Dubai’s Mashreq will allow foreigners to own up to 20 percent of the bank’s shares, it said in a bourse statement on Wednesday. Foreign investors currently own only 1.9 percent of the bank’s shares, data from the Dubai Financial Market shows. The change in foreign ownership is effective from Thursday, Mashreq said. About 20 percent of Mashreq’s shares are free float, while the Al-Ghurair family holds a […]
GEMS Education, a Dubai-based schools operator, is seeking to raise about $500 million to fund growth by selling a stake of up to 20 percent in the privately owned company, Chairman Sunny Varkey said. GEMS, which employs about 11,000 staff, operates around 100 private schools across the Gulf region, home to many prosperous expatriates. Private schools in countries such as the United Arab Emirates are expanding rapidly […]
Shares in Oman Telecommunications Co OTL.OM (Omantel) plunged to a 10-week low on Tuesday after the government rekindled plans to reduce its stake in the former monopoly. Omantel was down 5.6 percent at 1.51 rials at 0624 GMT, its lowest level since July 11 and nearly wiping out its 2013 gains as investors gave the thumbs-down to a state move to offload a 19 percent stake in […]
Qatar is looking less likely to bid for the iconic Italian fashion house Versace despite holding talks with the group earlier this year, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Versace, a brand worn by pop stars like Madonna and Lady Gaga, is putting a minority stake on the block to raise cash for investments, Donatella Versace said recently. Several sources have told Reuters […]
Fitch Ratings has upgraded UAE-based Tamweel PJSC’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’, Short-Term IDR to ‘F1’ from ‘F2’ and Support Rating to ‘1’ from ‘2’. Fitch has simultaneously withdrawn Tamweel’s ratings. At the same time, the senior unsecured programme rating of Tamweel Funding III Limited (TFIII) has been upgraded to ‘A’ from ‘BBB+’ and withdrawn, and the senior unsecured Long-Term rating of the […]
Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, the chief executive of Dubai-based construction company Arabtec, has increased his personal stake in the company to more than 8 percent, records on the Dubai bourse website show. Arabtec has been on an aggressive expansion drive since Ismaik took charge in February after a management shake-up ousted founder Riad Kamal. It recently announced a plan to launch a joint venture with South Korea’s Samsung […]
Residential property prices in Dubai are in the midst of another boom, but this time it’s fundamentals – and not speculation – at play, Standard Chartered Bank said in a new report, indicating that the rally will continue as long as the fundamentals remain in place. Economic growth, improving demographics, return of investor confidence and improving regulations have been cited as the primary factors fuelling a remarkable […]
By Peter Garnry, Equity Strategist at Saxo Bank Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s mobile division means three things. It is a good deal for Nokia. It has the potential to be a disaster for Microsoft. As for BlackBerry, the deal means that patent portfolio may be the only valuable asset. Nokia, the once largest mobile manufacturer in the world, has seen its mobile division deteriorate since 2007. Operating […]
Media outlets as reporting that the Soffers’ big-name partner in the Miami Beach resort Fontainebleau , the government of Dubai, is ready to sell its 50 percent stake back to the family’s Turnberry Associates. The deal would mark a satisfying bookend for Jeffrey Soffer, who spearheaded buying the resort in 2005 and then completing a $700 million renovation in 2008 on the eve of the financial crisis, […]
Dubai’s Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), the operators of Carrefour stores in the Middle East which is buying out the French company’s 25 percent stake in their joint venture, is raising an extra $500 million through a revolving credit facility, a source familiar with the deal said on Tuesday. The mall operator, which delayed plans in June to raise at least $500 million from what would have been […]
Syria hailed a “historic American retreat” on Sunday, mockingly accusing President Barack Obama of hesitation and confusion after he delayed a military response to last month’s chemical weapons attack near Damascus until after a congressional vote. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said tests had shown sarin nerve gas was fired on rebel-held areas on August 21, and expressed confidence that U.S. lawmakers would do “what is […]
Saudi Arabia’s No.3 telecom operator Zain Saudi has appointed industry veteran Hassan Kabbani as chief executive with immediate effect, the firm said in a statement on Sunday. A native Arabic speaker from Lebanon, Kabbani replaces Fraser Curley, who became CEO of the loss-making company in March 2012. Kabbani has been recruited to help Zain fight back against better-resourced rivals Saudi Telecom Co (STC) and Etihad Etisalat (Mobily). […]
