Mumbai: In the first big boost to the government’s “Make in India” initiative, aimed at making India a manufacturing hub, Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) on Tuesday announced a joint bid for a government contract to supply military aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF is looking to replace its fleet of Avro aircraft and the joint venture will supply Airbus’ […]
Global SWFs: Assets under Management (USD billion), 2014 GeoEconomica The sovereign wealth funds of the energy-rich Arab Gulf are some of the world’s largest pools of capital, collectively holding more than $1 trillion of assets. But their strategies, returns and approaches to risk aren’t often disclosed, something political risk consultancy GeoEconomica singles them out for in a new report. Gulf funds lag global peers in compliance with […]
Look at computer models for the Venice-like Arabian Canal proposed for central Dubai, or the plans for the world’s biggest shopping mall, and it seems as if the collapse of the United Arab Emirates real estate market six years ago never happened. Citibank estimated earlier this year that there were already two thirds of a trillion dollars worth of construction projects underway in the UAE. That was […]
DIFC Investments, the commercial operator of Dubai’s financial free zone, plans to meet fixed income investors from Thursday for a potential benchmark size dollar-denominated sukuk issue, a document from the leads showed on Tuesday. The company has picked Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD, Noor Bank and Standard Chartered for the sukuk sale, according to the document. In September, DIFC said it was seeking to raise as much […]
Storage giant EMC is making bold moves in the hybrid cloud market, acquiring three companies in the space and announcing that it has “redefined” the hybrid cloud for the enterprise with the roll out of the Enterprise Hybrid Cloud Solution. First, the acquisitions. EMC grabbed The Cloudscaling Group, Maginatics, and Spanning Cloud Apps for undisclosed amounts. The company said these acquisitions help forward its hybrid cloud vision […]
By Subrata Majumder There were two intent of Prime Minister Modi’s labour reforms. One, it was to protect the lower category of workers who are deprived of their social security after changing the jobs. Second, it was to encourage the entrepreneurs to set up factories by letting them free from factory Inspector Raj. Huge amount of Provident Fund is lying unclaimed because of complex bureaucratic procedures. […]
Shares of Indian companies with key markets in Europe such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge, Motherson Sumi and Crompton Greaves have crashed by as much as 19% since mid-September on concerns their earnings may get adversely affected by the slowdown in the region. However, analysts say investors should buy some of these stocks. “We are positive on companies such as Tata Motors, Bharat Forge […]
New Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Monday scrapped the selection of six chiefs of public sector banks, recommended under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, following a high-level panel finding irregularities in the process followed. The probe into selections for banks such as Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank followed the arrest of tainted Syndicate Bank Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) S K Jain […]
NEW DELHI: The NDA government has finally taken the first step towards formulating a policy for hydropower projects on the Ganga — Alakananda and Bhagirathi rivers —in Uttarakhand. Water resources minister Uma Bharti informed the National Ganga River Basin Authority on Monday that a committee comprising officials of the environment and water resources ministry had been asked to review the reports of three committees dealing with […]
IMF Middle East director Masood Ahmed says risks associated with Dubai’s property market have decreased, in part due to steps taken by local authorities to stamp out speculation. Reuters A recent surge in Dubai real estate prices has become less of a worry for the International Monetary Fund, its Middle East director said Monday, reversing his earlier calls for additional reforms to prevent another market bubble. An […]
NEW DELHI: After clarity on natural gas prices and an ordinance on coal, the government is set to decide on pooling of imported and domestic fuel prices to help stressed power stations with a combined capacity of 91,000 mw generate electricity that’s badly needed as India tries to revive its economy. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to decide on pooling gas and coal prices […]
FRANKFURT: Twenty-five banks including Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA failed a stress test led by the European Central Bank, which said almost half of them must act to raise more capital. The central bank in Frankfurt identified a 25 billion-euro shortfall ($32 billion) for the region’s lenders, and said 12 of them have now raised enough funds. Eleven banks need more capital, including Monte […]
