Energy Dubai cooling firm Empower invites banks to pitch for IPO Dubai’s Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) has invited investment banks to pitch for roles in its planned initial public offering, which is slated for later this year, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Empower, which is part owned by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has asked banks to pitch for […] May 25, 2022
Energy Kuwait to start building world’s largest petroleum research centre Kuwait plans to start building the world’s largest petroleum research centre by the end of the year, the oil ministry said today. The Middle East Economic Digest said the project had stalled because of budget pressure, estimating its cost at $120 million. The centre, to be built in al-Ahmadi, south of Kuwait City, will have […] May 25, 2022
Energy Saudi oil exports surge 123% in March Saudi oil exports rose 123 percent year-on-year in March, Reuters reported today, citing data from the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics. At the same time, the authority said Saudi non-oil exports rose 25.4 percent in March. The news comes as the Saudi finance minister said the country’s policy on fiscal sustainability would ensure that reserves […] May 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar sovereign wealth fund can’t exit Russia The Qatar Investment Authority cannot exit the Russian market and is waiting to assess its position there because of the Ukraine crisis, one of the sovereign wealth fund’s chief investment officers said yesterday. Moscow placed restrictions on foreign investors trading Russian assets in March, saying it wanted to ensure decisions to exit were considered and […] May 25, 2022
Development Saudi minister: ‘Not enough’ progress made in talks with Iran Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said yesterday that there had been some progress in talks with Iran but “not enough” and that the kingdom’s hands remain outstretched to Tehran. Sunni power Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran, which are locked in proxy conflicts across the Middle East, have held five rounds of talks hosted by Baghdad. “We […] May 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai among lead managers of Indonesia’s biggest Islamic bond Indonesia has raised $3.25 billion by selling US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds with 5-year and 10-year tenures, the country’s biggest global sukuk issuance, the finance ministry said today. The 5-year notes carry a coupon of 4.40 percent, while the 10-year notes have a 4.70 percent coupon, below the sovereign’s initial price guidance, it said in a […] May 25, 2022
Tourism Taliban agrees to have UAE run Afghan airports The Taliban will sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on operating airports in Afghanistan, the group’s acting deputy prime minister said today, after months of talks with the UAE, Turkey and Qatar. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that his administration was renewing an airport ground handling agreement with the UAE. It was not […] May 24, 2022
Construction Sharjah developer hires banks to debut dollar sukuk Arada Developments, the largest developer in the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah, has hired banks to arrange a debut sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, sukuk. The deal could be the first dollar bond sale out of the Gulf since late March, when the Sharjah government raised $750 million, also with sharia-compliant sukuk. The region […] May 24, 2022
Health Taiwan, now trying to ‘live with Covid’, has 80,000 cases a day Taiwan was billed as a coronavirus success story when its economy boomed in the pandemic, but the island is now battling a record wave of infections as it eases restrictions to start “living with the virus”. For the whole of 2021, Taiwan reported under 15,000 locally transmitted cases. It is now registering around 80,000 cases […] May 24, 2022
Business of Sport Some still can’t accept Qatar hosting World Cup, says emir Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, has told Davos the Middle East has suffered discrimination for decades, in a speech addressing critics of the emirate hosting the World Cup. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the emir said there were still those who were unable to “accept the idea that an […] May 24, 2022
Development New financing urgently needed to aid famine relief in Yemen Yemen is searching for new wheat suppliers but will need help to pay for increasingly costly imports, an official and a main importer said, as the World Food Programme (WFP) warned of cuts to food aid for millions already living on the brink of famine. Disruption to global wheat supplies due to the Ukraine war […] May 24, 2022
Zelensky tells Davos the world is ‘at a turning point’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed global business leaders at Davos on Monday, telling them the world faced a turning point and had to ramp up sanctions against Russia as a warning to other countries considering using brute force. “History is at a turning point… This is really the moment when it is decided whether brute […] May 23, 2022
Tourism Kuwait aircraft firm Alafco explores sale over losses Kuwait state-funded aircraft leasing firm Alafco is exploring a sale and has held talks with private equity firms and other aircraft lessors, sources said. Alafco, whose shareholders include the Kuwaiti government, has a fleet of 77 wide- and narrow-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft operated by airlines and another 68 on order. Alafco and major shareholder […] May 23, 2022
Banking and Finance Prince Alwaleed sells $1.5bn stake in Kingdom Holding to PIF Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to sell 16.87 percent of his investment firm Kingdom Holding Co to the fund. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) will buy 625 million shares at 9.09 riyals ($2.42) a share, Kingdom Holding said in a stock exchange filing, for […] May 23, 2022
Agriculture Greek graviera cheese could soon be off the menu In a small factory on the Greek island of Naxos, workers are busy churning out its famous graviera cheese. At least, they are for now. A crisis unfolding on the island’s farms is sparking fears that the locally-produced pale yellow wheels may soon start to disappear from the cheese counter. Standing among his cows in […] May 20, 2022
Agriculture Middle East to benefit from World Bank’s $30bn food security fund The World Bank said on Wednesday it will make $30 billion available to help stem a food security crisis threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has cut off most grain exports from the two countries. The total will include $12 billion in new projects and over $18 billion funds from existing food and nutrition-related […] May 20, 2022
Energy Biden in talks to meet Saudi Crown Prince for first time US President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could meet for the first time as soon as next month, CNN reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources. Biden administration officials are in talks with the Saudis about arranging a potential in-person meeting while Biden is overseas next month, the report added. The […] May 20, 2022
Markets Price corrections in Gulf markets, with Saudi Tadawul down 2.3% Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Thursday, tracking global shares as investors shunned riskier assets on worries about global inflation, China’s zero-Covid policy and the Ukraine war. The S&P 500 had lost 4 percent on Wednesday while the Nasdaq had fallen almost 5 percent as stark warnings from some of the world’s […] May 20, 2022
Energy Cheap Russian oil gives Iran a China crisis Iran’s crude exports to China have fallen sharply since the start of the Ukraine war as Beijing favoured heavily discounted Russian barrels, leaving almost 40 million barrels of Iranian oil stored on tankers at sea in Asia and seeking buyers. US and European sanctions imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 have pushed […] May 19, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey’s planned inflation-linked bonds could sap deposits Some banks are concerned that Turkey’s deposit base could decline as investors, eager to protect savings from price rises, snap up the government’s expected inflation-protected bond issuance, officials and bankers say. Given that inflation has soared to 70 percent, the bonds could pull considerable savings from lira and hard currency deposits and even sap the […] May 19, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt to offer state assets to investors in $40bn privatisation drive Egypt’s government has identified activities it will withdraw from or reduce its presence in over the next three years as part of a plan to expand the private sector, according to a draft document circulated in local media. Egypt’s economy has been jolted by the impact of the war in Ukraine, and it is in […] May 19, 2022
Energy Qatar to invest $5bn in Spanish projects, Emir says Qatar’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund plans to invest $5 billion in Spanish projects, the Gulf state’s ruler said late on Tuesday at a dinner held in his honour in Madrid. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told an audience at a dinner held in King […] May 19, 2022
