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Qatar Insurance Company (“QIC Group”, “QIC”), the leading insurer in Qatar and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has reported a net profit of QR360m for the first half of 2024, rising 11% from QR325m over the same period in 2023. Following a meeting of the Board of Directors dated 14 August 2024, which was presided over by Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal bin Thani Jasim Al Thani, Chairman of QIC Group, the Board approved the financial results.

Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al Thani, Chairman of QIC Group, stated: “QIC’s excellent H1 financial results reflect the strong momentum the company has built in the first six months of 2024. The Group is focused primarily on growing its presence in domestic and regional markets – an approach which has been bolstered by continued investment in its already best-in-class digital services.”

Salem Al Mannai, Chief Executive Officer of QIC Group, said: “In a very promising set of results for H1 2024, the backbone of QIC’s robust financial performance continues to be the company’s exceptional operational efficiency, supplemented by a deliberate shift towards increasing the proportion of premiums generated in the MENA region. This is reflected in the fact that the domestic and MENA GWP increased by 44% year-on-year to QR2.7bn. As we move into the second half of the year, QIC is proactively pursuing further opportunities to create process efficiencies and foster automation, while continuing to prioritise growth in its profitable business lines in Qatar and the Middle East.”

Mannai added: “The strategic restructuring of our UK motor business is in line with QIC Group’s strategy to streamline loss-making and low margin businesses and to bring the international operations of the Group back to profitability. This restructuring positions the Group for greater stability and profitability with controlled exposure to UK Motor as a reinsurer instead of direct insurer. As part of this decision, QIC Group will continue to own the Gibraltar-based subsidiaries, West Bay Insurance Plc and Markerstudy Insurance Co. Ltd. By successfully completing this restructuring, the Group is confident that it will have a well balanced portfolio between its MENA and international business. We are pleased with the outcome, and we look forward to further implementing our strategy, which has, so far, brought us significant success and improved consistent profitability.”

The Group posted Insurance Service Results of QR339m in H1 2024, compared to QR236m in H1 2023. QIC has shown considerable resilience to navigate the aforementioned global challenges, reporting an investment income of QR465m for H1 2024, compared to QR501m for the same period last year. The return on investment stood at 5%. As of the end of H1 2024, the composition of QIC’s investment portfolio continues to remain stable and consistent with the previous year.

Sustainability continues to be a key focus for QIC, as the first insurer in the Middle East to sign United Nations Environment Programme-Finance Initiative’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance (UNEP-FI PSI) last year.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/15/08/2024/qic-group-reports-net-profits-of-qr360m-in-h1-2024

Gulf International Services (“GIS” or “the Group”; QE ticker: GISS), yesterday reported a net profit of QR356m for the six-month period ended 30 June 2024, representing an incline of 27% compared to H1 2023. The drilling segment has made significant progress in strengthening its financial stability through strategic initiatives focused on enhancing profitability and optimizing operations for greater efficiency. The recent restructuring of the loan with a longer tenor and competitive rate, along with the acquisition of the three jack-up rigs, positions GDI as the largest Qatari drilling service provider.

Regarding updates on the overall fleet and contract status, the company secured a four-year contract extension for certain onshore rigs that were set to expire this year. However, another onshore rig completed its contract during Q2 2024 and is currently off-contract. One of the lift boats was awarded a new three-year contract at the end of the first quarter of this year, with an improved day rate compared to its previous day rates, which will positively impact the company’s revenue.

GDI currently holds the majority market share in the Qatari offshore market, with a total of 12 operating rigs. The company will continue pursuing various strategies to expand its market share and drive sustained growth.

During the first half of 2024, GHC experienced an increase in demand for helicopters supporting offshore oil and gas services in both domestic and international markets. The segment continued to experience enhanced business performance, attributed to increased flying hours within both domestic and international operations. In line with its fleet upgrade strategy and as previously announced, GHC signed an aircraft acquisition contract with a reputable supplier to supply five helicopters, with an option to add an additional five aircrafts. The first four helicopters are expected to be delivered in the second half of this year.

Al-Koot, a leader in Qatar’s medical insurance sector, demonstrated strong performance in the first half of 2024 by successfully renewing major contracts and in its general line of business, Al-Koot maintains its leadership in the local energy insurance market, offering the largest capacity for mega-energy risk in Qatar while also covering non-energy risk.

