Net private capital inflow to the Middle East and Africa is expected to fall by 27.5% y/y to USD 55.7bn in 2011, The Institute of International Finance (IIF) said in a report. Capital flows will, however, recover next year reaching USD 71.8bn. The IIF expects the FDIs to the region to go up to USD 62bn partly offsetting an outflow of portfolio equity and a drop in inflow from banks and other private creditors. According to the report, the capital flows sharply differ from the leading oil exporting countries and to those experiencing political unrest. Egypt suffered the largest capital outflows, estimated at nearly USD 18bn, following the January uprising that ended former President Hosni Mubarak's 30-years rule. The country's reserves fell by USD 8bn from December 2010 to April 2011. The IIF expects the net private capital flows to the emerging markets to grow to USD 1.04tn in 2011 from USD 990bn in 2010. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more