Gulf investors ‘to buy $360bn foreign assets’
Gulf Arab governments and private investors are likely to buy over $360 billion of foreign assets in 2005 and 2006, financed by record oil revenues, according to a report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

The figure is more than the region’s total foreign asset purchases for the previous five years, said the report. The IIF estimates the six Gulf Arab states bought $240 billion of foreign assets between 2000 and 2004.
“The (Gulf Arab) region is in the midst of a period of exceptional economic performance,” said Charles Dallara, managing director of the IIF, a US-based association of financial institutions.
Gulf states Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are Opec members, while the remaining two — Oman and Bahrain — are non-Opec oil and gas producers.
“No data on the destination of this capital is available,” said the IIF. “We estimate that the bulk is held in diversified portfolios of foreign holdings, with US dollar denominated assets accounting for the largest share.”
The IIF said there was growing anecdotal evidence that Gulf Arab governments and private investors were investing more funds within the region. It said the region’s buoyant real estate and stock markets had added weight to this argument.
The combined capitalisation of the Gulf stock markets surged more than four-fold between the end of 2002 and July 2005, to $830 billion.
The IIF forecast said Gulf oil revenue would increase 49 per cent to $291 billion in 2005, compared to an annual average of below $100 billion in the 10 years to 2003. It forecast Brent crude oil at $54 per barrel this year and $55 in 2006, up from $38 in 2004.

Oman revenues rise 29pc
Oman’s revenues rose by 29 per cent during the first six months of this year to RO 2.446 billion ($6.355 billion) compared with RO1.896 billion during the corresponding period in 2004.
The monthly statistical bulletin issued by the Ministry of National Economy attributed this rise to a 29.8 per cent increase in the Sultanate’s oil net revenues which climbed to RO1.904 billion, compared with RO1.467 billion during the same period in 2004.
Natural gas revenues rose 34.8 per cent to RO138.8 million, against RO103 million during the same period in 2004.
Income tax revenues increased by 24.4 per cent to RO56.6 million, compared with RO45.5 million at the end of June 2004. Capital revenues rose by 190.2 per cent to RO11.9 million, during the first six months of this year compared with RO4.1 million. Other revenues rose by 23.2 per cent to RO 305.6 million, against RO248.1 million during the first six months of 2004, said the report.
The government general expenditure recorded an increase of 6.9 per cent during the first six months of this year, to RO1826.6 million as against RO1708.4 million during the corresponding period in 2004, said the report.

Big rise in Sharjah exports
The value of Sharjah’s exports and re-exports hit Dh4.4 billion ($1.2 billion) in the first half of this year compared with Dh2.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of last year, recording a 53.9 per cent increase.
Sharjah’s exports increased 88.5 per cent during this period to Dh1.3 billion, according to a report issued by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Capital goods accounted for a maximum 67 per cent share in exports and re-exports. This sector notched up a 95 per cent increase to Dh2.9 billion.
Exports of consumer goods fell 20 per cent to Dh177 million, from Dh223 million in the first half of 2004. Re-exports however rose 23 per cent to Dh364.7 million, and more than made up for the decline in exports.

UAE-US trade $4.4bn
Trade between the UAE and the US amounted to Dh16.1 billion ($4.4 billion) during the first six months of this year, according to a report by the US Trade Statistics Office.
The figure represents a 101 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, said a report.
The UAE imported Dh13.84 billion worth of goods and commodities from the US, a 120 per cent increase compared to the previous year, the report said. UAE exports brought in Dh2.23 billion between the beginning of the year and the end of June, a 32 per cent increase.
The trade deficit between the two countries rose 150 per cent from Dh4.62 billion last year to Dh11.6 billion this year.

Qatar GDP to grow 20pc
Qatar’s economy is likely to grow by around 20 per cent this year, a government official said, as high energy prices swell state coffers and underpin investment in the state.
Qatar’s gross domestic product was an estimated QR103.6 billion ($28.48 billion) in 2004 and QR59.8 billion in the first half of 2005, said the official. No comparable figure was available for the first half of 2004.
Qatar produces about 800,000 barrels of oil a day, while its gas industry has seen meteoric growth and is expected to supply around 77 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to world markets by 2012.
Figures released by the Planning Council show the oil and gas sector accounted for some 67 per cent of total GDP in Qatar in the first half, or QR39.8 billion.

Oil bonanza fuels spending
Gulf Arab states, increasingly confident of a prolonged oil boom, are loosening their purse strings to upgrade energy and other key infrastructure following years of prudent spending.
Cushioned by high oil prices, which have soared about 50 per cent this year to $66, Gulf producers are working to build output capacity to keep up with global demand and invest in downstream development to diversify and help create jobs.
“Over the last two years, there was scepticism about high oil prices being real and here to stay. The shift is beginning this year, and there is recognition that oil is heading higher and we need to increase production,” said Daniel Hanna, Middle East economist for Standard Chartered Bank.
“We are about to see a large amount of state spending over the next few years ... Even if oil prices drop sharply, they have such high revenue levels to continue spending,” he added.