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#1021
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Jeddah hotels make windfall profit, other markets feel the heat
JEDDAH – Hotels in Jeddah posted 30.9 percent growth in profits in July this year while the effect of summer and Ramadan impacted hotel performance levels in all other markets surveyed, the latest HotStats survey of full service hotels in six MENA cities by TRI Hospitality Consulting showed. Average occupancy at four and five star chain hotels in the city reached 83.9 percent, growing by 3.1 percentage points, while average room rates (ARR) increased to $229.39, up by 11.1 percent compared to the same period last year. As a result, revenue per available room (RevPAR) for the month increased by 15.4 percent to $192.47 while total revenue per available Room (TRevPAR) increased by 19.2 percent to $296.79, primarily driven by a surge in revenues from food and beverage and events which grew by nearly a third over the same period last year. The growth in revenues was further supported by a notable drop in operating expenses, as payroll and operating costs for food and beverage and meeting facilities were considerably lower than last year. At the bottom line, these changes resulted in a significant gain on profitability, boosting gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR) by 30.9 percent to $143.82. In Riyadh, however, top line indicators for four and five star full service hotels saw marginal decline last month compared to the previous year. A 3.2 percentage point drop in occupancy to 46.5 percent dragged the RevPAR down by 5.6 percent to $104.34, despite a marginal increase in the ARR during the month. The decline in top line revenues coupled with the increase in payroll by 4.3 percent resulted in GOPPAR falling 11.5 percent to $58.59. "The Jeddah market has demonstrated consistently strong performance, particularly in the last few years since Ramadan has been moving into the summer months, effectively negating the seasonality of demand in this market. Jeddah has been a hive of activity last month as the city saw peak demand from domestic leisure travelers, in addition to several meetings and events which took place during the first half of the month. A spike in religious travelers and Ramadan-related events during the latter part of the month also boosted occupancy levels in hotels. Riyadh, on the other hand, suffers from a more pronounced seasonality as evident from the notable dip in key performance indicators this summer compared to the strong performance levels seen in the peak seasons," said Peter Goddard, Managing Director of TRI Hospitality Consulting in Dubai. In the UAE, hotel performance levels for Dubai and Abu Dhabi during the month of July highlighted the double impact of summer and Ramadan. Occupancy levels in Dubai fell 11.0 percentage points to 70.0 percent in July while ARR increased by 6.4 percent to $188.51. Additionally, the onset of Ramadan caused a notable decrease in food and beverage revenues as well. The 8.2 percent drop in TRevPAR and the increase in costs including the 5.5 percentage points rise in Payroll caused a dent in the bottom line, dragging GOPPAR down by 30.6 percent to $45.18. Abu Dhabi continued to demonstrate a decline in performance with a reduction in all performance indicators. Occupancy dropped 4.5 percentage points to 57.1 percent while ARR dropped 8.4 percent to $104.95 causing a 15.1 percent drop in RevPAR during the month. As in the other GCC markets, Abu Dhabi too saw a considerable decline in food and beverage revenues last month due to the restrictions on sale and consumption of food and alcohol during Ramadan. The decline in all performance metrics coupled with an increase in payroll costs resulted in a 40.4 percent drop in GOPPAR compared to the same period last year to $24.33. ’Our HotStats data for Dubai and Abu Dhabi highlights the effect of the culmination of the low seasons as we saw Ramadan, which is a traditional low demand period, moving into the peak summer period last month. Although performance levels are expected to improve in both cities after Ramadan, Abu Dhabi is likely to face continued pressure from increased competition especially when additional hotels including the Ritz Carlton enter the market at the end of 2012 and early 2013" said Goddard. Lower revenues and higher costs keep profits under pressure for hotels in Egypt Hotels in Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh saw profits drop in July due to lower revenues and higher costs, according to the latest HotStats survey of full service hotels in six MENA cities by TRI Hospitality Consulting. In the capital Cairo, hotels witnessed a marginal increase in demand, recording a 1.9 percentage point increase in occupancy to 43.2 percent while the ARR declined by 9.4 percent to $113.35. However, given the thin profit margins achieved by Cairo hotels since the beginning of the Arab Spring, the drop in revenues and the growing costs such as the payroll and overheads have resulted in a 46.4 percent decline in profits as the GOPPAR dropped from $55.79 to $29.89 during the month. "Despite its position as the administrative capital and major commercial centre of Egypt, Cairo has historically had a balanced mix of business and leisure demand, both of which were affected by the revolution and the subsequent events. Now that the dust is settled, the government is at work and stability has returned, we believe hotel performance in Cairo will steadily recover in the coming months." commented Goddard. Sharm El Sheikh hotels recorded a 9.7 percent increase in average rate in July, posting an ARR of $44.97. However occupancy was lower by 5.