Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
MIDEAST DEBT-Gulf debt market shows signs of recovery as issuers line up
May 6, 2020--Several Gulf issuers, including Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala and the Saudi-headquartered Arab Petroleum Investments Corp (APICORP), will likely issue bonds as soon as next week, sources said, signalling a revival in the region's primary debt market.
Public international bond issuances screeched to a halt in late February, with activity only tentatively restarting early last month.
Source: zawya.com
Banks pitching for potential Saudi Arabia euro-denominated bonds-sources
April 28, 2020--The Saudi issuance is likely to be around June
Saudi Arabia is likely to issue euro-denominated bonds this year and some banks have started pitching for the possible debt sale, two sources familiar with the matter said, as the kingdom plans to boost borrowing to offset a sharp drop in oil revenue.
The Saudi issuance is likely to be around June and about the same size as the country's last euro bond issuance, one of the sources said.
Source: zawya.com
Dubai investors buy gold online despite COVID-19, surging prices
April 23, 2020--UAE retailers say online sales will not compensate for volume from offline sales.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and surging gold prices, the gold retailers in the UAE are getting a reprieve thanks to an Indian festival.
Forced to move sales online by the outbreak, the retailers are now reporting an increasing demand for gold bars, gold coins and light jewellery.
Source: Zawya.com
UAE clears 100% ownership rules
April 19, 2020--Nation issues list of all 122 activities under 100% foreign ownership regime
The UAE has released the full list of 122 categories for 100 per cent ownership in the mainland under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law.
Cabinet Resolution No.(16) of 2020 determines the 'Positive List' of sectors and economic activities in which foreign direct investment is permissible and the percentage of ownership is 100 per cent.<>view more
Source: Zawya.com
Saudi Arabia may tap debt market as oil output cuts hit revenues-sources
April 13, 2020--Riyadh increased its debt ceiling to 50% of GDP from a previous 30% in March.
Saudi Arabia is likely to sell new international bonds soon as Sunday's historic deal to cut oil output among major producers puts further pressure on revenues already hurt by the collapse in crude prices, four banking sources said.
Riyadh increased its debt ceiling to 50% of GDP from a previous 30% in March. Neighbours Qatar and Abu Dhabi emirate successfully sold a combined $17 billion of bonds last week.
Source: Zawya
World Bank MENA Economic Update: How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa
April 9, 2020--Transparency about critical economic issues-such as public debt and employment-will be the key to driving growth and enhancing trust in government in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The need for greater transparency comes as the MENA region faces unprecedented dual shocks from the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and the collapse in oil prices.
The shocks have exacerbated already slow economic growth in the region, due, in part, to lack of data transparency. As of April 1, changes in forecasts implied that the costs for MENA were about 3.7% of the region's 2019 GDP (approximately US$116 billion) compared to 2.1% as recently as March 19.
view the World Bank-MENA Economic Update: How Transparency Can Help the Middle East and North Africa
Source: World Bank
BlueStar Israel Market Update-April 2020 Israeli Equities fall in sync with Global Markets; Energy, Real estate & Discrectionary stocks lead downdraft.
April 6, 2020--Israel’s Government Responds Dramatically To Contain Covid-19 And Mitigate Health & Economic Impact.
Israeli stocks, as defined by the BlueStar Israel Global Index(R) (BIGI(R)), fell precipitously, in tandem with the global market sell-off, losing 16.57% in March. BIGI continues to outperform MSCI EAFE by 3.27%, MSCI EM by 4.15% and the S&P500 by 0.15% YTD, respectively.
Israeli technology stocks, as defined by The BlueStar Israel Global Technology IndexTM (BIGITech(R)), lost 13.68% in March, underperforming the Dow Jones US Tech and S&P Global Tech indexes by 4.29% and 2.97%, respectively.
BIGI outperformed the flagship local Israeli TA-125 Index in March by 3.03% and maintaining a 3.66% lead for 2020 YTD.
Source: BlueStar Global Investors LLC
Coronavirus: Emerging markets, including Saudi Arabia, headed for recession?
April 1, 2020--Emerging Markets economies facing severe stress resulting from health crisis: S&P
Economies in the emerging markets (EM), including Saudi Arabia, are likely to fall into a recession or see sharply lower growth in 2020 amid widespread economic activity stoppage and quarantine measures, a ratings agency said.
S&P Global Ratings said in a new analysis released on Wednesday that emerging markets are now facing "severe stress" resulting from the global pandemic and that countries within the Asia-Pacific region are headed for the lowest growth in over two decades, at 3 percent.
Source: zawya.com
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2020 Article IV Consultation with Kuwait
March 30, 2020--Nonoil growth strengthened to estimated 3 percent in 2019, propelled by government and consumer spending. With oil output contracting by 1 percent, broadly in line with the OPEC+ agreement, overall growth slowed to estimated 0.7 percent in 2019 from 1.2 percent in 2018.
Fiscal and current account surpluses narrowed on account of lower oil prices and output. Inflation rebounded to 1.1 percent as food and transport prices recovered. Credit growth accelerated to 4.4 percent in 2019, spurred by relaxation of macroprudential ceilings on personal loans and supportive monetary conditions.
Source: IMF
Can Saudi Arabia Survive The Oil Price War It Started?
March 9, 2020--As the world watches an oil price war unfold between Russia, OPEC, and US shale, another major crisis is looming in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is facing multiple existential threats as a renewed oil price slump threatens to not only hit the country's revenues and economic diversification programs but also the already fragile position of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Last week, international media reported on the crackdown of two major power brokers inside the Saudi Royal Family.
Source: oilprice.com
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