Bilateral Trade between Dubai and China posted 81% Growth …

UAE News:
The UAE Central Bank revealed a decline in Foreign Assets by 0.8% to AED 374.3bn (USD 101.9bn) in Q3 this year, largely resulting from an 84.8% decline in foreign securities.
Total assets of UAE-based banks increased to over AED 3trn (USD 820bn) by end-September; about 19.7% of total assets are owned by Islamic banks.
Bilateral trade between Dubai and China posted 81% growth during the past decade to AED 139bn in 2018. About 876 Chinese companies are registered at Dubai Customs including 623 companies with trade licenses, 244 with free zone licenses and nine with professional licenses.
Hotel guests in Abu Dhabi increased by 1.7% yoy to 1.3mn in Q3 this year, bringing the total year-to-date number to 3.8mn guests this year (+2.9%).
The Dubai Economy’s Composite Business Confidence Index of local businesses increased 14.9 points to 129.8 points in Q3 2019. The Travel and Hospitality sector are the most optimistic about volumes for Q4 while the services sector, in general, remained more optimistic compared to manufacturing and trading sectors.
UAE’s brand value increased by 3% to USD 730bn, as per the latest Brand Finance report, way ahead of other MENA nations. About 11 out of the 20 fastest-growing nation brands of 2019 globally come from the region.

MENA News:
A 20% increase in wages for Public sector employees was approved unanimously by the Bahrain Parliament.
Exports from Egypt are estimated to rise by 20% by this year-end, revealed the Minister of Trade and Industry. He also stated that about 36% of Egyptian imports are production inputs.
UAE announced the launch of a USD 20bn joint investment platform between UAE and Egypt to implement vital economic and social projects.
Jordan’s tourism revenues accelerated by 9.4% yoy to USD 4.9bn as of end-October, supported by the 7.7% rise in the number of tourists to 4.5mn. In October alone, tourism receipts stood at USD 458.4mn (+13.4%).
Bilateral trade between Kuwait and China touched USD 18.7bn in 2018, disclosed a Senior Finance Ministry official.
Kuwait’s PM submitted his cabinet’s resignation to the Ruler, after tensions escalated between parliament and government, also resulting in no-confidence motions being tabled.
S&P downgraded Lebanon’s credit rating to CCC/C from B-/B citing rising financial and monetary risks; outlook is negative.
Saudi Aramco plans to buy USD 1bn worth shares for employees under a “celebratory grant plan” to incentivize executives and staff members.
Spending on innovation in Saudi Arabia’s private sector totalled more than SAR 64bn (USD 17.5bn) in 2018, according to the Institutional Innovation Survey 2018 released by the General Authority for Statistics.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Development disclosed that about 2.6mn foreign workers in the country are unskilled. The ministry also plans to organize vocational tests for workers from seven countries (India, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh and Pakistan) starting next month.
Saudi Arabia needs over 1mn persons to enter the tourism workforce, according to the CEO of the Red Sea Development Co.

Global News:
US markets continued their exuberant winning streak (and record highs) again this week on Trade Hopes, Corporate Earnings and Economic Data. Similar gains across major European and Asian bourses pushed the MSCI World index to within 1% of an all-time high set in January 2018. In the MENA region, major markets were mostly down and poor earnings weighed on Egypt. The dollar index fell, the safe-haven currencies – the Yen and Swiss Franc – weakened while the Euro edged up. Oil prices gained in spite of reports from both the OPEC and IEA highlighting low demand and peak oil scenarios; gold price recovered towards the end of the week, posting a slight gain vis-à-vis last week.

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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates