The United Arab Emirates central bank is expected to announce within one or two months rules restricting the amount of exposure which banks can have to the debt of government-related entities (GREs), a top commercial banker said on Tuesday. Abdulaziz al-Ghurair, head of the national banking industry association and chief executive of Mashreq Bank, told reporters that each bank would then discuss the time frame for its […]
The results of a new annual poll published by SEI, titled “Employment Trends and Managing End of Service Benefits in the Middle East,” reveals positive employment momentum in the Middle East region is putting increased pressure on company End of Service Benefit (EoSB) liabilities. The poll focused primarily on the UAE, where the majority of respondents were based (89 percent). Eighty percent of the total firms surveyed […]
Singapore regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of some local branches of Indian banks on concerns about asset quality, three bank executives told Reuters. India’s slowest economic growth in a decade and a weakened rupee have weighed on the balance sheets of heavily leveraged Indian companies, including those that have raised money from Indian lenders in offshore centres such as Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) […]
Commercial banks in the United Arab Emirates are expected to post net profit growth of about 20 percent in 2013, the chairman of the Gulf state’s banking federation said on Wednesday. UAE banks such as Dubai lender Emirates NBD and National Bank of Abu Dhabi posted strong second-quarter earnings thanks to an economic recovery in key sectors, primarily real estate, and lower provisions as the Gulf state […]
By The Arabian Post Staff International retailers continue to expand into the GCC region, often using Dubai as their ‘launch’ platform into other markets such as Doha, Riyadh and Jeddah, according to real estate consultancy firm CBRE. According to CBRE research, 25 new retailers opened stores in Dubai last year. A young population, strong brand association, solid household consumption and modern retail concepts coupled with a flourishing tourism […]
Fitch Ratings says that the Dubai prime property sector is set up for a strong 2014 following a vibrant 2013. Notwithstanding the positive trend, uncertainty remains a concern for the real estate sector in general as several factors and events evolve, notably Middle East instability, Dubai’s bid for the World Expo 2020 and major new real estate projects that are in the pipeline. As per Fitch’s expectation, […]
Dubai could soon enforce ammendments to its real estate law intended to hasten procedures for the settlement of property disputes between landlords and tenants and allow for an appeal within three days, it has been reported. The committee for the settlement of rent disputes has presented a draft of the amendments to the government with the aim of slashing time needed to resolve rent rifts and stimulate […]
The Dubai Commodities Clearing Corporation (DCCC) has become the first central counterparty (CCP) in the Middle East to join Euroclear’s global Collateral Highway. The DCCC guarantees settlement for all trades executed on the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), which is supported by a system of initial and variation margins. Scheduled for full operation in early 2014, this exclusive agreement with Euroclear will enable clients of DCCC […]
Fitch Ratings has upgraded UAE-based Tamweel PJSC’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’, Short-Term IDR to ‘F1’ from ‘F2’ and Support Rating to ‘1’ from ‘2’. Fitch has simultaneously withdrawn Tamweel’s ratings. At the same time, the senior unsecured programme rating of Tamweel Funding III Limited (TFIII) has been upgraded to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’ and withdrawn, and the senior unsecured Long-Term rating of the […]
First Gulf Bank (FGB), the United Arab Emirates’ third largest bank, is cutting about 300 jobs, equivalent to nearly 10 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring, sources familiar with the matter said. FGB, controlled by Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, informed employees about the plan last week and the cuts will mainly affect its consumer banking business, the sources said. They were speaking on condition […]
The United Arab Emirates said it’s drawing up safety and operational rules for its fledgling rail industry as the desert country dominated by road and sea transport spends $25 billion to build a network from scratch. A draft law is under scrutiny as the first part of an $11 billion freight line connecting the U.A.E.’s seven sheikdoms nears completion. Light rail projects are also under way in […]
Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, the chief executive of Dubai-based construction company Arabtec, has increased his personal stake in the company to more than 8 percent, records on the Dubai bourse website show. Arabtec has been on an aggressive expansion drive since Ismaik took charge in February after a management shake-up ousted founder Riad Kamal. It recently announced a plan to launch a joint venture with South Korea’s Samsung […]
