Analysis Economy Turkey’s bounced cheques, loan and card defaults soar The value of bounced cheques in Turkey is soaring as small and medium-sized enterprises grapple with resurgent inflation. Personal loan and credit card defaults are also at 2023 highs following a borrowing splurge ahead of May’s elections. Veteran leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had pushed state-owned banks to expand lending in the run-up to the parliamentary […] October 3, 2023
Analysis Economy Sustained rate hikes fail to reverse Turkish lira slump Turkey’s near-quadrupling of interest rates in the past three months has slowed but not yet reversed a long-term slump in the country’s currency, the lira. It is widely expected to tumble to further record lows before the end of 2023. The currency’s ongoing weakness spells trouble for efforts to rebalance the economy, and the country’s […] October 2, 2023
Analysis Markets Erdoğan’s stock grows as Turkey’s index doubles Turkey’s main stock index has nearly doubled since veteran leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s surprise re-election in May, and experts forecast the rally can persist until early 2024 at least. Further gains seem probable as retail investors buy equities to hedge against resurgent inflation and the president’s new finance chiefs convince institutions the country is returning […] September 28, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Foreign investors turn to World Bank for Mena disputes Foreign investors are increasingly filing cases at the World Bank’s arbitration unit to resolve disputes with countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. The World Bank launched the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in 1966 to enforce investor rights that are guaranteed within bilateral investment treaties between countries. In […] September 27, 2023
Analysis Markets Strong demand for Oman’s biggest IPO in two decades Oman’s joint-biggest initial public offering is attracting huge interest among retail investors, despite subdued recent activity on Muscat’s bourse, a senior financial industry executive told AGBI. OQ Gas Network (OQGN), a subsidiary of national oil company OQ, will sell 49 percent – or 2.12 billion – of its shares in an IPO. The company this […] September 22, 2023
Aviation Aviation offset rules face shake-up as doubts persist An imminent change to rules governing aviation carbon offsets ahead of the Cop28 climate conference may not be enough to convince airlines and others they have a meaningful effect, it has emerged. Aviation, like steel- and cement-making, is a hard-to-abate industry. It is difficult for companies within the sector to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide […] September 21, 2023
Banking & Finance Standard Chartered still attractive to possible buyers Standard Chartered will remain in the sights of cash-rich potential buyers thanks to the bank’s relatively cheap valuation and hard-to-replicate footprint, analysts told AGBI. It is listed and headquartered in London, yet 87 percent of its half-year income was derived from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Over the past decade, Standard Chartered has sold […] September 18, 2023
Oil & Gas Oil rally to bolster Gulf stock markets A renewed oil price rally is boosting investor sentiment on regional bourses ahead of the final few months of 2023. Listed Gulf companies with low borrowing and bountiful cash surpluses should outperform their more indebted rivals, asset managers have predicted. Historically, the fourth quarter is often the best for Gulf equities, usually following a prolonged […] September 14, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Investors snub Saudi’s lacklustre bank stocks Saudi Arabia’s banking stocks have suffered a sustained slump despite lenders reporting steady earnings. Experts believe they are unlikely to rebound in the near term as investors target higher-growth industries instead. Banking is one of three heavyweight sectors on the kingdom’s bourse, along with energy and materials, the latter including petrochemical manufacturers. To Tuesday’s close, […] September 13, 2023
Analysis Markets Risk-averse Gulf telecom companies look to Europe Following myriad lacklustre investments in Asia and Africa, some former telecom monopolies in the Gulf are now buying minority stakes in long-established operators in Europe to provide lower-risk, dividend-based returns. STC Group, previously known as Saudi Telecom Co and majority-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, this week revealed it had spent 2.1 billion euros […] September 8, 2023
Tech Radar satellite deal to spot oil spills and illegal fishing A partnership between Finnish radar satellite company Iceye and two Emirati space industry operators could be used for a range of services, such as preventing oil slicks, clamping down on illegal fishing and monitoring coastal changes. Iceye in May signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi satellite operator Yahsat and artificial intelligence and cloud computing company […] September 7, 2023
