Dubai is racing ahead to dominate the Middle East’s plastic surgery market with plans to attract half a million medical tourists in six years. Where cosmopolitan Beirut was once the region’s best known city for going under the knife, turmoil in Syria and violence often spilling into Lebanon is driving away wealthy Arab tourists. After splashing out on medical infrastructure over the past years, Dubai already ranks […]
A businessman has obtained a €1 million judgment against a developer arising out of a failed deal to purchase several apartments in Dubai. James Byrne (56), a native of Waterford now living in Dubai, claimed he gave €633,000 to Caoimhin McGeever, otherwise known as Kevin McGeever and his company KMM International Ltd, in 2006 to purchase three studio apartments and a duplex apartment close to the centre […]
Maids from the Philippines break their Ramadan fast at a shelter managed by Labour and Welfare officers in Dubai. The house maids live at the refuge after fleeing their employers’ homes. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Maids, housekeepers, nannies and other female domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates are often denied wages, have their passports confiscated, don’t get proper medical care and are even in some cases subject […]
China reduced oil imports from Saudi Arabia even as the world’s largest crude exporter cuts prices to lure Asian customers amid intensifying competition from Colombia to Oman. Oil deliveries from Saudi Arabia fell 2.7 percent to 4.74 million metric tons last month from a year earlier, according to data released today by the General Administration of Customs in Beijing. Shipments from Colombia surged 389.6 percent, while Russian […]
The Dubai government has borrowed more than 100 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($27.24 billion) from Emirates NBD as of the end of the third quarter, according to the bank’s most recent financial statements, underscoring the extent to which the emirate has come to rely on its biggest lender for financing after the global recession. Emirates NBD, which is majority-owned by the Dubai government through the Investment Corporation of […]
Emirates NBDs lending to the Dubai government has increased despite recent attempts by regulators to rein in local banks exposures. Bloomberg News The Dubai government has borrowed more than 100 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($27.24 billion) from Emirates NBD as of the end of the third quarter, according to the bank’s most recent financial statements, underscoring the extent to which the emirate has come to rely on its […]
Dubai International Capital (DIC) should complete the sale of the two main assets remaining in its portfolio within 18 months, which will provide it with cash to cover its outstanding debt well ahead of scheduled repayment in two years. Proceeds from the divestment of the five remaining assets should also give the private equity firm surplus funds to pass to its parent firm, Dubai Holding, to help […]
Iran, which faces sanctions on crude exports, sees no need for OPEC to hold an emergency meeting, a sign that markets may need to wait a month before the world’s biggest producer group responds to falling prices. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has consulted with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani about political and economic reasons for the collapse in prices, the ministry’s news website Shana reported today. No […]
Saudi Arabian Airlines plans to raise at least 10 billion riyals ($2.7 billion) through the sale of shares in its ground-handling, cargo and maintenance units. An initial public offering of the ground-handling unit valued at 2 billion riyals will take place “in weeks,” Saudi Arabian Airlines’ Chief Financial Officer Muhammad Albakri told reporters in Dubai. The sale of shares in the cargo unit is planned for next […]
Most Middle Eastern stock markets fell on Monday as a rebound by global equities turned out to be short-lived, but Saudi Arabia’s bourse rose after a string of strong quarterly earnings. Stock indexes in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar rose in early trade but quickly gave up all their gains after European bourses once again weakened. Dubai’s index, which was up as much as 2.5 percent […]
The founder of drinks maker PIPER says an IPO would help bank roll the firm’s international expansion strategy. Piper Dubai-based PIPER is considering an initial public offering of shares to help fuel the “feel good” drink maker’s global growth plans. “We are looking at ways to raise new capital to expand the brand globally,” said PIPER Founder Jeremy Miocevic. A share sale would help fund the production […]
Standard Chartered has notified thousands of UAE small and medium enterprise customers it is closing their accounts as it responds to pressure from US regulators to cut its risks following an anti-money laundering settlement. “We regret to notify you that Standard Chartered Bank will no longer be able to provide banking services to you, and your account(s) will be closed 30 days from the date of this […]
