Category: Market

Ramallah – Together – The General Authority of the Palestine Stock Exchange held its fourteenth annual meeting, to discuss and approve the topics on the agenda, in the presence of the representative of the Registrar of Companies at the Ministry of National Economy, Bilal Kataneh, the external auditor, Abdul Karim Mahmoud, representing Ernst and Young, and the legal advisor, Mr. Haitham Al-Zoubi and Samer Al-Kakhan, representing the Capital Market Authority.

Through the platform of the General Authority, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Stock Exchange, Mr. Samir Hulileh, expressed what the Palestinian economy has suffered, especially since the last quarter of the fiscal year 2023 until this moment, which in turn has sharply affected the performance of various economic and operational sectors, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, adding that Listed companies were not immune to this exceptional situation, which became clear through their preliminary financial statements for the resul
ts of the year 2023, as the profits of listed companies according to these statements amounted to approximately 155 million dollars, a decrease of 60% compared to the previous year, a number that was not recorded. On the Palestine Stock Exchange for more than 10 years, indicating that we are awaiting somewhat harsh results in the same context for the first quarter of the year 2024, due to the continuation of the aggression.

He pointed out, “This situation did not affect at all the commitment of profitable companies to their shareholders, as dividends are still strongly present in many of the recommendations of the general bodies of listed companies, and we at the Palestine Stock Exchange will work hard to continue the process of progress and growth, despite the serious challenges, and to These include poor market liquidity and accumulated losses as a result of the aggression.

The General Assembly approved the Board of Directors’ report and financial statements, and the members of the Board of Directors were
discharged from their liabilities for the fiscal year 2023, in addition to re-electing Ernst and Young to audit the stock exchange’s accounts for the fiscal year 2024.

It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange was established in 1995 as a private joint stock company, and in 2012 it was listed for trading after it was transformed into a public joint stock company. The Stock Exchange seeks to be a local financial market with international standards, in light of providing innovative services to customers through a trading environment characterized by fairness, transparency and safety. It is noteworthy that the Palestine Stock Exchange is listed in the most important global financial indices: within the frontier markets ‘Frontier Markets’ and ‘FTSE Global Financial Times’ and within an independent index for ‘Palestine’ in both Morgan Stanley and Standard and Poor’s.

Source: Maan News Agency

HE Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari met here today with Chairperson, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone Group, a leading asset management firm, Stephan Schwarzman.

During the meeting, they discussed key financial and investment developments, and explored areas of joint cooperation.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Ministry of Trade announced the completion of the files for initial offers for goods and services and their official submission to the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization through official channels.

Minister of Trade Atheer Al-Ghurairi, Chairman of the National Committee concerned with Iraq’s accession to the World Trade Organization, said: ‘This important step comes in the context of the Iraqi government’s efforts and its program aimed at promoting international trade and achieving sustainable development, which reflects its commitment to ensuring global economic integration and expanding economic partnerships.’

þ

He added: ‘The National Committee, the technical committees emanating from it, and the accession team in the Ministry were able, within a short period of time, to complete these files and submit them to the organization in preparation for holding the third meeting of the working group on Iraq during the current year, 16 years after the date of the second meeting of the group in 2008.’

He pointed out that the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international circles welcomed Iraq’s return to the negotiating table.

Al-Ghurairi stressed: ‘The two files for the initial offer of goods and services, which were submitted, included a wide range of products and services that reflect the diversity and competitiveness of the Iraqi economy and their negotiation,’ noting: ‘Work is underway to prepare the Iraqi negotiating team and build the team’s negotiating capabilities for the purpose of initiating negotiating rounds with member states of the organization in order for Iraq to obtain membership in the organization.

He explained, “The Department of Foreign Economic Relations, through official channels of dealing with the organization, is working on completing all requirements for accession in order for Iraq to obtain membership in the organization and enhance Iraq’s integration into the multilateral trading system.”

þ

It is worth noting that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has issued the annual
report on the accession of observer countries, and praised the efforts led by the Ministry of Trade through its chairmanship of the National Committee, and that Iraq is the only Arab country whose accession process has become active and has passed advanced stages among the Arab countries that hold observer member status./End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Doha: HE Governor of Qatar Central Bank Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani met on Wednesday with Alibaba Group Co-Founder and Chairman Joseph Tsai.

During the meeting, they reviewed the latest global investment and financial developments.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul Ghani, stressed the importance of developing Akkaz gas field in Anbar Governorate by adding a quantity of (400) cubic feet (million standard cubic feet per day) to national production, which aims to supply electric power generation stations with new quantities of natural gas.

Abdel Ghani said, during his sponsorship of the contract signing ceremony between the Ministry, ‘represented by the Central Oil Company, the North Oil Company, and the Department of Petroleum Contracts and Licensing’ and the Ukrainian company UKRZEMRESURS, as well as his sponsorship of the contract for the assignment of the Korean Kukaz Company in favor of the Ukrainian company, that ‘the national effort in the Central oil company was able earlier to operate the field within the accelerated plan to supply Akkas gas station at a rate of (60) mmqm.

