By Arabian Post Staff DP World has announced a partnership with Zhejiang China Commodity City Group Company LTD (CCC) to develop the ‘Traders Market’ in Jebel Ali Freezone (JAFZA). DP World will hold a majority share in the 70/30 joint venture. The Traders Market project will span approximately 800,000 square metres, with Phase 1 development covering about 220,000 square metres. Phase 1 Capex is estimated at $150 […]
By Matein Khalid Goldman Sachs shares traded at 190 when I wrote this article, way below its 52 week high at 245 making it a Cinderella in global investment banking at only 8.5 times forward earnings. It is obvious that Goldman’s involvement in the $7 billion 1MDB sovereign wealth heist in Malaysia has led to global outrage, demands for a $6 billion in punitive fine by Prime […]
Most people prefer to use ancient remedies along with modern medicine to speed up their recovery. Ancient remedies are simple, and they include a change in diet, herbs, massages, and acupuncture. Modern medicine has embraced some forms of ancient remedies such as acupuncture and massage therapies. Although they have acknowledged some of the techniques, they point out that some such as using animal parts like rhinoceros horns […]
By Arabian Post Staff The return of Qatari and Saudi Arabian issuers to the market and high levels of liquidity in Indonesia as well as Turkey’s efforts to tap all available financing sources have boosted issuance of sukuk 17.6% in the first five months of 2019. Foreign currency issuances also increased 15.6% during the period, explained primarily by Turkey’s issuances but also issuances by Qatari banks and […]
By Saifur Rahman Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the UAE’s first and largest Islamic lender, said, is set to acquire Noor Bank, enhancing Dubai’s position as the capital of Islamic economy and creating the region’s most powerful Shari’a banking group. The combined asset value is set to reach Dh275 billion post acquisition, it said. “The Board of Directors of Dubai Islamic Bank convened its meeting on 09/06/2019 and […]
Starzplay, the Dubai-based subscription video on demand (SVOD) start-up, has now higher subscribers than Netflix – the global SVOD leader – in the Middle East and North Africa, a top official claimed. “In January 2019, we have reached 1 million subscribers in the Middle East – higher than Netflix,” Maaz Sheikh, CEO of Starzplay, told The Arabian Post, on the sidelines of a press briefing on Monday […]
By Matein Khalid I had published a column in the UK/MENA press arguing that the Uber IPO was “absurdly valued” last week. I was vindicated with a vengeance when Uber priced its IPO at 45, well below the level Saudi Arabia’s uber-sovereign wealth fund PIF invested $3.5 billion in the hose of Travis (now Dara) three years ago. Uber opened on the NYSE with a whimper, not […]
/By Matein Khalid/ Uber Technologies goes public in the most controversial and global tech IPO since Facebook seven years ago. Uber bulls claim that the ride sharing colossus is another embryonic Amazon, a firm that will dominate the digital constellation of the next two decades. I disagree. Uber loses $4 billion per annum and has already been forced to surrender Russia/CIS to Yandex, China to Didi and […]
/Arabian Post Staff/ Emirates Group, which operates Emirates Airline – the world’s largest international carrier – reported a 44 percent decline in profits to US$631 million (Dh2.3 billion) in 2018-19 financial year ending March 31, 2019, despite achieving a 7 percent growth in revenue to reach US$29.8 billion (Dh109.3 billion). In line with the overall profit, the Group declared a dividend of Dh500 million (US$136 million) to its shareholder, […]
By Gaurav Sharma The oil and gas industry is on the cusp of profound operational changes underpinned by emerging technologies. The transformative impact of this new wave – labelled the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0 – is being felt to such an extent that the International Energy Agency (IEA) has started factoring in probable additional global oil reserves courtesy optimised conventional and unconventional production. Dr Fatih […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|In a pivotal geopolitical shift, the United States will soon export more oil and liquids than Saudi Arabia. This remarkable turnaround is made possible by the continued rise in oil production from US shale plays and the increased oil export capacity from the Gulf Coast. The US has for decades relied on large-scale imports to satisfy its thirst for oil, but this is about […]
|By James M. Dorsey| Saudi plans to become a major gas exporter within a decade raise questions about what the real goal of the kingdom’s policy, and by extension that of the United States, is towards Iran. Officially both Saudi Arabia and the US, which last year withdrew from the 2015 international accord that curbs the Islamic republic’s nuclear program and imposed harsh economic sanctions, are demanding […]
