by James M. Dorsey Rejiggering security arrangements in the Gulf may be a more pressing issue than meets the eye. That is not good news for the Gulf states. It is also bad news for China, which could see the rug pulled out from under its studious effort to remain on the sidelines of the Middle East’s myriad conflicts. China and the Gulf states are in the same […]
DP World has launched online logistics tools and services, covering sea, land and air shipping around the world. The connected ecosystem of platforms will enable freight forwarders and any business, to book shipments of cargo from and to anywhere in the world, by any combination of sea, land and air. The initiative represents a major step forward in digitizing the management of logistics to increase the efficiency, […]
Arabian Post Staff A staggering one million jobs are being lost every day in the Travel & Tourism sector due to the sweeping effect of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). According to the London-based international organisation, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, the growing job losses are affecting every level of the industry and are gathering pace, as countries go into […]
Arabian Post Staff DP World, which recently announced delisting of its shares from Nasdaq Dubai, reported revenue growth of 36.1% and adjusted EBITDA increase of 17.7%, delivering profit of $1.3 billion, but without separate disclosures. Revenues were of $7,686 million, with a growth of 36.1% driven by acquisitions including P&O Ferries (UK), Topaz Energy & Marine (UAE) and the two terminals in Chile (Puerto Central and Puerto […]
By Matein Khalid The US dollar is the traditional safe haven currency during times of geopolitical or financial stress even when the cause of a risk aversion spasm is ultimately American, such as the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008, Obama’s epic budget battles with the Republicans in 2011 and the Trump White House’s drone hit on Iran’s most revered Revolutionary Guard commander on 3 January 2020. […]
Arabian Post Staff DP World has decided to delist its shares from Nasdaq Dubai citing better operational efficiency as a private entity. Accordingly, DP World’s parent company Port and Free Zone World has offered to acquire the 19.55 per cent of DP World’s shares traded on Nasdaq Dubai, returning the company to private ownership. The company said the move will enable DP World to focus on its […]
Arabian Post Staff Dubai-based DP World has agreed to acquire a majority 51% stake in TIS Container Terminal in the Port of Yuzhny, Ukraine, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including regulatory approval. Bringing the TIS Container Terminal into DP World’s global network of ports, economic zones, warehousing, and inland logistics solutions will strengthen its position as the market-leading terminal of Ukraine. This latest acquisition also […]
By Matein Khalid Thankfully, I was not in the global markets during the Black Death, the Great Plague and the Spanish flu pandemic but coronavirus cases have now crossed 40,000 infections and this is way beyond a local Wuhan outbreak. Despite the blowout 225,000 US January non-farm payrolls growth data, I am alarmed by the global recession SOS in the capital markets metrics I track. One, the […]
By Matein Khalid My tactical idea last week to recommend buying sterling against the US dollar (cable) at 1.30 for a 1.34 target is 200 pips in the money now that the Bank of England kept the policy rate unchanged at 0.75% despite Governor Carney’s smoke signals. Sterling closed at 1.32 on Friday evening and will be well bid next week – hopefully. I expect Governor Bailey […]
By James M. Dorsey Disclosures of taped phone calls between embattled former prime minister Najib Razak and a person believed to be United Arab Emirate crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed go a long way to explain Malaysian efforts to counter UAE and Saudi influence in the Muslim world. The disclosures are the latest incident in what have been complex, if not strained relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia […]
Emaar, the master developer of the Burj Khalifa, wowed over 2 billion people across the globe with a breathtaking pyrotechnic show on the world’s tallest building to ring in 2020. In a mesmerising story, the Burj Khalifa transformed through animation, light, sounds and a synchronized fountain show taking viewers on a journey at the onset of a new decade. Following the traditional 10 second digital countdown on […]
By Saifur Rahman Finland, which is the world’s first country to develop a masterplan for sustainable zero-waste circular economy, will showcase the country’s expertise in this field at the World Expo 2020 that takes place in Dubai from October, 2020 till April 2021. A circular economy is an economic system that is aimed at eliminating waste and creates a carbo-neutral environment by the continual use of resources. Circular systems employ reuse, sharing, repair, […]
