Category: Economy

OPEC is not worried about a slide in oil prices towards $100 a barrel, delegates from the producer group said, with current levels seen as acceptable for producers while higher seasonal demand in the coming weeks was expected to support the market.Brent crude fell to a 14-month low of $101.11 a barrel on Monday as investor concerns over conflict in Ukraine and Iraq eased and Libyan output rose. The drop brought prices below the level some in OPEC need for

Airport retailer Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is repricing a $1.75 billion syndicated loan for the second time in just over a year to obtain more favourable terms, a fresh sign of banks' willingness to lend cheaply to the emirate.The six-year loan, originally signed in July 2012, was split between dirham- and U.S. dollar-denominated tranches, both priced at 325 basis points over the London interbank offered rate (Libor).Last year the state-controlled retailer negotiated the pricing of the dirham-denominated tranche to 225

Seventy-year-old Saudi Arabian stock speculator Mohamed al-Otaibi says he lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the crash of 2006, but he's back trading again as the Arab world's biggest bourse prepares to open to direct foreign investment.The activities of Otaibi and many thousands like him mean there will be a clash of investment cultures when international institutions enter the $580 billion Saudi market early next year, under a plan announced by the regulator last month.Sitting on a sofa in

Major Saudi food producer Savola Group said on Wednesday it had begun preliminary talks on a potential acquisition of Kuwait Food Co (Americana) , one of the Middle East's largest food companies.Savola has attended an investor roadshow held by Americana's management, but talks have not yet reached a stage that would require disclosure, the company said in a bourse filing.Reuters reported in April that the al-Kharafi family, the billionaire majority shareholder in Americana at 66.8 percent, had hired investment bank

Emirates, the largest operator of Airbus Group A380 planes, finalized a $425 million syndicated loan with local banks for the acquisition of two of the double-decker aircraft.Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Commercial Bank of Dubai and Dubai Islamic Bank jointly financed the Shariah-compliant loan, the banks said in a joint statement. The three banks were joint bookrunners and initial mandated lead arrangers for the deal.The transaction includes financing of Emirates’ 50th A380, which has already been delivered, according to the statement.

Jebel Ali Free Zone FZE, a business park operator in Dubai, is cutting the price on a 2.2 billion-dirham ($599 million) Islamic loan by half as funding costs decline, according to three bankers familiar with the deal.The interest rate on the loan for the company known as Jafza will be reduced to 150 basis points, or 1.5 percentage points, over the Emirates interbank offered rate from 300 basis points over the measure, the people said, asking not to be identified

|By TAP Staff| The international arbitration in relation to the gas sales and purchase contract between its partner Crescent Petroleum and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for the supply of gas to the UAE has given its final verdict, proclaiming the contract binding on all the parties.The issue has been the subject of international arbitration since June 2009.Dana Gas announced in a release that it has been notified by Crescent Petroleum that the Arbitration Tribunal has issued a final

Hotels and high-end retailers in Dubai are optimistic that they can ride out the Russian tour operator crisis and possibly even benefit from it. Rotana, which operates 15 hotels in the emirate and has a global sales office in Russia, is hopeful that the decline in Russian tourists because of the closure of some leading tour operators in the country would be offset by more tourists from the neighbouring Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).In fact, Rotana said that it had witnessed

Mumbai’s towering billboards, which hawk everything from the latest Bollywood movies to soda, block out more than some sunlight. They’re also a physical hurdle preventing Air India Ltd. from reaching its potential on what should be one of its most lucrative routes.The height of billboards near India’s financial hub means the Boeing 777-300ER jets the carrier uses for non-stop flights to Newark, New Jersey, near New York City must fly 51 fewer passengers, or 15 percent below capacity, in order

|TAP Special| Inflows from BRIC countries, including India and China, into the UAE have surpassed those from the Middle East and Africa region and India leads the other BRIC countries in this respect.According to a report of the Fortress Investments, the UAE is attracting significant capital from the BRIC countries and this is the result of progressive government measures and global partnerships. This significant revelation comes on the heels of index provider MSCI’s upgrading the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to

Dubai is once again proving to be the choicest destination for Saudis this summer, with hotels in the city showing 35 percent occupancy by them during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, Al-Riyadh daily reported.The more than one-third occupancy of rooms by Saudis during the holidays complements the statistics revealed by Dubai tourism authorities that more than 2 million Saudis visited the city during the past six months, making the Saudis as the premier visitors to Dubai.The fact that the numbers have

