RIYADH, 27 March 2006 — Saudi Arabia’s central bank foreign assets rose 3.97 percent in January to SR585.936 billion ($156.2 billion), while money supply growth continued to slow down, according to figures published by the bank. A balance sheet of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) assets seen by Reuters yesterday showed deposits with banks abroad reached SR101.37 billion in January, down 11 percent from December and up nearly 50 percent from January 2005. The value of SAMA’s foreign currencies convertible to gold reached SR88.74 billion in January, a notch below their level a month earlier and its investment in foreign securities jumped 9.6 percent to SR405.45 billion, continuing a galloping rise that started in July, 2005.
Kuwait’s IFA Hotels Picks Contractor
KUWAIT, 27 March 2006 — Kuwait’s IFA Hotels and Resorts said yesterday it had appointed a Dubai-based firm as the main contractor for its 1 billion dirham ($272.3 million) project on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah island development. In a statement on the Kuwait bourse’s website, IFA Hotels said Al-Shafar General Contracting Co. will be the contractor for the Palm Golden Mile project, which it is developing with Dubai’s state-backed Istithmar on Palm Jumeirah — one of three giant man-made islands being built off the coast of Dubai.