Will 2011 Be The Best Year For Gulf Banks?

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Will 2011 Be The Best Year For Gulf Banks?(0)

While their global counterparts slash and burn, Gulf banks are collectively set for their best year - ever — according to KAMCO.

While major blue-chip banks across the world are cutting back, shedding staff, deleveraging and recoiling at the thought of major sovereign defaults in Euroland, Gulf banks have quietly bulked up. Their prudence has allowed them to escape much of the crisis facing the global financial services industry, and they have benefited from great government support that has ensured they lived through the soul-crushing global financial crisis of 2008. READ MORE HERE
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$25Bn Gulf Debt Maturities In 2012 Pose Risk: S&P(0)

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that issuers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries face rising refinancing risks over the next three years because the amount of debt maturing in the region will increase significantly between 2012-2014.

Industry experts estimate bonds and sukuk of about $25 billion will mature in 2012, rising to about $35 billion in 2014. Standard & Poor’s believes the region is therefore entering a challenging loan and bond refinancing cycle, especially given the ongoing volatility in capital markets and fears that slowing global economic growth is already curbing corporate debt issuance and heightening refinancing risk in the region.
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Ten OPEC Forecasts(0)

: rickz /Foter

Read the ten major forecasts from Opec’s latest World Oil Outlook, ranging from the challenges and prospects for oil developers to the intense competition they will face over the next 25 years. READ MORE HERE

Kuwait To Launch $3-Billion Healthcare Projects By Next Year(0)

The Kuwaiti healthcare sector offers tremendous opportunities, given the rising population and an under-explored healthcare sector that’s largely driven by the public sector. The government is keen for private sector involvement and has initiated a number of reforms and incentives to attract the private sector. READ MORE HERE

The Middle East’s 10 Most Expensive Retail Locations(0)

Middle East retail rents staganted in the 2010/11 period which ended in June, according to research consultants Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).

This downward trend was in sharp contrast to the growth seen in other emerging markets. Not surprisngly, some of the countries most affected by the Arab revolt saw the most severe declines. Bahrain’s retail rents fell 26.7% during the period, while Syria saw a 16.7% decline.
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Outlook For UAE Darkens; Gulf Not Immune Either: Deutsche Bank(0)

The UAE which is more aligned than other regional states to global economic cycles, saw its PMI fall from 57.5 in April to 51.0 in July, suggesting that that any further deterioration in global economies will be felt more in the UAE compared to other Gulf states, says Deutsche Bank. READ MORE HERE

The world’s best and worst central bankers(0)

Lebanon’s Riad Salameh is ranked as one of the world’s best central bankers. But which Mideast bank governor fares worse than Ben Bernanke and Jean-Claude Trichet? Surprising answer! READ MORE HERE

Middle East’s Q3 Economic Prospects Look Dim On Global Slowdown(0)

As the global economy lurches from one crisis to the next, we look at the prospects for the regional economies in troubling global conditions which could slash domestic growth.

Another quarter, another headache. Gulf governments have suffered a tumultuous first two quarters of the year and were hoping for some semblance of sanity in the third quarter. At the very least, regional governments were hoping that tragic developments within the Middle East had remained isolated - Syria, Yemen and Libya - leaving other countries in relative safety and peace.
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Mubarak: Court Diversions(0)

The Egyptian army has given the public what they wanted: The humiliation of Hosni Mubarak and his regime on live TV. But beyond the court circus, far greater challenges remain.

It was an image that many Egyptians never thought they will live to see. Hosni Mubarak, the Arab strongman and former president of Egypt, in a cage along with his two sons and his closest associates and political allies.

Not satisfied with disposing Mubarak, Egyptians returned time and again to the now-famous Tahrir Square to ensure that Mubarak did not enjoy a luxurious exile ala Zine al-Abidine Ben AliBen Ali of Tunisia, who is now in political asylum in Saudi Arabia despite being found guilty of corrupt property deals by a Tunisian court. READ MORE HERE

VAT On The Way In Kuwait?(0)

Oil-dependent Kuwait may find a new revenue stream to support its rising spending needs if VAT is implemented by the authorities in 2013, according to the IMF.
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