Finance ESG-focused companies ‘give better shareholder returns’ Middle East listed companies that score highly on environmental, social and governance criteria provide a bigger total return for shareholders than their less ESG-conscious rivals. The Hawkamah Middle East and North Africa ESG Index includes the top 50 companies by ESG score from the 150 blue-chip stocks that constitute the wider S&P Pan Arab Composite […] September 12, 2024
Analysis Markets Outlook for Gulf bourses is upbeat despite oil price jitters The Gulf’s stuttering stock markets are probably not indicating the start of a downturn, analysts have told AGBI, but are a good opportunity for investors to snap up cheaper shares. Dubai aside, the region’s bourses have been broadly lacklustre this year although heavyweight sectors such as banking and petrochemicals have reported a marked increase in […] September 11, 2024
Energy Gulf’s profits rise thanks to petrochemicals and banks A turnaround in Saudi Arabia’s long-troubled petrochemicals industry has helped Gulf companies’ second-quarter earnings rise year on year. The region’s banking, telecom and real estate sectors also prospered. GCC listed companies’ earnings totalled $60.7 billion in the three months to June 30, up from $57.4 billion a year earlier, a report by Kuwait’s Kamco Invest […] September 9, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance US interest rate cut will impact UAE bank margins UAE banking sector profits have soared as higher-for-longer interest rates boosted margins and loan defaults remained low. Yet analysts predict that imminent US interest rate cuts will squeeze profitability, despite the likelihood of reduced borrowing costs bolstering loan growth. Dubai’s Emirates NBD reported a record first-half profit of AED13.8 billion ($3.76 billion), while First Abu […] September 6, 2024
Analysis Markets Saudi Arabia leads international bond issuance Saudi Arabia is the leading emerging market issuer of sovereign and quasi-sovereign international bonds, and experts predict the kingdom will expand its borrowings further to help fund infrastructure spending. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest economy despite a 0.8 percent decline in real GDP last year, sold $26.8 billion of international bonds from January 1 […] September 5, 2024
Telecoms Myanmar venture proves a big loss for Qatar’s Ooredoo Qatar’s Ooredoo sold its Myanmar mobile network for even less than it originally agreed, new figures reveal, as one expert suggested its multi-billion-dollar losses may also be higher than previously estimated. The new figures in the telecom operator’s latest financial statement shed further light on a market that was once touted as the last major […] September 1, 2024
Analysis Markets PIF-backed Saudi companies increase dividends This week Saudi Arabia’s former telecom monopoly announced increased dividends. It became the latest company part-owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and listed on Riyadh’s bourse to do so. The higher payouts provide a boost to the income of the Public Investment Fund, which it can then reinvest in higher-growth industries and accelerate Saudi’s […] August 30, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Saudi Telecom’s share surge raises prospect of PIF stake sale Saudi Telecom Co’s surprise dividend increase announcement has propelled its stock to a 13-month high and increased the likelihood that majority shareholder the Public Investment Fund may sell some of its stake in the former telecom monopoly. On Sunday, STC said it would pay SAR0.55 ($0.15) per share each quarter for three years starting from […] August 28, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Analysts question possible Adia bid for India telecoms group Abu Dhabi’s top sovereign wealth fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), is among the preferred bidders for a minority stake in Vodafone Idea, a struggling Indian telecom company. However, analysts are warning that the deal makes little commercial or financial sense. Vodafone Idea is India’s third largest mobile operator, but has lost about 210 million […] August 20, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Worst is over for Etisalat shares but don’t expect a rebound Shares in UAE blue-chip e& – more commonly known as Etisalat – have fallen by more than half from a 2022 peak as investors fret over difficulties related to some of the telecom operator’s foreign investments. Yet analysts believe these issues are now priced in and so the worst should be over for the stock. Etisalat […] August 19, 2024
Analysis Finance Mubadala Capital puts faith in biotech startups Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital has made early-stage investments into three US biotech startups this year, taking advantage of a broader decline in company valuations to buy into the fast-growing sector. Biotechnology uses living organisms to make products, often pharmaceuticals. There are nearly 7,600 biotech-based drugs in development in the US according to the Biotechnology Innovation […] August 16, 2024