He pointed out: ‘The Ministry aims, through the contract with the Ukrainian company, to reach a rate of (100) mqmq for th
e first stage of (1-2) years, and (400) mqmq within (4) years.’

For his part, the Undersecretary for Extraction Affairs, Bassem Muhammad Khudair, said, ‘This contract was achieved after many years of waiting due to the war on terrorist gangs,’ noting that a contract formula had been reached with the Ukrainian company to invest in this field with an initial production ranging from (one and a half to two years). It aims to raise the field’s production rates to (100) mqmq and to (400 mqmq) within four years, through which it feeds the Anbar power station and Akkaz gas station.’

In turn, the director of the Central Oil Company, Muhammad Yassin Hassan, said: ‘Today we witnessed the concession of the Korean company Kukaz to the Ukrainian company to implement and invest in the Akkaz field project, which represents an important step towards gas investment, especially in the western region, because this region holds a large gas reserve, and we are working to invest it in an optimal way, to supply the national grid w
ith new gas energy that contributes to supporting the energy sector in Iraq and enhances national production.’/End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Doha: Qatar Central Bank has issued “Digital Insurer” regulations defining the regulatory framework for Digital Insurer activities in the country.

The regulations are in line with the Third Financial Sector Strategy, the Fintech Strategy, and Qatar Central Bank’s ongoing endeavor to regulate and develop the financial sector, in accordance with the Qatar Central Bank Law and the Regulation of Financial Institutions No. (13) of 2012 and in order to stimulate innovation in the Fintech field, Digital Insurers leverage technology to provide the best insurance services while enhancing customer experiences through effective services and smart digital solutions to enable the insurance sector to become a leader in the region. This sector is characterized by the variety of its insurance products and services that help meet internal needs and support the expansion of the sector in domestic and external markets to achieve growth and increase profitability through insurance technology solutions and products based on insu
rance laws and regulations that meet the latest international standards.

Digital Insurers offer many benefits including cost efficiency, faster claims processing, improved risk assessment, and enhanced competitiveness in the sector, in order to deliver the best services at a lower cost.

Qatar Central Bank affirms its ongoing endeavor to provide outstanding and valuable initiatives that help create a favorable environment for the financial technology sector in the country to grow as these regulations support the financial sector development and enhance the transparency and efficiency of the transactions in the insurance sector. Moreover, these regulations enable insurance companies to meet their customers’ needs in a modern and fast manner with rapid access to different categories of customers that traditional channels may not cater to holistically.

These regulations are also in line with Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy, deemed to be the final stage towards achieving Qatar National Vision 2030,
which aims to build a digital economy, while stimulating the widespread adoption of technology and accelerating and encouraging technological innovations in various areas, including the financial sector.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Turkish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Ibrahim Yumagli, stressed the importance of cooperation between his country and Iraq in the fields of irrigation, agriculture and livestock development.

Yumagli said in a press statement today, Wednesday, that talks took place on agricultural cooperation between Turkey and Iraq, on the sidelines of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visit to Baghdad on Monday, and that Ankara and Baghdad will exchange experiences and cooperation in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry and irrigation, and that this matter will provide serious contributions to both countries.

He pointed out that new horizons of fruitful cooperation will be witnessed by the agricultural sector in the two countries during the coming period through what has been agreed upon in various fields of bilateral cooperation.

During the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad last Monday, Iraq and Turkey concluded 17 cooperation agreements in the fields of water, se
curity, energy and other cooperation horizons, which reflects the desire of the two countries to enhance their cooperation in various fields./End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Doha: Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) hosted on Wednesday the 18th annual meeting of the Union of Arab Securities Authorities (UASA) Board.

The meeting, which was organized by QFMA in cooperation with UASA, witnessed the participation of the 16 Arab member countries of the Union.

CEO of the QFMA, Dr. Tamy bin Ahmad Al Binali, delivered a speech at the beginning of the meeting, in which he affirmed that there are great hopes for this meeting as it is an entry point for the exchange of views, expertise, experiences and visions, on the role, mechanisms and tools of regulators in maintaining the stability of Arab financial markets and reducing the risks they face in light of a highly volatile changing environment with many successive and rapid developments in several areas, whether at the level of global economic performance indicators, at the level of growing political conflicts, or at the level of technological changes and uses of artificial intelligence.

He said that international developments and
changes in various fields have placed financial markets and the regulators in front of a set of opportunities and challenges, as how these changes affect is related to the ability to benefit from them and turn them into growth opportunities, but on the contrary, the inability to keep pace with changes may negatively affect the capital markets performance.

Al Binali pointed out that these renewed opportunities and challenges cannot be faced and dealt with using traditional work methods and approaches, as emerging challenges require innovative and new coping tools, high capabilities for innovation and creativity, and high ability to use modern technologies, all of which shall be among the priorities of capital markets regulators.

