Analysis Banking and Finance UAE government’s IPO juggernaut raises $13.3bn and counting A flurry of government-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets has helped rejuvenate UAE bourses, as local and international investors seek exposure to the country’s buoyant economy. While Europe and the US fret over soaring inflation and likely recession, and most emerging market currencies wilt versus the dollar, Gulf […] October 12, 2022
Tech India’s Reliance seeks repeat of phone success with $184 laptop Reliance Jio will soon launch a laptop priced at just INR 15,000 ($184) – one of the cheapest on offer in India, aiming to replicate the success of its low-cost phone, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is known for disrupting businesses with cut-throat price offerings. Jio, […] October 3, 2022
Retail Omantel to invest $1.6bn from towers spinoff in growth projects State-owned Omantel, a subsidiary of Oman Investment Authority (OIA), will set up one of the largest regional telecom tower companies through the sale of telecom towers, Oman Daily Observer reported, citing CEO Talal Al Maamari. The operator announced the sale of its telecom towers in Oman in 2021, further expanding it to cover Zain-linked infrastructure […] October 2, 2022
Health Moody’s says hospitals and utilities face high hacking risks Around $22 trillion of global debt rated by Moody’s has a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ exposure to the risk of cyber attack, the ratings agency said in a report on Thursday, with hospitals and utilities seen at the greatest risk. Out of $80 trillion worth of debt across 71 sectors that the rating agency monitors, […] September 30, 2022
Tech Qatar issues licence to Elon Musk’s satellite broadband firm Qatar’s telecom watchdog Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has issued an individual licence to Starlink Satellite Qatar, state-owned QNA reported. The licence authorises US-based Starlink’s Qatar unit to provide satellite broadband Internet services to individuals and enterprises via the low-earth orbit satellite constellation of SpaceX. Starlink will provide direct-to-consumer satellite Internet and premium services, targeting businesses […] September 29, 2022
Tech Qatar’s Ooredoo plans to sell 20,000 telecom towers Qatari telecoms company Ooredoo is preparing to sell 20,000 of its towers, it revealed on Monday. Sources said it had engaged Morgan Stanley to work on the deal. The sources added that Ooredoo is looking to sell towers in the Gulf region and other markets including Iraq and Algeria through a sale-and-leaseback arrangement. In a […] September 27, 2022
Tech Big-name tech businesses choose Egypt as place to outsource The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) has recorded a rise in the number of business services and IT jobs offshored to Egypt. At least 19 global services providers and leading tech companies have announced their expansion plans in the country and four new market entrants established their offices and research and development centres during […] September 20, 2022
Markets Salik’s $1bn IPO target ‘easily achievable’ after stake boost Dubai toll gate operator Salik’s decision to increase the number of shares offered in its initial public offering will yield lower stock price volatility, and the $1 billion the government aims to raise “seems easily achievable”, analysts have predicted. Salik Company announced on Friday that it has increased the size of the stake it is […] September 17, 2022
Saudi bets $80m in gaming sector push Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund (NDF) has announced a SR300 million ($80m) fund to help develop the gaming and e-sports sector in the kingdom. The budget aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global gaming hub, increasing the sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) by providing career paths and new job opportunities as […] September 8, 2022
Real Estate Dubai real estate trust eyes Saudi after $400m refinancing Equitativa, the manager of Emirates REIT real estate investment trust, is looking to expand beyond Dubai once it concludes the refinancing of its $400 million sukuk within the next two months. The firm is also keen to launch new real estate trusts outside the UAE, in Saudi Arabia and Africa. Founded in 2010, the Emirates […] September 7, 2022
Tech Qatar’s Ooredoo plans to sell Myanmar unit to Singapore firm Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo plans to sell its Myanmar operations to Singapore-headquartered technology firm The One Matrix Ventures (TOMV), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Ooredoo is the last majority foreign-owned telecoms company in Myanmar since a rush to exit after last year’s military coup. Norway’s Telenor withdrew from the country […] September 6, 2022
