What you need to know as UAE markets open on July 16

Here are some things you need to know as markets open today in the United Arab Emirates.

1) UAE’s non-oil growth is projected to rise to 3.3 percent in 2017 from 2.7 percent in 2016, reflecting increased domestic public investment and a pickup in global trade, International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a recent report.

2) Abu Dhabi’s 2016 gross domestic product at current prices surged to AED 791.4 billion, posting an annual growth of 2.8 percent over 2015 GDP of AED 770.11. Non-oil activities contributed 72.5 percent of the GD, according to Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi.

3) Dubai-listed Ajman Bank posted a net profit of AED 29.3 million for Q2 2017, declining from a profit of AED 32.7 million in the same quarter last year.

4) Dubai-listed Emirates NBD (ENBD) will hold a board meeting on July 18 to discuss Q2 2017 financial statements. Separately, ENBD’s shariah-complaint arm Emirates Islamic Bank will hold a board meeting on July 18 to discuss Q2 2017 reports.

5) Abu Dhabi-listed Eshraq Properties said it has received regulatory approval to increase the height of building in its ‘The Gateways’ project to ground-plus-seven floors, from the initial limit of ground-plus-four.

6) Only 11 percent of the region’s businesses understand how the value-added tax will affect them, a survey by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Thomson Reuters said.

7) The International Energy Agency said OPEC’s compliance rate to the output deal slipped to 78 percent in June, the lowest this year, from 95 percent in May.

8) Crude oil futures ended the previous week on a positive note, with both Brent crude and WTI crude rising 1 percent to reach $48.91/bbl and $46.54/bbl, respectively. 

Write to Nadeshda Zareen at nadeshda.zareen@argaamplus.com