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Recovery for Gulf stock markets in sight
Gulf stock markets are poised to rebound from a long slide, although more volatility could lie ahead, especially in Saudi Arabia, the chief executive of investment bank EFG-Hermes has said.
Hassan Heikal said Cairo-based EFG expected markets in the United Arab Emirates to lead the recovery, rallying at least 30% from current levels before the end of 2006. Heikal was also bullish about Egypt and Kuwait, but more guarded about Saudi Arabia, where EFG has just won an investment banking licence. The overall prospects for regional markets, however, were bright.
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Gold Demand Falls in Saudi Arabia
31/May/2006
Arab News
Demand for gold in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Gulf has marked a decline in the first quarter of 2006. This is attributed to volatile prices of the precious metal and also the stock market crash. There has, however, been a big increase in demand from institutional investors, according to the Q1 report issued by the Dubai-based regional office of the World Gold Council (WGC) yesterday. Sustained interest of different groups of institutional investment drove the gold price to a new 26-year high during the quarter. This resulted in an increase in demand for institutional investment and decrease in demand for gold jewelry. "In Saudi Arabia, demand fell by 30 percent due to high and volatile world gold prices as well as the stock market crash since February-end, which highly affected both consumer sentiments and the purchasing power of individuals," the WGC stated.