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The increase in ARR was sufficient enough to absorb the decrease in occupancy as RevPAR increasing marginally by 1.6 percent to $30.10. Nevertheless, the city-wide GOPPAR declined by 12.7 percent to $18.52, primarily driven by a 7.7 percent increase in the overheads. "Sharm El Sheikh hotels experienced a fall in demand in July which can be attributed to the drop in arrival of regional tourists due to Ramadan. In our view, hotels here may be beginning to show the confidence to gradually increase rates as indicated by the strong growth in the best available rates (BAR) and corporate rates during the month of July," Goddard added. – SG Source: Saudi Gazette
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#1022
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PMI shows improvement in business conditions
RIYADH: The Saudi British Bank (SABB) has published the results of the headline SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for August 2012 - a monthly report issued by the bank and HSBC. It reflects the economic performance of Saudi Arabian nonoil producing private sector companies through the monitoring of a number of variables, including output, orders, prices, stocks and employment. At 58.3 in August, up fractionally from 58.1 in July, the seasonally adjusted PMI index pointed to another robust improvement in business conditions facing nonoil private sector companies operating in Saudi Arabia. Behind the slight uptick in the headline number was a more marked increase in incoming new business, which anecdotal evidence attributed to a range of factors including greater sales and marketing efforts and improving market conditions. In addition, a number of firms also linked higher intakes of new work to increased construction activity. New work from foreign clients also increased during August, though the rate of growth was at a 21-month low. Output levels at Saudi Arabia nonoil private sector businesses increased markedly in August. Unlike the trend in new orders, however, growth of activity was the weakest since last October. Job creation also eased slightly, with overall employment levels rising at the slowest pace for five months. Backlogs of work at the Kingdom's nonoil private sector companies accumulated for the 10th time in the past 11 months in August, after falling marginally during the previous survey period. The increase was solid compared to the historical series trend and generally associated by respondents with greater intakes of new business. With workloads increasing on the month, purchasing activity among the Kingdom's nonoil private sector companies continued to rise. The pace of expansion was broadly unchanged from that registered in July, and sufficient for a further (albeit weaker) increase in stocks of purchases. Many firms that built pre-production inventories noted expectations for growth in activity over the coming months. Despite input buying increasing, suppliers' delivery times shortened again during August. Competition among vendors and faster payments were reportedly behind the improvement in performance, which was of a similar magnitude to that registered a month previously. August data showed that prices charged by businesses operating in Saudi Arabia's nonoil private sector economy decreased for the first time in over three years of data collection. Although only slight, the reduction in selling prices contrasted with a further rise in average costs. Overall input price inflation was slightly stronger than July's seven-month low, and underpinned by growth of both purchasing and staff costs. The former rose relatively quicker over the month, with the costs of a range of raw materials pushed higher by stronger demand. Source: Zawya/Arab News
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#1023
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Mortgage law to come into force in early October
