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16
CHARGING AHEAD WITH CHANGES PRIVATE BANKING KUWAIT STIMULUS MEETS OPPOSITION
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 18, 2009
Leading mobile phone manufacturers have Iran’s Bank Mellat plans Kuwait’s economic rescue plan has been
said they will produce a standardised charger to sell 80 per cent of its rejected by three MPs, who said the $5.1
for the industry to save money for consumers equity to private billion plan was “an attempt to squander
7DAYS Business
and reduce waste. The standard shape, to be investors, making it the public funds and bail out influential people
used by 17 manufacturers including Nokia first state-owned bank who committed investment blunders”, daily
and Samsung, will be mini-USB to be privatised the Kuwait Times reported
NEWS IN
Liquidity is better but banks have to be ‘comfortable’ to give loans
THE NUMBERS
FINANCIAL INDICES:
BRIEF
INDEX VALUE %CHANGE
Dark outlook
Banks need time
DUBAI 1,492.39 + 0.25
ABU DHABI 2,201.18 - 0.35
KSA 4,688.89 - 4.19
KUWAIT 6,610.90 + 0.52
BAHRAIN 1,607.86 - 0.58
DOHA SM 5,150.07 - 2.89
from hotel
MUSCAT SM 4,948.73 + 0.64
GLOBAL: InterContinental
Hotels said a fourth-quarter
slowdown had continued
to restart lending
SENSEX 9,035.00 - 2.91
FTSE* 4,043.59 - 2.20
DJIA* 7,676.94 - 2.21
NIKKEI 7,645.51 - 1.35
into this year and demand
COMMODITIES:
was still easing, as its 2008
OIL* PRICE
profit rose 13 per cent.
NYMEX CRUDE $35.40
The operator of
DME $43.11
InterContinental, Crowne GOLD CLOSE
Plaza and Holiday Inn hotel LONDON* $962.25/oz
brands, said underlying DGCX FUTURE $943.50/oz
revenue per available room, * AS OF 15.00 GMT
a key industry measure, fell
6.5 per cent in the fourth
CURRENCIES:
quarter of 2008 and 12.2
VERSUS DIRHAM
per cent in January, led by a
CURRENCY RATE
steep decline in demand in
US $ 3.672
the Asia Pacific region.
GBP £ 5.239
EURO 4.638
YEN 0.0400
INDIAN RUPEE 0.0738
New plans
PAKISTANI RUPEE 0.0459
PHILIPPINE PESO 0.0768
S A RAND 0.360
are needed
CANADIAN $ 2.912
AUS $ 2.353
UAE:
Rates provided by currency specialists,
Luxury goods retailers
First Rate FX
need to look for ‘micro-
markets’ within countries
and regions during the
global downturn, Chris
Figee, partner in McKinsey
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
and Company, said at the
inaugural World Pearl
Forum in Dubai yesterday. Property
“[For example], if you look A WINDOW TO THE PAST: The days of easy credit seem long ago as UAE banks have still not loosened loan conditions
at the US, some of the
states haven’t been hit as Liquidity conditions in the markets are moving... they are nitely they will resume lend- means that the federal gov- investors
badly as others, you just UAE are improving but banks changing,” he said at a central ing,” he said. ernment with the central
need to know where to need more time before they bank event. Separately, Al Suweidi bank are stepping in, putting
look,” he said. feel comfortable enough to “It will take time until banks declined to comment on in the right programmes to defaulting
resume lending, UAE Central feel comfortable, and when whether Dubai banks could manage the present situa-
Bank governor Sultan Nasser they feel comfortable, defi- expect to receive the same tion,” he said. Investors and home buyers in
Al Suweidi said yesterday. type of capital support Al Suweidi’s comments the UAE may default on pay-
Al Suweidi said a dhs50 bil- received by rival banks in the come after Standard ments for uncompleted prop-
lion ($13.61 billion) support
“WHEN THE BANKS
neighbouring emirate of Abu Chartered said that UAE erties, creating a liability for
facility launched by the cen-
FEEL COMFORTABLE
Dhabi earlier in February. banks did not need cash sup- developers of as much as $25
tral bank last year has not
DEFINITELY THEY
“That would be a sharehold- port such as the dhs50 billion billion, UBS said.
been used extensively.
WILL RESUME
er decision,” Al Suweidi said. facility, but instead needed “In our view investors are,
“The central bank’s dhs50 “That was to support capital, funds from the government in and will continue to, default,”
billion facility has not been
LENDING”
not an injection.” the form of deposits. Dubai-based UBS real estate
needed to a great extent at Al Suweidi, however, did not Central bank rules dictate a and construction analyst
this point in time because liq-
CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR
rule out further moves. bank cannot lend more Saud Masud said.
uidity is much better. The “There are always ways and money than it has in deposits. “Our assessment... is based
on the cost to developers to fin-
ish properties should investors
THE MARKETS
Oil price falls as Iraq looks for cut
default on the upcoming sup-
ply of 140,000 units.
It was another day of small Trade volume was up on “We estimate this liability to
gains at the DFM Monday’s total, with 6,774 Crude oil traded near $35 a “The oil price is reacting to “If our previous reduction is be roughly $20 to $25 billion
yesterday, as the General deals done on 23 firms. barrel in New York on the doom-and-gloom,” said not sufficient to stabilise over the next two years.”
Index edged up 0.25 per Of these, four maintained speculation a deepening John Hall, managing the market and prices, then In conservative estimates, 30
cent to 1,492.39 points. the status quo, nine surged recession in Europe and director of UK-based we have to look for another per cent of residential proper-
Consumer staples and ahead and ten fell behind. Asia will stifle worldwide consultant John Hall reduction,” Oil Minister ties may be empty by the end
materials returned to their Arabtec led the real estate demand for fuels. Associates. Hussain Al Shahristani said. of next year as the population
old position of immobility, industry’s rises, lifted by The UK may face an “The UK, US, Asia and the Earlier this month, falls and the risk of oversupply
while real estate got a 1.35 12.12 per cent to dhs1.48 economic contraction in the Eurozone are all contracting Shahristani said he increases, Masud added.
per cent boost and banks and symmetry seemed to first quarter equal to last at a faster rate than oil is expected OPEC to cut its
and insurance took what be the key to high quarter’s 1.5 per cent being produced, and the supply targets when it
they could get, which was percentage rises, as decline, the Bank of world is in a strong place in meets in March.
little rises of 0.5 and 0.1 Kuwait Finance and England said. terms of oil stocks.” The price of oil may begin
per cent respectively. Investment Company rose Industrial energy Crude oil for March delivery to recover by the end of the
Meanwhile, utilities was left 11.11 per cent to dhs3.80. consumption in Germany, traded down 5.63 per cent year, Shahristani said.
in the dark, falling 2.04 per Meanwhile, Al Salam Bank Europe’s largest economy, at $35.40 a barrel in New Compliance from OPEC
cent, as transportation was Sudan swapped the grew less than expected York trading at 14.24 GMT. members with the cuts
stopped in its tracks with a winner’s circle for the top last year. Meanwhile, Iraq’s oil agreed so far was “good
1.67 per cent drop and drop, losing 9.52 per cent And Japan, the world’s minister said yesterday that enough”, he added.
investment was on the to dhs1.52 and Gulf third-largest oil user, has OPEC should look to OPEC met only two-thirds
wrong side of the hedge, General Investments fell said its economy shrank the reduce oil supply further if of the pledged cuts in
down 0.84 per cent. 6.10 per cent to dhs2.00. most since 1974 in the curbs to date have failed to January, according to a
fourth quarter of last year. balance the market. Reuters survey.
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