UAE. Project activity in the UAE is forecast to recover in 2017 after a difficult 2016 on the back of a strong recovery in economic growth, according to a new report from Middle East business intelligence service MEED. MEED’s annual UAE Outlook Report for 2016 says that a recovery in oil prices combined with growing public and private sector activity boosted by Dubai’s preparations for the Expo […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai’s private developer engaged in developing shopping malls, hotels and mixed use communities says Dubai is well on the way to a strong market recovery. Robert Welanetz, Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim – Properties, believes Dubai’s position as a world-class business and investment hub will drive the real estate revival. “We expect the ‘soft’ retail market will continue through the end […]
Elton John, Selena Gomez, Major Lazer and All Saints are among the raft of international stars to perform in the UAE before the year is out. The names have been revealed as part of the upcoming autumn season of concerts at Dubai’s new Autism Rocks Arena. John will perform at the purpose built venue, at Dubai Outlet Mall, on December 15. Appearing as part of the next […]
New fatwa matches a view expressed in April by Dubai’s Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department Manama: A Saudi scholar has banned the use of other people’s Wi-Fi without their knowledge, saying that Islam could not tolerate theft. “Taking advantage of the Wi-Fi service illegally or without the knowledge of other beneficiaries or providers is not allowed,” Ali Al Hakami, a […]
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is briefed on the construction phases, design, building technologies and the methods used to transport the ‘artificial island’ from Finland to Dubai. Wam Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the project reflected Dubai’s vision to achieve global leadership in innovation and excellence. Wam Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emirates Islamic announced the successful closure of its US$ 750 million 5-year Sukuk from its US$ 2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme. The issue, which will be listed on NASDAQ Dubai and the Irish Stock Exchange, received overwhelming investor interest from across the globe and marked the Bank’s return to the international debt capital markets after a period of four years. In September 2015, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai’s government owned property developer Limitless will make an early payment of 2.07 billion dirhams ($564 million) to banks and trade creditors after reaching a second debt restructuring deal with them, Bloomberg reported. The company will pay 1.9 billion dirhams to banks this month, covering 43 percent of the outstanding loan amount, Limitless said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday. It will pay 163 million […]
The Westminster School in Ghusais area, Dubai. The School is hiking fees. Dubai: A Dubai school’s decision to hike its tuition fees by 27 per cent has left parents fuming over what they claim goes against the Knowledge and Human Development Authority’s (KHDA) fee framework, which depends on school ratings. However, KHDA has said that one-time increases exceeding normal yearly increases can be granted when schools apply […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emirates Islamic and French financial institution Natixis announced the completion of a US$50 million Collateralised Murabaha deal on the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform. It is the largest collateralised Murabaha transaction closed by Emirates Islamic this year, and the first of its kind executed on the Nasdaq Dubai Murabaha Platform. A joint initiative between Nasdaq Dubai and Emirates Islamic, Nasdaq Dubai’s Murabaha platform provides […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| As the local economy continues to adjust to softening global conditions, overall residential values and rents in Dubai are set for a further decline throughout 2016, according to leading real estate consultancy Cluttons. Cluttons’ Dubai Spring 2016 Residential Property Market Outlook shows that after falling by an average of 3.1% during 2015, residential values fell by an additional 2.2% during the first quarter of […]
Barclays Plc still has “critical mass” to compete in the Middle East and will aim to help local companies raise capital even as it scales back lending, Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said. The U.K. lender has more than 200 employees in the United Arab Emirates after job cuts in the country this year and will continue to operate its corporate, investment banking and wealth management businesses […]
|By Matein Khalid| “Stop the murder, stop the lies, out, out, you nest of spies!” So chanted the crowd outside South Africa House on Trafalgar Square in the autumnal mists of London circa 1988. The anti-apartheid struggle was the moral compass of my generation, from the Soweto riots to Steve Biko’s murder to the horrific “necklacings in the townships and killing fields of the Limpopo to Madiba’s release […]
|By Matein Khalid| I was surprised by the dovishness of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC policy statement last week given the white hot US labour market and metrics of wage inflation. Hence the $29 rally in gold, the plunge in the Volatility Index to 15, the fall in the US dollar and the surge in oil/mining shares. The Yellen Fed is still worried about deflation risk in China, Europe […]
|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 Matein Khalid| The global credit cycle has an immediate impact on the UAE via oil prices, the US dollar peg, cross border bank credit flows, Federal Reserve monetary policy and world trade. The IMF has cut its 2016 growth forecast to 2.6%, the lowest since 2010. A leading developer just booked a 20 fold rise in penalties from walkaway offplan home buyers. Banks hire “loan rangers” […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Stability in office rents in Dubai’s main markets persisted throughout Q1 2016 as a result of continued high demand from both international and domestic occupiers, according to leading real estate consultancy Cluttons. Showcasing the performance of 22 submarkets across the city in the first quarter of the year with the use of heat maps, Cluttons’ first office market bulletin highlights that, 13 submarkets […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The low oil prices are likely to dampen the impact of Iran deal for Dubai, although the emirate will be the main beneficiary in the region from the opening up of Iran’s domestic market, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in its latest report. “We still think that normalized external financing flows and macro reforms in Iran will be required to support sustainably higher […]
DUBAI // Enduring an 18-hour flight from Colombia to take part in the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon yesterday was worth it, says Juan Carlos, a physical training teacher. “The first few kilometres were difficult, but I wanted to take part because it’s a long course and for me, it’s good for my health,” the 28-year-old said about his first marathon. He completed the 42-kilometre course in two […]
As Iran emerges from a decade of international sanctions, its Gulf Arab rivals are facing their toughest economic predicament since the global financial crisis. Governments across the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council are taking unprecedented measures to counter the slump in oil prices, curtailing some of the world’s most generous welfare systems to plug widening budget deficits. In some countries, contractors are facing delays in government payments, while […]
Stocks across the Middle East tumbled as the easing of sanctions against Iran raised the prospect of a surge in oil supplies to a market already reeling from the lowest prices in more than a decade. Shares in Tehran gained. Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dropped 5.4 percent to its lowest level since March 2011. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index fell into a so-called bear market. The Bloomberg […]
|By Matein Khalid| This was the ghastliest week for global risk assets since September 2011. Not even 290,000 new US jobs in December could negate the raw fear on Wall Street generated by the 10% fall in Shanghai, a yuan depreciation, market meltdowns of 6 – 7% in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Mumbai and New York. Four months ago, I had published a KT article titled “History’s […]
A blaze that engulfed a Dubai skyscraper on New Year’s Eve – the emirate’s third high-rise fire in three years – has raised fresh questions about the safety of materials used on the exteriors of tall buildings across the wealthy region. Hundreds of gleaming towers rose up in Gulf Arab states, especially the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, during the past decade’s economic boom. Ultra-modern, flamboyant designs […]
|By K Raveendran| Given Dubai’s fame as one of the most happening cities of the world, the international media attention to the New Year-eve fire at the Address Hotel was quite natural. At the same time, it did not escape the attention of the discerning that some sections of the media lost no opportunity to use the unfortunate incident to show things in a rather poor light. […]
Almost every Middle Eastern stock index declined after oil, the region’s main source of income, sank to the lowest in seven years, damping the outlook for government spending. Dubai’s DFM General Index ended its longest winning streak in almost three months, sliding 1.5 percent, the most in a week, to close at 3,026.05. Emirates NBD PJSC’s 4 percent retreat was the biggest contributor. The Tadawul All Share […]
