Archives of Middle East & Africa

1. Kenyan shares extend fall, shilling steady

   2013-04-22 14:45:31 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   NAIROBI: Kenya's main share index fell for the seventh straight session to a four-week low, weighed down by profit taking after a post election rally, while the shilling was steady. The benchmark NSE-20 share index fell 0.6 percent to 4,839.49 points, a level last reached on March 27. The index has declined about 4 percent since April 11, mainly due to investors taking profits following a 12 p...

2. Saudi Yansab's Q1 net profit down on lower sales, tops forecasts

   2013-04-13 14:15:07 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   KHOBAR: Saudi Yanbu National Petrochemical (Yansab) posted a 7.4 percent drop to 667.07 million riyals ($177.88 million) in net profit for the first quarter on Saturday, beating analysts' expectations of 577.46 million. Yansab, an affiliate of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) , attributed the decline in profits to "lower production and sales" because of maintenance at its ethylene glycol un...

3. Stocks rise on Japan's liquidity surge, oil slips

   2013-04-11 23:44:23 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   NEW YORK: World equity markets rallied for a fourth day on Thursday, lifted by a surprise drop in Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week, while crude fell on a cut in global demand forecasts as US oil supplies hit a two-decade high.Japan's aggressive monetary easing and signs of a growing recovery in China also lifted equity markets, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 stock indexes ...

4. Wealth fund backed Qatar investment firm to offer shares in May

   2013-04-06 13:33:56 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   DUBAI: A new $12 billion Qatari investment firm, backed by assets from the sovereign wealth fund, will offer shares to the public in May as part of plans by the tiny Gulf state to share its riches with local citizens and institutions.Doha Global Investment Co, will have a total capital of 45 billion riyals ($12.36 billion), 50 percent of which will be in the form of paid-up capital, according to a...

5. Saudi Aramco, Dow petchem venture launches sukuk sale

   2013-03-17 13:07:29 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   DUBAI: Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical, launched an Islamic bond sale that could raise at least $1.4 billion to finance a large petrochemical complex in the east of the kingdom.The $19.3 billion facility, located at Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, will be the world's largest chemical complex ever built in a single phase.Sada...

6. Kenyan shares surge to 4-1/2 year high on peaceful vote

   2013-03-11 14:57:13 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   NAIROBI: Kenyan shares surged 3 percent to a four-and-half-year high on Monday as investors bought into stocks after a peaceful vote outcome over the weekend, while the shilling firmed against the dollar.Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president, won the presidential election with 50.07 percent of the vote, the country's election commission said on Saturday, which was just enough to av...

7. Kingdom Holding to pay $147mn in dividends

   2013-02-23 13:14:02 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   KHOBAR: Kingdom Holding Co, the international investment firm of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will pay dividends worth 550.3 million Saudi riyals ($146.75 million) this year, in quarterly installments, the company said on Saturday. Kingdom Holding will "distribute quarterly cash dividends from retained earnings of 1.25 percent (5 percent for the full year) of the shares' nominal val...

8. South African stocks steady, mining shares recover

   2013-02-22 16:35:56 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

   JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks were steady on Friday, a day after booking their biggest one-day fall in nearly a year, as shares of mining firms recovered while some retailers tumbled. Shares of Exxaro fell 1.1 percent to 172.10 rand after the diversified miner said it expected full-year earnings to drop by as much as 41 percent, worse than market expectations. "We started a bit firmer after t...

9. South Africa stocks edge back from record as platinum hit

   2013-02-11 15:57:19 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

     JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks edged back from record highs on Monday, with shares of platinum mining companies hit after Impala Platinum warned of lower earnings.   Shares of Sibanye Gold made their debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, ending the day at 13.57 rand.   This was at the lower end of analyst estimates and valued the mining company at around 10 billi...

10. South African stocks retreat from record high, end flat

    2013-02-04 16:12:37 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks ended barely changed on Monday as investors juggled better-than-expected earnings results by a major gold miner with valuation worries after two straight sessions of gains that pushed the market to record highs.   Construction firms also featured on the loser board after the City Press newspaper said police were involved in a competition watchdog price-fi...

