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Egypt plans to sell stakes in state-owned firms
Egypt's Investment Ministry plans to sell stakes of up to 49% in selected state-owned firms, Reuters has reported. Some of the firms are fully state-owned and some are majority state-owned. The ministry said that Egypt would retain a minimum 51% stake in all the firms. "I'm not really very much under any kind of pressure or in a hurry to get things on a fast track, because the kind of portfolio we have today is a profitable one," Investment Minister Mahmoud Mohieldin told the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit.
Oman's earnings suffer heavy fall
Oman's National Economy Ministry has said the Sultanate's earnings fell by 26.7% during the first eight months of this year, the Times of Oman has reported. The country's revenue fell to RO4,240.7m from RO5,787m for the same period in 2008. Capital revenues fell by 69.3% to RO16.4m from RO53.5m and other revenues fell by 7.8% to RO708m from RO768m. The sharp fall in oil prices and lower customs income contributed to the decline in revenue, the ministry said.
Yemen plans stock exchange launch by year end
The Dubai Financial Market is helping Yemen with its plans to launch a stock exchange by the end of 2009. Undersecretary of Yemen's Ministry of Finance Jalal Yaqoub told UAE news agency Wam that he has discussed with the bourse how his country could use the DFM's technical and technological expertise, along with how the DFM could promote and support the project. Nine government firms will be selected to implement governance standards in order to list them on the bourse, he said.
UAE, UK trade ties up by 63%
Trade between the UAE and the United Kingdom has increased by 63%, over the 2007 level, now ranking the UK as 7th on the list of UAE's trade partners, Gulf News reported. The report further cited Scottish exports to the UAE were up from $185m in 2004 to $275m in 2007.
DFM keeps downward trend
The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) fell 3.88% to 2,197.52 on the last day of trading before the weekend. Only two companies rose, while 24 fell and two remained unchanged. Grand rose by 14.09% to Dhs1.70, while Gulfa rose 4.85% to Dhs4.11.
ADX ends down
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) ended the week's trading by falling 2.38% to 3,023.10. The Consumer sector was the only one to rise, going up by 5.63%. Abu Dhabi National Hotels rose by 9.63% to Dhs4.45, as the emirate prepares to host its first F1 Grand Prix race on Sunday. Methaq Takaful Insurance Co. fell the most on the day's trading, going down 8.99% to Dhs3.91.
UAE Central Bank: No rise in interest rates
In an interview with CNN's Marketplace Middle East UAE Central Bank governor Sultan Nasser Al Suwaidi has said that the there will be no rise in interest rates in 2010. 'I think we will leave them where they are because we still do not see any reason to increase them. We do not see any inflationary pressures and we still see markets that not are functioning efficiently,' said Al Suwaidi, adding that the UAE would keep the dollar peg.
Sama: Saudi credit growth stalls
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) has said that credit growth in the kingdom almost came to a halt in September compared to August, as banks dealing with a debt crisis of family firms remained cautious, Reuters has reported. Bank credits were almost flat, reaching SR721.6bn in September after SR721.4bn in August, Sama said. Credit growth in August increased almost 2% compared to July.
Egypt's extra spend to be 'off budget'
Egypt's plans to spend an additional EGP10bn ($1.8bn) would not increase the deficit target as any extra funds would be off-budget, according to the country's finance minister. 'The budget target is not changed,' Boutros Ghali told Bloomberg News. 'Additional spending is by economic authorities out of their own resources,' he said.
Dubai closes five-year sukuks
Dubai's five-year Islamic bonds book closed yesterday with the dollar tranche attracting $4.9bn and the dirhams tranche receiving Dhs5.4bn, Reuters has reported, citing a banker involved in the deal. The government of Dubai launched a $6.5bn bond plan last week, consisting of $4bn euro medium term notes and a $2.5bn Islamic bond programme.
Saudi stocks dip 1.4%
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul index fell 1.4% today to close on 6,441. All sectors finished lower, led by hotel & tourism which declined 2.33%. Kingdom Holding gained 1.96%, but it was one of just eight stocks that finished higher, compared to 121 that declined.
Dubai stocks decline again
The Dubai Financial Market fell 1.43% today to close on 2,286. Among the decliners were Emaar and Aramex, which fell 3.51% and 4.57% respectively. Emirates NBD climbed 4.04%, but it was one of just 3 stocks that ended higher on the day, compared to 25 that declined.
Abu Dhabi stocks drop 1.54%
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange on Wednesday fell 1.54% to close on 3,096. The emirate's largest developer, Aldar, dipped 3.31% after it reported a 44% decline in third-quarter earnings yesterday. Sorouh, Abu Dhabi's second largest developer, dipped 3.28%. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa), lost 2.5% to Dhs1.55, its lowest since July 29, according to Bloomberg data. Overall, six stocks advanced while 27 fell.
Dubai's planned bond sale gets $6.6bn of bids
Dubai's planned sukuk sale has attracted bids worth $6.6bn, Bloomberg has reported. Bids for the dollar-denominated, five-year fixed Islamic bond totaled $5bn, while offers for the dirham- floating rate Islamic note were $1.55bn, the news service reported, citing bankers involved in the deal said today. 'The order book shows that Dubai's story is gaining credibility,' Chavan Bhogaita, head of credit research at National Bank of Abu Dhabi, was quoted as saying.
Egypt deficit at 9-10% of GDP, says minister
Egypt's Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said stimulus spending will propel the country's budget deficit by 9-10% of gross domestic product in the financial year 2009/10, compared to 6.9% in 2008/9, Reuters has reported. Egypt had spent almost EGP15bn ($2.75bn) to boost the economy in the first half of 2009, and plans a second stimulus package worth EGP10bn, of which some EGP4bn had been spent, Nazif said.
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