A judge in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) court approved on Sunday an application to liquidate ES Bankers (Dubai) Ltd (ESBD), the latest collapse of a unit of the Portuguese Espirito Santo family’s empire. Espirito Santo’s problems have mounted since accounting irregularities were identified at one of its holdings earlier this year, leading to a 4.9 billion euro ($6.3 billion) bailout for Banco Espirito Santo, formerly […]
Oil’s collapse into a bear market is excessive because there’s no oversupply to justify the selloff, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bank is “near-term constructive about prices” after they fell too much, too soon, analysts including Jeffrey Currie, the head of commodities research in New York, wrote in a report e-mailed today. While expectations of a glut have driven down crude, the risk of a […]
The new Rera service charge index is focusing attention on the vast differences in the charges property owners in different areas of Dubai are being asked to pay for services. The index, which was launched by the regulatory arm of the Dubai Land Department last week, compiles a list of itemised annual service charges for 300 individual buildings located in 22 major developments. According to calculations by […]
Dubai’s Atlantis, a luxury hotel situated at the top of a palm-shaped manmade island, refinanced an $880 million loan to take advantage of favorable market conditions and secure a better interest rate, the company confirmed to Reuters on Thursday. As well as reducing the borrowing cost, the loan was also increased in size to $1.1 billion, according to banking sources. The facility is the latest example of […]
An advertisement by the highway outside Dubai’s massive Jebel Ali Port tells firms they don’t need to ship goods through the Strait of Hormuz, the traditional gateway to the Gulf. Instead they can have goods delivered to a port in Oman, outside the Gulf, and bring them into the region by road. “Why go through the Strait when you can go straight to the Gulf,” the billboard […]
Children sit in their classroom in Dubai. IPO candidate Amanat is betting that healthcare spending and student enrolments in the Gulf will continue to grow rapidly. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images As U.A.E.-based greenfield company Amanat prepares to launch its initial public offering in Dubai next week, its target sectors healthcare and education appear increasingly crowded. Amanat is hoping to raise $374 million from investors, funds it will mainly […]
|By TAP Staff| Flydubai, Dubai’s low-cost carrier, is following its big brother Emirates airlines to debut a benchmark-sized sukuk issue for which it has mandated seven banks. “As part of the diversification of our financial strategy, we are in discussion with our advisers to explore the possibility of issuing a bond and we will continue to explore all financing options available to us,” flydubai said in a […]
United Arab Emirates-based Amanat Holdings, a healthcare and education start-up, will launch its 1.375 billion dirham ($374 million) initial public offer next Monday, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The offer period for the flotation, in which 55 percent of the company will be sold to investors at 1 dirham a share, will run until Nov. 4, said the statement issued at a media event. Amanat […]
The price of oil suffered its biggest drop in nearly two years earlier this week after the International Energy Agency reduced its forecast for demand for this year and next. Associated Press A slump in oil prices has eroded investor confidence in Persian Gulf stock markets, some of which are among the leading performers globally this year. The major oil-exporting states in the region such as Saudi […]
Dubai’s banks are extending loans to the local diamond industry, boosting the emirate’s ambitions of becoming a top trading hub as funding to rival Antwerp dries up. Emirates NBD PJSC. (EMIRATES), Mashreqbank PSC. (MASQ), and National Bank of Fujairah PJSC., are financing diamond cutters, polishers and traders operating on the Dubai Diamond Exchange for the first time, Peter Meeus, chairman of the exchange, said in an Oct. […]
African markets are gradually opening to Islamic finance, buoyed by governments’ debut sales of sovereign sukuk (Islamic bonds) and legislative efforts to make the sector more attractive for companies across the region. Despite the strong growth of Islamic finance in its core markets, the Middle East and southeast Asia, the industry has lagged in Africa, which is home to one in four of the world’s Muslims. This […]
|By TAP Staff| Dubai-headquartered Transworld Group and NAWAH announced entering into a formal agreement to service Iraq’s growing demand for imports, linking their shipping, logistics, marine services and port capabilities. As part of their agreement, Transworld Group and NAWAH Port Management will team up to increase the flow of essential goods coming from the broader Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Far East and Southeast Asia into the historic […]