The low quality in construction labor and raw material used to build several buildings, especially those up for sale, has unleashed a wave of anger at contracting companies in charge of carrying out projects. Many complaints were recently filed by buyers and real estate companies against contracting companies focusing on low quality construction, breach of the terms of signed contracts, the use of cheap construction material, late […]
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thechikkottukavu Ramachandran’s take-home salary would be the envy of many investment bankers. With his majestic ten-and-a-half-foot frame, the elegant Kerala resident is said to earn Rs 1 crore by working just seven months a year. Little wonder then that he’s a Facebook star. Except that the 48-year-old Ramachandran is a large elephant, and a wildly popular fixture in most ceremonial temple processions in the state. His […]
U.S. investment bank Lazard Ltd’s most senior banker in Dubai, Ali Asghar, has left to set up his own emerging markets-focused boutique firm, three sources familiar with the matter said. Asghar, who headed Lazard’s Dubai office as a director, joined the bank in 2007 and focused on mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and capital raising in the Gulf Arab region. Global investment banks scaled back their Middle […]
A programming error at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. caused unintended stock-option orders to flood American exchanges this morning, roiling markets and shaking confidence in electronic trading infrastructure. An internal system that Goldman Sachs uses to help prepare to meet market demand for equity options inadvertently produced orders with inaccurate price limits and sent them to exchanges, said a person familiar with the situation, who asked not to […]
Union Properties (UPP) chairman said the Dubai real-estate company isn’t a takeover target after trading volumes crossed 100 million shares for a third day. Almost 106 million shares traded, or 2.7 times the three-month daily average and comprising about 20 percent of the total volume on Dubai’s stock market. The shares fell 0.4 percent to 45.8 fils at the close in the emirate, after surging 11 percent […]
Investcorp, a leading provider and manager of alternative investment products, announced today that it has agreed the sale of Skrill Group to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners for a total enterprise value of EUR600 million ($800 million), subject to regulatory approvals. As part of the transaction, Investcorp will retain a substantial minority position in the company and will continue to retain a seat on the Skrill […]
Airports in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) experience local disruptions – such as those that stem from fog – which, annually, affect over 200 flights and 30,000 passengers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) alone. In addition, according to Oxford Economics, disruptions from the 2010 spread of Icelandic volcanic ash over European airspace had a $253 million net impact on the aviation sector in the Middle East […]
Arcapita Bank B.S.C. announced the sale of 3PD Holding, Inc, a leading last-mile logistics company in the United States and Canada, for $365 million. 3PD was acquired by XPO Logistics Inc. (NYSE: XPO), one of the fastest growing transportation logistics companies serving North America. Arcapita acquired a majority stake in 3PD in 2006 as a growth asset that offered significant opportunity due to the fragmented and growing […]
(Reuters) – Shares of Dubai property developer Union Properties, in which lender Emirates NBD holds a major stake, surged 11 percent in massive trading volume on Sunday – a fresh sign of growing optimism toward the emirate’s real estate. The stock, which closed at 0.46 dirham per share, saw 423.7 million shares change hands on the Dubai equities market, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the market’s entire […]
Gold may extend a rally from a two-month high as an increase in demand from jewelry buyers in China and India helps counter a drop in assets under exchange-traded funds backed by bullion. Prices may rally to as much as $1,550 an ounce by the end of the year, said Jeffrey Rhodes, managing director of the financial institutions division of the Kaloti Jewellery Group, a Dubai-based gold […]
Gold rose to the highest in almost two months and silver capped the biggest weekly rally since 2008 on signs of higher physical demand for precious metals. Global bar and coin purchases reached a record last quarter and jewelry usage rose to the most since 2008, World Gold Council figures showed this week. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to rise next week, four were […]
Gold traders are the most bullish in five months on signs that demand for coins and jewelry increased during a plunge in prices that prompted billionaire investor John Paulson to cut his holding for the first time since 2011. Thirteen analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect prices to rise next week, four were bearish and five neutral, the highest proportion of bulls since March 8. Consumer buying of […]
