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Abraaj eyes buyout opportunities
Dubai-based Abraaj Capital, the Middle East's biggest private buyout firm, is considering dozens of buyout opportunities, a 'fair proportion' of which are listed companies it wants to take private, Arif Naqvi, Abraaj's group chief executive officer, told Bloomberg. The best opportunities are in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Turkey and India in industries including oil and gas, health care and education, Naqvi said.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 13:19

DGCX records 26% growth
The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) said it recorded 26% year-on-year growth with 1.14 million contracts, valued at $57.5bn, traded last year. Average daily volume touched just over 4,500 contracts last year, an increase of 28% compared with 2007. Since inception in November 2005, over 2.6 million contracts have been traded with a value in excess of $107bn.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 10:27

Kuwait plans bonds to help struggling firms
Kuwait may issue Islamic bonds, or sukuk, on behalf of investment firms struggling to borrow funds amid the financial crisis. Daily Al Rai said the government had finalised plans for a bill to issue sukuk or other Islamic financing instruments such as murabaha, using qualified firms' assets as collateral against the bonds. The plan may require approval from the Gulf state's parliament.
Kuwait: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 10:23

Moody's lowers Bahrain ratings
Moody's Investors Service yesterday changed the outlook on Bahrain's sovereign ratings to negative from stable. These ratings are the country's A2 local and foreign currency government bond ratings, the A2 country ceiling for foreign currency bank deposits and the Aa3 country ceiling for foreign currency bonds. Bahrain's country ceiling for local currency bank deposits and country ceiling for local currency bonds remain at Aa2. The change in outlook was prompted by the steep decline in oil prices below Bahrain's fiscal break-even level.
Bahrain: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 10:16

Arab bourses face difficult year
A new report by investment bank Beltone Financial says Arab stock prices are unlikely to rebound strongly this year or early next year, Gulf Daily News has reported. The bank, one of the largest in Egypt, also said lower oil prices and falling revenues from tourism may hit economic growth in Egypt and the Gulf region this year harder than expected.
Egypt: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 10:14

Former GFS official fined $70,000
The Dubai Financial Services Authority released a statement yesterday saying it has fined former GFS Investments Compliance Reporting Officer Roberto Da Silva $70,000 for 'failing to carry out his duties as a compliance officer adequately'. The statement said DFSA investigated Da Silva's conduct between May 17, 2007, the date that GFS was licensed, to October 31, 2007, the date of his resignation from GFS. The GFS investigation had resulted the firm's operations being suspended in September and some employees banned from operating in the Dubai International Financial Centre for five years. The statement said Da Silva acknowledged the regulator's concerns about his conduct as an authorised individual of GFS.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, January 07 - 2009 at 08:07

UAE stocks end mixed
The Dubai Financial Market on Tuesday fell 1.09% to close on 1,743. Among the day's biggest decliners were Global Investment House and Arabtec, which fell 10% and 9.65%, respectively. In Abu Dhabi, the ADX rose 1.18% to end the day on 2,555.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, January 06 - 2009 at 14:48

Noor Investment launches Noor Takaful
Noor Investment Group today announced the launch of its Noor Takaful brand, which will offer a comprehensive range of Shariah compliant Takaful (Islamic insurance) products to meet the growing demand within the UAE and GCC region. All services will be offered either through Noor Takaful Family or Noor Takaful General, which are headquartered in Dubai and have a combined paid up capital of Dhs150m. They will operate initially from 4 locations across the UAE offering a suite of general and family takaful coverage for individuals, businesses and corporate clients. The aim is to expand the reach of these companies to include the Middle East and North African region.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, January 06 - 2009 at 14:26