Dubai is getting a new SWF: Dubai is setting up a second multi-bn USD wealth fund to channel state wealth into strategic projects at home and abroad, state news agency Wam reported Monday.

The remit: Chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai Investment Fund will focus its investments in stocks, bonds and securities in local and international financial markets, and will have the power to set up investment funds and companies.

Remember:

  • Dubai already has one: TheInvestment Corporation of Dubai, which has USD 341 bn in assets.
  • It’ll still be behind Abu Dhabi: Its neighbor has three sovereign wealth funds: ADQ, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Mubadala, which together manage almost USD 1.5 tn in assets.

Frontier markets are facing a growing debt crisis: Debt levels of the 42 countries classified as “frontier markets” by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) have doubled over the past decade, reaching a record USD 3.5 tn, writes Bloomberg. The debt covers government, corporate, and household borrowing, with USD 200 bn due to be repaid next year.

Inflows are harder to come by: The US Federal Reserve is not expected to cut interest rates until at least mid-2024, which has dampened investors’ appetite for frontier-market debt. “Global rates are considerably higher, and the incentive to invest in these markets is challenging when you can get 4% or 5% in US Treasuries,” IIF Managing Director Sonja Gibbs said.

EGX30

24,774

+2.9% (YTD: +69,7%)

USD (CBE)

Buy 30.83

Sell 30.96

USD at CIB

Buy 30.85

Sell 30.95

Interest rates CBE

19.25% deposit

20.25% lending

Tadawul

11,401

+0.1% (YTD: +8.8%)

ADX

9,437

-0.1% (YTD: -7.6%)

DFM

3,939

+0.1% (YTD: +18.1%)

S&P 500

4,707

+1.4% (YTD: +22.6%)

FTSE 100

7,548

+0.1% (YTD: +1.3%)

Euro Stoxx 50

4,530

-0.1% (YTD: +19.4%)

Brent crude

USD 74.26

+1.4%

Natural gas (Nymex)

USD 2.35

+1.6%

Gold

USD 2,042.10

+2.5%

BTC

USD 43,000

+4.6% (YTD: +158.8%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The EGX30 rose 2.9% at yesterday’s close on turnover of EGP 4.3 bn (36.5% above the 90-day average). Local investors were net sellers. The index is up 69.7% YTD.

In the green: Mopco (+20.0%), Sidpec (+9.2%) and Abu Qir Fertilizers (+8.6%).

In the red: Fawry (-1.5%), Egypt Kuwait Holding (-0.3%) and Credit Agricole (-0.2%).

It’s green as far as the eye can see in Asia this morning (though the Nikkei has been flirting with the red just a bit) as traders continue the rally that started after the Fed’s big interest rate signal yesterday. (We have coverage of that last bit above, in What We’re Tracking Today.) Futures suggest markets in Western Europe and North America will follow suit later today.

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