Machine gun and mortar battle in Yemen kills 19

July 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 22 (Reuters) – A mortar and machine gun battle between Shi’ite rebels and pro-government tribesmen in north Yemen drew in government forces overnight, killing at least 19 people and complicating efforts to cement a truce, local officials said.

“Yesterday night there were very violent confrontations. Nine soldiers and pro-government tribesmen were killed as well as about 10 Houthis (rebels),” a local official in the flashpoint Harf Sufyan region told Reuters on Thursday.

“It remains very tense after the failure of efforts to stop the fighting between the two sides,” he added. (Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Cynthia Johnston; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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UPDATE 1-Saudi Dar Al-Arkan Q2 net falls on lower land sales

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

RIYADH, July 20 (Reuters) – Saudi-based real estate developer Dar al-Arkan 4300.SE said second-quarter earnings fell by almost 30 percent on declining sales of building-ready land, its main revenue source.

Second-quarter net profit was broadly in line with analysts forecasts at 437 million riyals ($117 million), down 29.3 percent from 618.3 million riyals a year earlier, Saudi Arabia’s largest property developer by market value said in a statement to the Saudi bourse.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected on average net profit of 431 million riyals.

“The decline in second-quarter net profit… is due to a decrease in the areas of sold land,” the company said without giving any figures.

Land sales generate the the bulk of revenues and profit for the firm: They accounted for 90 percent of its revenues during the first quarter and 96 percent of its gross profit for the period.

The repercussions of the global financial crisis have led to a drop in the amount of liquidity that goes into land speculation in Saudi Arabia, resulting mainly in a decline in the volume of transactions, industry sources say.

By end-June, earnings per share fell to 0.77 riyals down from 0.97 riyals a year earlier while net operating income fell 26.4 percent to 492 million riyals. (Reporting by Souhail Karam; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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Abu Dhabi Islamic sees double-digit growth in H2 – CEO

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 18 (Reuters) – UAE lender Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD expects to report “double digit” profit growth in the second half of the year, its chief executive said on Sunday.

“Our plan is to continue to show double digit growth for the rest of the year,” Chief Executive Tirad Mahmoud told Reuters.

The bank, the second largest Islamic lender in the UAE, posted a 56 percent rise in second-quarter profit earlier in the day as provisions fell. [ID:nLDE6650AH] (Reporting by Stanley Carvalho, Editing by Andrew Callus)

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UAE’s Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Q2 profit jumps

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – UAE lender Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD reported a 56 percent increase in second quarter profit as it recorded lower credit provisions, beating analysts’ forecasts.

The bank, the second largest Islamic lender in the UAE, made a profit of 301.6 million UAE dirhams ($82.1 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 193.1 million dirhams in the same period last year, it said in a statement on Sunday.

Analysts at EFG-Hermes had estimated second quarter profit of 251 million dirhams.

ADIB also said total credit provisions in the second quarter fell to 134.6 million dirhams from 171.4 million a year ago and that total provisions stood at 1.93 billion dirhams as at the end of the quarter.

Shares in ADIB had closed before the announcement was made, ending down 0.4 percent on the day at 2.45 dirhams.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank reported a 9.3 percent jump in first quarter profit, but said it may need to take further credit impairments in 2010.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho, Writing by Andrew Callus; Editing by Dinesh Nair)

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UPDATE 1-UAE watchdog asks for higher Aabar buyback price

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 18 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments (AABAR.AD) should raise the buyback price it pays minority shareholders to 1.95 dirhams per share from 1.45 previously, the United Arab Emirates’ bourse watchdog said on Sunday.

The move follows complaints from shareholders that the initial price was too low. Aabar shares jumped 9.7 percent to 1.59 dirhams in early trading on the Abu Dhabi bourse. On July 12, a committee including Emirates Securities & Commodities Authority (ESCA) and the ministry of the economy met with Aabar to come up with a proposal for its buyback plan.

It asked Aabar to raise the offer price and to change the period in which it is open to July 20-Aug. 5 from July 12-Aug. 1, the watchdog’s statement said. (Reporting by Andres Callus, Editing by Dinesh Nair)

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Kuwait’s Zain may invest in MidEast-report

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – Kuwaiti telecom firm Zain (ZAIN.KW) is open to investing in communications and the Internet in the Middle East, its chief executive said in remarks published on Wednesday.

The state news agency KUNA quoted Nabil bin Salama as saying the company’s profits for the first half will be “good.” He did not provide any figures.

Zain sold most of its African assets to India’s Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) in a $9 billion deal last month. It overhauled its management in line with its new strategy to concentrate on Middle East operations. [nLDE6591RK]

Bin Salama said Zain was interested in acquiring the telecoms company it operates in Lebanon, MTC Touch, if the government decides to sell it.

(Reporting by Diana Elias; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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UAE’s ADIB launches $5 bln sukuk issuance program

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD plans to raise as much as $5 billion through the sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, under a trust certificate issuance program detailed in a July 8 prospectus.

The second-largest lender in the United Arab Emirates posted the prospectus on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, listing HSBC (HSBA.L) as the lead arranger on the Islamic bond program.

State-controlled ADIB did not provide a reason for the sukuk issuance program, but the bank, like many other UAE financial institutions, has been forced to take provisions against bad loans amid the global financial crisis and turmoil over Dubai World’s [DBWLD.UL] restructuring.

In addition, ADIB’s chief executive said in April that the bank is planning to expand in retail banking, with a target of 70 branches across the UAE by the end of the year compared with 55 at the end of the first quarter.