JEDDAH: Real estate experts expect the new mortgage law, which will come into effect in early October, to rejuvenate the sluggish real estate market in the Kingdom. Abdullah Al-Ahmari, chairman of the Real Estate Appraisal Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "The mortgage law is expected to be implemented early next month after the completion of the legislation of all related regulations and its clear interpretation. Investors, financiers and developers in the field are looking forward to the implementation with hope of better performance of the sector," Al-Ahmari told Arab News yesterday, adding that the new regulations will serve as road map for the revival of the real estate sector. He demanded that the Ministry of Housing take strong steps to maintain the current housing prices. According to recent media reports, Saudi banks have started dismantling real estate companies that have been operating as their subsidiaries in anticipation of the implementation of the new mortgage laws that will enable them to make direct deals with customers and register properties in the names of the banks unlike in the past. Earlier local banks had to launch subsidiary commercial establishments or real estate firms to undertake selling and buying houses or financing the property deals of housing projects. Dealers in the real estate market said they expect progressive changes in the field when the new rules are implemented. They believe that the new rules will affect property pricing. However, local newspapers have reported that the new mortgage regulations will not affect 60 percent of existing housing units because they were not built in line with "the code of Saudi construction regulation," which is not mandatory but only optional for housing units. Abdullah Ridwan, chairman of the National Committee for Contracting at the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said most of the engineering consultancy firms ignore the construction code despite its importance in building construction. "It is the responsibility of municipal authorities to enlighten the people about the Saudi construction code," he said, adding that the code is a norm rather than specification. He also said the executive statutes for the implementation of the mortgage law have not been issued but are expected to comprehensively cover the real estate market without exception. He stressed the need to educate people about the new regulations, as the mortgage law is far from familiar to most people. Source: Zawya/ Arab News
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#1024
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Retail concept 'poor' among Saudi women
Forty-two per cent of Saudi Arabian women who responded to a survey highlighted lack of awareness of what retail work pertains. Respondents mentioned there aren’t any success stories in the region to understand the sort of career path they would be undertaking and the perception of the retail industry must change, said the survey conducted by Alwane, a recently established regional coalition of leaders from 17 countries across Mena. Twenty-five per cent said family pressure and acceptance is what holds them back from working in the retail industry and only a mere 5 per cent mentioned that transportation was an issue in accepting a retail job. When participants were asked what would be the best option in encouraging women to work in the retail sector, 35 per cent of participants recommended an awareness campaign to portray success stories as well as benefits of working in the retail sector. A further 33 per cent recommended that laws and legislations are clear to the public and employers regarding work in the retail sector. Nineteen per cent responded that the choice of working hours (one shift) or part time roles should be adapted. The survey also highlighted an interesting statistic on what type of stores do women prefer to work in. Thirty-seven per cent responded they would work in cosmetic stores, 33 per cent prefer working in clothes stores, followed by 14 per cent in lingerie shops. A total of 16 per cent highlighted that they would be interested in working in either optical stores or furniture departments. The survey which interviews numerous HR managers concludes that an awareness campaign should be launched to thank those who chose the path into the retail sector and also highlight the success stories that have happened during the past year. The study was done in partnership with women empowerment hub Glowork, Harvey Nichols Riyadh and KPMG. Khalid Alkhudair, Alwane country officer and Glowork Founder said: “There are a lot of good stories on the ground, L’Oreal for instance sends all their new joiners to Italy for two weeks intensive training, and their salaries start at SR5,000 ($1,333) which offers females a challenging ground to work on.” Source: Trade Arabia
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#1025
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Kingdom grants license to Chinese bank ICBC
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank by market value, has received initial approval to begin operations in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s cabinet has approved the license for the Chinese lender to open one branch in the country, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. The cabinet has also authorized Saudi’s finance ministry to decide whether ICBC can open other branches in the Kingdom in the future, provided the bank “abides by doing its business according to the Banks Monitoring System, Act of Companies, Foreign Investment Act and other acts, regulations and directives applicable in the Kingdom,” said SPA. