Arab stock markets, rattled by Egyptian turmoil, have lost a combined $49 billion since anti-government protests erupted in Cairo, Kuwaiti asset managers said on Thursday.

The capitalisation of 13 Arab bourses plunged from $991 billion on January 25 to $942 billion at the end of January, when mass protests against President Hosni Mubarak began, KIPCO Asset Management Company, or KAMCO, said in its report.

The report said Gulf stock markets plunged the most with a drop of $32 billion in value to $750 billion. The Saudi bourse — the largest in the Arab world — lost $21 billion.

The Dubai Financial Market General Index slipped 0.8 per cent to 1,581.01 points but the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange rose 0.8 per cent to 2,645.02, reversing sharper gains made on Wednesday. The DFM has lost nearly four per cent in value since the onset of the demonstrations on January 24. The Egyptian stock market lost $12 billion in the first two days of the protests before it was closed, the report said.

Fund managers are now hoping they can cut losses once the market reopens. Egypt’s stock exchange is due to reopen on Monday provided banks are operating smoothly, its chairman was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday downgraded the ratings of five Egyptian banks including National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, Commercial International Bank and Bank of Alexandria. The ratings on these five banks remain under review for possible further downgrade.

“This reassessment has a negative impact on the supported bank deposit ratings. The review for potential further downgrade reflects concerns that the current political and social unrest will negatively impact the economy and, ultimately, the financial health of the banks,” the ratings agency said in a statement.

The Kuwaiti asset management company attributed the losses to fear among investors that the protests in Egypt and, earlier, Tunisia could spread to other countries in the region and trigger a flight of capital.

“Protests have caused a state of random sell-off at some bourses,” it said.

Prior to the unrest, Arab stock markets had been recovering losses sustained during the global economic crisis, gaining more than $100 billion in value last year, the report said. NCB Capital, a leading Saudi investment company, believes the massive wealth of the six-nation GCC makes them almost immune to a spillover from the current uprising in Egypt.

“...The benefits of oil along with generally smaller populations lead to globally high GDP/capita figures ranging from $23,000 to $88,000.”

The study said such high per capita compares to that in Egypt and Tunisia at around $6,0006 and $9,000 respectively and other countries in the region in similar or even lower territory.(khalij times)