohali said.

“As we look forward at the current situation of the market, I think we need to conserve as much cash as possible to take care of any emerging issues,” Al Ohali said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. Previously, the company’s shareholders had decided not to pay a dividend and “fundamentally nothing has changed,” he said. 

Saudi Arabian Mining, also known as Maaden, appointed Al Ohali as CEO last month.

Oil Price and OPEC+: Trump's #Saudi-Russia Cease-Fire Won't Last - Bloomberg

Oil Price and OPEC+: Trump's Saudi-Russia Cease-Fire Won't Last - Bloomberg:

After two days of high drama, low farce and long periods of tedium, the OPEC+ group of countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, almost agreed to cut their oil production by an initial 10 million barrels a day in response to the coronavirus-triggered collapse in demand. That “almost” is important.

The drama was provided by Mexico refusing to accept its allotted cut. The farce followed when the country’s oil minister left the virtual OPEC+ meeting to hold separate talks with her U.S. and Canadian counterparts, while the other energy ministers agonized for hours over how to respond. The tedium? Well, that was just the bits in between.

Mexico was asked to cut 400,000 barrels a day of production in the first phase of an OPEC+ deal that would run for an unprecedented two years. It offered one-quarter of that, and from a slightly higher baseline than what was asked for.

An unlikely white knight appeared to ride to the group’s rescue on Friday in the form of U.S. President Donald Trump. He proposed an arrangement with Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (known as AMLO) in which 250,000 barrels a day of the “market-driven” decline in U.S. output would be rebranded as “Mexican.” But don’t be fooled: This won’t take a single additional barrel of oil off the market beyond those that would disappear anyway because of the Covid-19-prompted collapse in demand. That’s why this is still an “almost” deal, rather than a certain one: The Saudis and the Russians still have to decide whether they will swallow Mexico’s lack of genuine commitment. 

Middle East News Latest: Oil Traders Runs Out of Crude Storage - Bloomberg

Middle East News Latest: Oil Traders Runs Out of Crude Storage - Bloomberg:

With the coronavirus choking fuel demand and the world awash in surplus crude, even the Middle East’s main oil-trading hub has run out of room to store unwanted barrels.

Terminal operators at Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates say they’re turning down requests from traders and refiners to store crude and refined products, whereas a year ago they had ample space. The port’s 14 million barrels of commercial crude-storage capacity is just a fraction of what Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi provide for their state oil companies.

Without tanks to lease, traders face costly constraints on their role as matchmakers who link a specific supply here with a willing buyer there. The global oil glut is making it harder for traders to even out imbalances in the market, and the plunge in crude, down about half this year, is making matters worse.

“If tanks are leased or blocked, then traders need to push back on taking crude,” said Edward Bell, senior director for market economics at Emirates NBD PJSC in Dubai. That, in turn, could “force production shut-ins.”

Middle East News: #Qatar Jobs in Private Sector, Pay and Salaries - Bloomberg

Middle East News: Qatar Jobs in Private Sector, Pay and Salaries - Bloomberg:

Qatar will temporarily pay some private sector salaries as policies meant to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus keep most businesses shuttered.

Privately owned companies incorporated in Qatar can apply for three months of salary support for their workers. If accepted, employees will receive money directly in their Qatari bank accounts under a program administered by Qatar Development Bank, the lender said in a statement. Both Qatari citizens as well as foreign workers -- who make up almost 95% of the work force -- will be eligible for the payments.

The new program, expected to cost 3 billion riyals ($820 million), is part of a 75 billion-riyal stimulus program meant to ease the economic stress caused by shutdowns of the nation’s businesses. Qatari companies whose landlords haven’t waived rental payments will also be able to tap the QDB program to pay rent. They’ll have three years to pay back the state funds, but the government will guarantee the loans to mitigate any impact on banks’ credit ratings.

Gulf governments are trying to find ways to support their fragile private-sector economies, staffed mainly by migrant workers and sustained by expatriate consumers. They’ve pledged billions in stimulus dollars for businesses and banks, and implored them to cut salaries or put employees on unpaid leave rather than fire them, but economists expect some portion of the foreign labor force to depart in the coming months.

