Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), owner of U.S.-based engine repair and maintenance business StandardAero, is in talks to merge parts of its business with British aircraft services firm BBA Aviation , it said on Monday. Dubai government-owned DAE said the talks were at a preliminary stage and gave no further details. Its statement came after the Sunday Times newspaper reported BBA was holding talks with StandardAero over a […]
Saudi British Bank (SABB), an affiliate of HSBC Holdings, is aiming to sell an Islamic bond by year-end to strengthen its capital base, two banking sources aware of the matter said on Monday. HSBC is advising SABB on the potential riyal-denominated sukuk issue to boost its Tier 2 capital position, the sources said, declining to be identified as the matter is not public. SABB’s total capital ratio […]
HSBC Holdings, the top arranger of debt issues in the Gulf Arab region, has named Mustafa Aziz Ata to run its debt capital markets business for the Middle East and North Africa, an internal memo from the bank showed. Aziz, who joined the bank in 2004, is currently a director in its global capital markets division. In his new role, Aziz will report to Russell Schofield-Bezer, head of EMEA debt capital markets, […]
The Arabian Post Special As India’s currency plummeted against the U.S. dollar, Gulf-based Indians are avoiding gold purchases or selling their gold to raise cash for property bargains back home. “Since early 2013 when the Rupee started tumbling, we have been receiving ample demand from Indian residents for property loans,” said Shabbir Gunerwala, a loan officer working for Indian bank ICICI in Dubai. Santosh Tandel, the regional […]
Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar rose to new multi-year highs on Thursday despite a sell-off in emerging markets around the world, as retail investors in the Gulf bought selected stocks viewed as laggards. Egypt’s bourse rose on the back of a reduction in street violence. “It’s a good surprise to see that the most internationally-linked markets like UAE have been resilient despite the […]
A long-awaited opening of Saudi Arabia’s stock market to direct foreign investment appears near, industry executives and fund managers say – a reform that could give equity investment in the Gulf its biggest boost for years. Hopes have been raised and dashed several times over the last few years. While the Saudi government has long considered the reform and has been making technical preparations, it has never […]
At least two major global investment banks are maintaining that the beleaguered Indian rupee, which is already down about 15 per cent since the beginning of 2013, could see a further deterioration of about 10.5 per cent in the near future and slump to Rs70 against the US dollar. That would equate to a level of Rs19 against the UAE dirham, and if attained, this exchange rate […]
The UAE’s new Land Transport Act will come into effect from September 1. The new act clearly explains the rules of carrying passengers and goods between the UAE and other countries as it specifies the responsibilities and commitment of the parties to ensure the safety of passengers and goods. According to this law, no land transport business maybe practiced without getting a license from the National Transport Authority […]
By Steen Jakobsen, Saxo Bank Commenting on Egypt is not something I take lightly, particularly when the death toll there continues to rise. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a difficult region to comment on in general. You cannot apply the usual economic models when doing your research, but have to make a careful assessment of evidence on the ground and by observing the evolution […]
Experts have welcomed the creation of International Property Measurement Standards Coalition, the the first global standard for measuring property. Commenting on the recent announcement that 19 leading property professionals from around the world have been appointed to create the International Property Measurement Standards Coalition (IPMSC), Alan Robertson, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Middle East & North Africa said: “This is good news for the Middle East and […]
Saudi Arabia and India topped the charts for sending the most tourists to Dubai in the first half of this year as a new report by Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealed record-breaking figures. More than 5.5 million tourists visited Dubai from January to June this year, representing an increase of 11.1 per cent over the previous year. Director-General of DTCM Helal Saeed Almarri said: […]
Dubai contractor Arabtec on Wednesday denied media reports that it was considering a merger with Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Co and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Oger. “The company would like to state that there are no discussions to merge with either of the two companies and there are no current plans to do so,” Arabtec said in an emailed statement. The company’s chief executive had said it was […]
