#GCC and #MiddleEast Finance News: 7 Aug 2022

Sunday, 7 August 2022

#Oman Posts $2 Billion Surplus in First Half on High Oil, Gas - Bloomberg

Oman Posts $2 Billion Surplus in First Half on High Oil, Gas - Bloomberg

Oman recorded a budget surplus of 784 million rials ($2 billion) in the first half, driven by higher sales for oil and natural gas.

Revenue rose more than 54% in the second quarter to about 6.7 billion rials, while total spending increased by 8.6% to 5.9 billion, according to the Finance Ministry. Crude oil revenue stood at 3.19 billion rials, while the equivalent figure for gas was 1.73 billion.

Oman has implemented a series of reforms to balance its budget and lower its debt, including the introduction of value-added tax last year. It plans to use the windfall from surging oil prices to trim its public debt and boost spending on certain projects.

The nation also plans to “repurchase some sovereign bonds, repay high-cost loans and issue local sukuk for trading on the stock exchange” to cut its debt, it added in the statement.

Oil’s surge on the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed crude above the break-even level for almost all the Middle East’s producers, raising the prospect of significant budget surpluses for even the weakest economies if prices remain high.

Most Gulf bourses track oil prices lower; Egypt gains | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's stock market ended lower on Sunday, amid weak oil prices which closed the week at their lowest levels since February, rattled by worries a recession could hit fuel demand.

The benchmark index (.TASI) in Saudi Arabia retreated 0.6%, hit by a 1.5% fall in Riyad Bank (1010.SE) and a 1.7% decline in Banque Saudi Fransi (1050.SE).

Crude prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, settled up 80 cents to $94.92 a barrel on Friday, recouping some of this week's losses on strong U.S. job growth data.

Saudi Arabia has registered a budget surplus of nearly 78 billion riyals ($21 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, the finance ministry said on Thursday, an almost 50% rise from a year earlier, bolstered by high oil prices. read more

Crude prices have soared in 2022 to their highest since 2008, climbing above $139 a barrel in March after the United States and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Prices have since eased to below $100 a barrel as soaring inflation and higher interest rates raise fears of a recession that would erode demand.

In Qatar, the equities (.QSI) closed flat, as gains in industrial stocks were offset by losses elsewhere.

Among gainers, petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) rose 0.5%, ahead of reporting its first-half earnings.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) gained 0.8%, with top lender Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA) advancing 2.4%.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has set up a company to invest in promising Egyptian sectors, extending a policy of pumping money into the Egyptian economy.

The $620 billion sovereign wealth fund said on Friday that sectors in Egypt it would target through its new Saudi Egyptian Investment Co (SEIC) included infrastructure, real estate, health care, financial services, food and agriculture, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

#Qatar foreign reserves up 2.79% in July

Qatar foreign reserves up 2.79% in July

Qatar's Central Bank foreign reserves and hard currency liquidity rose 2.79% year-on-year in July to 211.325 billion riyals ($57.74 billion), the Gulf state's official news agency QNA reported on Sunday.

#Kuwait's Agility signs 1.4 billion euro facility with banks | Reuters

Kuwait's Agility signs 1.4 billion euro facility with banks | Reuters

Kuwait’s Agility, (AGLT.KW) one of the largest Gulf logistics companies, said on Sunday it had signed a new credit facility of 1.4 billion euros.

The transaction is part of a financing round that is expected to total about $3.2 billion, it said. The company said the money would will pay for the company's growth plans, including the financing of its acquisition of British aviation services company John Menzies.

Agility did not disclose the source of the credit facility.

Agility said on Thursday it had finalised its 763 million-pound ($924.37 million) acquisition of John Menzies, which it said would be combined with National Aviation Services (NAS).

The acquisition valued John Menzies at approximately 571 million pounds on a fully diluted basis and about 763 million pounds on an enterprise value basis, it said at the time.

Investment in MENA start-up Homzmart rises to $40 million after latest round | Reuters

Investment in MENA start-up Homzmart rises to $40 million after latest round | Reuters

Furniture and home goods e-commerce platform Homzmart has closed one of the past year's biggest funding rounds for a Middle Eastern and North Africa start-up, raising $23 million, its chief executive said.

The company, launched in 2020, will use the new funding to expand services, especially logistics, and fill gaps that appear in supply chains, co-founder and CEO Mahmoud Ibrahim said in an interview with Reuters.

The latest pre series B round funding round, which included participation from Riyadh-based technology venture capital fund STV, Impact46, Outliers Venture Capital, Rise Capital and Nuwa Capital, brings its total funding to about $40 million.

It raised $15 million in an earlier round that closed in the second quarter of last year, after an initial round in which it raised about $2.5 million.

Homzmart started by connecting brands and manufacturers with customers in the Arab world's most populous country. But it found gaps in supply chains that prompted it to create a logistics arm, and now has about 100 trucks.