Saudi Cement’s Board Recommends Smaller Dividend For H2 2014

Saudi Cement, the Kingdom’s largest cement company by market value, reported an 8.9 per cent rise in Q4 net profit.

Stock News: Gulf Markets Rise After Oil Rally; Dubai’s Damac Jumps

Brent crude jumped 2.2 per cent to $57.80 per barrel on Friday, posting its largest two-week gain in 17 years.

Stock News: Stronger Oil May Support Gulf Markets

Brent crude jumped 2.2 per cent to $57.80 per barrel on Friday, posting its largest two-week gain in 17 years.

Gulf Banks Help Underwrite Region’s Aviation Boom

Figures from Airbus show that 47 per cent of its aircraft deals in the ME in the first 11 months of 2014 were funded by local banks.

Kuwait Central Bank Chief Denies Illicit Share Trading

A local daily reported that the securities regulator had decided to refer central bank governor Mohammad al-Hashel to prosecutors on suspicion of violating investment rules.

UAE’s Dana Gas Blames Oil Price Slump, Egypt Charge For Q4 Net Loss

Dana Gas made a net loss of Dhs15 million in the last quarter of 2014.

Saudi’s Jarir Marketing Proposes Q4 Dividend

Jarir posted a 25.5 per cent increase in its fourth-quarter net profit.

Dubai’s Aramex Q4 Net Profit Up 17%, Beats Estimates

The company made a net profit of Dhs89.4 million ($24.3 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Oman’s Raysut Cement Q4 Net Rises 9.2%, Misses Forecasts

The company made a profit of OMR6.55 million($17.0 million) in the last quarter of 2014.

Industries Qatar Q4 Net Profit Slips 4.2%

The company reported annual net profit of QAR6.3 billion for 2014, down 21 per cent from QAR8.01 billion a year earlier.

Saudi Supermarket Chain Al Raya Put Up For Sale – Sources

Dubai-based Levant Capital and Citi Venture Capital International originally bought the stake in Al Raya in 2012 for $100 million.

Abraaj And TPG Sign Deal For Saudi Fast-Food Chain Kudu – Sources

The deal is a first in the region for TPG, which manages about $65 billion of capital according to its website.

UAE Lender NBAD Launches $750m Five-Year Bond

Investor orders grew to over $1 billion, the leads said.

Dubai’s Mashreq Expects Slower Retail Lending Growth In 2015

The bank’s retail lending growth is expected to slow to 25 per cent in 2015 from 36 per cent last year.

Gulf States To Deposit $10bn In Egypt Before Conference

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE gave Egypt more than $12 billion in aid after former President Mohamed Mursi was toppled in 2013.

RAKBANK CEO: UAE Credit Bureau Not Having An Impact On Lending

The bank has not seen a major drop in lending approval rates since the establishment of the Credit Bureau, says Peter England.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Sells 5.6% Stake In News Corp

Kingdom’s stake decreased from approximately 6.6 per cent ownership to roughly one per cent ownership.

Abu Dhabi’s Gulf Capital Seals $232m Loan To Fund Investments

The six-year revolving credit facility was lead arranged by First Gulf Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital Says Didn’t Renew Moody’s Contract As Has No Debt

Moody’s on Tuesday withdrew Shuaa’s ratings, citing Moody’s “own business reasons” without elaborating.

Bahrain Begins Legal Process To Set Up Central Sharia Board

A country-level approach could help limit differences between products, speed the design of new products and boost investor confidence.

UAE’s NBAD To Price Benchmark Five-Year dollar Bond On Weds

The bond, rated AA- by Standard and Poor’s and Fitch, will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Stock News: Dubai’s Rally Slows As Oil Slips

Brent crude fell 0.7 per cent in Asian trade after surging almost six per cent on Tuesday.

Pakistan Seeks Settlement With Etisalat In $800m Dispute

An Etisalat-led consortium in 2005 bought a $2.6 billion stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Co but withheld $800 million because of some incomplete deal terms.

UAE’s Massar Solutions Says Postpones Flotation, Cites Poor Demand

Massar will postpone the initial public offering (IPO) until oil prices are more stable, it said.

UAE Bank NBAD To Start Market-Making On Abu Dhabi Exchange

NBAD is the first official market maker in the Gulf region, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange said.

Qatar’s GIS 2014 Net Profit Doubles, Hikes Dividend

Net profit for the full year of 2014 rose to QAR1.4 billion, up from QAR677 million the year before, it said in a statement.

UAE Non-Oil Business Growth Accelerates In January

The seasonally adjusted HSBC UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index was 59.3 points last month against 58.4 in December.

Saudi Non-Oil Business Growth Almost Unchanged In January

The seasonally adjusted SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index was 57.8 points in January against 57.9 in December.

Dubai Sugar Refinery Back Shipping To Iraq After Disruption Last Summer

Al Khaleej’s supply to Iraq was affected last summer as conflict in the country escalated with IS overrunning Mosul.

Dubai Financial Market Q4 Net Profit Rises 31%

DFM’s full-year profit rose 167 per cent to Dhs759.3 million.