Global Markets: Asian equities hit 9-month high as recession fears wane

RIYADH: UAE banks’ investments exceeded 511 billion dirhams ($139 billion) at the end of November 2022, the highest level in 13 months, according to the Central Bank of the UAE.

The CBUAE’s statistics also showed an annual increase of 7.7 percent, equivalent to 36.6 billion dirhams, reaching a total of 511 billion dirhams at the end of November, compared to 474.5 billion dirhams in November 2021.

According to the figures, securities that are debts to third parties, or bonds, accounted for the largest share of banks’ investments by more than 49.1 percent, reaching 250.9 billion dirhams at the end of November, an increase of 4.5 percent on a monthly basis, compared to 240.1 billion dirhams in the previous year.

The share of banks’ investments in securities held to maturity amounted to some 39.3 percent of total investments, reaching 200.8 billion dirhams at the end of November 2022.

This was an annual increase of 76 percent compared to 114 billion dirhams in November 2021, and a monthly increase of some 2.9 percent compared to 195.1 billion dirhams in October 2022.

The banks’ investments in stocks totaled 12.2 billion dirhams in November 2022, a monthly increase of around 4.3 percent, compared to some 11.7 billion dirhams in October 2022. It also decreased on an annual basis by around 12.9 percent.

The statistics also showed that the other banks’ investments totaled 47.2 billion dirhams at the end of last November.

This was an annual increase of 4.7 percent, compared to 45.1 billion dirhams in November 2021, and a monthly increase of 0.85 percent, compared to 46.8 billion dirhams in October 2022, as well as an increase of 10.8 percent over the first 11 months of 2022, compared to about 42.6 billion dirhams in December 2021.

ADX listings

The Abu Dhabi stock exchange expects an increase in listings this year, even as global economies grapple with high inflation and rising interest rates, its chairman said.

“We have a healthy pipeline of IPOs and listings with aspirations to surpass 2022. There will always be challenges, but also opportunities,” Hisham Khalid Malak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange told Reuters on Wednesday.

The global picture is “starting to look better than expected, with a soft landing now forecast in the United States,” he said, adding that “Europe is also starting to look better and China is opening up.”

Acquisition

UAE conglomerate International Holding Company is considering bidding for Indian billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises’ 200 billion rupee ($2.45 billion) follow-on sale of shares that began on Wednesday, the company’s spokesman said.

“IHC is considering the opportunity of bidding for stock purchase in the Adani Enterprise FPO (follow-on public offer); however, should anything materialize, IHC will inform the market as per the governance rules and regulations,” IHC spokesman Ahmad Ibrahim told Reuters.