What you need to know as UAE markets open on November 8

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

1) The UAE Cabinet has approved AED 51.4 billion federal budget for next year, an increase of 5.6 percent from the budget allocations for the fiscal year 2017.

2) Arabtec Holding posted net profit attributable to shareholder of AED 18 million, compared to a net loss of AED 226 million in the same period last year. The improvement was driven by new project wins in the period, the Dubai-listed firm said.

3) Dubai-listed National Central Cooling Co. (Tabreed) posted a net profit of AED 97.7 million for Q3 2017, compared to a profit of AED 109.4 million in the same period last year.

4) Dubai-listed Arabian Scandinavian Insurance Co. (Ascana) posted a profit attributable to shareholders of nearly AED 6 million for Q3 2017, rising from AED 3.7 million in the same period last year.

5) Abu Dhabi-listed Emirates Insurance Co. reported a net profit of AED 82.5 million for the first nine months of 2017, an increase of nearly 25 percent year-on-year (YoY) as gross premium income rose.

6) Dubai Investments said its subsidiary Al Mal Capital has signed a partnership agreement with Italy-based Azimut Group to jointly launch a Middle Eastern equity fund.

7) Dubai-listed Damac Properties said it initiated in October construction work worth more than AED 350 million at its Akoya Oxygen development.

8) DXB Entertainments will hold a board meeting on Nov. 11 to review its Q3 2017 financial statements.

9) Nasdaq Dubai-listed DP World has signed an agreement to develop Berbera Free Zone (BFZ) in Somaliland. DP World will develop BFZ in phases, with the first phase focusing on 4 square kilometers of land out of the 12.2 sq km earmarked for the project.

10) Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday, with Brent crude last trading down 0.2 percent at $63.55/bbl, while WTI crude fell 0.4 percent to $56.98/bbl. In its latest oil outlook report, OPEC raised its mid-term forecast on oil demand by 2.24 million bpd from its previous outlook report. The cartel now expects oil demand to reach 102.3 million bpd by 2022.

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