Throughout the year, Al-Koot renewed major clients and its international portfolio by acquiring new clients in the first half of 2024. Additionally, Al Koot launched its motor business in Q2 2024, with ongoing efforts to capture market share and grow this segment. Al-Koot consistently upholds its strong financial strength and issuer credit rating of ‘A-’ with stable outlook from S&P ratings.

For the six-month period ended 30 June 2024, the Group reported a revenue of QR2.1bn, an increase of 9% compared to the same period of last year. This growth was driven by improved revenue in all segments except catering, leading to enhanced Group revenue.

GIS will host an IR earnings call with investors to discuss its financial results, business outlook and other matters on Tuesday, 20th August 2024, at 1:30 p.m. Doha time. The IR presentation accompanying the conference call will be posted on the ‘financial information’ page within the GIS website Investor Relations section.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/15/08/2024/gis-reports-net-profit-of-qr356m-in-h1-2024

The volume of real estate trading in sales contracts at the Department of Real Estate Registration at the Ministry of Justice during the period from Aug. 04 to 08, reached QR217,052,596, while the total sales contracts for residential units in the Real Estate Bulletin during the same period reached QR17,662,685.

The weekly bulletin issued by the Department shows that the list of real estate properties traded for sale included vacant lands, houses, residential buildings, a residential-commercial building, shops, and residential units.

Sales were concentrated in the municipalities of Al Rayyan, Doha, Umm Salal, Al Daayen, Al Shamal, Al Wakrah, Al Khor and Al Dakhira, and the areas of The Pearl Island and Lusail 69.

The volume of real estate trading in sales contracts registered in the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice during the period from July 28 to Aug. 01 exceeded QR 131 million.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/15/08/2024/real-estate-trading-volume-exceeds-qr234-million-in-week

Qatar’s financial sectors will continue to witness significant net profits in the coming quarters due to increasing interest rates. A report by Fitch Solutions indicated that huge net interest margins have continued to support the bank’s profitability this year.

The net profits of Qatar National Bank surged by 7 percent y-o-y to QR8.2bn during the first half of 2024, whereas QIIB registered a growth of 6.5 percent to QR655m during the same period as compared to H1 2023. Moody’s assigned “A2” Ratings to QIIB with a stable outlook.

Market experts highlight that increased lending rates and revving credit growth will persist to strengthen the banks’ income. Nevertheless, pressure on net profits is expected to emerge next year, due to cuts to policy rates commencing from September 2024, and higher funding costs, due to increased reliance on domestic funding, and a lower loans-to-deposit ratio.

The report said: “Higher for longer interest rates will bode well for the banks’ profitability. However, this could put pressure on banks with elevated exposure to the struggling real estate sector, leading to a tickup in non-performing loans.”

Meanwhile, non-performing loans inched up from 3.7 percent in 2022 to 3.9 percent during the past year. Additionally, banks have adequate provisions for such exposures.

In terms of its asset quality, the country’s banking industry NPL ratio surged from 2.2 percent in 2019 to 3.9 percent in 2023, primarily due to the end of pandemic-related support and the struggling realty market.

On the other hand, banks across the country remain well-capitalised, with the capital adequacy ratio (CAR) growing from 18.6 percent in 2019 to 19.2 percent in 2023.

In the funding structure, the financial institutes are largely dependent on global funding.

“While the share of foreign funding has declined from a recent high of 40 percent in October 2021 to 34 percent in December 2023, this proportion remains high, especially compared to peers, exposing the banks to vulnerabilities,” it said.

Researchers stressed that new regulations to disincentivise support on non-resident deposits for financing are expected to reduce the exposure to foreign funding.

However, on the liquidity side, the loan-to-deposit ratio has been constantly rising over the years, reaching 127.1 percent in December 2023.

Albeit the lending opportunities are maximised, the market experts elucidate that “It is above the prudential limit of 100 percent and underlines possible vulnerabilities to liquidity risks if banks do not have sufficient funds to cover withdrawals.”

“The QCB has attempted to address this issue by modifying the loan-to-deposit ratio calculation to include banks’ borrowing with different maturities in 2022, but the ratio has continued to increase. That said, we believe that these risks will be offset by the sovereigns’ substantial foreign assets,” it added.

