Rift with Qatar has little effect on Tadawul

07/03/2014 08:35 AST

The row between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors has done little to dampen Saudi Arabia’s stock market, with the Tadawul All Share Index rising 1 percent to a near six-year high as banking and retail sector shares climbed.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar on Wednesday citing the country’s meddling in regional affairs, and failing to abide by a joint GCC defense security pact agreement, including Doha’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Trading volumes on Wednesday was the highest since May 2012, and remained high on Thursday, Reuters reported. Economic analysts said that there could be temporary effects on regional equity markets if the situation worsens.

Talking to Arab News on Thursday, John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at MASIC, a Riyadh-based investment firm, said: “I don’t see real estate projects being impacted, nor do I believe that the UAE’s real estate will be impacted by any future investors from Qatar.”

“If the politics worsens between Qatar and the rest of the GCC, there will be an impact on joint projects, capital flows but these necessitate a real worsening of relations at all levels and we are not yet there.”

Basil M. Al-Ghalayini, chief executive officer of BMG Financial Group, said: “I hope this is going to be a short term split. The economic impact will be limited to the regional stock markets as traders react quickly to these diplomatic rifts. The macroeconomic fundamentals are still strong in these countries which will keep their GDP intact over the long term.”

There was no sign of any economic sanctions being imposed, and some officials and businesspeople in the region predicted governments would keep business separate from politics.

“The countries in our region do not involve politics and business,” Akbar Al-Baker, chief executive of state-owned Qatar Airways, said.

A proposed 40-km causeway between Bahrain and Qatar and a $15 billion project to connect the Gulf states’ planned railway networks in coming years might also stall.

Arab News