#SaudiArabia Oil Data, Price Forecast: Prices May Stay Around $50 Until 2023 - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Oil Data, Price Forecast: Prices May Stay Around $50 Until 2023 - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry sees oil prices at around $50 a barrel for the next three years, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s analysis of the kingdom’s pre-budget statement.

“Using our own estimates for the breakdown of government revenues, we calculate that the numbers presented in the budget statement are based on an average oil price of around $50 a barrel between 2020 and 2023,” said Farouk Soussa, a London-based analyst at Goldman.

Brent crude fell 6.3% to $39.27 a barrel last week as more countries tightened restrictions to counter the coronavirus pandemic and U.S. President Donald Trump got infected, causing traders to fret about the outlook for energy demand.

#SaudiArabia: Incentives to Buy Houses in Kingdom Boosted by Tax Incetives - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia: Incentives to Buy Houses in Kingdom Boosted by Tax Incetives - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia added new incentives to keep its mortgage boom going by scrapping a 15% value-added tax on property sales and offering other relief for home buyers amid a push by the Arab world’s largest economy to expand residential ownership.

Property transactions will instead be subject to a new 5% real estate sales tax, according to state-run news agency SPA. The government will also shoulder the cost of taxes for first-time home buyers of properties worth up to 1 million riyals ($267,000), according to a royal order published on Friday.

The threshold for the tax exemption was increased from 850,000 riyals previously for citizens buying their first homes.

#Kuwait market rebounds on reopening after Emir's death | Reuters

Kuwait market rebounds on reopening after Emir's death | Reuters:

Kuwait’s stock market rebounded on Sunday, with financial shares leading broad-based gains as it reopened after a two session break following the death of the country’s Emir, while most Gulf markets retreated in response to Friday’s oil price slide.

Kuwait’s 91-year old Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah died on Tuesday, plunging his country into mourning. 


Kuwait's benchmark premier index .BKP jumped 3.1%, its biggest intraday gain since mid-April, as all the stocks on the index ended in higher. Kuwait Finance House KFH.KW advanced 4.2%, while National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) NBKK.KW was up 2.9%.

State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, meanwhile, agreed a 1 billion dinar ($3.27 billion) loan with NBK and Kuwait Finance House, NBK said in a filing to the exchange.

On Saturday, the Kuwait central bank affirmed its commitment to the strength of the dinar and stability of its exchange rate, it said on Twitter.

In Saudi Arabia, the benchmark index .TASI retreated 1.4%, with oil company Saudi Aramco 2222.SE shedding 1.8% and Al Rajhi Bank 1120.SE falling 1.4%.
Brent crude LCOc1 on Friday fell more than 4% to $39.27 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, roiling financial markets, and as rising global crude output threatened the oil market's weak recovery. [O/R]
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI fell 0.9%, dragged down by a 2.1% decline in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU as well as a 1.8% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties EMAR.DU.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI ended flat, with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank ADCB.AD losing 1.1%.
In Qatar, the index .QSI lost 0.5%, hit by a 0.8% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar IQCD.QA and a 0.6% drop in the Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA.

#Saudi business leader calls for boycott of goods from 'hostile' Turkey | Reuters

Saudi business leader calls for boycott of goods from 'hostile' Turkey | Reuters:

The head of Saudi Arabia’s Chambers of Commerce has called for a boycott of Turkish products amid reports from merchants that animosity between Ankara and Riyadh is hindering the flow of goods between the two regional powers.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been at odds for some years over foreign policy and attitudes towards political Islamist groups. The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi’s Istanbul consulate in 2018 escalated tensions sharply.

Earlier this year the two countries blocked some of each other’s news websites.

“A boycott of everything Turkish, be it imports, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi ‘trader and consumer’, in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, country and citizens,” businessman Ajlan al-Ajlan tweeted on Saturday.

Libya Ramps Up Oil Exports as Output Nears 300,000 Barrels a Day - Bloomberg

Libya Ramps Up Oil Exports as Output Nears 300,000 Barrels a Day - Bloomberg:

Libya’s oil output has risen to 295,000 barrels following a truce in the OPEC nation’s civil war and the lifting of a blockade on energy facilities.

Fields that feed the newly restarted eastern ports of Hariga, Brega and Zueitina are ramping up production, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Output was 250,000 barrels a day a week ago and will rise further as ships dock and load crude from storage tanks, allowing fields to pump more, the person said.

Libya’s restart is weighing on oil prices just as traders become more bearish about the outlook for energy demand with many nations introducing stricter restrictions to curb the Coronavirus pandemic.