The World Trade Organization failed on Thursday to reach a deal to standardise customs rules, which would have been the first global trade reform in two decades but was blocked by India's demands for concessions on agricultural stockpiling."We have not been able to find a solution that would allow us to bridge that gap," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo told trade diplomats in Geneva just two hours before the final deadline for a deal."Of course it is true that everything remains

Middle East funds are heavily bullish towards Saudi Arabian stocks after news the market will open to direct foreign investment, while they are bearish on the United Arab Emirates because of concern about high valuations.The latest Reuters survey of 15 leading investment managers,conducted over the past 10 days, showed two-thirds expected to raise their equity allocations to Saudi Arabia in the next three months, up from 40 percent in the last survey a month ago. The ratio of bullish managers

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the biggest U.S. lender, is cutting hundreds of technology support employees in its corporate and investment bank amid a revenue decline, people with knowledge of the move said.Workers in locations including New York, Tampa, Chicago and Dubai were notified of the cuts this month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter. Luke Moranda, a managing director in charge of clearing technology, and Dan Cronin, an

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits India this week as Washington tries to revitalize ties it sees as a counterbalance to China's rising power, but rapid progress is unlikely, despite the reformist reputation of India's new leader.The visit by Kerry, and a trip by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel next month, follow the resounding election win of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May and are meant to create a good climate for Modi's planned visit to Washington in September.Analysts say

Abu Dhabi-listed Islamic insurer National Takaful Company (Watania) said on Sunday its majority shareholders had agreed to sell stakes to strategic investors from the Gulf region, but did not name the selling or buying parties.In a short bourse filing, Watania said the deal was subject to regulatory approvals. It did not disclose the value of the deal, nor the size of the stake being sold.Among Watania's shareholders are Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Ajman Bank and Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co,

The parent company of a scandal-hit Chinese food supplier said it is withdrawing all products made by the subsidiary.Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd, owned by Illinois-based OSI Group LLC, is at the center of a major food safety scandal, which has spread from China to Hong Kong and Japan, over allegations it mixed fresh and expired meat.In a statement posted on its website late Saturday, OSI Group said it would "withdraw from the marketplace" all products made by Shanghai Husi,

 Dubai construction company Arabtec's former boss has sold about $4 million worth of shares in the group this week, cutting his stake slightly, stock exchange data showed.Arabtec's shares have swung around wildly this year on apparent tensions between chief executive Hasan Ismaik and Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments, also a major Arabtec shareholder. Ismaik resigned abruptly in June.Ismaik cut his stake to 28.77 percent from 28.85 percent, the website of the Dubai Financial Market showed. The new data was

DP World, the world’s third-largest port operator, said it is confident of exceeding industry growth predicted to reach about 5 percent in 2014 as it adds capacity and global trade picks up.First-half throughput grew 9.3 percent on a like-for-like basis to 29.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units across its group of container terminals, it said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai today. On a reported basis, gross volumes grew about 11 percent, driven by new volume at its U.K. operations and

Du, the United Arab Emirates' second biggest telecoms operator, expects to offer Internet-based phone calls and broadband services across the country before the year-end in a network sharing deal with rival Etisalat that has been in the works since 2009.This network sharing agreement is an important step for du, which ended Etisalat's domestic telecoms monopoly in 2007, but which has since been limited to newer areas of Dubai, constraining its ability to grow.Du chief executive Osman Sultan told a media

Lapses in hospital infection control measures exacerbated an outbreak of a deadly new viral disease which has infected more than 60 people and killed at least 10 in the United Arab Emirates, health investigators said on Friday.Reporting the findings of a five-day mission to the UAE, experts from the World Health Organisation said, however, that they found no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of new Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)."The recent upsurge of cases in Abu Dhabi appears to

 Western advisers are drawing up plans for reshaping the Egyptian economy, sources said, with the apparent blessing of president-elect Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who so far has spoken only vaguely in public about reviving the state's finances.The driving force behind the consulting project is the United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait has showered Egypt with billions of dollars in aid since Sisi removed the Muslim Brotherhood from power last year, sources familiar with the exercise and businessmen

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun Hee, South Korea’s richest person, was ordered to appear before an Indian court in a dispute over a $1.4 million payment after losing a motion to avoid presenting himself.Lee should appear on July 14 after his petition was dismissed, Magistrate Ram Karan Yadav of Ghaziabad district court in Uttar Pradesh state said in an order issued June 2. Samsung spokeswoman Rhee Soeui also said yesterday that Lee’s request not to attend had been rejected. The