NEW DELHI: With a decade’s existence of the Electricity Act of 2003 doing precious little in infusing efficiency and competition into the sector, the government has proposed some key changes in the Act to remedy the situation and prevent the loss-ridden sector, which is struggling to meet the reformist conditions of a financial restructuring package (FRP), from plumbing fresh depths. The Union power ministry’s draft amendments […]
Twenty-five lenders including Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA failed a stress test led by the European Central Bank, which found the biggest capital hole in the region’s banking system in Italy. The Frankfurt-based institution identified a total gap of 25 billion euros ($32 billion) as of the end of 2013, most of which has now been raised by banks. Among lenders still in need of […]
Kuwait’s privately owned Jazeera Airways is preparing to bid for a big stake in state-run flag carrier Kuwait Airways, Jazeera’s chairman told Reuters. If the deal goes through, it will be a sign that the business scene is changing in the Gulf. For several decades, Gulf Arab economies have been dominated by the heavy hand of the state. Governments’ huge oil revenues have eclipsed private sector activity. […]
Kuwait Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund which started as a Bank of England account dedicated to receiving oil money, will sell stakes in three local companies worth 1.56 billion dinars ($5.4 billion). The KIA, as the fund is known, will sell its Kuwait Investment Co. holding in a public offering in the first half of next year, according to a statement on the website of the […]
In a victory for international banks, New York’s top court has ruled that a Motorola subsidiary cannot freeze $30 million held by a “fugitive” Turkish family in a Dubai bank. In 2003, U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan found that the Uzan family had dipped into loans that Motorola Credit Corp had made more than a decade ago to Turkish mobile phone company Telsim, which the […]
The United States has condemned Iran for executing a woman convicted of killing a man to defend herself from an alleged sexual assault. The 26-year-old woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari, was hanged Saturday morning. The death penalty went ahead after the family of her alleged assailant, a former Iranian intelligence agent, refused to pardon her or accept financial compensation. At the U.S. State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said there […]
Emirates NBD… aided by a fall in provisioning Emirates NBD Q3 net profit doubles DUBAI, 3 days ago Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, made a net profit of Dh1.56 billion ($424.7 million) in the third quarter (Q3) of the year aided by a fall in provisioning, compared to Dh775 million ($211 million) in the same period last year. The earnings of the lender, 55.6-per cent owned by […]
Aabar Investments is demanding a hefty premium for its minority stake in Malaysia’s No.4 bank, sources say, as the Abu Dhabi state fund leverages on its amplified role in a $22 billion merger that will create Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest lender. When the Malaysian stock exchange last week barred the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) from voting on a plan to merge CIMB Group Holdings, RHB Capital Bhd and […]
Microsoft has taken a lot of heat for unpopular Windows releases and less-than-hip tablet roll outs, but apparently Redmond is doing plenty right. The company on Thursday announced $4.54 billion in net income, or 54 cents per share in earnings, on revenue of $23.2 billion for the third quarter, outpacing its competition. Cloud strength and hardware sales helped buoy the firm’s record earnings. The good financial news […]
U.S. stocks were lower in afternoon trading on Wednesday, with major indexes erasing earlier gains as a shooting at the Canadian parliament unnerved investors and Boeing and Biogen sold off following results. Indexes had traded in positive territory for much of the session, putting the S&P 500 on track for a fifth straight day of gains. Earnings initially drove the move higher, with technology and material shares […]
The Dubai government has borrowed more than 100 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($27.24 billion) from Emirates NBD as of the end of the third quarter, according to the bank’s most recent financial statements, underscoring the extent to which the emirate has come to rely on its biggest lender for financing after the global recession. Emirates NBD, which is majority-owned by the Dubai government through the Investment Corporation of […]
Emirates NBDs lending to the Dubai government has increased despite recent attempts by regulators to rein in local banks exposures. Bloomberg News The Dubai government has borrowed more than 100 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($27.24 billion) from Emirates NBD as of the end of the third quarter, according to the bank’s most recent financial statements, underscoring the extent to which the emirate has come to rely on its […]