Additionally, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has acquired $475bn in assets under management, equivalent to 200 percent of GDP and 25 percent of bank assets.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/08/2024/soaring-interest-rates-to-bolster-financial-sector

Es’hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company, visited Algeria TV during the past week to discuss areas for potential collaboration on broadcasting of TV channels in the country with Es’hailSat’s premier satellite services.

Es’hailSat provides satellite, broadcast, teleport and managed services from Doha, Qatar and powers this relationship with more than 12 years of experience in catering to governments, broadcasters, telecommunication companies, enterprises, and mobility applications across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Es’hailSat is delighted to collaborate with Algeria TV to support various broadcasting initiatives via our satellite infrastructure.” said Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari, President and CEO, Es’hailSat.

“We believe that the experience in providing satellite services to the premier broadcasters, governments and enterprises across Middle East and North Africa aligns Es’hailSat perfectly Algeria TV approach of continuous improvement of the broacasting and information technology sectors of
Algeria.”

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/08/2024/eshailsat-algeria-tv-discuss-joint-initiatives-in-satellite-services

The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) index ended the current week’s trading with an increase of 0.72 percent, gaining 72.460 points to its balance, thus rising to 10,1251 points, supported by the telecommunications sector, which achieved weekly gains of 3.590 percent growth, and the banking and financial services sector, which increased by 1.520 percent.

In this context, financial analyst Youssef Bouhlaiqa told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that the QSE index would maintain its performance and continue to rise in the coming period, benefiting from the results achieved by the listed Qatari companies.

Bouhlaiqa said that the figures revealed by the QSE regarding the companies’ results would increase the attraction of investors and enhance the market’s liquidity in the coming period.

He pointed out that the QSE index rose by 0.7 percent in the past five days, while it fell by 0.7 percent in the past 30 days, but it is 10.5 percent higher than its lowest level on May 30, 2024.

Figures issued by the QSE showed a 5.5 percent increase in the profits of listed Qatari companies during the first half of 2024, reaching QR25.72bn, compared to nearly QR24.386bn in the same period of 2023.

The banking and financial services sector recorded net profits in the first half of 2024 of QR14.9bn, or around 58 percent of the total profits of listed companies, followed by the industrial sector with total profits of QR4.645bn, then the communications sector with QR2.164bn.

The services and consumer goods sector achieved the largest gains in the first half of 2024, with its net profits growing by 22.7 percent, while the net profits of the real estate sector declined by 12.32 percent.

Source:https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/16/08/2024/expected-rise-in-qse-index-performance-supported-by-companies-results

OPEC+ will likely prolong voluntary oil cuts into the third and possibly fourth quarters of 2024 and extend some cuts into 2025, two OPEC+ sources said ahead of the group’s meeting on Sunday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, together known as OPEC+, has made a series of deep output cuts since late 2022 amid rising production from non-members such as the United States, and worries over demand amid high interest rates.

Oil prices trade near $80 per barrel, below what many OPEC+ members need to balance their budget.

Worries over slow demand growth in top oil importer China have weighed on prices and oil market analysts expect OPEC+ to extend cuts to balance supply. OPEC+ members are currently cutting output by a total of 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 5.7% of global demand.

The cuts include 3.66 million bpd by OPEC+ members valid through to the end of 2024, and 2.2 million bpd of voluntary cuts by some members which expire at the end of June.

The deal on Sunday could include extending some or all of the cuts of 3.66 million bpd into 2025 and some or all of the voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd into the third or fourth quarter of 2024, the two sources said.

Source: https://omanpetroleumandenergyshow.com/News/opec-seen-prolonging-cuts-in-2024-and-into-2025-two-sources-say

Oman’s trade balance surplus rose 37 percent year on year to OR2.6 billion ($6.8 billion) at the end of the first quarter of 2024, as rising oil and gas revenues benefited the sultanate’s balance of payments, official data showed.

The total value of merchandise exports jumped 16.7 percent year on year to OR6.5 billion, state-run Oman News Agency reported, quoting the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI) data.

The value of merchandise imports reached almost OR4 billion, up 7 percent annually.

Higher exports were driven by oil and gas sales rising 3 percent year on year to OR3.7 billion. Crude oil exports jumped 13 percent year on year to OR2.7 billion.

However, refined oil exports fell by almost 14 percent annually to OR336 million. Liquefied natural gas exports also declined to OR682 million, down 18 percent year on year.

