Bahrain Stock Exchange Weekly and Market Survey

Last week was much better for the GCC markets compared to the previous week when all the markets declined. Kuwait was the only market to register a decline (down 0.3%). Saudi was up 2%, UAE 0.4%, Oman 2.5% and Bahrain up slightly 0.2%. The advance decline ratio on the BSE improved this week 11 to 4. Batelco has shown a profit growth of 10.2% in their 1H99 results. Compared to the last two years their profit growth have declined (1H98: 25%; 1H97: 24%). Batelco closed the week 5 fils lower at 590 fils. Taib announced a profit figure of $6.5m for the 1H99 which translates into an impressive growth of 22.1%. Its worth noting that the bank has been able to achieve this growth even after a 100% increase in provisions (provisions for 1H99: $4m vs 1H98: $2m). In the insurance sector, Al-Ahlia and BKIC issued their 1H99 results. While Al-Ahlia Insurance announced a meagre profit growth of 1.6%, BKIC net profit increased by 36.7% in the 1H99 compared to the same period last year (note that BKIC now has a capital base of BD 5m compared to BD 2.2m last year). The interim results announced so far show healthy growth in profits. On the other hand, oil prices have also shown some signs of stability. We believe the current market valuations are attractive and Bahrain continues to be one of the cheapest markets in the GCC. The Net Asset Value of SICO Selected Securities Fund as of 29th July was 100.4 fils (0.2% increase from the prior week).