By Matein Khalid I had recommended buying the Tadawul ETF iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia (symbol KSA on NYSE) on November 30 to benefit from the post-IPO surge in the price of the Saudi Aramco IPO shares on the Tadawul. This tactical trade was a beauty even before Saudi Aramco shares soared 20% on its Thursday December 12 to peak at 38.7 Saudi riyals (SAR). As I expected, […]
By Arabian Post Staff Saudi Arabia has unveiled a 2020 budget that projects a budget deficit of 6.4 percent of GDP. This is much higher than the figure for 2019, which was estimated at 4.7 percent. The 20220 budget indicates total expenditures of SAR 1,020 billion, and SAR 833 billion of projected revenues. For FY 2019, it is expected that the actual expenditures will reach SAR 1,048 billion and total actual revenues are expected […]
By Arabian Post Staff A surge in arrivals over the summer months accelerated Dubai’s tourism momentum, as the city welcomed 12.08 million international overnight visitors in the first nine months of 2019, according to the latest visitation figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). The strong 4.3 per cent increase in volume growth compared to the same period last year was supported […]
By Matein Khalid I first encountered Lebanon as a teenager after the fabled Choueifat College opened its first UAE campus in Sharjah, fleeing the civil war in the Chouf. My ignorance of the country I was to know and love as my own patrie was monumental. When a classmate told me he was a Darzi, I assumed his father was a tailor since Darzi means “tailor” in […]
By Arabian Post Staff The changing landscape of the US$360 trillion (Dh1,321 trillion) global wealth is now more than four times the global GDP of US$88 trillion. The wealth per adult reached a new record high of US$70,850, or 1.2% above the level of mid-2018 with Switzerland topping the biggest gains in wealth per adult this year, according to a latest report by Credit Suisse. Aggregate global […]
Beirut, Lebanon (CNN)-Lebanon is on the verge of economic collapse unless an “immediate solution” can be found to end days of nationwide protests that have paralyzed the country, Central Bank Governor Riad Salame told CNN in an exclusive interview Monday. Lebanon’s banks have been closed since the demonstrations, sparked by a series of proposed austerity measures including a tax on WhatsApp calls, began nearly two weeks ago. “It’s a […]
Bahrain has been ranked among the top-10 most improved economies in the world in this year’s Doing Business 2020 report, up 19 places to 43rd place since last year in the World Bank’s assessment of 190 countries. The most improved economies are selected based on the number of economic programs and legislative reforms each country has enacted, and on how much their ease of doing business score […]
By Arabian Post Staff Abu Dhabi announced the establishment of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the first graduate level, research-based AI university in the world. MBZUAI will enable graduate students, businesses, and governments to advance artificial intelligence. MBZUAI will introduce a new model of academia and research to the field of AI, providing students and faculty access to some of the world’s most […]
Whilst the forex market is renowned for its liquidity and volatility, it’s fair to say that some currencies offer a far greater degree of stability than others. Take the U.S. Dollar (USD), for example, which features as part of 84% of all currency trades and accounts for an estimated 38% of the world’s debt. The USD has also performed well of late, having strengthened to a 12-year […]
By Arabian Post Staff DP World has announced a partnership with Zhejiang China Commodity City Group Company LTD (CCC) to develop the ‘Traders Market’ in Jebel Ali Freezone (JAFZA). DP World will hold a majority share in the 70/30 joint venture. The Traders Market project will span approximately 800,000 square metres, with Phase 1 development covering about 220,000 square metres. Phase 1 Capex is estimated at $150 […]
By Matein Khalid George Soros once observed “the big money in emerging markets is made when things go from Godawful to just plain awful”. So true. The point of maximum pessimism in an emerging market is often an opportune moment to accumulate its shares, ideally after a political, economic or financial systemic shock. I sold my entire Pakistan equities portfolio in summer of 2017 after the Supreme […]
By Matein Khalid The S&P 500 index trades at 2990 as I write. The risk-reward calculus on the broad index no longer flashes a buy signal to me. The economic data around the world has deteriorated at an accelerating pace, as the decline in global PMI’s, 9% fall in German factory orders and $13 trillion in in government debt trading at negative interest rates attest. Commodities prices […]