Opinion Banking and Finance Crypto consumers need protection – and they can find it here The UAE wants to be a global crypto hub and a flurry of laws have set it on the right path. Consumer safeguards are a vital part of this plan September 5, 2022
UAE tops ‘digital lifestyle’ rankings amid investment push The UAE ranks among the world’s leading countries in several digital life indexes. It’s the first globally in terms of mobile internet speed, with the average speed in being 134.48 megabytes per second (Mbps) compared with the global average of 30 Mbps, according to a report published by the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory […] September 5, 2022
Markets Muscat-listed companies report 11% rise in Q2 profits to $468m Total net profit of Muscat Securities Market-listed company rose 11 percent year-on-year to OR180.3 million ($468.4 million) in Q2 2022, investment bank Kamco Invest said in a report. Profit of the banking sector – the biggest on the exchange by market cap – improved 11 percent year-on-year to $276.4 million. The utilities sector followed with […] September 1, 2022
Analysis Sustainability To get ahead, plastics producers need to be running in circles The volume of plastics produced globally every year has soared over the past half century, from 15 million tonnes in 1964 to more than 300 million tonnes today. This figure is forecast to double again over the next two decades and nearly quadruple by 2050. But synthetic polymers have one major drawback: they generally take […] August 23, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE’s Al Ansari Exchange picks banks for Dubai IPO UAE-based foreign exchange and remittance firm Al Ansari Exchange has picked EFG-Hermes and Emirates NBD Bank to lead its planned initial public offering (IPO) in Dubai, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The money-exchange firm is likely to list in the first quarter of 2023. Preparations for the IPO are ongoing and details […] August 23, 2022
Economy Bahrain posts budget surplus of $88m in H1 2022 Bahrain has posted a budget surplus of 33 million dinars ($88 million) in the first half of 2022 from a deficit of 520 million dinars a year earlier, the country’s Ministry of Finance said on Monday. The data also showed total public revenues at 1.698 billion dinars, up 52 percent year-on-year, while total expenditure stood […] August 16, 2022
Dubai ranks as most expensive city for mobile data Dubai has taken the unenviable top spot as the most expensive city for affordability of mobile data, with the average cost of 1GB equating to 0.55 percent of personal disposable income, said a new study. In second place is Auckland with 0.37 percent, followed by Seoul (0.32 percent), Buenos Aires (0.32 percent) and Manila with 0.31 […] August 15, 2022
Energy Dubai utility DEWA’s Q2 profit up 37% on growing energy demand Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) reported a net profit of AED 2.61 billion ($707.9 million), up 37 percent year-on-year, in the second quarter of 2022 on higher energy demand. Revenue rose 14 percent year-on-year to AED 7.01 billion during the three month period ended June 30, 2022. The utility provider’s first half of 2022 […] August 11, 2022
Analysis Economy The Gulf island state’s vision for recovery and growth From building new cities to upskilling nationals for digital transformation, Ali Murtaza, executive director, business development for tourism and real estate on the Bahrain Economic Development Board, answers a Q&A with AGBI on the state’s all-encompassing recovery strategy. Bahrain’s economic recovery plan was revised during the coronavirus pandemic. What are the details? The economic recovery […] August 10, 2022
Analysis Economy Bahrain’s non-oil economy has wind in its sails With Bahrain’s finances looking better than many expected, inflation broadly contained, and moves under way to boost private sector projects, the mood in the capital, Manama, is more upbeat in 2022 than seemed plausible 12 months ago. Darkening economic skies – largely coronavirus-related but also due to weaker hydrocarbons proceeds – had forced the government […] August 9, 2022
Economy UAE and Saudi ‘bright spots’ in challenging global IPO market The UAE and Saudi Arabia bucked the global downturn in initial public offering (IPO) activity in the first half of 2022. According to the EY MENA IPO Eye report, both countries – and the wider MENA region – remain a “bright spot in a challenging market”. It witnessed a 500 percent year-on-year increase in the […] August 4, 2022
