Record losses in Gulf stock markets

Rajab. A
For Al-Shorfa.com
2008-10-30

The construction of 'One Business Bay,' located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Jan. 31. (Photo IPD)

DOHA, Oct. 27 – The deteriorating situation in the Arab stock exchanges continued on Oct. 25 as indicators on Gulf stock markets fell. The Doha stock exchange dropped a record nine percent while the Doha Index dropped by 8.93 percent. Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani asserted, “What is happening in the stock market is not justified, because the profits of Qatari companies are high. The profit of some is 70 percent more than last year. The government of Qatar has no intention of reducing the country’s investment projects.” The fall in Gulf Arab stock markets is tracking a decline in the global market. Investors fear that a rapid fall in oil prices and the possibility of global recession will lead to reduced profits for the regional banks and estate agencies. This was reflected in the headline “Arab stock markets collapse” on the front page of the major Arab newspaper al-Ahram on Oct. 27.

Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Amro Mousa met Oct. 26 with the heads of the Arab banking system and afterwards announced that discussion of the global financial crisis will be on the agenda of the Arab economic summit in Kuwait next January. The meeting also noted the emergence of a positive trend, that of Arab capital increasingly being directed to Arab markets to avoid the consequences of the global international financial crisis.

[CNN; Qatari news agency; Reuters; al-Ahram; Arab League statement]

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