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) has been instructed to coordinate with ICBC to complete the necessary procedures, the report added. ICBC launched its operations in the Middle East in 2008 and has been keen to expand its presence in the region. In March this year, the Chinese lender, which operates in the UAE and Qatar, announced that its regional unit made a pre-tax net profit of $32 million in 2011, up 111 percent from 2010. ICBC ME’s operating income also shot up 96 per cent last year to reach $49 million, it said. In June, ICBC was also granted an initial license to open one branch in Kuwait Source: Agencies Forty-two per cent of Saudi Arabian women who responded to a survey highlighted lack of awareness of what retail work pertains. Respondents mentioned there aren’t any success stories in the region to understand the sort of career path they would be undertaking and the perception of the retail industry must change, said the survey conducted by Alwane, a recently established regional coalition of leaders from 17 countries across Mena. Twenty-five per cent said family pressure and acceptance is what holds them back from working in the retail industry and only a mere 5 per cent mentioned that transportation was an issue in accepting a retail job. When participants were asked what would be the best option in encouraging women to work in the retail sector, 35 per cent of participants recommended an awareness campaign to portray success stories as well as benefits of working in the retail sector. A further 33 per cent recommended that laws and legislations are clear to the public and employers regarding work in the retail sector. Nineteen per cent responded that the choice of working hours (one shift) or part time roles should be adapted. The survey also highlighted an interesting statistic on what type of stores do women prefer to work in. Thirty-seven per cent responded they would work in cosmetic stores, 33 per cent prefer working in clothes stores, followed by 14 per cent in lingerie shops. A total of 16 per cent highlighted that they would be interested in working in either optical stores or furniture departments. The survey which interviews numerous HR managers concludes that an awareness campaign should be launched to thank those who chose the path into the retail sector and also highlight the success stories that have happened during the past year. The study was done in partnership with women empowerment hub Glowork, Harvey Nichols Riyadh and KPMG. Khalid Alkhudair, Alwane country officer and Glowork Founder said: “There are a lot of good stories on the ground, L’Oreal for instance sends all their new joiners to Italy for two weeks intensive training, and their salaries start at SR5,000 ($1,333) which offers females a challenging ground to work on.” Source: Trade Arabia
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#1026
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Saudi keen to fill gap between education and job requirements
Saudi nationals are keen to bridge the gap between their educational preparation and their actual job requirements, according to the preliminary findings of the ground-breaking Qudurat research, announced Tuesday by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources business of Aon plc.Qudurat is the largest workplace study in the region, focused on the advancement of national talent, the single biggest HR issue in the region. Qudurat - meaning "capabilities" in Arabic - is unprecedented in scope and scale, voicing the opinion of more than 20,000 employees across seven countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain and Egypt). With final results expected to be announced region-wide by December 2012, insights from the study are expected to significantly impact HR practices and human capital development in the region. The study was first launched in 2011, and produced many counter-intuitive findings which surprised and challenged the preconceptions employers had in the region about local talent and nationals in the workforce. Among the most unexpected findings were that Saudi nationals reported lower levels of engagement in the public sector than they did in the private sector, and that less than half had confidence in the most senior leadership in their respective organizations. The preliminary results of this year’s report reveal that Saudi nationals are reporting a growing disconnect between their job requirements and the preparation they have received for those requirements through their education, compared to foreign workers. In addition, Saudi nationals continue to report lower levels of work engagement than expatriates, which could impact their longer term motivation, performance and productivity at the workplace. The report shows similar results for nationals across all seven countries involved in the study.Commenting on the initial findings, Radhika Punshi, Aon Hewitt’s Head of Applied Research, MENA, said "as Saudi Arabia’s and the region’s economy continues to recover, there will be a renewed and exponential growth focus on attracting, motivating and retaining top talent within all industrial sectors, with a greater emphasis on quality. However, more than ever before, there is a greater urgency for alignment and collaboration between the education system and the demand from employers, as