By K Raveendran The ongoing investigations into the sensational case of gold smuggling through the diplomatic channel provide a live example of the nexus between gold, drugs, dirty money and havala. All preliminary findings point to a ‘standard operating procedure’ followed across the world by the underworld, as highlighted in what has been called the FinCEN files, just published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). […]
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 K Raveendran| The arrest of wealthy Saudi prince Al Waleed, whose investments ranging from Citibank to Apple to Twitter, making him the most high profile Arab investor on the global stage, may involve more than internal power struggle within the Saudi ruling establishment and the new Crown Prince’s spirited fight against corruption. Al Waleed may have paid a heavy price for his spat with Donald Trump […]
|By K Raveendran| Virgin boss Richard Branson recently went on a voyage to Arabia’s past, which he claims helped him discover an incredibly exciting time in Saudi Arabia’s history. The visit also turned out to be an inspiration for him to announce a major investment in a luxury tourism project aiming to transform a stretch of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast into a hub for high-end holidaymakers. […]
|ARABIAN POST SPECIAL|By K Raveendran| As predicted, Emaar chairman Mohammed Alabbar’s foray into e-commerce has already started creating waves in the regional and global online retailing market. In an apparent move to retain its clout, global e-commerce leader Amazon.com is reportedly in talks to acquire Dubai-based online retailer Souq.com. Amazon is reportedly considering a bid for all of souq.com, which had initially planned to sell a minority stake. […]
|By K Raveendran| With the VAT announcement already having been made, the next landmark decision business circles are keenly watching out for is the establishment of the UAE Federal Tax Authority. The new authority or department is expected to be entrusted with the task of implementing and collecting various taxes, including the proposed corporate taxes. In June last year, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) had outlined in […]
|By K Raveendran| A clear assessment of the impact of the introduction of value added tax (VAT) in the UAE is not available yet, but it is fairly clear that it will have serious adverse results for the retail industry, which is already suffering a dip in demand. Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer announced the other day after a joint press conference […]
|By K Raveendran| Going by the pace at which machinery automation is advancing, the day does not appear to be a long way off when self-working machines carry out complicated and high-skilled operations without manual intervention. The Win Eurasia Metal Working Fair in Istanbul held during 11-14 February provided clear insights into the evolving trends in this area and the rapid strides Turkish machinery manufacturing industry is […]
|By K Raveendran| Given Dubai’s fame as one of the most happening cities of the world, the international media attention to the New Year-eve fire at the Address Hotel was quite natural. At the same time, it did not escape the attention of the discerning that some sections of the media lost no opportunity to use the unfortunate incident to show things in a rather poor light. […]
|By K Raveendran| With the new Public-Private Partnership law having come into being last month, Dubai is set to witness a new phase in its development, as private investments begin to flow into further development of the emirate’s infrastructure. This would mean the private sector directly getting involved in projects like airport expansion, extension of the Dubai Metro and similar infrastructure projects and sharing the risks in […]
|TAP Special by K Raveendran| Landmark events about the development of a shopping mall generally involve major leasing deals or signing up flagship brands, or the launch of the mall itself. But Qatar’s Tawar Mall, coming up in a prime Doha locality, was the scene of a bit of fanfare this week for none of the above. The mall owners, belonging to the leading Qatari business family […]
|TAP Special by K Raveendran| Landmark events about the development of a shopping mall generally involve major leasing deals or signing up flagship brands, or the launch of the mall itself. But Qatar’s Tawar Mall, coming up in a prime Doha locality, was the scene of a bit of fanfare this week for none of the above. The mall owners, belonging to the leading Qatari business family […]
|TAP Special by K Raveendran| The UAE healthcare sector was the scene of high drama as the Al Noor Hospitals Group, being pursued by leading sectoral player NMC Group to form the country’s biggest private healthcare provider, apparently broke off and announced it has reached an agreement for a merger with South Africa’s Mediclinic International Ltd. Al Noor will also be renamed Mediclinic International. Al Noor said […]
|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 […]
|TAP Special By K Raveendran| With the fuel subsidies issue having been settled, attention now shifts to the possibilities of introducing value added tax as another option to bolster the UAE’s financial resources. Starting August 1, 2015, special grade petrol across fuel stations in the UAE will cost Dh2.14 per litre, up 24.4 per cent from Dh1.72. The super grade will cost Dh2.25, up 22.9 per cent […]
|By K Raveendran| The deregulation of fuel prices in the UAE is no doubt a highly opportunistic move in the sense that the current oil price levels support market-driven pricing. But a major factor that prompted the decision is believed to be the recommendations of IMF. The UAE Ministry of Energy recently announced that domestic gasoline and diesel prices would be deregulated starting from 1 August 2015. […]
|By K Raveendran| The Dubai property market, which has of late shown strong signs of weakening, may get support from a very unlikely source. Wealthy Chinese investors cashing out of the stock market carnage are said to be scouting for overseas property markets in leading cities to park their funds. Dubai might be one of them. Around 20 percent has been knocked off the value of Chinese […]
|By K Raveendran| The trigger for Dubai’s property crash of 2009 had come in the form of a Standard & Poor’s report that warned of a serious price correction in the wake of a highly unrealistic boom. Six years later, the rating agency has issued another ominous report on Dubai’s property market, although there are not even the faintest signs of a boom present now. The warning […]
|By K Raveendran| There is much hype about the opening up of the Saudi stock market, but any detached view is least supportive of optimism. The more realistic assessment is based on the fact that the market has already factored in the positivity and moved too far ahead in the expectation of large foreign inflows, making the market expensive for any new entrants. According to the assessment […]
|By K Raveendran| Qatar has maintained complete silence over any possible connections with the indictment of FIFA officials on various charges, including acceptance of gratification in awarding World Cup editions. The situation continues to hold suspense amidst reports coming from the US that criminal charges are to be brought against more people. Bloomberg reports quoting Internal Revenue Service’s chief investigator that the U.S. investigation of corruption in […]
|By K Raveendran| The battle for supremacy between American and European legacy airlines on one side and the Gulf carriers of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways is apparently entering another interesting phase. An indication of how the tussle might play out in the days to come was available a couple of days ago, when one of the Gulf players threatened the other side with dire economic consequences […]
|By K Raveendran| Samena Capital, which recently completed the purchase of UAE’s global ceramics leader RAK Ceramics, has acquired a significant stake in London-based private banking and corporate advisory Kleinwort Benson Bank. (KBBL) The transaction opens up the possibility of the bank establishing a new global merchant banking operation in Dubai to offer advisory services for corporate in the region. The transaction is expected to close by […]
|By K Raveendran| Bank customers often find themselves being led up the garden path by the sweet talk of sales agents and rosy promises held out by advertisements when they change their bank. The new choice invariably turns out to be worse than the one that had been given the ditch. There is consolation on the way for such disconcerted customers. The UAE Banks Federation, the collective […]
|By K Raveendran| India has raised tax rates on petrol and diesel, taking advantage of falling oil prices to bolster government revenues, which will help Narendra Modi’s government to tough fiscal deficit targets. The move has disappointed even the most ardent Modi fans, who would have expected the government to take advantage of the falling oil prices to reduce retail prices of petrol and diesel. But a […]
