Category: Economy

|By TAP Staff| Global investors’ confidence in the world’s economic outlook has fallen significantly due to concerns over China and emerging markets, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey for September. Asset allocators have adopted a “risk-off” stance in response.Some of the responses are:Threat of recession in China increases as biggest tail risk; concern over a potential emerging markets debt crisis also rises sharply. Investors’ risk appetite evaporates: equity overweights are down a net 24 percentage points in a

Two years on from its launch in the city, ride-hailing service Uber is using its Middle East & Africa headquarters in Dubai to lay the groundwork for expanding in the region–through more than just operating in new cities.Since August 2013, the US-based company, which connects drivers and passengers through smartphone apps, has commenced operations within the GCC in Doha, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah and Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, as well as a number of other cities in the wider Middle

Emirates National Oil Co. increased its offer to buy Dragon Oil Plc to 800 pence ($12.50) a share, winning support from minority owners including billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors U.K. Ltd. that rejected ENOC’s offer in June.Elliott and Baillie Gifford & Co., which hold a combined 13.1 stake in Dragon Oil, have accepted the new price, ENOC said in a statement. ENOC had offered to buy the 46 percent of Dragon Oil it didn’t own for 750 pence a share,

|By TAP Staff|  Emaar Properties reported a 16 percent rise in second-quarter net profit  as other income increased and it received more money in income tax credits.Emaar  made a net profit of 1.18 billion dirhams ($321.3 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 1.02 billion dirhams on the prior-year period, the company said in a statement.SICO Bahrain had forecast Emaar's second-quarter profit would be 817 million dirhams.The developer has now reported rising profits in nine straight quarters

Gold fell, heading for its largest monthly decline in two years, as the Federal Reserve moved closer to boosting US interest rates for the first time since 2006.While Fed policy makers refrained from signaling the timing of a rate rise after a two-day meeting, they described job gains as solid amid an improving economy, according to a statement Wednesday. The market expects a move as early as September.Bullion is set for a 7.4 per cent plunge this month, the most

|By TAP Staff| Some 5,200 rooms are expected to be added to the Abu Dhabi hotel sector by 2017. Of this, 2,300 rooms are set to enter the market by the end of 2015 alone, according to a report by JLL.The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA) also report a 20% increase in hotel guests in the first quarter of 2015 compared to Q1 figures from 2014.The JLL report reveals that 45 percent of current supply are 5-star properties.

|By TAP Staff| A company owned by Dubai Holding said on Sunday it plans to sell its 60 percent stake in Maltese telecom operator Go.Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT), a unit of Dubai Holding, said in an emailed statement it "has not yet approached or identified any buyer for its stake", and "has only just started the process of evaluating its options."Go is undertaking a restructuring process that includes spinning off a subsidiary, Malta Properties, and EIT will retain its stake

Pearson Plc is in talks to sell its half stake in the publisher of the 172-year-old Economist magazine, marking another step toward the former conglomerate’s transformation to an education company.The Economist is one of the assets that were excluded from London-based Pearson’s agreement this week to dispose of the FT Group to Japan’s Nikkei Inc. Pearson’s 50 percent holding could be valued at as much as 400 million pounds ($620 million), according to a person familiar with the matter, asking

The United Arab Emirates said it would let domestic fuel prices move more freely in a politically sensitive reform that could save the government billions of dollars and begin reducing the wealthy country's love of gas-guzzling cars with big engines.Gasoline and diesel will be deregulated from Aug. 1 and a new pricing policy linked to global levels will be introduced, state news agency WAM quoted the energy ministry as saying on Wednesday."Deregulating fuel prices will help decrease fuel consumption and

Iranian stocks climbed to the highest level in three months as diplomats from the Persian Gulf country and six negotiating powers moved closer to reaching a nuclear accord.The Tehran Stock Exchange’s benchmark index advanced 1.2 percent on Sunday to 67,646.4, the highest level since April 15, as officials sought to clinch a deal that would help lift sanctions crippling Iran’s economy. Bank Saderat Iran was the most-traded stock, with investors exchanging 115 million shares, lifting it 1.2 percent.Negotiators have “never

A brief period of high profitability for the world's oil refineries is likely to come to an end as quickly as it began, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday.Weak crude oil and relatively high prices for gasoline, diesel and petrochemical feedstock have pushed up refining profits sharply over the last six months, helping oil companies cope with much lower profits from upstream production.In the first quarter of this year, combined profits for the likes of BP, Royal Dutch

|By TAP Staff| Emaar Properties announced its intention to list its Egyptian subsidiary Emaar Misr for Development to proceed with an IPO, which will be listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. The offer will comprise a part meant for retail investors in Egypt, and a private placement to institutional investors.Emaar Misr plans to use the net proceeds raised from the offering to further the development of the non-residential areas of its projects under development, including primarily Emaar Square in Uptown