Oil News, Prices, OPEC+ Deal: Latest Status Before Markets Open - Bloomberg

Oil News, Prices, OPEC+ Deal: Latest Status Before Markets Open - Bloomberg:
A global deal to cut oil supply and stem a historic price rout hung in the balance on Sunday as negotiators raced to find an agreement with just hours to go until the market opens.

Diplomatic wrangling between Mexico and Saudi Arabia entered a fourth day as neither side was willing to concede, even after President Donald Trump intervened with a compromise and U.S. senators applied pressure to longtime ally Saudi Arabia.


Negotiators have hours to spare before the oil market opens and traders pass judgment on the deal -- or the failure to reach one. The market is already collapsing under the weight of a glut that amounts to about a third of global demand after the coronavirus locked down the global economy and Saudi Arabia and Russia flooded the market in a price war.

In another sign a deal was some way off, Saudi Arabia delayed again its monthly price-setting event as it awaited the result of talks.

Covid-19 crisis: Time for Emirates airline to think again about a trip to the stock market - Arabianbusiness

Covid-19 crisis: Time for Emirates airline to think again about a trip to the stock market - Arabianbusiness:

Emirates chairman Sheikh Ahmed has many great qualities. One of his best – from an entirely selfish and personal point of view – is that he is always friendly, open and frank with journalists. Straight questions get straight answers.

In 2008, during a trip to Beijing, I asked him when Dubai’s planned low cost airline would launch.

“We’re ready to go. Problem is I need a name. Do you have one?” he replied.

“Dubai Express!” I said excitedly. “That sounds like a post office,” he said.

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi slips on lower than expected oil supply cuts; #UAE extends gains - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi slips on lower than expected oil supply cuts; UAE extends gains - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s stock market fell in early trade on investor disappointment after OPEC and allied oil producing countries agreed a smaller-than-expected cut in output.

The OPEC+ group agreed to reduce output by 10 million barrels per day (bpd) from May, with Russia saying it would only reduce if the United States joined the deal.

Meanwhile, King Salman approved an extension of the kingdom’s curfew until further notice due to the rate at which the coronavirus is spreading, state news agency SPA reported early on Sunday.

Saudi’s benchmark index dropped 1%, with Saudi Aramco losing 1.6% and Al Rajhi Bank down 1.4%.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #SaudiArabia #Qatar

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.

Mexican president's nationalist oil vision fuels standoff with Saudis - Reuters

Mexican president's nationalist oil vision fuels standoff with Saudis - Reuters:

The biggest supply cut ever contemplated by the world’s top oil producers is hanging in the balance as a refusal by Mexico’s leftist leader to imperil his plans to rebuild state oil company Pemex has angered the Saudi prince who helped craft the deal.

For the past three days, Mexico has kept the oil industry on tenterhooks by resisting Saudi pressure to sign up to global cuts worth nearly a quarter of output for participating countries, aimed at reviving prices from their lowest level in decades.

Prices have collapsed as the new coronavirus outbreak has shuttered economies around the world and destroyed demand for fuel.

The refusal by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to compromise his plan to revive Pemex by agreeing to steep cuts has shone the global spotlight on Mexico as he prioritizes his domestic agenda over the collective interests of the world’s largest oil producers.

OPEC+ Oil-Price War: Trump Steers Historic Deal - Bloomberg

OPEC+ Oil-Price War: Trump Steers Historic Deal - Bloomberg:

The world’s largest oil producers were still grasping for a deal to rescue energy markets from a coronavirus-induced collapse after three days of talks. Mexico remains the last holdout.

An unprecedented reduction of about 10% in worldwide crude output was still being negotiated in bilateral talks Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump has offered a diplomatic solution that could allow everyone to save face, but it remains unclear whether Saudi Arabia and other members of the global OPEC+ coalition will be amenable to that. Russia has said it considers the plan a done deal.

OPEC+ has made a commitment to cut a record 10 million barrels a day, “conditional on the consent of Mexico.” With Trump now personally involved, the stakes appear too high for the deal to fail. But even Trump acknowledged on Friday that he wasn’t sure if an agreement could be reached. “We are trying to get Mexico, as the expression goes, over the barrel,” Trump told reporters at the White House.