GCC News Roundup – July 23, 2009
News & Views General
- Annual inflation in Bahrain slowed to 2.7 per cent last month, its lowest level in at least 23 months, from 3.5 per cent in May, as food prices posted a month-on-month decline.
- Kuwaiti money supply growth accelerated to 21.5 percent in June from 17.7 percent in May, official data showed on Wednesday. Money supply, measured as M2, rose to 25.15 billion dinars ($87.63 billion) on June 30, from 20.7 billion dinars a year earlier, the central bank said in a monthly bulletin.
- Dubai Is Raising Another $10 Billion for Support Fund. Dubai is raising the second half of a $20 billion support fund that aims to help state-controlled companies during the global credit crisis and has issued a decree setting up a company to manage its proceeds.
- Porsche’s board of directors endorsed negotiations for the sale of a stake to Qatar and to prepare a capital increase of at least five billion euros. The steps approved at an extraordinary night time meeting early Thursday (July 23) were made as the Stuttgart-based auto maker enters the final stretch of negotiations to create an integrated auto firm with Volkswagen.
- The Ras Al Khaimah Government on Wednesday completed the formal documentation signing for its landmark $400 million Sukuk issue, with Standard Chartered Bank, BNP Paribas and Liquidity House acting as Joint Bookrunners. This is both the first US dollar Sukuk issued by a Sovereign under a programme and by an emirate in the UAE.
- Saib BNP Paribas Asset Management Company, a leading asset manager in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, has announced the signing of a distribution agreement for a selection of its mutual funds with Derayah Financial.