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has launched a $500 million five-year debut bond issued by its Dubai branch, which is set to price later on Monday, a document from lead managers said.The bank, China's largest by assets, set the final spread at 120 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, the document stated, tighter than the initial price guidance of around 145 basis points over treasuries announced earlier in the day.The deal, rated A1 by Moody's, has garnered orders in excess

|By TAP Staff| RP Global - part of RP Group of Companies, a global business conglomerate with an annual turnover of over US$4 billion – made its entry into the Dubai real estate market by breaking ground on its new multi-storey residential tower project RP Heights.RP Global will initially develop two prestigious projects in the heart of the city with a total development value of over AED 5.5 billion (US$ 1.5 billion). RP Heights, the first project in Downtown Dubai

|By TAP Staff| Emaar Malls , the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by global property developer Emaar Properties, records net profit of AED 433 million (US$ 118 million) during the first quarter (January to March) of 2015. This is 32 per cent higher than Q1 2014 net profit of AED 329 million (US$ 90 million). The revenue during Q1 2015 across all its mall and retail assets is AED 735 million (US$ 200 million), 21 per cent higher than

|By TAP Staff| Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) totaled 30.72 million barrels per day (b/d) in March, up 800,000 b/d from February, and the highest monthly volume since November 2012, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts.  In November 2012, OPEC output was estimated at 31.08 million b/d.Saudi Arabia boosted production by 280,000 b/d to 10 million b/d from 9.72 million b/d in February, the survey estimated."The

State-owned conglomerate Dubai World has been granted approval to end court proceedings relating to its $14.6 billion debt restructuring deal, according to a document on the court's website.The action allows lawyers for the conglomerate to gather the signatures of creditors in support of the deal outside the Dubai World Tribunal, the special court that had been overseeing the process.Formal sign-off for the restructuring could occur within days or weeks, two people familiar with the matter said, with the timing dependent

Dubai's Amlak Finance will hold a shareholder meeting on April 16 to seek their approval for lifting a six-and-a-half year trading suspension on the mortgage lender's shares, according to a bourse filing on Wednesday.If shareholders agree, the board will then seek permission from the "concerned authorities" to resume trade and determine a date to do so.Trading in Amlak, 48 percent owned by Dubai's biggest developer Emaar Properties, was halted in November 2008 as credit markets dried up and the emirate's

Liquidators for ES Bankers (Dubai) Ltd (ESBD) have estimated they will pay out 82.7 percent of the $93.5 million owed to depositors in the stricken bank, advisory firm Deloitte said on its website.However, unsecured creditors of the Dubai arm of the Espirito Santo empire, which stumbled after accounting irregularities were identified at one of its holding companies earlier last year, will get none of the $14 million they are owed, the document added.In October 2014, a Dubai judge approved an

Oil and gas companies will spend about $450 billion buying each other this year as lower valuations caused by a drop in crude prices stimulate mergers and acquisitions, according to consultants A.T. Kearney.The value of M&A transactions in the oil and gas industry will probably rise by $10 billion from last year when deals totaled $440 billion, said Richard Forrest, A.T. Kearney’s lead partner for energy. The increase will accelerate in the second half of 2015, he said.“2015 is a

Arabtec's chairman will meet officials of Egypt's housing ministry on Wednesday to renegotiate the terms of a $40 billion plan to build one million homes in that country, a source familiar with the matter said.Dubai-listed Arabtec announced last March that it had reached agreement in principle with Egypt's army to build the homes at 13 locations around the country, on land provided by the armed forces.But while that preliminary deal was with the army, Arabtec's subsequent negotiations for a final

Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power is obtaining a loan of about $344 million from three banks to finance a solar energy project in Dubai, chief executive Paddy Padmanathan said on Sunday.The 27-year amortising loan with an interest rate of 4 percent is being provided by Abu Dhabi's First Gulf Bank and two Saudi banks, National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, he told reporters on the sidelines of a business conference.Padmanathan said the entire project would cost about $400 million, of

[caption id="attachment_2596" align="alignleft" width="277"] Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower owned by Emaar[/caption]Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai’s largest publicly-traded real estate developer, plans to sell shares in its hotels unit in the second half and hired Rothschild as an adviser, three people with knowledge of the matter said.The offering is planned for later in the year because of conditions on the Dubai Financial Market, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Chairman Mohammed