an increasing number of young men and women seek opportunities for positive and productive employment.""Our early findings point to a pressing mismatch between education and employment, significantly impacting the motivation, expectations and preparedness of current and future employees towards their jobs. On a more positive note, the fact that there is an awareness among Saudi nationals of this mismatch points toward a willingness to address this problem," she added.This year’s Qudurat study already has over 15,000 responses from approximately 100 participating organizations in UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Egypt. The first wave of the study, concluded last year had over 4,600 respondents in total. The study has also received strategic support through partnerships with a host of governmental organizations across the participating countries, including Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council, which spearheads the efforts of the Abu Dhabi government in sustainable Emirati workforce development; Tecom Investments in Dubai, a diversified conglomerate with strategic investments in sectors that contribute to the development of Dubai’s knowledge-based economy; Tamkeen Bahrain, which is tasked with supporting Bahrain’s private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development; Bahrain’s Institute of Public Administration, which aims to enhance the skills and competencies of government employees in the Kingdom, in addition to the American Chamber of Commerce Egypt and Egyptian Human Resource Management Association. "The response and willingness demonstrated from all stakeholders for the second wave of Qudurat has been absolutely overwhelming, which clearly points to the importance and urgency placed on this issue, by employees, organizations and policy makers alike," said Markus Wiesner, Aon Hewitt’s CEO (MENA). "Through our on-going investment in the Qudurat research initiative, we aim to provide the best advice and year on year monitoring of talent trends, especially towards enhancing and shaping the nationalization and national development mandate across the GCC and broader MENA region. With data from 20,000 Employees across the region, there is no other workplace study this extensive in the Middle East." Source: Saudi Gazette
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#1027
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Western Region to get first recruitment company
Nineteen investors have entered an alliance to found the first mega recruitment company in the Western Province. The new company - Waqt Al-Fareek - has submitted all the necessary paperwork to register with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The company will be headquartered in Jeddah. Ali Al-Qureshi, one of the company's founders, said that the group of investors has already raised the company's starting capital, fixed by the Ministry of Labor at SR100 million He added that a second group of investors had signed an agreement with a consultation house to conduct a feasibility study on the creation of a specialized recruitment agency that caters exclusively to the construction industry. Source: Saudi Gazette
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#1028
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Saudi Fund Provides SAR 2.9 B in Loans to Promote Non-Oil Exports - SPA
The Saudi Industrial Development Fund , or SIDF , has approved 2.9 billion Saudi riyals ($733 million) in loans to expand industrial growth and promote non-oil exports, the state-run Saudi Press Agency, or SPA, reported. A total of 14 loans were approved to set up nine new projects and expand five existing ones, the report said citing Ali Bin Abdullah Al-Ayed, SIDF general manager. The chemical industry received the biggest share--SAR1.7 billion--to help finance the expansion of four projects, SPA said. Ayed said the fund will also provide advisory services to the projects in order to promote non-oil exports. Last year Saudi non-oil exports rose 34% to SAR157.5 billion compared to the previous year, with SAR119 billion coming from the exports of chemical products, plastics and rubber. Of the SAR2.9 billion, consumer industries received SAR991 million, while the engineering sector received three loans totaling SAR263 million and other industries had one loan worth SAR16.5 million approved Source: Zawya News
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#1029
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Kingdom announces $ 146m hospitals expansion