The worst Qatar stock rout in nine months is creating a buying opportunity for some of the biggest Middle East investors, who say they’re undaunted by speculation the country will lose the right to host the 2022 World Cup.Emirates NBD PJSC, whose wealth management division oversaw about $2.1 billion at the end of 2013, says it’s looking to add stocks because any impact on corporate earnings from the loss of the World Cup would be minor. Doha’s Al Rayan Investment

The malls unit of Dubai's Emaar Properties will hold meetings with fixed income investors ahead of a potential benchmark-sized sukuk issue, Emaar said on Thursday, in what would be a debut debt market transaction for the subsidiary.Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Mashreq, Morgan Stanley, First Gulf Bank , National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered will be arranging the meetings on Emaar's behalf, a statement to the Dubai bourse said.Roadshows, which will be handled by two teams,

Air India Ltd. said it’s demanding compensation from Boeing Co for delivering 787 Dreamliner aircraft that don’t meet promised fuel-efficiency targets because the planes are heavier than planned.Design changes made after targets were set meant some 787s are overweight, Air India Chairman Rohit Nandan said in an interview in Doha, Qatar. The Mumbai-based airline and the planemaker are negotiating a formula for compensation, which may be finished after the 18th Dreamliner is delivered, he said.Complaints over the 787’s performance build

|By TAP Staff|Investors are paying a premium to buy highly rated MENA sovereign assets, indicating tighter spreads on them, Citibank said in a report.In the case of the mid-rated sovereigns of Bahrain and Dubai, spreads are still marginally higher than the BBB average, implying these sovereigns trade at a discount. But the report suggests that the recent rally in Bahraini and Dubai sovereign debt has meant that the discount has shrunk considerably in recent weeks, and is likely to reverse

Iran's smart set turned out in force for this year's Tehran Art Auction, spending a record amount as the country's modern and contemporary art scene thrives despite economic sanctions.The annual event on Friday was a sell-out, raising $5.1 million from the auction of works by Iranian artists, more than double the amount fetched last year.While Western sanctions since 2010 on Iran's oil and financial sectors have sapped Iranian collectors' purchasing power, and forced them to retreat from international art auctions

Hospitals, health centers and clinics operating in Dubai are obliged to clarify patient treatment fees before providing medical service, said  the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), Arabic newspaper Emarat Al Youm reported.The DHA said in a circular that the medical facilities have to investigate complaints from patients or their families within 72 hours.It stressed that each facility is required to provide notice to the patient or his family explaining the rights and responsibilities - before providing medical service to them.However, the

Qatar Airways has delayed taking delivery of its first Airbus A380 by "several weeks" while the planemaker tackles last-minute problems with the cabin, the airline's chief executive told Reuters.The airline has asked Airbus to address requests it made after the usual pre-delivery customer inspection, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said on Friday.Al Baker was responding to a Reuters query after delegates gathering for the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said the world's largest passenger jet

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating possible insider trading involving billionaire investor Carl Icahn, golfer Phil Mickelson and Las Vegas gambler William Walters, a source familiar with the matter said.Federal investigators are looking into whether Mickelson and Walters may have traded illegally on private information provided by Icahn about his investments in public corporations, the source told Reuters, confirming reports on Friday.Icahn, a legendary activist investor, told Reuters that he was unaware

In Dubai, a city known for some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and penthouses, developer Union Properties PJSC (UPP) is looking to tap demand from people who want to visit the emirate without breaking the bank.The company plans to build around 1,000 hotel rooms in the next five years to address a shortage in the middle- and lower-end of the market, managing director Ahmad Al Marri said in an interview.“Most of the demand is at the three- and four-star

Qatar raised the foreign ownership limit for shares listed on Doha’s stock exchange, less than a week before an MSCI Inc. upgrade to emerging market status. The benchmark index rose.Investors outside the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council will be able to hold as much as 49 percent of a company listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange after Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani gave instructions to raise the limit from 25 percent, state-run Qatar News Agency reported late yesterday. The

India’s rupee fell the most in a month on speculation the central bank intervened to curb gains that threaten exports, while importers stepped up dollar purchases to pay month-end bills.The rupee has gained 2.8 percent this month in Asia’s best performance on optimism a new government will step up efforts to revive the economy. Narendra Modi will be sworn in as India’s prime minister today after his Bharatiya Janata Party won national elections with the first single-party majority since 1984.