Bahrain Bourse rebounds as key support level holds
July 25, 2013--The Bahrain All-Share Index closed 0.28% higher at 1,188.63 points after the gauge successfully tested the support level at 1,185 points (touched on July 1, July 14 and yesterday).
National Bank of Bahrain or NBB gained the most, the lender was yup 2.50% at BD0.615. Bahrain Telecom, better known as Batelco, added 0.56% to reach BD0.36. No traded share lost value on Thursday in Manama.
Source: AME Info
Arabian Pipes advance on Saudi Aramco contract
July 24, 2013--The Saudi Arabian equit market measure Tasi closed 0.34% lower at 7,774.51 points on Wednesday.
Arabian Pipes Company gained 0.48% to finish at the closing bell at SR20.75. In a filing to the Tadawul market the company said it was awarded a contract valued at SR14m for supply welded steel pipes to Saudi Aramco, th the world's biggest oil exploration company. "Production and supply of the project pipes will be during last quarter of 2013 from Riyadh factory and the financial impact will appear in last quarter of current year," said Arabian Pipes.
Source: AME Info
NBK fails to attract attention despite H1 profit rise
July 24, 2013--The Kuwait Stock Exchange market index rose 0.24% to close at 8,066.24 points on Wednesday.
National Bank of Kuwait, the first lender in the northern Gulf state, a major oil supplier, closed unchanged at KD0.920. NBK has a 6.4% growth in net profits for the first half of 2013 to $450.3m, compared with $423.2m for the same period a year ago, Kuna has reported earlier in the day. The largest Kuwaiti bank said its total assets jumped 25.3% year-on-year to $62.8bn, while total shareholders' equity increased by 3.9% year-on-year to $8.4bn, said NBK.
Source: AME Info
Qatar Insurance gains as H1 profit soars
July 24, 2013--The Doha-based QE 20 Index declined 0.22% to 9,650.12 points on Wednesday.
Qatar Insurance Company added 0.33%, finishing at QR60.90. Earlier in the day, the firm said it generated a net profit of QR415.3m in comparison to QR302.8m for the same period last year. The company’s earning per share (EPS) amounted to QR3.48 as of June 30, 2013 versus QR2.78 for the corresponding period in 2012.
Source: AME Info
IMF Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues Report
July 24, 2013--ASSESSING SAUDI ARABIA'S SYSTEMIC ROLE IN THE OIL MARKET AND GLOBAL ECONOMY1
Oil remains the most important energy source in the global economy, accounting for approximately one third of total global energy consumption. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that disturbances in the oil market have the potential to significantly impact global
economic activity.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer and exporter of oil, has long played a systemically important role in the global oil market. In particular, with its unique ability to relatively quickly raise production due to its sizable spare capacity, Saudi Arabia is a stabilizing force in case of oil supply disturbances.
This chapter attempts to quantify the importance of Saudi Arabia for the global economy, using both event studies and model simulations.
A. A Historic Perspective of Saudi Arabia in the Global Oil Market
1. Saudi Arabia is a central player in the global oil market. Over the period 1990–2011, Saudi Arabia produced over 78 billion barrels of oil (approximately 13 percent of global supply). This is
significantly more than both Russia and the U.S. which come in second and third place with cumulative production levels of 70 and 60 billion barrels, respectively.
view the IMF Saudi Arabia: Selected Issues Report
Source: IMF
Saudi Hotels rise as board recommends cash dividend distribution
July 23, 2013--The Tadawul All-Share Index slipped 0.07% to 7,800.92 points. Sabic fell 0.27% to SR93.50.
Saudi Hotels & Resort Areas Co. added 0.65% to reach SR31.20. Earlier in the day, Saudi Hotels said its board of directors has recommended the distribution of dividend to the shareholders for the period as following: 1.Total amount of distribution of dividend SR50m 2.Divided per share SR0.50 3.Divided represent 5% of the Face value.
Source: AME Info
Gulf Bank of Kuwait net profit up, shares down
July 23, 2013--The Kuwait market index KSEMI consolidated above 8,000 points on Tuesday, ending 0.13% higher at 8,046.64 points.
Gulf Bank of Kuwait lost 1.25% to hit KD0.395. Gulf Bank announced a net profit of KD14.3m for the first half of 2013, an increase of 12%, against KD12.8m for the same period last year. Commenting on the results, Mr. Omar Kutayba Alghanim, Gulf Bank's Chairman said he was "very pleased to report the steady progress the bank has made so far this year. We have been able to deliver good results in a difficult market and have continued to maintain the positive trend we have seen in previous quarters, especially the significant decline in the nonperforming loan ratio from 30.6% in 2009 to 7.6%. This continues to be one key focus area at the bank."
Source: AME Info
Bahrain Bourse in stutter mode
July 23, 2013--The Bahrain All Share Index fell 0.04% to 1,185.10 on Tuesday.
Banks weighed on the gauge wth Islamic bank Al Salam and Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BK) losing 2% and 0.50%, respectively. BBK reported yesterday its net profit for first half of 2013 rose 8.2% to BD25.2m. Islamic bank Ithmaar bucked the trend, finishing 1.96% higher.
Source: AME Info
Saudi Arabian Amiantit sells majority ownership to German trading firm
July 22, 2013--The Saudi Stock Exchange advanced 0.85% on Monday, closing at 7,806.03 points, the highest level since April 7 2009.
Sabic added 0.27% to reach SR93.75. Saudi Arabian Amiantit Co. closed even at SR14.00. Earlier in the day, the producer of pipes and tanks said he Group sold its 70% ownership in Jos Hansen & Soehne, GmbH, a German trading company established in Hamburg, for an amount of 4m Euros (Approx. SR19.7m). "The disinvestment is motivated by the fact that neither the scope of activities of this company nor the geographical territories in which it operates are aligned with the core lines of business of the Amiantit Group," said the company in a filing to the Tadawul bourse.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait bourse shaves resistance at 8,000 points
July 22, 2013--The KSE market index added 47.82 points on Monday and closed at 8,036.18 points.
IFA Hotels and Resports gained the most (up 9.10%). National Bank of Kuwait ended flat. Hayat Communications posted the biggest drop (off 4.92%).
Source: AME Info