|By Arabian Post Staff| Decreasing Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil revenues could include the introduction of VAT and so-called sin taxes, observers say. Other issues under consideration include the partial privatization of selected state assets – including Saudi Aramco – and better utilization of state-owned real estate. The Kingdom has been successfully diversifying its economy over the past decade, with non-oil revenues increasing by 29 percent this […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| A leading player in the Dubai real estate market has predicted a correction in the rental market at a rate faster than expected in 2016 as thousands of new apartments and villas enter the new supplies. Real estate consultancy JLL predicted that average housing rents in the city would continue to fall by as much as 10 per cent over the coming 12 […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The prospects of $20 for a barrel of oil look a lot more realistic now than ever before as crude futures in the US dipped below $30 this week. According to Bloomberg, crude futures in the U.S. sank into the $20s for the first time in more than 12 years on Tuesday, hours after BP said it would slash an additional 4,000 jobs, Petroleo […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai-headquartered private equity investment group Abraaj announced another investment in India to buy a majority stake in Quality CARE India Ltd, which runs CARE Hospitals from global PE firm Advent International. CARE, which operates a multi-specialty chain of 16 hospitals across nine cities, plans to expand in “underpenetrated” regions of India, as well as enter other markets where Abraaj operates, the Dubai firm […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The decline in investor sentiment driven by lower oil prices and a slowdown in government spending, as well as regional geopolitical unrest have affected the UAE’s residential market, real estate investment and advisory firm JLL said in its annual review for 2015. The gaining strength of the dollar, which is making UAE real estate more expensive for overseas investors, also contributed to the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Heightening speculation about an impending change in Saudi Arabia’s currency policy has forced the kingdom’s monetary authorities to issue a clarification to the effect that no changes were being contemplated in Saudi riyal’s 30-year old dollar peg. It is the second time in the past four months that Saudi Arabia is pledging allegiance to the dollar after bets for a devaluation seemed to […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Gold seems to be re-discovering its safe haven status in the wake of a turmoil that billionaire investor George Soros describes as the beginning of a global market crisis. Bullion rallied above $1,100 an ounce, rising for a fourth day to a two-month high, after Chinese shares plunged, the yuan slid and the country’s stock exchanges closed early for the second time this […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The UAE’s non-oil private sector ended the year on a low note, with business conditions improving at the slowest rate in 40 months, the headline Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index for December showed. A key factor weighing on the sector as a whole was relatively muted growth of new work – the pace of expansion was the weakest since August 2011. Output, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Etihad Airways will replace the leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its daily flight to and from San Francisco with its own Boeing 777-200LRs from April 25, 2016. The daily EY101 flight from Abu Dhabi to New York’s JFK airport and the return EY100 service will also see leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft replaced by Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ERs from June […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The UAE insurance industry has recently started to show signs of impact due to lower oil price and the challenging economic environment. The shifting regulatory landscape, increased competitiveness and light regulatory enforcement were some of the key topics of discussion at the recent Business Breakfast organized by EY, attended by key insurers and market players in the UAE insurance industry. “The UAE insurance […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Etihad Airways launched fresh legal action in a bid to overturn a German court’s decision to revoke the approval for 29 of its codeshare flights with airberlin. Last week, the Administrative Court of Braunschweig decided that the German Ministry of Transport was entitled to reject the 29 Etihad Airways – airberlin codeshares, which had been approved only until 15 January 2016. As the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The World Gold Council is exploring the creation of a Shariah Standard on Gold, which will provide guidance from the Shariah perspective on the usage of gold in financial and investment transactions for Islamic financial institutions and participants. The Standard also aims to increase transparency and harmonisation regarding the use of gold in various market practices. A draft of the Standard has been […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The 2016 Saudi budget marks a transformation, signaling the end of material overspending, introduces a medium-term fiscal strategy and sweeping subsidy changes, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said in a special report. However, the budget does not signal any near-term changes to energy or Fx policy, in its view. The report says the 2016 budget announcement is a significant one for the Saudi Arabian economy. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| In recognition of Oman’s efforts to broker a deal with Iran on the vexed nuclear issue, the United States toned down its approach towards a human rights report which carried adverse remarks about the Sultanate, a Washington-datelined report indicated. In a highly unusual intervention, the State Department’s hierarchy overruled its own staff’s assessments of Oman’s human rights performance and ranked the sultanate at […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Buoyed by sharp fall in gold prices globally, India is likely to see a jump of 11 per cent in imports of the metal to 1,000 tonnes this year, according to the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation. The world’s second-biggest gold consumer imported around 900 tonnes in 2014. “Gold import is estimated at around 1,000 tonnes in 2015 calendar year, compared […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Central banks in the Gulf raised the interest rates within 24 hours of the US Fed announcing a quarter percent rate hike as their currencies are linked to the dollar. At least four central banks announced the hike. “We have an advantage over other emerging markets because the currencies are pegged,” so there are fewer foreign exchange risks, said Nabil Farhat, an […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Gold prices were trading higher in afternoon dealings and holding on to early gains in the aftermath of the first interest rate increase from the U.S. Federal Reserve since 2006. The gains were explained as a move by traders to get a jump on the possibility of Fed rate hike, on the firm belief that the gold market would exhibit a “sell the rumor, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| National Central Cooling Company (Tabreed) announced the signing of a AED 192.5 million long term limited recourse project finance facility with Emirates NBD for the district cooling plant it is developing for Dubai Parks and Resorts. Tabreed’s district cooling plant for Dubai Parks and Resorts is now nearing completion and will be commissioned in time for the park’s opening. Jasim Husain Thabet, Tabreed’s […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| A new study from IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has found that external risks, security concerns, and over-indebtedness are perceived as the most serious challenges facing the microfinance sector in the Arab World. The survey, conducted in conjunction with Sanabel, the Microfinance Network of Arab Countries, said tackling those problems will be key to spurring the development of the industry. […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai headquartered global conglomerate Transworld Group and Yokohama-based Suzue Corporation of Japan announced the formation of a joint venture for exploring business opportunities in logistics in the Indian Sub-continent, Middle East and Japan. A Memorandum of Understanding in this respect was signed by Ramesh S. Ramakrishnan, Chairman and Ritesh S. Ramakrishnan, Director – Strategy and Business Planning of Transworld Group, and Takahiro Suzue […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The fiscal restructuring across GCC, including the introduction of additional taxation, will have serious implications for real estate investments in these countries, according to real estate investment and advisory firm JLL. Fiscal restructuring is already evident in the form of budgetary cuts among GCC countries including the UAE. As governments become more cautious about their finances, there is a likelihood of cuts in […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| A dialogue of legislators and officials of India and Pakistan held in Dubai last week underscored the urgent need to improve conditions allowing for free dialogue and sharing of good practices among citizens of both countries. The Dubai event was the second in a series devoted to sharing of experiences on governance, democracy and the fight against corruption. Participants from both sides expressed […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| AstroLabs, Google -backed technology hub, is helping regional entrepreneurs to grow their startups. AstroLabs opened in October, with 42 startups picked from among 250. The facility features a device lab designed by Google is equipped with iPhones, Android smartphones, tablets and computers, which can be used by startups to test their mobile applications and content. One of the aspiring entrepreneurs is Lamia Tabbaa-Bibi, creator of IReadArabic.com, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emirates landed a windfall gain this week as it guaranteed itself bulk of the US-originating passenger traffic to the Gulf by way of a decision by the United Airlines to cancel flight service between Washington and Dubai starting in late January, meaning no U.S. passenger carrier will fly direct to the Gulf states. According to a Reuters report, the move comes after the […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai-based Landmark Group said it was pulling Donald Trump products off its shelves in response to the Republican presidential front-runner’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Landmark and DT Home Marks International LLC have an exclusive deal to sell Trump Home products – including lighting, mirrors, and jewellery boxes – in their Lifestyle department stores in Kuwait, the UAE, […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) have, once again, ruled in favour of the Al Khorafi family to the tune of $70 million plus costs and interest. This comes after the Court of First Instance published its judgment in November 2015, where the first and second defendants, Bank Sarasin-Alpen (ME) and Bank J.Safra Sarasin Ltd respectively, were ordered to pay […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The UAE’s growth in new business was the weakest since April 2012, according to the purchase manager’s index (PMI) data for November. Companies also saw their pricing power diminish while input costs rose further. But competitive pressures meant that charges fell regardless. The UAE’s non-oil private sector expansion strengthened in November, having eased to a two-and-a-half year low during October. Business conditions improved […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller and Chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch met with officials of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) in Doha on Sunday amidst newspaper reports suggesting that Qatar has demanded curtailing the role of unions in the automobile company. Qatar is the third largest shareholder of VW. Volkswagen, however, denied QIA made such a demand, but Reuters reported the meeting discussed the state of […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Opec’s ability to control the oil market suffered its worst debacle when the organization failed to agree on a ceiling for production. This meant that Saudi Arabia prevailed over other members to continue the policy of excess production as to force non-OPEC players, such as the US and Russia, out of the market by making their output uneconomical. “Lots of people said that […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Analysts are consistently arguing in favour of a pickup in Dubai’s economic prospects in the wake of a possible boost in trade with Iran following the lifting of sanctions. Low oil price, which cast a shadow over the Gulf’s oil economies, has also affected Dubai, with its real estate sector, a key determinant of the emirate’s economic performance, showing signs of a clear slowdown. […]
