Middle East ETF News Older than One Year
Food and beverage giant Agthia Group hits seven-month high on rising sales
April 02, 2012--Like the Dubai bourse, the Abu Dhabi equity gauge ADX General Index (ADXGI) dipped slightly on Monday (down 0.32%) as foreign investors from the investment reduce trading ahead of Easter holidays.
Islamic insurer Methaq Takaful lost the most (down 9.17%). Earlier in the day, Methaq reported for 2011 a full-year loss of Dhs51.09m, compared to Dhs15.6m in 2010. Shares of Agthia Group, one of the UAE’s leading food and beverage companies, advanced half a percent to hit the highest level since August 2012. In 2011, Agthia's Consumer Business Division (CBD) recorded a solid 18% net sales growth year on year at Dhs376.9m, while Agri Business Division (ABD), which manages the Flour & Animal Feed business, delivering a 12% net sales growth reaching Dhs767.4m, the compan said on March 29. Net profits, however, net dived 25% to Dhs86m, "caused by the higher soft commodity and PET prices", Agthia said, adding that "despite a truly challenging environment, we remain optimistic about the prospects for future revenue and profit growth as the Company pursues its strategy of introducing new and value-added products, continued geographical expansion, and high operating efficiencies."
Source: AME Info
Dubai market dips as risks for 2012 remain high in the emirate
April 02, 2012--The Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index fell 0.44% Monday, closing at 1,654.39 points. Bellwether Emaar Properties ended even, while the UAE's largest lender Emirates NBD fell one percent.
The continues decline in oil prices (off 5.5% in the last two weeks) might hint to a slowdown in the world economy. "Dubai remains highly dependent on global economic trends, and risks for 2012 are therefore high," said Farouk Soussa, Citigroup's Chief Econmist Middle East at Citigroup in Dubai in his monthly Middle East Macro study. Nevertherless "the Arab unrest over the past year has helped Dubai differentiate itself as a stable business and tourism destination. Moreover, Dubai is benefitting as a hub from increased south-south trade, and has received substantial Chinese investment over the past year or two," Soussa added. Shares of logistics provider Aramex (up 1.13%) gained against the trend. Around 170.3m shares were traded, valued at Dhs186.3m.
Source: AME Info
Israel: Selected Issues Paper
April 2, 2012--MACROSOCIAL CHALLENGES IN ISRAEL1
1. Israel's growth performance of recent years is impressive, with real GDP growing at a faster pace than many other OECD countries. However, poverty remains among the highest in OECD countries (Figure 1).
2. While the secular Jewish population enjoys a high level of living standards, most of Arab and Haredi (Ultra-orthodox Jewish) people are poor, with poverty incidence reaching 60 percent for both groups. These populations also have a large number of children— typically 6–7 children in a Haredi family, and 3–4 children in an Arab family—and child poverty is dire. This mostly reflects low employment in these two groups, as they are not fully integrated in the labor market.
view IMF Israel: Selected Issues Paper
Source: IMF
Israel: Financial System Stability Assessment
April 2, 2012--The Israeli financial system currently appears to be generally robust, but faces an unusually uncertain and dangerous global economic environment.
While Israel’s direct exposure to the most vulnerable countries is minor, there is a clear risk of a recession in Israel’s main trading partners in Europe and the United States, heightened risk aversion in financial markets, and difficult funding conditions. Moreover, Israel lives with persistent regional geopolitical risks, which would have economic repercussions if realized. Domestically, even an idiosyncratic disturbance in a major bank or nonbank financial institution (NBFI), or one of the large nonfinancial groups, could generate a systemic event, given the concentrated and interlinked structure of the economy.
The boom in housing prices and construction in recent years represents a further vulnerability, although recent evidence points to a soft landing, partly in response to the authorities’ policy actions.
view IMF country report-Israel: Financial System Stability Assessment
Source: IMF
DP World advances, reports strong annual results
March 29, 2012--The FTSE NASDAQ Dubai UAE 20 Index closed at 1682.30 Thursday, off 0.95% from the previous close.
Shares of Damas International surged 2.35%, after the jewelry trader said it accepted the $445m joint cash offer from Qatar's Mannai Corporation and Egypt's investment bank EFG Hermes. DP World (up 0.17% at $11.60) was the share of the day. The world's third largest maritime port operator, which runs 60 ports globally, reported its 2011-profit amounted to $751m, up 67% year-on-year on the backdrop of a rebounding world economy. The Board of DP World is recommending an increased dividend distribution to $199m, or $0.24 per share.
Source: AME Info
Bahraini lender BBK extends rally
March 29, 2012--The Baharain All Share Index added 0.18% Thursday, enlarging its first quarter gain to 0.77%.
Bahrain Telecommunication or Batelco advanced 0.93%, while lender BBK surged 1.94%. The bank has constantly added value during the last week as the Kingdom's economy is expected to recover in 2012 from the last year's negative turmoil effects.
Source: AME Info
Masraf Al Rayan eases as Islamic bank enters agreement with Alijarah Holding
March 29, 2012--The QE 20 Index closed even on Thursday at 8,790.73. Qatar National Bank added 0.10% to reach QR135.10, while Dlala dived 4.28%.
Islamic bank Masraf Al Rayan dipped 0.72%. Earlier in the day, Alijarah Holding QSC declared the signing of an agreement with Masraf Al Rayan concerning the increase of capital through rights issue. Mr. Adel Mostafawi, Group CEO of Masraf Al Rayan has praised the agreement as it supports the Bank's approach to cooperate productively with the major companies in Qatar to offer the best banking services.
Source: AME Info
Kuwait Stock Exchange gains six percent in first quarter 2012
March 29, 2012--The tiny decline of 0.35% at the KSE Market Index Thursday changed little in the bourse's good first quarter performance.
The KSE Market Index ended today at 6,165 points, 6.03% higher compared to January 1. National Bank of Kuwait or NBK and Jazeera Airway closed unchanged.
Source: AME Info
Abu Dhabi food giant Agthia Group's net profit dives 25%, shares close flat
March 29, 2012--The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index (ADXGI) fell half a percent to close at 2,553, ending the first quarter 2012 with a gain of 6.22%.
Agthia Group closed even, after the food and beverage producer announced sales in 2011 soared 14% year-on-year, while net profit dived 25% to Dhs86m. But during Q1, Agthia outperformed the ADXGI, as the share increased its value by a fifth. Market breadth ended even as 14 shares advanced and 13 declined.
Source: AME Info
Sabic shares take a dip, Tadawul market gears up
March 29, 2012--The Saudi Stock Exchange saw its market gauge rising 0.2% on Wednesday, closing at 7,782. 84 points. Market bellwether Sabic, the global petrochemicals and metal producer, slipped 1.15% to SR107.50.
Atheeb Telecom soared 10%, closing at SR19.80. Saudi Electricity dipped 0.63% on profit bookings, finishing at SR15.80. The share has gained 13.50% since January 1, mainly due to its success in placing a sukuk worth $1.75bn at global markets last Tuesday. The Islamic bond is considered a proxy for for the Saudi sovereign, IFIS reported.
Source: AME Info
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