Dubai-based financial services firm Arqaam Capital has invited banks to pitch for roles in arranging its flotation on the emirate's bourse, three banking sources aware of the matter told Reuters.Arqaam has offices in five countries in the Middle East and Africa and offers services including brokerage, asset management and corporate finance advisory. It declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.The invitation, known as a request for proposals (RFP), was sent to a number of international and local banks on Wednesday

Fast-growing Gulf Arab banks plan to bolster their reserves by issuing capital-boosting bonds, but uncertainty over regulation and ultra-tight pricing increase the risks for issuers and investors.Basel III standards, now being phased in around the world, will require banks to hold more capital. While Gulf banks have very high capital adequacy ratios, their rapid expansion, and the fact they operate in emerging markets with lower sovereign ratings than the core developed economies, mean they will be hungry for more capital

Dubai Islamic Bank will reopen the Gulf bond market next week with a capital-boosting sukuk, the region's first debt offering in two months as financial markets there wobbled under the impact of falling oil prices.A successful offering would not just bolster reserves at DIB, the largest Islamic bank in the United Arab Emirates, but also pave the way for others who may have been waiting to see the fallout from oil prices before coming to the market.Benchmark Brent oil has

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt appear the most attractive among major Middle Eastern stock markets in an era of low oil prices, the latest Reuters survey of regional asset managers suggests.The plunge of oil and equity prices over the last several months has stunned managers, and they may therefore invest their 2015 equity allocations to the region only gradually."I think the next three months will witness a wait-and-see approach by most fund managers, as they wait to see stability

Iran is to expand what it calls "smart filtering" of the Internet, a policy of censoring undesirable content on websites without banning them completely, as it used to, the government said on Friday.The Islamic Republic has some of the strictest controls on Internet access in the world, but its blocks on U.S.-based social media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are routinely bypassed by tech-savvy Iranians using virtual private networks (VPNs).Under the new scheme, Tehran could lift its blanket ban

Gulf stock markets rose on Thursday as Saudi Arabia released a 2015 state budget that will keep spending high, reassuring the region that economic growth is unlikely to be hurt much by the plunge of oil prices.The Saudi budget envisions state spending at a record 860 billion riyals ($230 billion) next year, up 0.6 percent from the 2014 budget plan.That would be the smallest rise in over a decade, but much better than the possible spending cuts that the markets

Deutsche Bank is open to offers for its London-based gold vault following the closure of its physical precious metals business, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday."If the right offer came along, then the bank would sell the London vault," one source close to the situation said.The German bank shut its physical precious metals trading arm last month as it further reduced its exposure to commodity markets.The bank shut its other physical commodities business, covering energy, base metals

Aramex has bought the master franchise for South African retailer PostNet for $16.5 million from OneLogix Group, the Dubai-based courier firm said on Sunday as it expanded its presence in Africa.PostNet provides courier, printing and copying services, plus stationery and mailboxes, to individuals and businesses and has 287 stores in South Africa, according to an Aramex statement to Dubai's bourse.Each store will still be owned and operated by its respective franchisees, with Aramex acquiring the master franchise.Aramex, which competes with

 Most stock markets in the Gulf fell sharply on Tuesday after oil prices hit five-year lows, triggering a fresh wave of panic selling of shares by local retail investors, though most fund managers and analysts think the region can cope comfortably with cheaper oil.Dubai's market, traditionally the Gulf's most volatile, tumbled 3.5 percent to 3,889 points, though it closed well above its intra-day low of 3,761 points. It rebounded from near major technical support on its July low of 3,731

|By TAP Staff| Dubai is the world’s eighth costliest city to stay in a hotel, with New York occupying the number one slot, according to a new compilation of accommodation index.The index, compiled by GoEuro.com, covers 150 cities and over 60,000 properties to understand the effect of new trends in accommodation on the hotel industry. The increasing popularity of vacation sharing and continued growth of the hostel industry are now important factors for travellers considering where to spend the night,

Shuaa Capital's executive chairman and board director, Sheikh Maktoum Hasher al-Maktoum, will step down from both roles in February, the Dubai-based investment bank said on Sunday.Maktoum will depart after the disclosure of its full-year results for 2014, Shuaa said in a statement.A member of Dubai's ruling family, Maktoum served in his present capacity since May 2011.During his tenure, the firm underwent a significant turn-around in fortunes having been buffeted by the global financial crisis and problems within the Dubai economy