Finance and Economy

Related Content

Business and Finance (video)

DIFX to move to six-day trading week
The Dubai International Financial Exchange today started allowing listings in dirhams and will move to a six-day working week at the end of next month. DIFX, Dubai's second bourse after the state-controlled Dubai Financial Market, will start trading Sunday to Friday from 10am to 5pm local time from the end of November, CEO Jeff Singer told delegates at the Meed Capital Markets conference today.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 14:37

Fraud may rise in GCC, says KPMG
According to a new GCC-wide study by KPMG, more than 40% of respondents believe that fraud and misconduct is a major problem when undertaking business in the region and 60% of respondents expect the level of fraud to increase in the next two years. Colin Lobo, a partner at KPMG, says the current financial crisis is creating an environment where the risk of fraud will increase as businesses come under pressure to show results. 'Likewise, individuals will also be tempted where costs are rising and income levels are flat,' he said.
Middle East: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 14:08

UAE economy to grow by 6% next year
The United Arab Emirates economy is said to maintain its strong growth rates despite the global crisis, a report issued by Morgan Stanely assured. according to the report, UAE economy will grow by 6% in 2009, while the inflation rates will drop from 12% currently to 9.7% by next year. The report said that the country has huge surpluses in its internal and external accounts not the forget the high levels of liquidity in this market .
Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 12:40

Qatar inflation to fall in 2009, says IMF
A new report by the International Monetary Fund predicts that Qatar's oil and non-oil GDP growth will fall from the estimated 14% this year to 12.4% in 2009 while consumer price inflation will dip from the projected 15% this year to 13% next year, reported The Peninsula. The country's nominal GDP will rise from the projected $116.9bn this year to an estimated $144.1bn next year, according to the IMF. Qatar's projected official reserves stand at an estimated $13.8bn but is expected to jump to $19.6bn next year.
Qatar: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 11:35

UAE issues 2009 budget
The UAE has raised its 2009 state expenditure by 21% to Dhs42.2bn ($11.49bn) under a new budget approved by its cabinet yesterday. Thirty-seven percent of spending was allocated to services and 21% to education. The budget forecast that there will be no shortfall, but did not say at which price it calculated oil revenue, the official WAM news agency reported.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 11:30

Super-rich in ME worth $1.7tr
A new report has found that total assets of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in the Middle East rose to $1.7 trillion in 2007, an increase of 17.5% over the previous year, reported the Bahrain Tribune. The 12th annual World Wealth Report, compiled by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, shows that the HNWI population in the Middle East had the highest gain, expanding by 15.6% and had a 17.5% regional gain in wealth. The number of high-net-worth individuals in Saudi Arabia now stands at 101,000 with a combined total wealth of $182bn. The UAE has 79,000 HNWI's, up from 68,000 two years ago, with combined total wealth of $91bn.
Middle East: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 11:23

DFM 9-month profit jumps 97%
The Dubai Financial Market Company (DFM) on Tuesday reported a 97% jump in net profits to Dhs781m ($213m) for the first nine months of 2008, up from Dhs397m (excluding IPO profit) in the same period in 2007. DFM Company recorded revenues of Dhs879m, including Dhs598m in operating income for the first nine months of 2008 and Dhs299m as the return on investments made by DFM Company. Total revenues increased by 67% compared to Dhs536m (excluding IPO profit) in the same period in 2007.
United Arab Emirates: Wednesday, October 22 - 2008 at 07:57

UAE markets finish higher again
The Dubai Financial Market on Tuesday rose 40.45 points, or 1.22%, to close on 3,351. The day's big gainer was Shuaa Capital, which climbed 9.84%. Property developers Emaar and Deyaar rose 2.71% and 2.36%, respectively. The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange also ended higher, gaining 131.91 points, or 3.75%, to finish at 3,652.
United Arab Emirates: Tuesday, October 21 - 2008 at 15:27