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News & Views General Annual inflation rate in UAE is estimated at 3.5% to 4% in 2009 due to lower food prices. Saudi Arabia based Almarai’s $253.2 Mn worth cash and stock bid for Hail Agricultural Development Co has received regulatory approval. Depa repurchased 1,736,216 shares between August 1 and August 31, at an average [...]
News & Views General · The withdrawal of United Arab Emirates from the proposed Gulf monetary union has thrown into question the viability and influence of any union that does emerge eventually. The UAE — the second of six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to pull out of Gulf monetary union after smaller [...]
GCC financial institutions and industrial companies are soon set to issue Islamic bonds worth US$30 billion, according to Moody’s Investor Services. The Islamic bond issues fell by more than 50% in 2008 compared to 2007. The value of bonds issued in 2008 was just over US$15 billion, while in 2007 it amounted to more than [...]
GCC markets recorded another week of negative performance as the dramatic fall in crude prices coupled with the worsening of the financial turmoil in November 2008 further dented investor confidence in the region. GCC stock markets lost around $127 Bn in November, after posting a similar performance in October, wherein they lost $220 Bn. Tadawul [...]
GCC markets, with most markets posting double-digit losses, were extremely weak this week. Markets witnessed widespread selling as recession fears deepened. The Tadawul exchange, with week-to-date (WTD) decline of 9.8%, wiped off all of its last week’s gains. Last week’s rate cut by the Monetary authority notwithstanding, the fall in crude prices severely impacted the [...]
GCC markets exhibited mixed trends this week—while some markets posted double-digit returns, others reported marginal losses. Nevertheless, GCC markets benefited from the improved investor sentiments due to policy changes by Central banks across the world and renewed optimism following the US presidential elections. The Fed rate cut of 50 bps just before the start of [...]
Healthcare demand is estimated to rise 240% in the GCC region by 2028. High-income countries such as the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia spend only 2.2 to 3.4% of GDP on healthcare. These levels are expected to increase in future. Spending is expected to increase 419% more on cardiovascular treatment, 323% on diabetes treatment and [...]
Annual healthcare spending in the GCC countries is forecast to increase from $12bn in 2008 to $60bn by 2025. New models of public-private partnerships are emerging in the GCC as individual governments are now reassessing their roles in healthcare as regulators, commissioners and providers. Private sector also has huge opportunities in the region which is [...]
All GCC markets ended in deep red for the week, with market sentiment turning negative due to the global financial turmoil, recession concerns and falling oil prices. Markets witnessed huge selling pressure throughout the week. However, the final trading day provided some respite for few markets with a slight recovery in global indices. Several indices [...]
GCC markets remained flat with some markets exhibiting an upward bias and others closing marginally lower. The global credit crisis continues to haunt investors—selling was rampant on some days. Because of this, governments in the oil-rich region have taken steps to support their financial systems after stock markets sustained huge losses last week. The Saudi [...]