Dr. Al Binali confirmed that capital markets play an important economic role, as they are a major axis of development, a key pillar of economic development and stability, a catalyst for growth and sustainable development, and an important financing channel. All these functions requir
e financial markets to enjoy high flexibility, high levels of transparency and electronic disclosure, effective application of governance and sustainability principles, the ability to manage risks, keep pace with digital transformation and achieve cybersecurity for their dealers.

He explained that the achievement of these requirements shall be based on administrative capacity, high economic efficiency, distinguished expertise of Arab securities and financial markets authorities, and a great deal of cooperation, coordination and exchange of experiences among them, as well as communication and cooperation with international organizations specialized in financial markets such as International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the use of expertise, studies and recommendations in this regard.

Dr. Al Binali added that based on this reality, our meeting today, with its multiple and diverse topics, is a continuation of the UASA’s work mechani
sms, a step on the way to achieving its strategic plan, and a tool to find modern tools and work methodologies that enable regulators to contain regional and international risks and fluctuations in all fields, while at the same time enabling them to support and develop financial products and services, enhance the competitiveness of our financial markets, achieve stability and face challenges.

Khalid Al Homoud, a member of the Board of Directors of the Capital Market Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and outgoing President of the UASA, presented the 2023 UASA annual report during the opening session of the Union’s meeting. In his presentation, Al Homoud reviewed the developments witnessed in Arab and international capital markets, as well as the most prominent achievements of the Union in 2023.

Al Homoud highlighted that 2023 witnessed significant developments and events that had a direct impact on the performance of global capital markets. These markets were affected by geopolitical changes and their
repercussions on the Arab region and various world economies. Global economic activity suffered a significant slowdown, and inflation rates exceeded levels recorded in decades.

Despite these challenges, Al Homoud emphasized that Arab regulatory and supervisory authorities worked closely with capital markets and governments throughout 2023 to overcome the repercussions of various changes and crises in the financial markets. Member bodies of the Union took concrete steps in various areas in line with best international practices and standards.

During the meeting, the UASA board will discuss a number of issues and topics on the agenda, including reviewing the 2023 UASA annual report to be approved, in addition to several memos of the General Secretariat of the Union, regarding the completed initiatives under the UASA’s 2023 working plan,, the guidance on the best practices in the AML/CFT, the guidelines for crowdfunding in the Arab capital markets, the general rules for sustainability in the Arab capital marke
ts, and the principles Guidance to enhance cybersecurity, and the needs of UASA members in the field of fintech and cybersecurity.

The UASA Board meeting will also discuss the signing of the MoU with the International Capital Market Organization (ICMA), cooperation with the regional committees of IOSCO, and the UASA’s 2024 working plan and program to be approved.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Oraloglu announced that a quadripartite ministerial summit among Turkey, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar will be held soon regarding the ‘Development Road’ project.

The Turkish Minister said in a press statement: The memorandum of understanding that was signed the day before yesterday between Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE in Baghdad to cooperate on the ‘Development Road’ project was a bilateral agreement, but with joint Turkish and Iraqi efforts, it also included the UAE and Qatar.

He added that weekly meetings are taking place between officials from both Turkey and Iraq, and a quadripartite summit will be held during the next two months.

Oraloglu stated that they will open offices in Iraq and Turkey within the framework of the project in the coming months, noting that with the operation of the development road, the volume of trade will increase from 20 billion dollars to reach 40 billion dollars.

The day before yesterday, Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the
UAE signed a quadripartite memorandum of understanding in Baghdad for cooperation on the ‘Development Road’ project, under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani.

The “Development Road” project is a land and railway road extending from Iraq to Turkey and its ports, with a length of 1,200 kilometers inside Iraq, and aims to transport goods between Europe and the Arab Gulf states./End

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Oman oil price (June delivery 2024) on Tuesday reached $88.68, comprising a rise by $1.84 compared to Monday’s price which stood at $86.84.

The average price of Oman oil (April delivery 2024) stabilized at $80.85 per barrel, thus $2.10 per barrel higher than March delivery 2024.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The net profits of Salam International Q.P.S.C. in the first quarter of 2024 amounted to QR 11,331,712 million, an increase of 36 percent compared to a net profit of QR 8,377,065 for the same period of the previous year.

According to data issued by the company that was published Wednesday on the Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) website, there was an increase in Earnings per Share (EPS) to QR 0.010, compared to an EPS of QR 0.006 for the same period in 2023.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The UAE and Oman signed Tuesday several multi-field agreements, memorandums of understanding and investment partnerships worth AED 129 billion ($35.12 billion).

The signing was done during the UAE-Oman Business Forum, on the sidelines of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq’s visit to the UAE.

The agreements and MoUs aim to enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of renewable energy, green minerals, railway connectivity, investments in digital infrastructure, technology, transportation and food security, in addition to forming an UAE-Omani alliance to enhance bilateral trade and economic relations.

Source: Qatar News Agency