Dubai’s iconic island resort, Atlantis, The Palm, has closed an $880 million syndicated loan, a $30 million increase from its original $850 million target, according to banking sources. The loan was provided by a group of seven local and international banks comprising Barclays, HSBC, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Union National Bank and Emirates NBD, the bankers said.company Istithmar. […]
GOLD Coast property developer Sunland has failed to persuade the Victorian Court of Appeal that it was duped into paying a $14 million walk-away fee for a block of land in Dubai to two Melbourne men later convicted of receiving a bribe over the deal. Matthew Joyce, the former general manager of the state-owned Dubai Waterfront, received a 10-year jail sentence and a $25m fine over charges […]
Dubai International Airport is working to increase capacity to help accommodate more of the Airbus SAS A380 super-jumbo for Emirates, the largest operator of the double-decker jet, the airline’s chairman said. The expansion may help the Middle Eastern hub become the word’s busiest airport by next year, Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum told reporters today at the airport. “We are going according to plan […]
Residential property prices in Dubai are in the midst of another boom, but this time it’s fundamentals – and not speculation – at play, Standard Chartered Bank said in a new report, indicating that the rally will continue as long as the fundamentals remain in place. Economic growth, improving demographics, return of investor confidence and improving regulations have been cited as the primary factors fuelling a remarkable […]
Dubai’s growing population and improving economy are driving a rebound in the emirate’s housing market, rather than the type of speculation that fueled the 2008 boom, according to Standard Chartered. Residential property prices in Dubai are in the midst of another boom, but this time it’s fundamentals – and not speculation – a new report published by the bank said, indicating that the rally will continue as […]
A survey by Fund Advisors among respondents living in rented accommodation in Dubai has shown that 81 percent have no contents insurance. So events like theft, fire or damages by way of other incidents have no coverage. Furthermore, the UK’s daily newspaper The Telegraph found that, when insuring their contents, people often valued their clothes and valuables on worth at the point of valuation and not what […]
Media outlets as reporting that the Soffers’ big-name partner in the Miami Beach resort Fontainebleau , the government of Dubai, is ready to sell its 50 percent stake back to the family’s Turnberry Associates. The deal would mark a satisfying bookend for Jeffrey Soffer, who spearheaded buying the resort in 2005 and then completing a $700 million renovation in 2008 on the eve of the financial crisis, […]
Dubai Duty Free is planning to borrow $750 million from a syndicate of international banks in the coming weeks to help further finance the expansion of Dubai’s international airport, the company’s executive vice chairman Colm McLoughlin said. DDF, which operates all of the retail outlets at Dubai’s airports, raised its first international financing last year, a $1.75 billion, six-year syndicated loan with tranches in dollars and U.A.E. […]
Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the operators of Carrefour stores in the Middle East which is buying out the French company’s 25 percent stake in their joint venture, is raising an extra $500 million through a revolving credit facility, a source familiar with the deal said on Tuesday. The mall operator, which delayed plans in June to raise at least $500 million from what would have been […]
A surge in lending to investors by brokerages in the United Arab Emirates has helped make Dubai the world’s second-best performing market this year, but has left it prey to volatility. Some investors have been able to make profits in the range of 40 to 60 percent this year on local stock markets but the question is whether such margin lending – borrowing with cash or holdings […]
A decline in Gulf Cooperation Council sovereign and state-owned corporate bonds in the event of a U.S. strike on Syria would make them a “screaming buy,” according to Sergey Dergachev at Union Investment Privatfonds. “These credits are extremely solid,” Frankfurt-based Dergachev, who helps oversee about $10 billion in emerging-market funds, said Aug. 30, singling out bonds issued by companies such as National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC […]
Saudi Arabia’s No.3 telecom operator Zain Saudi has appointed industry veteran Hassan Kabbani as chief executive with immediate effect, the firm said in a statement on Sunday. A native Arabic speaker from Lebanon, Kabbani replaces Fraser Curley, who became CEO of the loss-making company in March 2012. Kabbani has been recruited to help Zain fight back against better-resourced rivals Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily). […]