Kingdom Holding Company, chaired by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed, on Tuesday announced SR550m ($146.6m) plans to expand Kingdom Hospital in Riyadh. The expansion will encompass an inpatient tower, an outpatient treatment pavilion, and a day surgery centre, the company said in a statement. "The magnitude of this investment expansion plan reflects Kingdom Hospital’s commitment to provide high quality care, combining clinical skills and cutting edge technologies," the statement said. Prince Alwaleed said the Kingdom Hospital expansion was in line with the company's strategic local investment strategy. Talal Ibrahim AlMaiman, chairman of Kingdom Hospital, added: “Our investment in the health sector will have rewarding returns to KHC’s investors.” With the expected rise in the demand for healthcare in Saudi Arabia, the new project will accommodate more than one million outpatient visits a year. The project will be developed over the next three years with a total build-up area of 85,000 sq m. The major components of the expansion will include 150 new private rooms, operating rooms and day surgical services areas and an expansion of the hospital's emergency department and trauma centre. In 2011, the hospital completed an expansion plan on the existing campus doubling its bed capacity, and adding facilities including an advanced heart centre, a paediatric ward and a surgical ward. The statement also said a merger between Kingdom Holding and Consulting Clinics had been finalised with plans to establish a network of medical centres throughout Riyadh. Source: Arabian Business
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#1030
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First batch of Saudi low-cost housing plan breaks ground
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia has started an initial work for building the first batch of a massive low-income housing plan announced by the Kingdom early this year, CB Richard Ellis Bahrain said in a report Tuesday. These housing units, which are intended to meet the needs of the lower income sector, will be located around the Kingdom, with the first of them currently being masterplanned on various sites totaling 32 square kilometers, according to a research note released by CBRE Bahrain. As much as $67 billion has been set aside for the construction of 500,000 housing units. Government policy through 2012 remains focused on infrastructure and social programs. Reports indicate that the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) will publish the new rules on mortgage financing in order to receive feedback before implementation, said CBRE Bahrain. Saudi home lending grew at the fastest pace in at least four years in the second quarter, as the country’s mortgage law comes into effect. Mortgage lending jumped 83 percent to SR48 billion riyals from the year-earlier period, the highest on record according to central bank data. Home purchases in the Kingdom are growing as the economy expands five times faster than the Group of 10 nations, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. “Housing has become a government priority,” Jarmo Kotilaine, chief economist at Jeddah-based National Commercial Bank, said. “The fact that it’s so central to the government’s policy actions means that in general banks feel comfortable going into this space. Home financing is also an underdeveloped market and banks can build their assets in this area.” The Kingdom needs to bridge a housing shortage for a population that’s quadrupled in size in 40 years to 28.4 million in 2011. The government needs to build 1.25 million new homes by 2014, according to its development plan. Real estate construction has been on the rise since King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, announced in March 2011 a plan to spend SR250 billion to build 500,000 homes to tackle the shortage in supply . Housing loans represent only about 3 per cent of banks’ loan portfolios and about two per cent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product, Moody’s Investors Service wrote in a July report. That compares with between five per cent and 10 per cent of GDP in most other GCC countries, it said. “Mortgage lending by banks has been seeing strong growth, although it remains small compared to the size of the economy,” Monica Malek, Dubai-based chief economist at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, said. The home-loan jump is tracking a broader advance in lending growth as the Kingdom pursues plans to spend $514 billion to build properties, industrial cities and airports. Credit to private businesses grew 14 percent in July, the fastest pace in more than three years, to SR899 billion, the central bank data showed. The mortgage law will “help developers increase their sales by expanding the target population for new properties,” said Turki Fadaak, the head of research at Albilad Investment Co. in Riyadh. “Real estate developers and finance companies will also be able to form new ventures.” The legislation includes five laws that facilitate the creation of mortgage providers, outline the foreclosure process and provide for oversight of lenders. Regulations for implementing the law would be issued within three months, Saudi Finance Minister Ebrahim Al Assaf said in July. Loan demand has lifted the three-month Saudi interbank offered rate, known as Saibor and the benchmark used by banks to price loans, 18 basis points, or 0.18 percentage point, this year to 0.95625 percent Sunday, the highest since April 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. The rate’s spread over the equivalent US rate widened to 54 basis points Sunday from 20 basis points at the end of 2011. – SG Source: Saudi Gazette
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