|By Matein Khalid|The GCC currency pegs to the US dollar have been prominent in international finance in place since the early 1980’s, in times of war and revolution, in times of economic boom and bust, in times of crude oil price surges and crashes. Yet the oil crash of 2014-16 was an inflection point in the economic history of the Arabian Gulf. Crude oil prices were $115 […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| UAE real estate market conditions are likely to remain challenging in 2019, although it could to some extent depend upon how quickly the regulatory changes enacted last year begin to generate additional demand, JLL said in its review of 2018 and outlook for 2019. “While market conditions are likely to remain challenging, investors and occupiers have the opportunity to introduce new strategies to enhance […]
Ole Hansen With turmoil on every side, gold has re-emerged as a preferred safe haven with further upside. Meanwhile, prospects for a further recovery in oil seem limited by signs of slowing global growth. The direction of commodities in the early part of 2019 will continue to be influenced by decisions taken in Washington and by central banks last year. The economic fallout from US president Donald […]
|By Matein Khalid|If Asia is a growth warrant on the global economy, the omens look awful as the IMF just warned the financial glitterati at Davos. Asian equities were the victims of the grim macro investment themes in 2018. Four Federal Reserve interest rate hikes forced Asian central banks to raise borrowing costs to protect embattled local currencies. The Trump White House’s game of chicken on trade […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Groundbreaking for the UAE’s first tyre manufacturing plant by Chinese tyre company Roadbot was performed at KIZAD, Abu Dhabi’s industrial hub and part of Abu Dhabi Ports. Developed with a total investment of AED 2.2 billion ($614.37 million), the Roadbot factory is being built in KIZAD’s China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone in line with international standards and equipped with latest innovative solutions […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Oversupply concerns in the Dubai real estate market are increasing ahead of demand resulting in further downward pressure on both prices and rentals, JLL said in its review of 2018. The residential market in Dubai remains tenant friendly, allowing existing tenants to renegotiate their rents and providing attractive rentals and sales opportunities for new entrants to the market, it said. Traditionally, the majority of […]
It is now far too dangerous to short the British pound, another fabulously profitable short since its fateful 1.50 high against the US dollar the night of the June 2016 referendum. The UK Foreign Secretary shocked me when he publicly warned that voting down Mrs. May’s deal to exit the EU would scrap Brexit. Sterling rose to 1.2850 on reports that the Tory Cabinet in Downing Street […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Dubai Land Department (DLD) recorded an unprecedented growth in the last ten days of 2018, Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director General of DLD, announced. The-transaction volume during the last ten days of 2018 was worth over AED 19 billion through 2,081 transactions. .Bin Mejren added: “This activity affirms the attractiveness of Dubai’s real estate sector, specifically the demand from buyers and investors who are […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|The Brent crude oil price has fallen to a post-October 2017 low, while WTI now trades at August 2017 levels, according to UBS Energy Review. Economic growth concerns, along with systematic selling – momentum trading and the clearing of futures positions ahead of the end of the year – are robably fueling this latest price decline. That the OPEC+ production cuts only come into […]
|By James M. Dorsey| A series of Gulf and Middle East-related developments suggest that resolving some of the Middle East’s most debilitating and devastating crises while ensuring that efforts to pressure Iran do not perpetuate the mayhem may be easier said than done. They also suggest that the same is true for keeping US and Saudi interests aligned. Optimists garner hope from the fact that the US Senate may […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the region’s leading financial market, together with General Holding Corporation (SENAAT), one of the largest holding companies in industrial investment in the UAE, rang the market opening bell to celebrate the listing of the first tranche of SENAAT sukuk. Valued at $300 million (1.1 billion AED), it is the first of its kind dual listing between Abu Dhabi Securities […]
|By Raj Samani |As 2018 draws to a close, we should perhaps be grateful that the year has not been entirely dominated by ransomware, although the rise of the GandCrab and SamSam variants show that the threat remains active. Our predictions for 2019 move away from simply providing an assessment on the rise or fall of a particular threat, and instead focus on current rumblings we see […]
