|By TAP Staff| According to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the banking industry in the Middle East maintained double-digit revenue growth in 2014 with a 10.0 percent increase, stemming largely from major customer segments such as retail and corporate banking as well as international business and treasury. Based on the banks’ 2014 annual results released in the first quarter of 2015, the newest […]
QATAR. Notwithstanding the weak start for the global economy, Asian economies are expected to continue to grow rapidly in 2015. We expect economic growth to average 5.7% in 2015, the same rate as in 2014. However this masks significant differences across Asian countries that mainly depend on their exposure to global headwinds. India and Myanmar stand out as bright spots for 2015, while China, Indonesia, Malaysia and […]
Brent crude oil held below $56 a barrel on Tuesday on signs of slowing growth in China and as Saudi Arabia said its production was close to an all-time high. Factory activity in China, the world’s second-largest economy and top oil importer, slipped in March with the flash HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reading at 49.2, below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction. Economists polled […]
The next big threat to oil prices isn’t from OPEC or Bakken shale. It’s Russian samovars, or teapots. Simple refineries that process crude into fuel oil are scaling back, because when oil prices slump, the government reduces the discount that these refiners — known as teapots to those in the industry — get for exporting fuel. They use less crude, freeing it up for sale abroad, which […]
DOHA, 23 hours, 10 minutes ago Kuwait’s real gross domestic product (GDP) has been projected to slow this year as the government cuts subsidies before recovering in the next two year as major development projects get underway, according to a report. QNB Group’s ‘Kuwait Economic Insight 2015,’ examined recent developments and the outlook for Kuwait’s economy. Kuwait is well placed to withstand lower international oil prices with […]
DIFC posts 18pc growth in companies DUBAI, 23 hours, 54 minutes ago Dubai International Financial Centre, a leading financial hub connecting the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (Measa) markets with the economies of Europe, Asia and the Americas, has posted an 18 per cent growth in the number of active registered companies. More than 240 new companies were licensed during the last year, compared with 199 […]
EFG Hermes posts $70m profit on bank expansion CAIRO, 1 days ago Egypt’s EFG Hermes turned a profit after tax and minority interests of EGP538 million ($70.51 million) last year after a net loss of EGP540 million the year before, helped by strong growth in its regional investment banking operations, the bank said. The company, one of the Middle East’s largest investment banks, said profit was boosted […]
Lloyds Banking Group and Natixis have sold their holdings in debt of Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate nearing a $14.6 billion debt restructuring, according to sources familiar with the matter. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) also sold at least part of its exposure in the conglomerate, said two sources, which could mean more than $1 billion of Dubai World’s debt has changed hands. The moves help pave […]
Salim Al Aufi, Oman’s undersecretary for oil and gas, likens attempts to cut the reliance on oil during a price slump to acting “with a gun pointed at your head.” If you have to make decisions under pressure, “you will probably make the wrong ones,” he said March 3 in Muscat during a panel discussion on the impact of the oil shock. Oman relied too much on […]
Dubai’s Drydocks World, owner of the Middle East’s largest shipyard, will ask creditors to amend the terms of its $2.3 billion restructuring deal originally signed in 2012, two sources aware of the matter said on Sunday. The move comes as Dubai World, a state-owned conglomerate which is also Drydocks’ parent company, is close to finalizing a revision of its own $14.6 billion debt pile which stems from […]
The proposal by Dubai Municipality to introduce mandatory affordable housing quotas for all new residential developments in Dubai is long overdue and is expected to bring a wide range of benefits to the emirate, while driving further maturity in the market, according to leading international real estate consultants, Cluttons. With the residential market in Dubai now meandering through the second half of the current property cycle and […]
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) is not interested in buying retail business of Citigroup, and is instead targeting organic growth in the country and globally, the bank’s chief executive told Reuters on Sunday. The plan to grow organically by the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender sets it apart from several other big Gulf banks, which have sought to use overseas acquisitions as a way to expand […]
Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power is obtaining a loan of about $344 million from three banks to finance a solar energy project in Dubai, chief executive Paddy Padmanathan said on Sunday. The 27-year amortising loan with an interest rate of 4 percent is being provided by Abu Dhabi’s First Gulf Bank and two Saudi banks, National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, he told reporters on the sidelines […]
The tide may be turning in the retreat of the U.S. oil explorers. Rigs targeting oil fell by 33 to 986, the smallest decline since Jan. 2, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Energy rigs in the Permian Basin shale region dropped by seven to 355 after dropping by as much as 49 earlier in the month. The Eagle Ford in Texas lost three rigs. […]
DUBAI, 2 days ago STME, a leading IT solutions provider, has upgraded the infrastructure and software requirements of Dubai-based wasl properties, a UAE semi-government property development entity, by adopting an efficient storage reclamation approach. “We understand that organisations today are struggling to accommodate growing volumes of data on a limited, if not declining, budget,” said Ayman Al Bayaa, CEO of STME. “However, by using a more […]
ABC Islamic Bank profit up 23pc to 15m MANAMA, 1 days ago ABC Islamic Bank has posted a net profit of $15.1 million last year, a 23 per cent increase as compared to $12.2 million recorded in 2013. The net profit for the fourth quarter was $3.6 million, 19 per cent higher than the same period of the previous year, said a statement. The total operating income […]
Mubasher Financial ….. Nasdaq Dubai’s ‘Retail Broker of the Month’ January 2015. Mubasher wins special recognition by Nasdaq DUBAI, 2 days ago Mubasher Financial Services, one of the Middle East’s leading financial institutions, has announced that it has been recognised by Nasdaq Dubai as the ‘Retail Broker of the Month’ for January 2015. This recognition reinforces Mubasher’s market positioning as a widely respected financial services business, […]
After an extensive and sometimes contentious public and politcal debate, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted February 26, with a 3 to 2 split along party lines, in favor of new regulations intended to preserve Net neutrality. The vote is seen as a win both for the Obama administration and a large Net roots activist campaign that has been pushing for this outcome for several years. Under […]
DUBAI, 8 hours, 45 minutes ago Software AG, a leader in enterprise management software, has appointed Rami Kichli as its new vice-president for the firm’s UAE division. Kichli will expand the company’s Middle Eastern business and reinforce the company’s position as the leading provider of digital business platform solutions through product innovation, strategic acquisitions, and a strong customer focus, said a company statement. The new vice president […]
|By A. Gary Shilling| At about $50 a barrel, crude oil prices are down by more than half from their June 2014 peak of $107. They may fall more, perhaps even as low as $10 to $20. Here’s why. U.S. economic growth has averaged 2.3 percent a year since the recovery started in mid-2009. That’s about half the rate you might expect in a rebound from the […]
Rolls-Royce announced plans to build a sport utility vehicle (SUV), validating hints dropped by company officials earlier this year. .The announcement comes after months of rumors that Rolls would finally introduce something to compete against Porsche’s Cayenne, Mercedes-Benz’s G-Wagon, Land Rover’s Range Rover, and Bentley’s (forthcoming) Bentayga. This now leaves Ferrari as the only major luxury automaker without an SUV in its lineup. Rolls has confirmed that […]
|By Sarosh Zaiwalla| Towards the end of last year, it was announced that the UAE’s long anticipated insolvency reform bill was reaching its final stages prior to implementation. The legal framework was drawn up following the establishment of the Dubai World Tribunal that resulted from the entity’s inability to pay its creditors in November 2009. The case cast a spotlight on the UAE, which until today does […]
|By TAP Staff| Mumbai-based shipping and logistics provider Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Limited,, part of global conglomerate Transworld Group, has become introduced domestic containerised cargo movement at every Indian port, from Mundra up to Kolkata, all along peninsular Indian coasts. Shreyas is the first provider to offer this service. “This is a first in Indian maritime history. This will be Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Limited’s contribution towards […]