Emirates NBD, the United Arab Emirates’ biggest bank by assets, expects to raise more than $12 billion for clients in the remainder of the year, boosting investment banking income as the lender seeks expansion. The Dubai government-controlled lender has mandates for about 20 bond and loan deals after helping raise $14.6 billion for clients in 23 such transactions so far this year, Giel-Jan Van Der Tol, the […]
U.S. investment bank Lazard Ltd’s most senior banker in Dubai, Ali Asghar, has left to set up his own emerging markets-focused boutique firm, three sources familiar with the matter said. Asghar, who headed Lazard’s Dubai office as a director, joined the bank in 2007 and focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and capital raising in the Gulf Arab region. Global investment banks scaled back their Middle […]
A mechanism to standardize medicine prices in member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to be put in place by November ahead of a meeting of Gulf Health Ministers early next year to endorse the price list. The entire scheme is aimed at reducing and maintaining uniform prices of medicines and profit margins. Dr. Fahad Al-Dosari, head of medicinal pricing at the executive office […]
The Dubai Economic Council (DEC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Deloitte Corporate Finance Limited for mutual cooperation. Hani Al Hamli, Secretary General DEC; and Humphry Hatton, Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Corporate Finance, signed the MoU in the presence of the executive teams of both sides. Al Hamli stated, “We’re proud to have Deloitte Corporate Finance Limited as our partner, which comes in our […]
Dubai-based Arabtec Holdings is in merger talks with Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Co and Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Oger to create a pan-Gulf construction firm, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas reported on Wednesday. The newspaper quoted unnamed sources. Spokesmen at the companies could not immediately be reached for comment. Arabtec, part-owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments, reported last week that it swung to a second-quarter net profit, helped by growth […]
By Asa Fitch and Rory Jones Thousands of people are on the move in the United Arab Emirates as a deadline approaches for employees of the Abu Dhabi government to live in the city or risk losing a portion of their salaries. The move-or-lose requirement was announced in an unusual edict last year that said government workers would have to give up housing allowances built into their […]
A Pakistani court indicted Pervez Musharraf in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, escalating legal challenges to the ex-military dictator since he ended his self-exile in March. A judge read out charges that Musharraf was complicit in Bhutto’s killing as he failed to provide adequate security at a political rally she was attending, state-run Pakistan Television reported, citing court proceedings. Six other people were […]
Union Properties (UPP) chairman said the Dubai real-estate company isn’t a takeover target after trading volumes crossed 100 million shares for a third day. Almost 106 million shares traded, or 2.7 times the three-month daily average and comprising about 20 percent of the total volume on Dubai’s stock market. The shares fell 0.4 percent to 45.8 fils at the close in the emirate, after surging 11 percent […]
(Reuters) – In his full-throated cry of support for the Egyptian authorities, Saudi King Abdullah on Friday described street protests by the Muslim Brotherhood as representing “terrorism and sedition”. That stark view of a crisis that has killed hundreds in the past week shows why the world’s top oil exporter will continue to back Egypt’s crackdown on the Brotherhood even while its Western allies try to convince […]
(Reuters) – India will ban the duty-free import of flat-screen televisions from August 26, the government said in a statement on Monday, adding to a package of measures designed to prop up the rupee by stemming the flow of foreign currency out of the country. Government officials estimated that more than 1 million television sets were brought into the country last year — many from Dubai, Thailand […]
Airports in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experience local disruptions – such as those that stem from fog – which, annually, affect over 200 flights and 30,000 passengers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone. In addition, according to Oxford Economics, disruptions from the 2010 spread of Icelandic volcanic ash over European airspace had a $253 million net impact on the aviation sector in the Middle East […]
(Reuters) – Shares of Dubai property developer Union Properties, in which lender Emirates NBD holds a major stake, surged 11 percent in massive trading volume on Sunday – a fresh sign of growing optimism toward the emirate’s real estate. The stock, which closed at 0.46 dirham per share, saw 423.7 million shares change hands on the Dubai equities market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the market’s entire […]
