|By Alia Al-Khater| The Middle East has a long history of coffee drinking traditions. Over the years, the traditions have been shifting towards more Western ones. More recently, numerous specialty coffee shops are being opened, many of which are run by local independent business owners. As people are beginning to appreciate quality coffee, the region can be characterized by its vastly expanding market for coffee drinking. Many of these […]
|By Alaa Al Ghamdi| One of the most common distinctions made in the discourse of international relations is that of hard versus soft power. Hard power refers to traditional modes of influencing international relations through force, such as through military might or economic power (such as withholding a critical natural resource like oil). Soft power refers to cultural power, such as the arts, intellectual ideas, and tourism. Saudi […]
|By Matein Khalid| US and global equities surged on news of the US House of Representatives pass the tax reform bill, Cisco and Walmart posted blowout earnings and a potential bidding war emerged for Fox’s media assets. The rally on Thursday followed a week of carnage in the US high yield debt markets, flattening of the US Treasury yield curve and losses in the major stock market indices worldwide. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Saudi Arabia’s freezing of bank accounts is credit negative for banks, Moody’s said in a review. On 8 November, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) froze a large number of bank accounts belonging to princes, ministers and businessmen who were arrested as part of an investigation by a new anti-corruption committee that began on 4 November. The rating agency said these actions are credit […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai Land Department (DLD) has announced the updated rental index for 2018, covering all residential, commercial and industrial properties in the Emirate of Dubai. DLD’s specialists have adopted a variety of mechanisms to carry out the upgrade process, including reading the average data of tenancy contracts registered in the ‘Ejari’ system and the real estate data and units registered in DLD’s databases. The […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| In a major endorsement to Saudi economic reforms initiated by Crown Prince Mohammad Salman, a top executive of American financial giant Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation will be “unstoppable” and there has already been a positive shift in the Kingdom’s business culture. Hootan Yazhari, managing director of the bank’s Dubai-based research department, said there are key moves being […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Boeing and flydubai signed a landmark agreement for 225 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of $27 billion. The deal represents the largest-ever single-aisle jet order – by number of airplanes and total value – from a Middle East carrier. Signed at the 2017 Dubai Airshow in flydubai’s hometown, the agreement includes a commitment for 175 MAX airplanes, and purchase rights […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Boeing and Emirates announced a commitment to purchase 40 787-10 Dreamliners at the 2017 Dubai Airshow. The deal, including airplanes and related equipment, is valued at $15.1 billion at current list prices. Emirates is the world’s largest Boeing 777 operator and will be the first to receive the new 777X in 2020. In selecting the 787-10, Emirates complements their 777 fleet with a […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| An estimated $100 billion has been involved in the systematic corruption and embezzlement |that plagued Saudi Arabia over several decades, Saud Al Mojeb, the kingdom’s Attorney General and member of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Committee, announced. The disclosure came in a statement on the status of the anti-corruption proceedings, which are moving forward There is strong evidence that confirms initial suspicions, which led Saudi […]
|By Arabian Post|For the first time since 2008, off-plan property sales now account for more than half of total real estate transactions in Dubai, according to a real estate broker in the city. While the gap between off-plan transactions and sales of ready property for the first 3Q of 2017 is only minor – 19,915 (50.45%) against 19,564 (49.55%) – fäm Properties, one of Dubai’s largest real […]
|By K Raveendran| The arrest of wealthy Saudi prince Al Waleed, whose investments ranging from Citibank to Apple to Twitter, making him the most high profile Arab investor on the global stage, may involve more than internal power struggle within the Saudi ruling establishment and the new Crown Prince’s spirited fight against corruption. Al Waleed may have paid a heavy price for his spat with Donald Trump […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| In an unprecedented move against corruption at high places Saudi Arabia’s King Salman removed the chief of the National Guard,along with 10 other princes, and replaced the the Economy Minister. The king also constituted anti-corruption panel, headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to prevent corrupt practices by those in the authority. Al-Arabiya news channel reported that 11 princes and dozens of former […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Abraaj Group, the emerging markets-focused private-equity firm, is delaying the initial public offering of South African food and household products maker Libstar Holdings Ltd., reports quoting people familiar with the matter said. The firm had been working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Standard Bank Group Ltd. on a sale expected to raise about $300 million, aaccordding to these reports. Abraaj, which bought […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emaar Development said on Thursday it plans to price its initial public offering in between Dh5.7 to Dh6.9, thereby valuing the company at Dh25.2 billion. The company plans to offer 800 million shares or 20 per cent of the share capital, it said in an emailed statement.The final price will be announced on November 16, and the shares will be listed on the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai has a new law law concerning the registration of Wills by non-Muslims in the Emirate of Dubai. The law was issued byy Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The new law will create legal certainty for the inheritance of a non-Muslim expatriate’s assets after death and the appointment of guardians for their children. This not only allows individuals to have testamentary freedom […]
|By Matein Khalid|Emaar Properties will sell 20% of its UAE development portfolio in an initial public offering in November. This is the first IPO in the UAE capital markets in the last three years and follows bellwether offerings such as Emaar Malls and Emaar Misr. Emaar’s Dubai development’s adjusted net value is 24.1 UAE dirhams and I would not be surprised if the post IPO revalues the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| NRI Emirati Investors Group, a new UAE-based group formed by the Business Leaders Forum (BLF), announced that it will raise US$1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in commercially viable big-ticket projects in India. The announcement was made at the inaugural two-day India-UAE Partnership Summit (IUPS) taking plae at the Armani Hotel, Burj Khalifa, Dubai. This would be the largest such collective fund-raising programme by a […]
The IMF recently upgraded the global growth outlook for 2018, and the oil price is trading at its highest levels since 2015. These are both positive developments for the UAE economy, which is expected to see an uptick in growth in 2018. But will this be the beginning of a sustained period of growth, or will it just be a rebound from the recent slump in growth? […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|With the official implementation of Valued Added Tax (VAT) across the GCC coming into effect in January 2018, a majority of industries in the Gulf, including the burgeoning food production and manufacturing sphere, are worried about the ripple effect of the region’s first applied taxation. The Business Talks Conference will see top decision makers and market leaders gathering to outline, discuss and debate the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Saudi Arabia has indicated it is ready to back extension of an oil production cut agreement led by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in order to balance global crude oil supply and demand. This was indicated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a statement. He said the high demand for oil has absorbed the increase in shale oil production. He said the demand […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Non-resident foreign investors will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s parallel market called NOMU meant for small and medium sized enterprises starting from January next, Mohammed El-Kuwaiz, chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced at the investment summit in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia’s reforms to develop and open up its capital markets are part of Vision 2030, an economic reform plan […]
|By Arabian Post Staff||Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar said he is keen to do further business with Saudi Arabia, and offered to help in the development of the $500 billion Neom project. “It’s a big, exciting thing. If they call on us (Emaar), we would look on that positively. The Middle East as a whole is very short on infrastructure, and the project is a very significant […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Destination management company Alpha Destination Management has signed an exclusive agreement with Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company, to operate the Expedia Local Expert® program in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi will thus become the first destinations in the world outside North America to offer this program. Expedia is an internationally trusted brand and Expedia Local Expert allows the company […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Emaar Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said that the new digital marketplace Noon, founded by him, will be rollled out in Saudi Arabia before the end of this year. He was addressing a media briefing with Faraz Khalid, Chief Executive Officer of Noon, on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh. Headquartered in Riyadh, Noon is a joint venture with the Public Investment Fund […]
