Using public transport in Dubai is about to get a whole lot easier. With a simple swipe of a phone, riders can board whatever service they desire thanks to a new deal inked between Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and telecommunications providers Etisalat and du to launch the ‘Smart Nol’ Service for Dubai commuters using public transport. The service aims to ease the transportation process for commuters […]
Investcorp Bank , the Bahrain-based alternative-investment firm managing $10.5 billion, said it acquired Chicago-based retailer Paper Source Inc. Investcorp bought the stationery and greeting-card company for an undisclosed amount from Los Angeles-based buyout firm Brentwood Associates Inc., it said today in an e-mailed statement. Paper Source, which operates 73 stores across 23 states, designs and produces fine and artisanal papers. Investcorp said in July it planned to […]
Arabtec Holding and Samsung Engineering announced the launch of Arabtec-Samsung Engineering in the Middle East and North Africa’s oil and gas, power and related infrastructure sectors. Arabtec-Samsung Engineering is incorporated and headquartered in Abu Dhabi and is owned 40% by Arabtec, 40% by Samsung Engineering and the remaining 20% is owned by Tasameem Property Investment. The shareholder agreement was formalised on September 24th at a special signing […]
Hedge funds cut bullish gold bets, reducing long contracts to the lowest since June, before prices rose the most in a month as the Federal Reserve unexpectedly decided not to taper stimulus. The net-long position held by speculators fell 17 percent to 70,113 futures and options in the week ended Sept. 17, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Long wagers fell 6.8 percent to 109,217, the […]
A major independent global study released today calls on airlines to take a fresh look at handling flight delays and cancellations in order to drive loyalty and minimize impact on customers in the short- and long-term. Titled ‘Passengers First: Re-thinking Irregular Operations’, the study is authored by Norm Rose of travel industry research authority PhoCusWright and commissioned by Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the global travel […]
Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) today announced a new record by reaching the 5 billion barrel mark, with a total of 5 million contracts (eqv. 5 billion barrels) traded on the exchange. This milestone comes 7 months after the DME passed the 4 billion barrels mark and continues the strong growth trajectory in trading volumes across the last 12 months. The 5 millionth trade on the Exchange took […]
Bahrain-based Islamic investment firm Arcapita has become the first Gulf company to emerge from U.S. bankruptcy under Chapter 11 rules, in a move that could help clarify how Islamic finance is treated in Western courts. Arcapita’s plan, which came into effect on Tuesday, will see it transfer its assets into a new holding company which will dispose of them over time to pay off creditors, effectively a […]
GEMS Education, a Dubai-based schools operator, is seeking to raise about $500 million to fund growth by selling a stake of up to 20 percent in the privately owned company, Chairman Sunny Varkey said. GEMS, which employs about 11,000 staff, operates around 100 private schools across the Gulf region, home to many prosperous expatriates. Private schools in countries such as the United Arab Emirates are expanding rapidly […]
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) […]
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, […]
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 […]
The notion of Syria giving up its chemical weapons, or at least putting them under foreign control, has long been on the table in the consultations between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government and his allies in Moscow. In the course of the civil war that has been raging in Syria for more than two years, “we discussed this possibility many times from many different angles,” says Russian […]
A week of gains for world stocks petered out on Wednesday and a sell-off in oil and core government debt eased, as talks began on trying to avert a U.S. military strike on Syria against a broadly calm market backdrop. The safe-haven yen was at a seven-week low against the dollar and stood near multi-year lows against the euro and sterling, while shares in Europe inched lower […]
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 […]
The U.S. military has not renewed its contract to buy jet fuel from Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because other suppliers made cheaper bids, the U.S. Department of Defense said. Dubai government-owned ENOC was contracted by the U.S. military to supply jet fuel to Al Minhad Air Base near Dubai from mid-2011 to the start of September 2013. ENOC, which makes […]
CEOs of 73 percent of companies in the UAE say prepared to lose profit in the short term for the sake of protecting long-term reputation. Once the sole remit of the marketing and PR departments, reputational risk is now seen as a critical company-wide concern, according to a global survey by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). The survey […]
DP World Ltd., the world’s third-largest ports operator, posted a 9.1 percent increase in first-half profit, beating analysts’ estimates, as it focused on fast-growing markets and monetized assets in Hong Kong. Net income rose to $264 million, or 31.8 cents a share, from $242 million, or 29.1 cents, the Dubai-based company said in a statement to Nasdaq Dubai today. The mean estimate of three analysts was for net income […]
The goal of a single rule book for Europe’s banks is splintering even before it’s implemented as northern countries move ahead with tougher requirements to ward off the next boom-to-bust cycle. Sweden’s too-big-to-fail banks, which already face stricter capital rules than their competitors elsewhere, may be told to hold even larger reserves, Financial Markets Minister Peter Norman said yesterday. In Denmark, Business Minister Henrik Sass Larsen said […]
The heightened economic activity in Dubai has undoubtedly been supported by the recovery of the emirate’s real estate sector, with capital values in some residential submarkets quickly closing in on their Q3 2008 pre-crisis peaks, Cluttons said in its latest market analysis. During Q2 alone, villa values rose by an average of 21%, compared to 24.4% last year. Apartments on the other hand recorded capital value increases […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Asian markets were under the cosh on Thursday as a spike in U.S. bond yields drove up borrowing costs globally, and even surprisingly strong data from China couldn’t completely staunch the bleeding. Emerging markets again bore the brunt of the selling as many have come to rely on cheap dollars to underpin domestic demand and fund current account deficits. The currencies of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand all […]
