(Reuters) – Qatar’s government spending rose 2.2 percent to a record 178.2 billion riyals ($48.9 billion) in its last fiscal year, slowing sharply from double-digit increases seen in the previous decade, official data showed. It was the first time that the government’s annual spending undershot its budget plan since 1990 – a sign of the difficulties which Qatar is having in pushing forward huge and complex infrastructure […]
Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced today that it has agreed the sale of Skrill Group to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners for a total enterprise value of EUR600 million ($800 million), subject to regulatory approvals. As part of the transaction, Investcorp will retain a substantial minority position in the company and will continue to retain a seat on the Skrill […]
Airports in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experience local disruptions – such as those that stem from fog – which, annually, affect over 200 flights and 30,000 passengers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone. In addition, according to Oxford Economics, disruptions from the 2010 spread of Icelandic volcanic ash over European airspace had a $253 million net impact on the aviation sector in the Middle East […]
Saxo Bank’ strategists expect the third quarter to be good for assets and believe Q3 could actually be a major pivot point, marking the end of excessively easy money and a turning point towards the slow withdrawal of QE. The “Godot” Saxo Bank is waiting for is the wake-up call – the reforms needed to get the global economy back on track. This quarter could see the […]
Arcapita Bank B.S.C. announced the sale of 3PD Holding, Inc, a leading last-mile logistics company in the United States and Canada, for $365 million. 3PD was acquired by XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO), one of the fastest growing transportation logistics companies serving North America. Arcapita acquired a majority stake in 3PD in 2006 as a growth asset that offered significant opportunity due to the fragmented and growing […]
(Reuters) – Shares of Dubai property developer Union Properties, in which lender Emirates NBD holds a major stake, surged 11 percent in massive trading volume on Sunday – a fresh sign of growing optimism toward the emirate’s real estate. The stock, which closed at 0.46 dirham per share, saw 423.7 million shares change hands on the Dubai equities market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the market’s entire […]
A.P. Moeller-Maersk, owner of the world’s biggest shipping line, said concern that emerging markets are losing their growth momentum is overdone. “The underlying story is very good,” Maersk Chief Executive Officer Nils Smedegaard Andersen said in an interview on Aug. 16. “Our expectation remains that the U.S. will be the key driver of growth, but we’re also relatively optimistic on emerging markets. There is growth potential, even […]
(Reuters) – India’s currency cartwheeled to historic lows on Monday while markets in Indonesia took a spill, evidence of how rising U.S. yields are making it harder for emerging nations to fund their current account deficits. The turbulence heightened investor caution ahead of Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting, with many fearing they might only add to the confusion about when it might scale […]
RIYADH – Healthcare spending in Saudi Arabia is expected to grow by 10.3 percent this year to SR98 billion over 2012’s SR88.9 billion. The Saudi government has announced that major projects involving healthcare, along with other key sectors such as education, will get additional funding and strong governmental focus in the coming months. At the same time, the Kingdom’s IT expenditure is projected to increase by around […]
After inching up 0.15 percent last week, the U.S. Comex gold futures jumped 3.72 percent this week and ended at $1,361.10 on Thursday. During Asia Friday morning, the gold futures traded as high as $1,372. The Dollar Index retreated 0.72 percent in the past two days and was flat week-to-Thursday. The S&P 500 Index and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell 1.94 percent and 0.20 percent respectively […]
Saudi bank deposits posted a new record of SR1.36 trillion by the end of first quarter of 2013. The expansion in credit portfolios was facilitated by this enormous depositary base. Demand deposits remain the main beneficiary given the globally suppressed interest rate environment, according to a report by the National Commercial Bank (NCB). NCB’s customer deposits, the largest in the market, reached SR276.7 billion in March 2013 […]
By Parag Deulgaonkar Emirates 24/7 A post on a social networking site by an ‘unknown’ developer launching a new project in Downtown Dubai has led to over 40 real estate brokerage firms scrambling to get details. And that’s not just it. A few brokers claim in their response to the post that they even have investors ready to buy the project off plan. Though the developer name is […]