Brega is set to export 1.8 million barrels in October via three cargoes, according to a loading program. Zueitina is set to load five cargoes. Hariga has loaded two tankers of one million barrels each in the past two weeks.

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

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.

#Kuwait Petroleum Corporation raises 1 bln dinars loan | Reuters

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation raises 1 bln dinars loan | Reuters:

State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has agreed a 1 billion dinar ($3.27 billion) loan with National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Kuwait Finance House, NBK said in a bourse filing.

NBK’s share of the syndicated debt facility, which will be used to finance general capital expenditure, will be 370 million Kuwaiti dinars, it said.

The #Dubai-Istanbul Route, Once Rammed With Flights, Stays Silent - Bloomberg

The Dubai-Istanbul Route, Once Rammed With Flights, Stays Silent - Bloomberg:

For years, passenger jets have darted back and forth between Istanbul and Dubai, the two main hubs connecting airline passengers in the Middle East with destinations across the globe.

But when Turkish Airlines and Emirates began reviving their pandemic-depleted schedules a few weeks ago, that particular route remained closed except for a few scattered cargo operations. Emirates announced in June that the Istanbul flights would resume, but so far hasn’t followed through on that plan. For now, it doesn’t sell tickets to Turkey before Dec. 1, while Turkish Airlines posts the flights on its website -- but then cancels bookings a few days prior to the travel date.

The Dubai-Istanbul journey, which takes between 4 and 5 hours, constitutes about 50 weekly flights, ranking among Emirates’ busier routes. For Turkish Airlines, the corridor provided a welcome way to attract budget-minded passengers headed for western Europe or North America through the country’s giant new Istanbul hub. While neither airline has said why the services remain suspended, it comes at a time of worsening relations between the two nations.

They are on opposing sides of a proxy war in Libya and disagree on issues ranging from Syria to Iraq and the eastern Mediterranean. The UAE supported a 2013 coup in Egypt that pushed out the country’s first democratically elected president, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood movement endorsed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey, meanwhile, backed Qatar in the face of a boycott by three of its Gulf neighbors, including the UAE, in 2017.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE #Kuwait #Israel #SaudiArabia #Qatar mid-session

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg

#Dubai's Shuaa unveils 3 shariah funds, secures $75mln in commitments | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Dubai's Shuaa unveils 3 shariah funds, secures $75mln in commitments | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Dubai-based Shuaa Capital has launched three new shariah-compliant funds and secured commitments worth $75 million.

The open-ended products, expected to be the largest of their kind, will be domiciled in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the UAE capital’s international financial centre and free zone, the asset management and investment firm said in a bourse filing on Sunday.

One of the funds, the Shuaa High Yield Sukuk Fund, will invest in a diversified portfolio of sukuk instruments, including high-yield sukuk, shariah-compliant fixed income investments and other collective investment funds.

The other two funds, the Nujoom Aggressive Fund and the Nujoom Balanced Fund, will invest in a global portfolio of shariah-compliant equities, fixed income investments and money market instruments.

“With the three funds, Shuaa’s aim is to serve institutional clients and its partners in the insurance industry,” Shuaa, which has $13 billion assets under management (AUM), said.

Mideast Stocks - Kuwaiti market rebounds on reopening after Emir's death | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks - Kuwaiti market rebounds on reopening after Emir's death | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Broad-based gains pushed Kuwaiti shares higher on Sunday as the bourse reopened after a two-session break following the death of its Emir, with other indexes subdued in early trade.

Kuwait's 91-year old Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah died on Tuesday, plunging his country into mourning. 

The Kuwaiti index jumped 2.7% as all but one of its constituents rebounded from Tuesday's losses, with heavyweight National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) gaining 2.9%.

State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, meanwhile, agreed a 1 billion dinar ($3.27 billion) loan with NBK and Kuwait Finance House, NBK said in a bourse filing. 

Kuwait Finance House was up 3.3%.

On Saturday the Kuwait central bank affirmed its commitment to the strength of the dinar and stability of its exchange rate, it said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index was down 0.3%, with oil giant Saudi Aramco shedding 1.4% and Al Rajhi Bank losing 0.6%. 


Dubai's main share index slipped 0.6%, pressured by a 1.2% fall in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank and a 1.4% drop for Emaar Properties.

The Abu Dhabi index traded flat. The country's largest lender, First Abu Dhabi Bank, firmed by 0.2%.

In Qatar, the index eased 0.4%, weighed down by Commercial Bank's 2.3% decline and a 0.8% drop for petrochemicals company Industries Qatar.