Analysis Telecoms Telcos turning to tech to propel growth Fear of market irrelevance has spurred former Gulf telecom operators such as e& to bet on providing more sophisticated, tech-based services to consumers and businesses. This strategy differs from earlier efforts to create a vast geographic footprint for their operations, which, in many cases, led Gulf telcos to nurse billion-dollar losses. E&, which is listed […] August 15, 2024
Analysis Markets Saudi blue-chips help Gulf dividends dwarf global average Saudi companies form the bulk of Gulf businesses that have announced second quarter dividends, but it is the Commercial Bank of Kuwait that provided the highest dividend yield. Saudi Aramco, Bahrain’s Batelco and Dubai’s Tecom Group are other standouts by this metric. Of the listed Gulf companies with a market capitalisation of more than $1 […] August 13, 2024
Finance ADIA consortium in $6.9bn deal for UK trading platform A consortium including Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign wealth fund has agreed a deal to buy UK stock trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown for £5.4 billion ($6.9 billion), the London-listed company said on Friday. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) subsidiary Platinum Ivy and private equity firms CVC and Nordic Capital will buy all Hargreaves Lansdown shares, which […] August 9, 2024
Analysis Markets Analysts bullish on Aramco despite share price drop Shares in Saudi Aramco slumped to a four-year low this week as turmoil on global equity markets spurred a further sell-off in the world’s largest listed oil company. Yet analysts believe Aramco’s poor performance this year – the stock had fallen 17 percent in 2024 as of Tuesday’s close – masks a bullish outlook for […] August 8, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Markets Gulf IPOs: what companies must do to go public Owners of private Gulf companies mulling going public should ensure their businesses have a compelling narrative to tell investors and clear separation between shareholders and management, according to the chief financial officer of Dubai-based retailer Spinneys. In May the supermarket chain became the first company registered in the offshore Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) to […] July 3, 2024
Economy Saudi PIF is top global investor in first half of 2024 Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was the highest-spending state-owned investor in the first half of 2024, while three Abu Dhabi institutions were also in the top five. The PIF owns stakes in various domestic companies including Saudi Aramco, Saudi Telecom Co and Saudi National Bank and is spearheading the kingdom’s giga-project development programme. It invested […] July 2, 2024
Analysis Markets Sustained sell-off makes Qatari stocks more attractive Qatari stocks are among the Gulf’s most attractively priced, according to core metrics, after a sustained slump on Doha’s bourse. The decline – the Qatari index is down about 27 percent from its late 2021 peak – comes after a momentous rally that propelled the index to a seven-year high when investors bet on a […] July 1, 2024
Analysis Business of Sport Mena football teams weigh appeal of revamped Club World Cup Football teams from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia will compete alongside the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich at Fifa’s revamped Club World Cup next summer, potentially giving the Mena outfits unprecedented global exposure. The United States will host the 32-team tournament in June and July 2025. Yet less than a […] June 28, 2024
Markets Fees and procedures make UAE IPOs more complex UAE companies seeking to go public must undertake complex and often costly procedures to complete an initial public offering, although fees remain reasonable by international standards because of competition among advisers, according to experts. This decade, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have part-privatised many government-owned companies, sparking an IPO flurry that runs counter to slowdowns in […] June 26, 2024
Banking & Finance ADIA group raises offer for UK stock trading platform A consortium including Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is poised to buy stock trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown after making an improved non-binding offer for the British company. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s (ADIA) wholly owned subsidiary Platinum Ivy has teamed up with private equity firms CVC and Nordic Capital to offer £11.40 ($14.51) per share […] June 19, 2024
Banking & Finance Shorooq Partners targets startups with private credit fund A $100 million private credit fund from Abu Dhabi’s Shorooq Partners will lend to Gulf startups and medium-sized companies that possess tangible assets or generate strong, recurring cashflows, a senior executive told AGBI. The firm’s second private credit fund made its first close in late May. Its minority partner is South Korea’s IMM Investment Global, […] June 17, 2024
