Issue  No.107
09 January 2017

This report is designed to give you a snapshot about the MENA region tackling multiple issues:


 
   



        56.28  USD         1,177  USD

 
/USD
/EUR
EGP
18.18
19.09
AED
3.67
3.87
QAR
3.64
3.83
SAR
3.75
3.95
BHD 
0.38
0.39
OMR 
0.38 
0.40

 
  Economic Outlook
  • Jordan fuel prices will increase by 7% in January 2017 due to increase in global petrol prices. The 90 octane gasoline liter will be sold at 0.62 JOD which is 4 piasters up, while the 95 octane gasoline will be 0.81 JOD per liter.
  • Qatar's ongoing public investments could heat up the economy but a rise in the US interest rate may complicate efforts to boost the real GDP growth which is expected to be 3.4% this year according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
  • Qatar's will be able to meet its external debt obligation due to its huge foreign reserves and large asset base at its sovereign wealth fund. Furthermore, Qatar's fiscal and current account deficit is set to decline this year while supporting growth through higher capital spending.
  • Egypt's net foreign reserves have increased to 24.265 BN USD in December 2016 compared to 23.058 BN USD in November 2016, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
  • According to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), EGP is to appreciate by 14% 2017.
  • Egypt has approved bankruptcy law as part of the reform program to encourage investment. The law aims to minimize the need for companies or individuals to resort to the courts, and to eliminate imprisonment in cases of bankruptcy.
  • Egypt electricity bills has reached 5.3 BN EGP in November 2016.
  • The government of Oman has approached banks for an international bond issue likely to be around 1 BN USD or more with tranches of five and 10 years as the country plugs a budget deficit caused by lower oil prices.
  • Dubai financial market announced plans for allowing covered short selling on its stock market for a selected number of securities in the next few months in a step that may boost foreign institutions' interest in local equities and raise the trading liquidity.
  • Iran has sold more than 13 million barrels of oil, almost half the oil it had held in float storage, due to an OPEC output cut deal.
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   Political Events
  • Saudi Arabia has organized a fundraising campaign to provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people. The Saudi cabinet allocated 100 MM SAR (26.7 MM USD) for the campaign.
  • Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and a founder of the April 6 movement, has been released after three years in prison for breaking a law that bans unapproved protests.
  • UAE has warned its citizens against travelling to Turkey due to the deadly Daesh-claimed attach on a packed Istanbul nightclub, in which 39 people were killed who were mostly foreigners.
  • Saudi police arrested 6 Syrians in ATM fraud case. The accused were caught with meter readers and other equipment in their possession, installing electronic devices on ATM machines at banks in Jeddah to steal customers' card details. 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Cairo Office:
Z epter Office Building  S5-6 (beside Manor House School),  Area 5, District 1, 5th Settlement,  New Cairo, Egypt.  P.O. Box:  1147
Dubai Office:
Office No. N 415, North Tower, Emirates Financial Towers, DIFC, P.O Box 506726, Dubai, UAE.
Tel: +97143518187

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