A sharp rise in Saudi Arabia's stock market yesterday came as relief to investors across the region as protests planned for the kingdom did not materialise.
Investors feared that demonstrations expected a day earlier in Riyadh could lead to further instability in the Mena region, but those concerns faded when hundreds of police prevented them.
Saudi Arabia's Tadawul, the Arab world's largest and most liquid exchange, often dictates the direction of its smaller peers.
Its Tadawul All-Share Index rose 3.08 per cent to close at 6,297.01 yesterday, paring losses from the past two weeks.
The index rose about 15 per cent last week, reversing a 13-session retreat during which it lost 20 per cent on investor fears that regional unrest would spread to the kingdom.
A stock market rout across the Gulf ended last week as investors snapped up cheap stocks that had been driven lower on fears of regional unrest.
Last week, Qatar's QE Index jumped 8.3 per cent to 8,228.87, even though it was closed one day for a national holiday.
For the week, the Dubai Financial Market General Index rose 4.4 per cent to 1,449.98, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index advanced 2.3 per cent to 2,617.13, and the Bahraini measure advanced 1.09 per cent to 1,410.98.
Kuwait's measure rose 1.56 per cent last week to 6,286.60, and Muscat's index fell 1.08 per cent to 6,334.72.
Amid the general market upturn, some industry experts say not all bargain stocks represent good value.
"If you look at the market price to earnings it looks very attractive, but you have take into account risks involved with the companies," said Sven Richter, the head of frontier markets at Renaissance Asset Managers.
"Companies that have less debt and started to look interesting tend to not be as cheap as some of the others." Mr Richter added that while stocks in Dubai were at all-time lows, they were not as attractive and cheap as in Saudi Arabia, where consumer-related companies have been perceived as particularly good value for money.
The Saudi and Dubai exchanges have been in the spotlight for investors eager to take advantage of stocks trading at below their average value.
Emirates NBD, the UAE's biggest bank by assets, fetches Dh3.20 even after the company said last month its book value was about Dh6.06 a share.
Emaar Properties, the builder of the world's tallest tower, closed at Dh2.68 on Thursday, or 50 per cent below the company's reported book value of Dh5.10 a share.
Banking stocks are also likely to be in focus this week, as Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) yesterday reported a 33 per cent drop in net profit for last year, compared with 2009.
An increase in provisioning contributed to the lender's second consecutive year of net profit decline.
DIB, the country's largest Islamic bank, set aside an additional Dh864 million for bad loans during the year, it said.
The EGX 100, Cairo's benchmark index, was expected to reopen before March 28 to avoid being removed from global indexes, Reuters reported yesterday, quoting a statement by the finance minister on the prime minister's Facebook page.
Egypt's stock exchange has been closed for nearly six weeks since the index fell sharply in the days before demonstrations ousted Hosni Mubarak from the country's presidency. The Egyptian Exchange is part of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which is tracked globally by thousands of fund managers investing in the Mena region.
"There is momentum now to get it open," said Khaled Masri, the head of brokerage at Rasmala Investment Bank.
The MSCI will remove Egypt from its listing if the stock market remains closed for more than 40 business days.
"It's going to be messy and going to be ugly … [but the market] will most probably open soon because on an operational and technical side they are ready," Mr Masri said.
Last week, Tunisia's market opened after a week-long suspension, the second in two months. It ended the week 0.3 per cent higher at 4,380.53, after a sharp rise on the first day of trading.
"Many investors will wait until first-quarter results to get a better picture about the impact of the Tunisian revolution and the impact of the Libyan civil war on the Tunisian economy and on the activity of these companies," said Youssef Lahlou, a portfolio manager at Silk Invest in London who covers Tunisia.
fhalime@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MATCH INFO
Manchester United v Brighton, Sunday, 6pm UAE
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.