Non-oil merchandise exports increased by 45 percent year on year to OR2.3 billion by the end of Q1.

Mineral products reported the highest value among non-oil commodity exports at OR1.2 billion, an increase of 127 percent year on year.

Saudi Arabia topped the trade exchange transactions, reaching OR238 million, an annual increase of 9.5 percent.

The UAE topped the trade exchange transactions in re-exports from Oman, reaching OR175 million.

Additionally, the UAE ranked first in the list of top countries exporting to the sultanate, with exports valued at OR982 million, up 1.4 percent year on year.

Source: https://omanpetroleumandenergyshow.com/News/oman-trade-balance-surplus-up-37-on-higher-oil-exports

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to drive the UAE’s industrial evolution, promising substantial gains in productivity, adaptability, and sustainability over the coming decade, experts revealed at the Make it in the Emirates (MIITE) Forum in Abu Dhabi.

During a fireside chat titled ‘Advancing the AI Revolution: Implementing new computing paradigms in real-world industrial settings,’ moderated by Dan Murphy of CNBC, His Excellency Faisal Al Bannai, Advisor to the UAE President on Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, underscored the UAE’s commitment to AI advancement. He emphasized the nation’s strategic policies aimed at solidifying its AI position, with data emerging as a pivotal force supporting various sectors and rapid technological strides.

His Excellency elaborated on the launch and ongoing development of the Falcon large language model (LLM), stressed the importance of international collaboration in driving AI adoption across sectors, and highlighted the integration of new computing models in industrial contexts. He further emphasized the UAE’s sustained investment in AI to elevate productivity, industrial efficiency, and local industry standards.

The MIITE Forum, organized by MoIAT in collaboration with ADDED and ADNOC, is scheduled from May 27-28. Under the theme ‘Invest. Innovate. Grow,’ this annual platform showcases facilitators and investment prospects within the UAE’s industrial landscape, spotlighting flagship initiatives like the Technology Transformation Program (TTP).

SOurce:https://cxotv.techplusmedia.com/EMEA/uae-commits-to-ai-investment-for-enhanced-industrial-efficiency-middle-east-business-news

Al Yah Satellite Communications, better known as Yahsat, has signed a deal with Airbus to build its new satellites, Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5, as it aims to enhance its fleet and expand services.

Airbus Defence and Space will design and build the geostationary telecoms satellites based on the Eurostar Neo platform, the UAE-based satellite solutions provider said on Monday in a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.

They will “offer secure governmental communications over a wide geographical area across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia”, it said.

Airbus will design, manufacture and provide ground control components for the two satellites with a 15-year design life. They are planned to be launched in 2027 and 2028, respectively, the company added.

AY4 and AY5 procurement programme, including spacecraft, ground segment infrastructure, launch and insurance, will cost about Dh3.9 billion ($1.1 billion), the company said.

“This is a significant step in Yahsat’s growth trajectory. The Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites will enable us to provide the UAE government with new cutting-edge solutions,” said chief executive Ali Al Hashemi.

“Additionally, the two new LEO [low Earth orbit] satellite platforms will support Yahsat’s future direction of providing multi-orbit satellite solutions to its customers.”

Founded in 2007, the subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment arm Mubadala Investment Company offers multi-mission satellite services in more than 150 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and Australasia.

When it comes to government solutions, the company currently offers its services mainly in the UAE.

However, when Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites are launched, it will open “the door to offer more services to other governments for sure”, Mr Al Hashemi told The National in October.

“While we are offering services to other governments as well currently, our capacity will be tripled or quadrupled with Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites.”

In September, its government services arm won a new contract worth $5.1 billion from the UAE government to provide satellite capacity and managed services for 17 years, primarily on AY4 and AY5 satellites.

The procurement programme will be funded initially by Yahsat, before receiving Dh3.7 billion as an advance payment from the UAE government, the company said on Monday.

The new satellites will replace Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2, launched in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

Airbus is also developing the Thuraya 4 (T4) satellite for Yahsat’s government solutions segment, and Thuraya, Yahsat’s commercial satellite solutions arm.

T4 is based on the Eurostar Neo platform and is scheduled to be launched in the second half of this year, entering service in the second half of 2025.

Source;https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2024/06/10/yahsat-contracts-airbus-to-build-al-yah-4-and-al-yah-5-satellites/