Dubai is all set to achieve 665,000 aircraft movements’ target by 2020 and expects nearly nine per cent growth in 2013 over 2012, according to a top government official. The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) is projecting 375,000 aircraft movement for the Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central (DWC) in 2013, compared to 344,656 in 2012. In the first half of 2013, the aircraft movement increased […]
Gold may extend a rally from a two-month high as an increase in demand from jewelry buyers in China and India helps counter a drop in assets under exchange-traded funds backed by bullion. Prices may rally to as much as $1,550 an ounce by the end of the year, said Jeffrey Rhodes, managing director of the financial institutions division of the Kaloti Jewellery Group, a Dubai-based gold […]
The Sultanate’s construction sector is expected to grow by 8.4 per cent to OMR1.7 billion, according to a research report released by Business Monitor International. The BMI in its report estimated a real growth of 11.9 per cent year-on-year for 2012, with industry value reaching OMR1.5 billion. The Omani construction and infrastructure sectors have defied global recession trends thanks to backing from oil-fuelled state coffers. The Central […]
Gold rose to the highest in almost two months and silver capped the biggest weekly rally since 2008 on signs of higher physical demand for precious metals. Global bar and coin purchases reached a record last quarter and jewelry usage rose to the most since 2008, World Gold Council figures showed this week. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to rise next week, four were […]
Saudi Arabia is currently working to develop its trade and investment laws with the intent of wooing more foreign direct investments and settling disputes between foreign investors and their local partners. Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the country’s investment facilitator, spearheads the move by adding some points of explanation in the current law in addition to putting a set of new conditions. The Kingdom encourages successful […]
Gold traders are the most bullish in five months on signs that demand for coins and jewelry increased during a plunge in prices that prompted billionaire investor John Paulson to cut his holding for the first time since 2011. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, four were bearish and five neutral, the highest proportion of bulls since March 8. Consumer buying of […]
(Reuters) – The Dubai-based investment firm that bought English soccer club Leeds United in December after lengthy negotiations sold more than half of its 100 percent holding less than six months later, financial statements show. GFH Capital, a subsidiary of Bahraini Gulf Finance House, offloaded a 10 percent stake to Bahrain-based International Investment Bank earlier this year and its second quarter financial statement showed it had now […]
High oil prices and poor returns on safe assets have pushed the GCC’s huge sovereign wealth funds into riskier investments in recent years, a report from Moody’s Investors Service says. Moody’s doesn’t attempt to quantify the shift, but even minor changes in strategy by Gulf funds are carefully watched given their hefty sway in global financial markets. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which Moody’s estimates to hold […]
The domestic banking system in Saudi Arabia relative to many of the global peers, developed or developing, had maintained its inherent strengths that emanate from greater reliance on core banking activities, lower non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio, little recourse to wholesale funding and ample liquidity. During the last two years, Saudi banks have returned to a higher growth trajectory after a lackluster performance in 2009 that saw total […]
The commodities sector looks set for a relatively benign near-term future according to Saxo Bank, the multi-asset trading and investment specialist. Gold and silver should see a mild recovery over the next quarter and oil looks set to remain at current levels, struggling to push past previous highs. Any expectation that WTI crude will re-establish its historical premium over Brent looks improbable. Saxo Bank believes that changing […]
Global investors have become significantly more confident in the outlook for growth, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for August. A net 72 percent of respondents now expect the world’s economy to pick up over the next 12 months – the survey’s strongest reading on this measure in nearly four years and a striking rise from July’s net 52 percent. Investors remain concerned over […]
By Jeanette Rodrigues & Ye Xie – Aug 14 Bloomberg: India increased efforts to stem the rupee’s plunge and stop capital outflows that are pushing the economy towards its biggest crisis in more than two decades. The Reserve Bank of India, whose Governor Duvvuri Subbarao steps down next month, cut the amount local companies can invest overseas without seeking approval to 100 percent of their net worth, […]