ADIB said in a separate statement on Wednesday that it has postponed its board of directors meeting to approve second quarter earnings. The meeting, originally scheduled for later Wednesday will now take place on Sunday. (Reporting by Shaheen Pasha; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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UPDATE 1-Kuwait eyes BP Mideast, Asia assets-paper

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 5 (Reuters) – OPEC member Kuwait may buy some of BP’s (BP.L) Middle East and Asian assets, a Kuwait newspaper said on Monday, as part of the British oil company’s attempt to raise funds and fend off takeover bids.

Arabic language daily al-Jarida, citing oil sources, said state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (KUFPEC) is reviewing investing in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia due to BP’s need for liquidity.

Kuwait, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, is not in direct talks with the British firm, the newspaper said.

An official at KUFPEC denied the report when contacted by Reuters on Monday.

On Sunday, media reports said BP is seeking a strategic investor to secure its independence in the face of any takeover attempts as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. [ID:nLDE66307N]

Britain’s Sunday Times said the company’s advisers were trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth fundsto take a stake of between five and 10 percent in the company at a cost of up to 6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion).

The Guardian said BP was holding talks with the Kuwait Investment Office, the London-based arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, about raising its 1.75 percent stake in the oil company to potentially as much as 10 percent.

Abu Dhabi newspaper The National also reported on potential support for BP via strategic investments by Middle East financial institutions. [ID:nLDE66307N]

(Reporting by Eman Goma; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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Kuwaiti state firm eyes BP Mideast, Asia assets-paper

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 5 (Reuters) – OPEC member Kuwait may buy some of BP’s (BP.L) Middle East and Asian assets, a Kuwait newspaper said on Monday, as part of the British oil company’s attempt to raise funds and fend off takeover bids.

Arabic language daily al-Jarida, citing oil sources, said state-run Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co (KUFPEC) is reviewing investing in oil fields in Egypt, Yemen and east Asia due to BP’s need for liquidity.

Kuwait, the world’s fourth-largest oil exporter, is not in direct talks with the British firm, the newspaper said.

On Sunday, media reports said BP is seeking a strategic investor to secure its independence in the face of any takeover attempts as it struggles with a devastating oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. [ID:nLDE66307N]

Britain’s Sunday Times said the company’s advisers were trying to drum up interest among rival oil groups and sovereign wealth fundsto take a stake of between five and 10 percent in the company at a cost of up to 6 billion pounds ($9.1 billion).

The Guardian said BP was holding talks with the Kuwait Investment Office, the London-based arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority, about raising its 1.75 percent stake in the oil company to potentially as much as 10 percent.

Abu Dhabi newspaper The National also reported on potential support for BP via strategic investments by Middle East financial institutions. [ID:nLDE66307N]

(Reporting by Eman Goma; Editing by Andrew Callus)

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Blackstone shows interest in buying RadioShack – NY Post

June 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) has emerged as a leading participant to buy electronics retailer RadioShack Corp (RSH.N) after an initial round of bids were completed last week, the New York Post said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

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On March 26, the newspaper reported that RadioShack is exploring alternatives including a share buyback or a possible sale of the company that could net more than $3 billion. [ID:nN26174157]

A Blackstone spokesman declined to comment to the paper.

RadioShack, which is looking to complete a deal this summer, “likely will settle for a bid in the $20s-per-share range,” a source familiar with the sale process told the newspaper.

Blackstone and RadioShack could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

Shares of RadioShack closed at $20.44 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has been the subject of takeover talk this year [ID:nN30219741].

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Andrew Callus) ((sakthi.prasad@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging: sakthi.prasad.reuters.com@reuters.net))

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NYSE CEO says “real money” investors sat out March rally: report

April 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

LONDON (Reuters) – “Real money” investors sat out the March stock market rally and are probably waiting for a second one around June or July, the head of the world’s biggest stock exchange, NYSE Euronext (NYX.N), said in a newspaper interview.

“The real money investors are still waiting. I think they’re waiting, they’re watching. They want to make sure that what we saw in March is real,” NYSE Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer was cited as saying by the Financial Times newspaper on Thursday.

“And I think once they are convinced, you will know it. The market will have a totally different tone to it.”

Niederauer’s comments came after the U.S. benchmark Standard and Poor’s 500 index .SPX rose 8.5 percent in March, its best month since October 2002.

According to the FT, he said the rally was driven by short-term traders trying to take advantage of high volatility and that he sensed that volumes were below the level that would indicate that investors had regained confidence in the fundamentals of the market.

“I think we’re waiting for another rally, in my opinion, in around June or July,” the newspaper reported him saying.

(Reporting by Andrew Callus; Editing by Alison Williams, Leslie Gevirtz)

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UK plans to back supply chain insurance-FT

April 15, 2009 By Leave a Comment

LONDON, April 15 (Reuters) – A state guarantee scheme to underpin vital supply-chain insurance is set to be announced by Alistair Darling, Britain’s finance minister, the Financial Times newspaper reported citing government insiders.

Credit insurers have this year been looking closely at bank support when covering company risk. If and when they decide to pull back, suppliers start demanding cash on delivery, a development that can make like tougher for companies that are already struggling. [ID:nLK621558]

The newspaper said the scheme would form a centrepiece of budget initiatives to help small to medium-sized businesses cope with the recession and mark the culmination of months of negotiations with insurers spearheaded by Lord Mandelson, the business secretary.

The FT said the initiative responds to concerns that hundreds of supply chains are threatened by the recession-fuelled reduction in credit insurance, which protects companies that supply goods on credit against the risk that they will not get paid.

It said the government would target medium-risk businesses and was expected to offer guarantees for companies that have seen cover reduced but not withdrawn.

The scale of the scheme is still to be finalised by the Treasury, but according to the newspaper, government insiders suggested it may fall short of the 5 billion cap the industry hopes for.

Treasury officials did not immediately respond to a telephone call from Reuters.

(reporting by Andrew Callus)

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