11. Mobinil eyes new share listing to meet ownership rules

    2013-02-04 16:05:25 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    CAIRO: Egyptian cellphone operator Mobinil would prefer to list more shares on Cairo's stock exchange to meet new ownership rules than sell a bigger stake to a local company, its CEO said on Monday.   France Telecom owns 94 percent of Mobinil, Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding owns 5 percent, and only the remaining 1 percent is listed on the exchange, Mobinil's website said. Â...

12. Bluechips lift Dubai to 33 months high

    2013-01-27 14:08:12 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    DUBAI: Dubai's heavyweight banking and property stocks lifted the emirate's index to a fresh 33-month high above a long-term resistance level on Sunday, while other regional markets were mixed.   Dubai's index rose 1.5 percent to 1,819 points, its highest finish since April 2010. Emaar Properties climbed 3.6 percent and top lender Emirates NBD rose 1.5 percent.   Dubai Financial Mar...

13. Qatar CBQ posts 19pc Q4 profit jump

    2013-01-27 13:45:13 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    DOHA: Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ), which is eyeing a majority stake in Turkey's Alternatifbank, posted a 19 percent jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Sunday on increased lending, but still trailed analysts' forecasts.   The bank earned 447 million riyals ($122.8 million) for the fourth quarter, compared with 376 million riyals a year earlier, a company statement said.   Analys...

14. Dubai hits 32-mth high; most regional mkts up

    2013-01-20 20:34:40 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    DUBAI: Dubai's bourse rose to a 32-month closing high in heavy trade on Sunday as it tested, but failed to break, long-term technical resistance. Most regional markets also gained.   The Dubai index, buoyed by a budding recovery in the real estate market and the belief that the emirate has largely put its 2009-2010 corporate debt crisis behind it, climbed as high as 1,803 points before it ...

15. Kuwait China investment quota boosted to $1bln: KUNA

    2013-01-20 13:05:53 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    KUWAIT: China's foreign exchange regulator has increased the amount which Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund can invest directly in the Chinese securities markets to $1 billion, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday.   The regulator awarded Kuwait an additional $700 million quota on top of $300 million awarded in March last year, KUNA said. Kuwait said last year that it was seeking a maxim...

16. South Africa stocks up but mining shares slide cap gains

    2013-01-17 16:19:45 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    JOHANNESBURG: South African stocks rose for the first time in five sessions on Thursday, although gains were capped by a fall in mining shares such as Anglo American Platinum and retailers like Mr Price.   Shares of Mr Price, a clothing retailer, fell 3.3 percent to 121.25 rand after it said quarterly sales grew by 10 percent, disappointing investors who may have been expecting a bigger ri...

17. Saudi Mobily to increase capital by 10pc through bonus shares

    2013-01-12 14:49:25 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) said on Saturday it has approved a board recommendation for a 10 percent increase in capital through a bonus share issue.   The firm said in a statement posted on the bourse's website that a general assembly meeting approved a recommendation of the board to increase the company's capital to 7.7 billion riyals from 7 billion riyals through a b...

18. Safco Q4 net profit drops 10pc

    2013-01-12 14:45:31 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Fertilizers Co (SAFCO) posted a 10.3 percent decline in fourth-quarter net profits, missing analyst forecasts, due to lower Urea prices, the firm said in a bourse statement on Saturday.   Safco, the affiliate of the world's biggest petrochemical company by market value, Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) , made 1.146 billion riyals in the three months ending on Dec. 31 co...

19. Kenyan shares rally to a 23-month high, shilling steady

    2013-01-11 16:19:10 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    NAIROBI: Benchmark Kenyan shares rallied for the eighth straight session on Friday to a 23-month high as investors bet on a better economic outlook after policymakers cut interest rates, while the shilling ended steady against the dollar.   The central bank cut its key lending rate by 150 basis points to 9.50 percent, larger than the 100 basis point reduction markets were anticipating, to ...

20. Johannesburg Stock Exchange punches to new high

    2013-01-03 16:16:18 GMT : (Markets - Equity/Middle East & Africa)

    JOHANNESBURG: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's All Share Index hit a record high at the close Thursday, buoyed by a deal to avoid fiscal tightening in the United States.   Africa's leading index ended the day up nearly half a percent at 40,245 points.   President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a deal that avoids the world's largest economy being squeezed simultaneously by...