Emirates National Oil Co. increased its offer to buy Dragon Oil Plc to 800 pence ($12.50) a share, winning support from minority owners including billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Advisors U.K. Ltd. that rejected ENOC’s offer in June. Elliott and Baillie Gifford & Co., which hold a combined 13.1 stake in Dragon Oil, have accepted the new price, ENOC said in a statement. ENOC had offered to buy […]
TEHRAN — Despite the smiling clown, a symbol of the Great Satan’s love for meat, buns and fries, there were no angry mobs punching fists in the air, shouting “Death to America”; nor did the smell of burnt American flags permeate this Tehran neighborhood. It smelled of juicy burgers, flipped by a cheerful Iranian teenager named Jahan. His kitchen was crowned with a flashing logo that looked […]
|TAP Special| UAE finance company Dunia may be for sale and Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim Holding is believed to be among the suitors. According to Bloomberg, MAF Holding and KKR & Co. are among companies weighing a bid for the Abu Dhabi consumer finance firm. MAF already has a personal finance business, which offers the Najm credit cards and other products. There could be good synergy between […]
Protesters in Baghdad on Friday. High temperatures have made the lack of reliable electricity a bigger political issue than usual. By ANNE BARNARD August 1, 2015 BAGHDAD — In the Iraqi summer, when the temperature rises above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, electricity becomes even more of a political issue than usual. This past week, at the top of Iraqis’ agenda, it has even eclipsed war with the Islamic State. The […]
The logo of car-sharing service app Uber on a smartphone over a reserved lane for taxis in a street is seen in this photo illustration taken in Madrid on December 10, 2014. Reuters/Sergio Perez Uber Technologies Inc has closed a new round of funding that values the online taxi-hailing company at nearly $51 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Uber raised […]
Tech company Nvidia has just issued a voluntary recall of about 88,000 of its Shield eight-inch tablets. If you bought your Shield between July 2014 and July 2015, it seems you might need to worry about the tablet catching fire. The good news is Nvidia will replace the one in your hands absolutely free. “Nvidia has determined that the battery in these tablets can overheat, posing a […]
An employee works inside the office of U.S. online cab-hailing company Uber, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, April 24, 2015. Reuters/Anindito Mukherjee REUTERS – Uber Technologies Inc will invest $1 billion in India in the next nine months, as the online taxi-hailing company looks to expand its services in its biggest market outside the United States. Uber said it would use the additional investment to […]
INTERNATIONAL. JINSA’s Gemunder Center Iran Task Force has released a new report at a panel discussion yesterday to provide an expert analysis of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA), the final agreement with Iran on nuclear disarmament. The Task Force – co-chaired by Ambassador Dennis Ross, who played a leading role in shaping the Middle East peace process for 12 years under three administrations, and Ambassador […]
UAE. The MENA Private Equity Association, a non-profit organisation supporting the development of the private equity and venture capital industry in the Middle East and North Africa, launched today its ninth “MENA Private Equity & Venture Capital” Annual Report. According to the Report, which was compiled in collaboration with Deloitte and Zawya – Thomson Reuters, 2014 was a significant year for the industry and has demonstrated the […]
SAUDI ARABIA. A recent study released by Glowork, the leading organization for women employment in the region highlights female’s perceptions before graduation. A total of 2000 women from 10 universities Kingdom-wide were surveyed. There were some interesting statistics revealed as it was broken down by city. 49% of women in Riyadh expected to work in a supervisor or manager level when graduating, it was much higher in […]
Standard Chartered … restructuring senior management Standard Chartered audit head to become UAE chief executive DUBAI, 1 days ago Standard Chartered has picked Julian Wynter, group head of internal audit, as UAE chief executive, two sources told Reuters on Monday. Wynter is likely to take charge in August after the departure of current UAE chief executive Mohsin Nathani, who resigned from the bank in April, said one […]
Dubai realtor S&K blames weak market for bankruptcy DUBAI, 1 days ago Dubai-based real estate agency S&K Estate Agents said a deteriorating property market in the emirate contributed to its decision to file for bankruptcy and be liquidated. “Simply put, the revenue being generated by the business drastically reduced over the first half of 2015, without enough income to cover operational costs,” S&K said in an emailed […]