Energy Adnoc approves project to triple its carbon capture capacity Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) has approved a new carbon capture, utilisation and storage project that will triple its annual carbon capture capacity. The project at its Habshan gas processing plant will be able to permanently store 1.5 million tonnes a year (mpta) of CO2 in subterranean rock below the site. On completion in […] September 6, 2023
Finance Mena targets US as outbound M&A deals jump 53% Entities from the Middle East and North Africa agreed deals to purchase companies outside the region worth almost $31 billion in the first half of 2023 as cash-rich sovereign wealth funds and other government-related bodies shrugged off rising interest rates to expand their foreign portfolios. The outbound M&A total deal value was $30.6 billion, up […] August 31, 2023
Exclusive Finance Carbon credits trading predicted to hit $4bn Carbon credits could become a $4 billion global asset class within the next half-decade, the co-founder of the Air Carbon Exchange told AGBI. Originally based in Singapore, the Air Carbon Exchange (ACX) is registered at Abu Dhabi Global Market and regulated by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala bought a […] August 28, 2023
Business of Sport Qatar buys rival padel tour after legal wrangling State-owned Qatar Sports Investments has agreed to buy the World Padel Tour and will launch a unified global circuit for the fast-growing racquet sport next year. QSI created a breakaway padel competition in early 2022, and the Qatari takeover of the sport mirrors Saudi Arabia’s controversial multimillion-dollar entry into men’s professional golf. Padel uses the […] August 25, 2023
Analysis Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi bet on crude-to-chemicals Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi’s state-run oil companies both want to expand their chemicals production capacity in a strategic shift that will have huge implications for a petrochemicals industry already suffering from its lowest margins in two decades. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) together provide around almost half of Opec’s crude […] August 18, 2023
Economy German decline scares off Middle East property investors Middle East investors are increasingly wary of buying German real estate due to the country’s stuttering economy and the allure of more profitable, less risky alternatives. This hesitance is exacerbating a slump in Germany’s property sector. Sales in the first half of 2023 totalled €14.9 billion, down 59 percent year on year and 53 percent […] August 17, 2023
Analysis Energy Saudi Arabia’s markets to feel petrochemicals slump Saudi Arabia’s petrochemicals producers reported plunging profits in the second quarter, and are likely to face further struggles due to weak demand, oversupply and high costs. There seems little scope for the industry to rebound until at least 2024, analysts now predict, as a hoped-for turnaround failed to materialise. This gloomy outlook will weigh on […] August 17, 2023
Analysis Transport Careem could yet be hailed a smart buy for Uber The hefty premium Uber paid for Dubai ride-hailing rival Careem will prove worth it in the long run, analysts believe. Uber, which has racked up nearly $33 billion in losses since its inception in 2009, paid $3.1 billion for Careem in January 2020 in what remains the largest deal for a homegrown Gulf tech startup. […] August 16, 2023
Analysis Energy Carbon capture and storage cheaper in Gulf Carbon capture and storage in the Gulf is considerably cheaper than in many regions including Europe, although there are several other variables that determine the overall cost of cutting CO2 emissions from industrial activity. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will account for 20 percent of the emissions reductions needed to achieve global net zero by […] August 11, 2023
Food & Drink Delivery Hero reports Mena revenue surge Germany’s Delivery Hero has reported a rise of almost 25 percent in second-quarter revenue from its operations in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. The company said strong customer demand resulted in second-quarter Mena revenue rising 24.4 percent to €641 million ($706 million), up from €515 million a year earlier. The Berlin-based conglomerate […] August 10, 2023
Analysis Oil & Gas Gulf geology ideal for carbon capture, say experts The Gulf’s geology and decades-old oil and gas industry could enable the region to become a world leader in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), experts believe. Gulf oil producers have been using carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology for more than 40 years to remove the compound from natural gas before it is shipped for […] August 10, 2023
