Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Reuters: A new Dubai fund, set up to manage a $20 billion bond programme to aid state-linked firms, will issue loans at 4 percent and could run assets handed over in lieu of debt repayment, a senior official was on Thursday quoted as saying.
Arabic daily Al Khaleej quoted Abdulrahman Al Saleh, the new director general of Dubai’s department of finance, as saying that the support fund would only charge administrative fees from recipient firms and that loans will run four to five years………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: The government’s financial Support Fund, designed to manage and distribute the $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) worth of state funds, needs to be transparent about how much is distributed and to whom, economists say.
The Support Fund was created by decree No. 24 of 2009 issued by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Dow Jones: U.S.-based Tocqueville Asset Management LP’s Shariah-compliant gold hedge fund is outperforming both the metal’s price and its Philadelphia index year-to-date, delivering a similar performance to its other gold investments.
That performance should continue, portfolio manager John Hathaway told Dow Jones Newswires, because he forecasts gold to trade into the quadruple digits and stay there………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Iran-daily.com: The global Islamic finance industry is now worth more than $1 trillion in terms of assets, having quadrupled in the past three years as it concentrates more on diversification.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, nine of the top 10 Sharia-compliant financial assets by country are based in the Middle East and Asia. The 10th is in the UK, Moj News Agency wrote………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From FT Alphaville: If you saw the BBC’s Newsnight programme on Wednesday July 22 you might have watched (go to 24.50) a somewhat intimidating Paul Mason standing outside the headquarters of RBS in London inviting employees to come and discuss the ethics of usury with him.
Motivation for the report: growing religious campaigns in the UK urging the government to enforce usury laws on banks and high-street lenders. Mason was joined by vicars, priests, rabbis and muslim clerics — all seemingly united on the issue………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: The regional project finance market has been mauled by the credit crunch resulting in a raft of cancelled deals - but it has recently shown a glimmer of life.
In June, Qatar’s Nakilat raised $949 million (Dh3.48 billion) to pay for liquefied natural gas ships………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Maktoob.com: A total of 30 Gulf banks have almost $10 billion worth of exposure to the two troubled privately held Saudi conglomerates Saad Group and Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi & Brothers Co, or AHAB, according to new figures released on Thursday from ratings agency Standard & Poors.
In a survey of the region’s top banks, S&P found that total gross exposure to the two family-owned firms stood at $9.6 billion, with those in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the hardest hit………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Annual growth in Saudi Arabia’s M3 money supply fell to 16.4 per cent in June, from 16.9 per cent in May, while bank loans to the private sector increased, central bank data showed on Thursday.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) website carried data showing a money supply of 1 trillion riyals ($266.7 billion) in June, compared to 986.8 billion riyals in May………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: Two large Saudi banks sharply increased provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, official data showed yesterday, amid concerns over the solvency of some debt-laden private Saudi firms.
Banque Saudi Fransi booked 120 million Saudi riyals (Dh118 million) in provisions for loan losses during the second quarter, according to data released on the Saudi stock exchange………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Forbes: Saudi Arabia’s first corporate bond market is unlikely to become a success without a sovereign bond and the removal of legal obstacles, even if Gulf issuances are slowly picking up.
The launch of the Gulf’s third bond trading platform after Bahrain and Nasdaq Dubai comes when troubles at several Saudi family-controlled firms are making headlines, underlining the problems of opacity of financial markets in the biggest Arab economy………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Shamil Bank, a unit of Bahrain-based Islamic lender Ithmaar, has minor exposures to troubled Saudi groups Saad and Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi and Brothers (AHAB), it said in a statement on Thursday.
“Shamil Bank has a minor exposure, representing an almost negligible percentage of our assets, to Saudi-based Saad and Algosaibi groups”, chief executive Faisal Alalwan was cited in the statement………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) declined to comment on Thursday on whether it had any exposure to two Saudi groups, but said it would continue to take prudent provisions to maintain its balance sheet in the future.
A newspaper reported on Wednesday that ADIB had 245 million dirhams ($66.70 million) in exposure to troubled conglomerate Saad Group………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulf-times.com: Qatar’s finance sector grew 36% in the 12 months up to March this year, accounting for QR10.4bn in the first-quarter GDP, a QNB Capital study shows.
The sector’s share in Qatar’s GDP in Q1, 2008 was QR7.64bn………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Tradearabia.com: Bahrain based BMI Bank (BMI) has announced operating profits of BD2.1 million ($5.57 million) for the first six months of 2009, reflecting an increase of 20 per cent over the same period of 2008.
The results are subject to the approval of board of directors of the bank in a meeting scheduled for August 2009………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Ameinfo.com: The Ras Al Khaimah Government today completed the formal documentation signing for its landmark $400m Sukuk issue, with Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas and Liquidity House acting as joint bookrunners.
This issuance is both the first US dollar Sukuk issued by a Sovereign under a programme and by an emirate in the UAE………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Gulfnews.com: One of the UAE’s largest banks by market capitalisation, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) reported on Thursday first half profits of Dh658 million, 44 per cent lower than in the same period last year.
Despite reporting a record Dh1.55 billion in pre-provision profit, ADCB set Dh890 million in provisions, or allowances to cover possible investment losses and loan defaults………..Full Article: Source
Posted on 24 July 2009 by Laxman | Email|Print
From Aawsat.com: Emaar Properties is still considering an initial public offering for its India MGF joint venture, in line with its strategy announced last year, the Dubai-based developer said on Thursday.
Emaar, which is building the world’s tallest tower, said that while an IPO is being considered, it is still in the preliminary stage………..Full Article: Source
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