Trend Micro unveils Windows 10-compatible solution MANAMA, 1 days ago Trend Micro, a leader in security software, has unveiled its Trend Micro Security 10, a security and privacy solution fully compatible with Microsoft Windows 10, which is to be launched later this week. The new version’s security features are simple-to-use, yet provide state-of-the-art protection for consumers’ data, delivered with optimal performance, said a statement. It will allow […]
Sophos launches cloud-based secure web gateway DUBAI, 1 days ago Sophos, a leading security solutions provider, has launched the Sophos Cloud Web Gateway, a cloud-based secure web gateway that delivers advanced protection for users, devices and data across multiple operating systems, regardless of their location. The addition of secure web gateway to Sophos Cloud integrates technology from Mojave Networks, which Sophos acquired in October last year, said […]
Hogan…focused on creating new experiences Consumer choice, innovation ‘key drivers of aviation sector’ ORLANDO, 1 days ago Consumer choice and innovation are the fundamental drivers of competition in the international airline industry, said Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan at the 2015 Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention in Orlando, Florida (US). In a discussion, which focused on emerging opportunities and challenges in the global aviation industry, […]
|TAP Special by K Raveendran| The Dubai residential market continues to face downward pressure as rents and sale prices decline. It’s perhaps indicative of a systemic shift that the current phase’s first bankruptcy has just been filed. According to a JLL report citing the REIDIN indexes, the sales index dropped by 8% for the one-year period ending June 2015, with declines in apartment sale prices exceeding that […]
|By Matein Khalid|So Pearson PLC has sold the FT Group (with its flagship Financial Times newspaper) to Japan’s Nikkei Inc for $1.32 billion. Pearson will use the cash proceeds to increase its investment in education publishing businesses in the US and Canada, now 75% of revenues. This deal is a milestone in the history of newspaper publishing and my own life as an investor/financial journalist. I discovered […]
INTERNATIONAL. The undisputed king of oil and gas is making some moves that could change the face of the global refining sector. In June 2015, Saudi Arabia pumped a record 10.564 million barrels a day, a record level. As if being the world’s biggest exporter of oil was not enough, the desert kingdom is now looking to conquer the refining sector as it has quickly become the […]
UAE. A recent qualitative report sponsored by Citi and conducted by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, studied the personality of HNWI in the UAE. The results of the research revealed the different needs that they believe are impacting their disposition towards wealth management and analyzed their attitudes towards investments. The participants were represented by a small group […]
UAE. To preserve economic and social stability and continue with development plans, MENA governments are considering tax measures to broaden their revenue base and increase tax yields. The evolving tax landscape in the MENA region was discussed at the EY MENA Tax Conference held recently in London. The conference was attended by EY Tax specialists and senior finance and tax executives from major European companies with investments […]
TEHRAN — For Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post reporter now on trial for espionage in Iran, the incident was extraordinary but still looked like another example of the difficulties in covering the country’s politics. On a spring day in March 2014, his wife and a female photographer were stopped in broad daylight in their car on a busy Tehran highway and taken into a van, where, friends […]
ABU DHABI // Petrol prices across the country were today increased from Dh1.72 per litre of Special 95 to Dh2.14, an increase of 23.6 per cent. The revised price for Super 98 has been set at Dh2.25 and E Plus at Dh2.07. The price of diesel is set at Dh2.05, a 29 per cent drop from its previous price of Dh2.90. These prices come into effect on […]
Mena lagging in adopting cyber security policies BEIRUT, 1 days ago Despite the current global focus on cyber security issues including hacking, data losses, breaches and other information leaks, organizations in the Mena region still do not have formal cyber security initiatives in place, a report said. In keeping with international trends, managing Compliance Risk remains a high priority for organizations across Mena region, explained the Middle […]
People talk in front of a Baidu’s company logo at Baidu’s headquarters in Beijing January 16, 2014. Reuters/Jason Lee Baidu Inc’s (BIDU.O) quarterly profit missed analysts’ estimates as China’s biggest Internet search company spent heavily to diversify away from its core search advertising business, which is becoming less profitable and more competitive. Baidu’s shares fell more than 8 percent in extended trading on Monday after the company’s […]
