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 […]
By Matein Khalid Citigroup, the third largest US money center bank, owns subsidiaries in Latin America whose pedigrees go back almost a century. For instance, Banamex, Citi’s subsidiary in Mexico, is the second largest corporate/retail bank south of the Rio Grande. So it was no coincidence that Citi shares got sandbagged to a recent 61 as President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico’s $350 billion exports […]
By Manish Rai Recent attacks launched by Houthis rebels on critical installations of Saudi Arabia has demonstrated a significant leap in their capabilities. The story of how Ansar Allah (official name of Houthi movement) moved from small-arms ambushes to medium-range ballistic missile and sophisticated drone attacks deep inside enemy territory in just half a decade illustrates that how an ambitious militant group can capture and use a […]
The foreign exchange market is gaining in popularity as more exposure of how it works spreads online. It is the world’s most traded market, turning over more than $5 trillion every day and it is openly accessible and relatively easy to start. One of the key attractions of forex is that the market operates 24 hours a day. There isn’t any one centralized place for forex – […]
/By Matein Khalid/ Despite the global fame of its brand ambassadors Leonardo DiCaprio and Snoop Dog, Alternative faux meat specialist Beyond Meat (symbol BYND) electrified Wall Street with its white-hot IPO. The recent panic in financial markets and rising geopolitical risk in the Middle East did not prevent Beyond Meat’s $240 million IPO from being a fabulous winner, rising from 25 to 89 as I write. Of […]
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 Arabian Post Staff Supply disruptions in the Middle East on top of an already tight crude market could send oil prices violently upward, according to Rystad Energy. Two Saudi Arabian oil tankers were reportedly attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this weekend, sending crude futures sharply up Monday morning. Commenting on the incident, Bjørnar Tonhaugen, Head of Oil Market Research at Rystad […]
/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 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 Arabian Post Staff| DP World announced the acquisition of the holding company of P&O Ferries and P&O Ferrymasters (together P&O Ferries) for a purchase consideration of about $420 million, implying a 2017 EBITDA valuation multiple of 6.1x. P&O Ferries is a pan-European integrated logistics business consisting of a market leading roll-on roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries operation and a European transportation and logistics solutions provider, P&O Ferrymasters. P&O […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced, awarding of an onshore block – known as Onshore Block 3 – to US based international oil and gas exploration and production company Occidental Petroleum. Onshore Block 3 covers an area of 5,782 km2 located in the Al Dhafra region. Existing 3D seismic data already covers a large part of the Block which, combined with its proximity to […]
|By Matein Khalid| Dropbox, founded by MIT students, venture financed by Sequoia Capital, is one of the world’s most valuable software startups. Even the Irish legend Bono of UB40 is an early stage investor. Its March 2018 IPO was a blowout. Dropbox broke syndicate at 21 and closed at up 50% on its first day. The shares peaked at 43 in June, but as Sophocles observed two […]
|By Matein Khalid| I had recommended buying the British pound at 1.2700 against the US dollar in successive columns in the past two weeks. Sterling is at 1.3200 as I write, the trade is already hugely profitable. Cable has now closed above its crucial 200 day moving average in a clear trend reversal. As markets dismiss the risk of a no deal Brexit, I believe the pound […]
Merger mania in Wall Street media shares was a profitable theme for me in 2018, particularly since I owned 21st Century Fox shares well before Walt Disney made its epic bid for the Murdoch clan’s flagship brand, the parent of President Trump’s beloved news channel. The Fox deal meant 65% paydirt for my trading book as the House of Mouse made a takeover bid for the House […]
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 […]
I have gone gaga on software shares since 2013, when Satya Nadella redefined Microsoft – and tripled the valuation of the Evil Empire of Redmond in the next five years. True, Microsoft was the best Big Tech performer of 2018, an annus horribilis for the best and brightest of Silicon Valley. The world’s most exciting software shares were slammed by the bearish bloodbath on NASDAQ. However, when […]
By James M. Dorsey Traditionally focussed on ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim Islam, Saudi funding in the era of crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has been streamlined and finetuned to ensure that it serves his geopolitical ambitions, primarily stymying the expansion of Iranian influence in the Middle East and North Africa and enhancing the kingdom’s global impact. The effort, however, has so far produced a mixed bag. Spending is […]
By James M. Dorsey As far as Gulf leaders are concerned, President Donald J. Trump demonstrated with his announced US troop withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan that his insistence that the “world is a dangerous place” has never been truer. The troop withdrawals coupled with Mr. Trump’s praising of Saudi Arabia’s alleged willingness to foot the reconstruction bill in Syria, moves that emphasized his lack of geopolitical interest in […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Global trade enabler DP World announced the successful closing of the acquisition of 100% of the Unifeeder Group, an integrated logistics company with the largest and best-connected feeder and growing shortsea network in Northern Europe with connectivity to approximately 100 ports. Unifeeder operates the largest and most densely connected common user container feeder and an important and growing shortsea network in Europe, serving both […]
|By Matein Khalid| OPEC”s ministerial meeting on December 6 will have a seismic impact on the outlook for global oil markets. OPEC has been unnerved by a 30% fall in crude oil prices in the past two months on expectations of lower oil demand due to a Chinese economic slowdown, spectacular growth in US shale oil supply, King Dollar’s chilling impact on the commodities complex and long […]
|By Saifur Rehman|A 37 percent jump in fuel price has reduced the half-yearly net income of Emirates Group by 53 percent to $296 million in the first half of 2018-19 year, a company statement said. The high fuel cost as well as currency devaluations in India, Brazil, Angola and Iran, wiped out approximately Dh4.6 billion from the group’s profits. Emirates Group, which operates the world’s largest international […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| Emaar Malls, the shopping malls and retail business majority-owned by Emaar Properties, recorded a growth in net profit of 9 per cent during the first nine months (January to September) of the year to AED 1.639 billion (US$ 446 million), compared to the same period in 2017 at AED 1.507 billion (US$ 410 million). Revenue for the first nine months of the year was […]
|By Arabian Post Staff| DP World announced that Sir Richard Branson has decided to step down from his role as chairman of Virgin Hyperloop One, which has a project with the Dubai-headquartered global port operator to launch DP World Cargospeed–an international brand for hyperloop-enabled cargo systems to support the fast, sustainable and efficient delivery of palletized cargo. Virgin Hyperloop said Branson’s decision is based on the increased […]
|By Arabian Post Staff|Dubai has annonnced the world’s first faciltiy to make Blockchain-based digital payments for school fees, bills and retail purchases. The digital currency has been launched in partnership between Blockchain payment provider Pundi X, Ebooc Fintech and Loyalty Labs along with Dubai’s Credit Bureau named emcredit. Consumers in Dubai, UAE will be able to use digital currency to make retail payments in-store, pay for government […]
