Saudi petchem shares ‘could rebound quickly’
Source: Arab News (Read full story)
Pessimism over Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical industry has pushed shares in the sector down sharply, dampening the biggest Arab stock market. But the gloom may be overdone, creating chances to buy into some of the Kingdom’s biggest firms. The sector’s net income slid 18 percent from a year earlier to SR 8.0 billion ($ 2.1 billion) in the first quarter of this year, Riyadh-based NCB Capital calculated this week after the companies announced earnings. Even worse, global oil prices have dropped sharply since the start of this month.
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Qatar budget underpins robust stimulus to growth
Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)
Qatar’s budget for 2013-14 (FY14), the biggest in its history, supports robust stimulus to consumption and investment growth and higher capital spending, which is expected to “meaningfully” pick up in the next two fiscal years, will augur well for the non-hydrocarbon sector, according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofAML). “The FY14 budget underpins robust stimulus to consumption and investment growth, in our view,” the bank said in its report. Expenditures are budgeted at QR210.6bn (up 18% year-on-year on the initial FY13 budget), while revenues are projected at QR218.1bn (up 5.7%), leaving a surplus of QR7.5bn for FY14 against QR27bn in the previous fiscal (FY13).
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DP World reports decline in Q1 container handling
Source: Khaleej Times (Read full story)
Shareholders of DP World approved a total dividend distribution of $199 million, or 24 cents per share for 2012, on Thursday as the global container port operator reported seven per cent drop in first quarter container handling. The dividend that will be paid on April 30 comprises a 10 per cent increase in the underlying dividend to 21 US cents per share, supplemented by a special dividend of three US cents per share reflecting the profit attributable to owners of the company from separately disclosed items, said chairman of the company Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
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MP Zalzalah urges PM to reshuffle Cabinet
Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)
Shiite MP Youssef Al-Zalzalah yesterday called on Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to reshuffle his Cabinet if he wanted to keep the pace of reforms, saying it is time for some ministers to leave without naming anyone. “It’s time for a number of ministers to exit the Cabinet… as they cannot be trusted to carry out reforms” said Zalzalah and added that “it’s time for a Cabinet reshuffle”. The lawmaker gave no details of which ministers should be axed from the Cabinet formed mid- December following parliamentary election that was boycotted by the opposition in protest against amending the electoral law.
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Bahrain ideal for setting up joint projects with UK
Source: Gulf Daily News (Read full story)
Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) chairman Dr Essam Fakhro called on British economic and trade organisations and investors to visit Bahrain in order to be updated on the reality of the situation in the kingdom. He said such visits provide information to them on the positive work and investment environment in the kingdom, reveal the progress of the economic and urban development programmes implemented in Bahrain and prove biased media reports wrong.
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Oman government toughens stance on mining industry
Source: Gulf News (Read full story)
Ongoing efforts by the Omani government to regulate the quarrying industry, long accused of giving short shrift to host communities and the local environment, are a step closer to bearing fruit, according to the head of a high-level panel tasked with tackling the issue. Ahmad Bin Hassan Al Dheeb, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement to Oman News Agency (ONA), that the panel has identified suitable sites that can be offered to quarry operators for exploitation.
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Emir praises Qatar-US relations
Source: Gulf Times (Read full story)
HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani attended a reception hosted by members of the Society of Qatar Friends at the Congress (the American-Qatari Caucus) at the Congress premises. The Emir welcomed the members, referred to the close friendship that binds the State of Qatar and the United States of America and stressed the continued growth and development of relations between the two countries. The Emir also praised the areas of co-operation between Qatar and the United States, especially the fields of education, investment, energy, industry and defence, pointing out to new prospects for expanding the frameworks of this co-operation to include various aspects of economic, trade and investment activities in the near future.
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