Analysis Markets Saudi Arabia leads in stock lending as short selling grows Saudi Arabia is the Middle East’s most active market for stock lending – an important part of the process of short selling – and demand from borrowers is likely to increase as more sophisticated investors start trading, new research suggests. In stock lending, an entity – usually a broker or financial institution – pays a […] September 25, 2024
Analysis Markets Oil IPO is latest step towards Oman’s emerging market status An Omani state oil company’s $2 billion initial public offering will boost the sultanate’s chances of eventually being reclassified as an emerging market by the world’s leading stock index providers. If achieved, Oman’s blue-chips will receive sizeable inflows from passive funds that track the MSCI and FTSE emerging market benchmarks, increasing bourse turnover and likely […] September 20, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi banks primed for leap in corporate lending Saudi Arabia’s banks are financially well equipped to meet an expected surge in corporate borrowing once US interest rates start to fall, experts have said. They are unlikely to face lending constraints despite the industry’s loan-to-deposit ratio again edging higher, they added. In June 2022 Saudi Arabia’s central bank (Sama) placed about SAR50 billion ($13 […] September 17, 2024
Telecoms Iraqi telecoms firm loses appeal against $1.5bn corruption award A $1.5 billion decision against an Iraqi telecom operator and a prominent Iraqi businessman has been upheld by the International Court of Arbitration, part of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The arbitrators found that Korek Telecom and its chairman and top shareholder, Sirwan Saber Barzani, had “participated in a corrupt scheme” to defraud the […] September 16, 2024
Analysis Finance US rate cuts will help Gulf bonds but oil worries persist Imminent US interest rate cuts bode well for Gulf bonds and sukuk, although declining oil prices could lead to higher spreads on regional debt. Bonds are typically priced against 10-year US government treasuries and the difference between their yields is known as the spread. The yield on 10-year treasuries hit a 17-year high of nearly […] September 16, 2024
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
