|By Arabian Post Staff| Global trade enabler DP World announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 71.3% stake in Puertos y Logistica S.A. from Minera Valparaiso and other shareholders associated with the Matte Group. Pulogsa is listed on the Santiago stock exchange, and the acquisition will be effected via a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of the business. Under the tender process DP […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Kizad, part of Abu Dhabi Ports, has launched Kizad Polymers Park, which will form an integral part of the polymers conversion ecosystem in the Emirate. The Park aims to be a major economic driver for the UAE, producing 300-400 kilo tonnes of plastic products a year, creating up to 7,000 new jobs, and contributing $2.5 billion to GDP by 2025. The potential export market […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The UAE Federal Tax Authority plans to further improve VAT compliance rates, promote registration among taxable businesses, and combat tax evasion. FTA director general Khalid Ali Al Bustani announced in a review of the first year of implementation of tax. The DG revealed that the number of businesses that registered in the tax system during the first year of implementation exceeded 296,000 companies and […]
The Euro has been a disaster since its birth in 1999. Its monetary pathologies led to youth unemployment rates of 50-60% in Greece, Spain and the Italian Mezzogiorno. It gave a trillion-dollar windfall to German exporters at the expense of the hapless Club Med and amplified Berlin’s diktat over the lands once occupied by the Third Reich. It created the milieu for Brexit, the gilets jaunes riots […]
By James M. Dorsey Traditionally focussed on ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim Islam, Saudi funding in the era of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has been streamlined and finetuned to ensure that it serves his geopolitical ambitions, primarily stymying the expansion of Iranian influence in the Middle East and North Africa and enhancing the kingdom’s global impact. The effort, however, has so far produced a mixed bag. Spending is […]
Hosts offering lodgings in the Middle East, travelers and tourists can now connect with each other on a new online platform, Baitoka.com. The Middle East saw $224 billion spent on tourism and travel in 2017. It is expected to reach $234 billion by the end of 2018, and forecast to rise by 4.6% pa to $365 billion by 2028. Coupled with a vacation rental market, also known […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai Land Department (DLD) recorded an unprecedented growth in the last ten days of 2018, Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD, announced. The-transaction volume during the last ten days of 2018 was worth over AED 19 billion through 2,081 transactions. .Bin Mejren added: “This activity affirms the attractiveness of Dubai’s real estate sector, specifically the demand from buyers and investors who are […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The value of UAE online travel sales in 2018 is forecast to reach AED 17.3 billion ($4.7 billion), driven by a growing population, an increasing number of tourists, and UAE residents’ shift towards digital services, new analysis from Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed. The analysis, based on recent data from Euromonitor International, found that direct online sales in 2018 are expected […]
By James M. Dorsey As far as Gulf leaders are concerned, President Donald J. Trump demonstrated with his announced US troop withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan that his insistence that the “world is a dangerous place” has never been truer. The troop withdrawals coupled with Mr. Trump’s praising of Saudi Arabia’s alleged willingness to foot the reconstruction bill in Syria, moves that emphasized his lack of geopolitical interest in […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The total value of international trade through Dubai’s free trade zones recorded 22 percent jump to US$107.35 billion (Dh394 billion) in the first nine months of 2018, according to a latest report. This represents 41 percent of the emirate’ total trade of the first nine months. Imports amounted to 54.5 percent at Dh215 billion, while exports and re-exports reached 45.5 percent at Dh179 billion. Overall, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The Brent crude oil price has fallen to a post-October 2017 low, while WTI now trades at August 2017 levels, according to UBS Energy Review. Economic growth concerns, along with systematic selling – momentum trading and the clearing of futures positions ahead of the end of the year – are robably fueling this latest price decline. That the OPEC+ production cuts only come into […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Pharmax Pharmaceuticals opened its factory in the Dubai Science Park, built at a cost of AED 125 million. It has an annual production capacity of over 200 million tablet and capsule dosage forms and is dedicated to the manufacturing and commercialisation of pharmaceuticals that target chronic conditions prevalent in the Middle East. The factory is equipped with the latest European technology, meeting stringent global regulatory standards. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The CEOs Advisory Council of the UAE Banks Federation (UBF) reviewed the adoption of Blockchain to enhance know your customer (KYC) processes at banks. Other key topics on the agenda included Emiratization, and digital transformation. AbdulAziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of UAE Banks Federation, said: “As part of our efforts aimed at creating and sustaining a thriving banking ecosystem, we have undertaken a number […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emirates Steel, a subsidiary of the General Holding Corporation (SENAAT), has finalized a loan refinancing deal that will enable the company to accelerate deleveraging, increase financial flexibility, simplify its debt structure and fund its growth plans. The new financing replaces Emirates Steel’s outstanding secured debt with a corporate financing structure reflecting the established nature of the company. The loan facility has a tenure of […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The Central Bank of the UAE confirmed that its working with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) on a joint project which constitutes a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for experimenting with Blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border payments between the two countries. The PoC is still at an early stage and will help CBUAE gain a deeper understanding of the feasibility of distributed ledger technology in this […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Cosco Shipping Ports and Abu Dhabi Ports inaugurated CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal at Khalifa Port; positioning Abu Dhabi as the regional hub for Cosco’s global network of 36 ports and further connecting the Emirate to the major trade hubs along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The deepwater, semi-automated container terminal includes the largest Container Freight Station (CFS) in the Middle East, covering 275,000 square metres. The state-of-the-art […]
|By James M. Dorsey| A series of Gulf and Middle East-related developments suggest that resolving some of the Middle East’s most debilitating and devastating crises while ensuring that efforts to pressure Iran do not perpetuate the mayhem may be easier said than done. They also suggest that the same is true for keeping US and Saudi interests aligned. Optimists garner hope from the fact that the US Senate may […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the region’s leading financial market, together with General Holding Corporation (SENAAT), one of the largest holding companies in industrial investment in the UAE, rang the market opening bell to celebrate the listing of the first tranche of SENAAT sukuk. Valued at $300 million (1.1 billion AED), it is the first of its kind dual listing between Abu Dhabi Securities […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Global trade enabler DP World announced the successful closing of the acquisition of 100% of the Unifeeder Group, an integrated logistics company with the largest and best-connected feeder and growing shortsea network in Northern Europe with connectivity to approximately 100 ports. Unifeeder operates the largest and most densely connected common user container feeder and an important and growing shortsea network in Europe, serving both […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The Arab Strategy Forum has issued a report that estimates the total cost of Iran’s nuclear programme to have exceeded US$500 billion since 2002.Furthermore, the costs of developing and operating infrastructure and facilities for the programme have added some US$50 billion to the bill. Specifically, the report states that the construction of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant accounted for the majority of the nuclear […]
|By Matein Khalid| OPEC”s ministerial meeting on December 6 will have a seismic impact on the outlook for global oil markets. OPEC has been unnerved by a 30% fall in crude oil prices in the past two months on expectations of lower oil demand due to a Chinese economic slowdown, spectacular growth in US shale oil supply, King Dollar’s chilling impact on the commodities complex and long […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| French energy firm Total has secured 40 percent stake in aa major gas concession of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). Under the terms of the agreement, Total will explore, appraise and develop the resources at the Ruwais Diyab Unconventional Gas Concession. Adnoc said the award is “an important milestone to reach the target of 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of unconventional gas […]
|By Matein Khalid| The post Lehman decade was defined by the Federal Reserve’s “lender of the last resort” strategy to stabilize the global banking system. The American central bank expanded its balance sheet from $900 billion to $4.5 trillion. This led to a collapse in money market rates, Treasury bond yields and asset market volatility. Bull markets are born in panic and die in a frenzy of […]
James M. Dorsey The killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and potential Western sanctions against Saudi Arabia has sparked renewed debate about the value of the longstanding alliance between the United States and the kingdom. The debate is not limited to the US or the kingdom, both of which are assessing the reliability of the other even if that is a debate that is waged in Saudi Arabia behind […]
