|By Arabian Post Staff| A sudden spurt in the number of new project announcements despite the weakening sentiments and a clear downturn in property prices is stoking fears of a 2008-style default revisiting the Dubai property market. The phase has even seen the revival of some of the grandiose schemes announced during the peak of the boom period, but got abandoned later as the crisis began to […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| While market speculation about a possible de-pegging or devaluation of the dollar by GCC countries is going forward, a number of disincentives to such a move are continuing to force a status quo, at least in the short to medium term. Analysts note that a more flexible foreign exchange regime could allow the GCC to adjust to real shocks better, the gains in […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Wealthy Chinese, who are emerging as a new force in overseas real estate investments, are consistently raising their profile in the Dubai property market as well. According to Nakheel sources, Chinese bought 70 percent of its almost 600 townhouses sold at Warsan Villa close to its Dragoncity shopping mall, where Chinese merchants offer their wares in the biggest Chinese market outside mainland China. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The benefits of this prolonged period of very low oil prices are diminishing for some corporate finance sectors or even starting to have a negative impact on others, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report. The exploration & production, oilfield services, building materials and steel industries continue to bear the immediate effects of low oil prices. The global oversupply, combined with additional exports […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The introduction of a new technique, using excavators that could virtually be called concrete-eaters, is set to revolutionize the way high rise structures are demolished in the UAE. The new method reduces the time required to bring down a high rise structure to a matter of days, instead of months and years required by conventional methods. The shorter time frames would mean much quicker […]
|By Matein Khalid| It is no coincidence that the most profitable hotels on the planet are located in Makkah, the holiest city of Islam as the site of the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba. For fifteen centuries, Muslims have traveled to Makkah from all over the world for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, making the city the highest source of inbound foreign visitors in Saudi Arabia. Makkah is […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The route to implementing a corporate income tax in the UAE would appear to be more treacherous and uncertain than the road to VAT, which the government has planned for a 2018 launch. Deloitte said in a report. UAE, along with other GCC governments are thinking seriously about broadening the corporate income tax bases and increasing rates. But Deloitte points out that the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Pakistanis are the third largest non-Arab expatriate group investing in Dubai real estate, according to the Dubai Land Department (DLD). Pakistanis invested AED 8 billion in Dubai properties in 2015, out of the total investment from non-Arab expats surpassing AED 74 billion. Compared to 2014, their investment in the Dubai property market increased 6.7 per cent in 2015. With an investment of AED 30.64 […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Moody’s has placed United Arab Emirates, along with Abu Dhabi emirate, under review for a possible downgrade. The action was also applied to all GCC countries, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi’s (Aa2 stable) economic growth could come under pressure this year amid government spending cutbacks in response to lower oil prices, Moody’s Investors Service said in a report. Moody’s estimates that […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Citibank has clarified that the ‘technical glitch’ that caused transmission of SMS messages to credit card customers about certain mysterious credit card transactions that they did not initiate has been resolved and there has been no data breach or compromising of personal information. The problem affected only a limited number of customers, the bank said further. Citibank credit card customers were on Friday surprised to […]
Tech giant Amazon is expanding its foothold in the automated smart home space with the launch of two new Internet of Things products: the Echo Dot, and the Amazon Tap. The Echo Dot provides voice-control for home stereo systems, or it can be used to control smart home devices. The Tap is a wireless speaker that can also be used to connect to Amazon’s Alexa voice service. […]
Consumers who like doing a little armchair R&D will soon get their chance, thanks to a new initiative from Sony. The electronics giant has established what it’s calling the Future Lab Program to help the company employ user feedback to refine and improve new products. The newfangled research and development effort has the goal of releasing concept prototypes that will eventually evolve in an open, creative environment […]
With little fanfare, Amazon has removed the option for device encryption for tablets, phones and other products running its Fire OS 5 operating system. The decision has been met with widespread confusion and criticism, especially as Amazon yesterday filed an amicus brief in support of Apple’s decision not to give the FBI access to the data on the iPhone of one of the San Bernadino, Calif. terrorists. […]
/By Nitten Nair/Being in between jobs is one of the most stressful periods one can face irrespective of whatever stage one is in the career. For the junior levels, it can lead to doubt in one’s capabilities and the feeling of being on the back foot at the early stages of a career. Mid to senior levels are concerned about having a break in their career and […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai won a huge moral victory when DP World, one of its prestigious companies, yesterday secured a favourable verdict in an English court in an ongoing legal battle with the Djibouti government over the concession to run a container terminal in the African country. The government of the East African country had launched arbitration proceedings in a London court as it alleged that […]
|By Matein Khalid| Six data points last week reinforce my conviction that the GCC’s property/credit market stress will only accelerate in 2016. One, Standard and Poors downgraded Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit rating to A- while Bahrain and Oman are now both below investment grade. The new sovereign credit downgrade cycle in the GCC comes at a time when sukuk/debt new issuance volumes have plummeted by 50%, the […]
|By Alaa Alghamdi| Daniel Quinn is a lesser known American writer, albeit with an enthusiastic, if not huge, following. I, personally, find his ideas rather brilliant, but I understand why they may not be widely understood or accepted. Quinn uses simple fictional frameworks to convey powerful, often controversial social and political messages. And he has some notions that may be considered odd until one carefully reconsiders them […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The need to part-finance funding gaps by the GCC countries through sovereign US dollar debt will complicate their efforts to refinance the bonds and loans maturing this year and the next, HSBC warned in a report on the GCC finances. Some $94 billion in foreign currency denominated bonds and syndicated loans by GCC countries are maturing this year or the next year, which […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Investment Corporation of Dubai is seeking to raise over a billion dollars for its real estate projects, people familiar with the move have been reported as saying. The banks being approached apparently include Emirates NBD, Dubai Islamic Bank and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. The projects are said to include a new Atlantis resort Palm Jumeirah island and a new tower at the DIFC. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The announcement by Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about a possible floatation of state-owned oil firm Aramco is part of a larger game plan, a report by a US private intelligence corporation has concluded. “Whether or not the IPO happens is not important. What is vitally important is that it was publicly discussed by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was […]
|By Matein Khalid| The sultanate of Oman has enjoyed phenomenal economic development success in the 45 year reign of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Modern Oman is one of the true social, political and economic success stories of the Arab world. However, the Achilles heel of the Omani economy is its huge dependence on oil and gas export earnings, 60% of the sultanate’s GDP. Standard and […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| L&T Financial Services , a subsidiary of L&T Capital Markets Limited (LTCML), has upgraded its DIFC licence to launch wealth management services. The firm has so far been operating as a representative office. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) has now upgraded to Category 4 whereby, LTCML, DIFC Branch will be regulated by DFSA to offer Wealth Management Solutions. The company will now […]
/By Arabian Post Staff/ Despite the recent price bounce in oil, turmoil in the sector may be far from over, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report. Defaults are rising across smaller oil and gas producers and risks are rising for larger ones too, it said. Total energy debt in default has now reached $18 billion, suggesting the credit cycle will mark a floor on […]
/By Arabian Post Staff/ Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) plans to increase its retail business by 40 per cent between 2016 and 2020 across its network of service stations in the UAE. The growth plans include the construction of 54 more stations in Dubai. The expansion will meet ENOC’s long-term strategic objectives which are aligned with the Dubai Plan 2021 of creating a ‘Smart & Sustainable City’ […]
