Posts Tagged ‘Real estate sectors’
JEDDAH – Gulf stock markets struggled to remain in the profit one this week, as investors kept a close eye on Wall Street and other major world bourses as well as on oil prices which appeared stable at over $80 a barrel, financial analysts said Friday.
Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel Friday ahead of a key employment report that will help investors gauge the strength of the US economy.
TAIPEI – Taiwan ranks third in the world in terms of employment outlook for the third quarter, according to the latest survey by Manpower Inc. released June 8.
With the economy continuing to rebound, the poll found 42 percent of Taiwan enterprises plan to increase their personnel in the next quarter, while only 3 percent expect to reduce staff. The net employment outlook is therefore 39 percent, the highest since Taiwan began taking part in the poll five years ago.
After seasonal adjustment, Taiwans net employment outlook for the third quarter stands at 35 percent, behind only that of India and Brazil, the survey showed.
JEDDAH – Brazils construction sector offers attractive opportunities for investors from the Middle East and Gulf countries.
According to a recent Business Monitor International Report, Brazils construction sector is expected to be worth $85.48 billion by the end of the year, driven by projects related to upcoming major sporting events to be held in the country such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. These complement government plans to further expand infrastructure via its Growth Acceleration Program investment plan.
Against this backdrop, the upcoming Brasil Trade 2010 to be held on May 9-11 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dubai Festival City would showcase an array of investment potentials and business partnerships in store for regional investors and businessmen.
JEDDAH/AMMAN: Saudi shares were volatile last week with investors responding clearly to the retreat on world markets that analysts attributed to the negative news regarding the debt dilemma in euro countries, particularly Greece, Spain and Portugal and the disappointing unemployment report released in the United States.
The Tadawul All-Share Index (TASI) shed 0.89 percent last week, closing at 6,225.48 points. TASI is currently 1.7 percent higher than the year’s start.
DUBAI: UAE conglomerate Dubai Investments Co. made a preliminary 1.1 billion dirham profit for 2009, but could revise that downward with provisions, and its chief executive expects the property market to worsen in 2010.
CEO Khalid bin Kalban told Reuters that the holding firm, which operates in the investment, manufacturing, dairy and real estate sectors, made an unaudited profit of 300 million dirhams ($81.68 million) in the fourth quarter, but he expected some adjustments to that figure.
JEDDAH – Total deposits with Saudi banks has hit $245 billion at the end of June 2009, according to a report by BMG Financial Group, as a result of their efforts to attract more deposits and address higher demand for Islamic banking services, which provide low cost of funding and high profit margins.
In addition, bank lending to the Kingdoms private sector rose for the first time in three months in February, albeit a mere 0.2 per cent, according to a report by an information partner of REIDIN.com, the worlds first and leading global online information services provider.
KUWAIT CITY – Kuwait Financial Centre S.A.K. (Markaz), one of the Middle Easts leading investment banking and asset management companies, posted net profit of KD 2.2 million in first half ending June 30, 2009, or earnings per share of 5 fils, compared with KD 9.1 million in net profit and an EPS of 20 fils for the same period last year. Markaz short-term debt totalled KD 4.9 million and total debt reached KD 33.6 million which represents 6 percent and 42 percent of shareholders equity, respectively. Fee income remains healthy at KD 3.8 million and formed more than 70 percent of total income.
Diraar Y. Alghanim, chairman and managing director, said “as Markaz celebrates its 35th year anniversary this August, it continues to innovate and adapt to the challenges of market cycles and financial crises. Markaz has a portfolio of high quality liquid assets, low debt-to-equity ratio and almost zero short-term debt. Additionally, Markaz continues to generate a high fee income as a percentage of equity.”
JEDDAH: The global financial crisis, the fall in oil prices and the spiral into deep world recession have hit the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) real estate sector very hard. The drop in capital flow, assets prices and oil revenues severely dented investor confidence and forced a substantial scaling back of the large number of infrastructure and construction projects, according to a monthly report, released last week, by the Samba Financial Group entitled Real Estate in the UAE and Qatar: A Correction After Rapid Growth.
Real estate sectors in the UAE and Qatar have boomed over the past three years, boosted by rapid economic growth, rising incomes, abundant liquidity and growing expatriate populations. Property prices have more than doubled, and continued to rise strongly through the first half of 2008 before suffering a major correction as the global financial crisis hit hard.