Friday 6 May 2011

Porsche Owner Families Seek To Assuage Preference Shareholders - Zawya

Porsche Automobil Holding SE (PAH3.XE) said late Thursday the holders of the automaker's voting stock, the Porsche and Piech families and the emirate of Qatar, decided to abstain from their respective dividend payments for the truncated fiscal year 2010 and pass them on to the company's preference shareholders.

The owner families and the emirate of Qatar "intend to honor the continued support of the holders of the preference shares, with a view to the capital increase implemented in April 2011 and the low dividend for the two past fiscal years," Porsche said in a statement.

Porsche's preference shares don't carry voting rights. Porsche's truncated fiscal year 2010 comprises the August-to-December period last year.

Dubai's Emaar to review foreign units-sources - Maktoob News

Dubai's Emaar Properties, builder of the world's tallest tower, will conduct a strategic review of its foreign operations which may lead to a greater focus on its hospitality and retail resort business, three sources said on Thursday.

The review by McKinsey and Co. mainly relates to the developer's property division as opposed to its thriving hospitality sector, said two of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It will cover Emaar's overseas units which span the Middle East, Africa and Asia, in countries like India, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Qatar's Western grip - Fortune Finance

Qatar may not have the gleaming exterior of Dubai or the great oil wealth of Saudi Arabia, but the tiny Arab nation is quietly making a name for itself in the realms of international finance and politics. This year, in particular, seems to be Qatar's coming out party, now that its energy infrastructure is up and running, pumping billions of dollars into the state's coffers.

But is the sparsely populated country a truly secure bet for Wall Street and Washington? Or will Qatar face the same financial and political temblors rocking its Arab neighbors?

Taking a stroll through London, it is tough not to run into something touched by the Qataris. The Emirate's sovereign wealth fund, The Qatari Investment Authority, along with its various offshoots that make up what is known as "Qatar Inc.," has snapped up property all over the city, from the famed Harrods Department store in the posh west to nearly a third of the Canary Wharf financial district in the east. It owns several other building littered around the city and is the majority owner of "The Shard," which, upon completion, will be London's tallest office building.

AFP: Qatar Airways negotiates mega Airbus order: report

Qatar Airways is in advanced negotiations to place a giant order for 60 airliners built by the European firm Airbus, the Les Echos newspaper reported on Friday.

The order, which would be announced at the Le Bourget air show in June, would be for 50 A320 NEO aircraft, the re-engined version of the medium-range A320, and for 10 to 20 A380 superjumbo jets.

The airline would also place an additional 50 options to buy A320 NEO aircraft and options to buy an additional 10-20 A380 planes, the report said.

Investing in Frontier Markets: Qatar and UAE to Obtain Emerging Market Status? - CNBC

Part of the bet of investing in frontier markets is that they will eventually mature into emerging markets. And that may happen for a couple later this summer, analysts told CNBC.

The question then, for the third consecutive year, is whether Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will be reclassified from Frontier Market (FM) to Emerging Market (EM) as part of the MSCI annual market review.

Frontier markets is a term used to describe countries with lower market capitalization and liquidity which are at an earlier development stage than emerging markets.

Brent rises over $111 after 10 pct rout | Reuters

Brent crude rose 1.3 percent to more than $111 a barrel on Friday and U.S. crude climbed back above $100 as oil rebounded from a record rout in the previous session that wiped as much as 10 percent from the price.

Rising demand from emerging economies and concern about potential for further supply disruptions from unrest across the oil exporters in North Africa and the Middle East have put a floor under prices on Friday, analysts said.

ICE Brent crude for June rose 74 cents to $111.54 a barrel by 0501 GMT, after falling as much as 55 cents earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up 28 cents at $100.08. Brent settled down $10.39 on Thursday at $110.80 a barrel, the second biggest drop on record and the fourth straight day of losses.

UAE federal bonds strategy planned - The National

A strategy to manage how the UAE will issue federal bonds will be agreed this year, a senior Ministry of Finance official says.

The policy is expected to precede the final approval of a public debt law, paving the way for the country's first Federal Government bonds.

Borrowing would be co-ordinated by a federal debt unit being set up by the ministry.

Aldar revenue quadruples for return to profit - The National

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi's largest developer, has made good on a promise to return to profitability in the first quarter, reporting a net profit of Dh189.1 million (US$51.4m).

Revenue jumped to Dh784.7m, more than four times the amount for the same period last year, the company reported.

Most of the revenue, Dh433.3m, came from sales of completed properties at Al Gurm and Al Bandar, the company said.

Key investor pulls out of $3.8bn Dubai Pearl - The National

Dubai Pearl, the US$3.8 billion (Dh13.95bn) development near the entrance of the Palm Jumeirah, has lost one of its largest investors and construction activity has been scaled back.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Investments, the commercial arm of the financial free zone, pledged Dh3bn to buy 29 floors of the east tower of Dubai Pearl in late 2008. The deal was one of the last major announcements in the peak of the property boom that year.

But DIFC Investments paid only $13.6 million to Dubai Pearl. Shahli Akram, the chief executive of DIFC Investments, said this week the company had "no further commitment beyond the $13m invested in the project".

The challenges faced by Dubai Pearl are typical of the kind of problems that have led to a sharp decline in building activity across the emirate. Developers are still struggling to find funds to complete buildings that were stalled after the property downturn hit in late 2008.

WAM | Tamweel shares to resume trading on May 10

Tamweel PJSC, the UAE Islamic home finance provider, announced today that its shares will resume trading on the Dubai Financial Market on May 10, 2011, subsequent to approval from the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA).

Following its board meeting held on May 5, 2011, Tamweel also announced its positive financial results for the three months ending March 31, 2011, highlighting the strength of the company's core operations during a period of increasing stability in the domestic property market.

For the first quarter of 2011, Tamweel reported a net profit of AED 27 million, compared to AED 5 million in the same period last year. In February, Tamweel reported an annual profit of AED 26 million for year 2010, bouncing back from an annual net loss of AED 54 million in 2009.

gulfnews : UAE has become a diamond in the rough

Manmade or natural, disasters affect the real estate and construction sectors where investor sentiments are concerned.

They can be impacted positively, as is evident in the stoic reconstruction and rehabilitation in north-east Japan, adding another chapter in the circle of life.

The Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has over 300 million people, and they come with all the needs of a young and diverse population. There is also an immigrant workforce that add its own flavour. These attributes give policymakers, private developers and real estate professionals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai greater room for manoeuvre.

Sao Paulo Development sues Nakheel - The National

The developer that bought the Sao Paulo island in Dubai's The World project is suing Nakheel for allegedly backing out of a deal to transfer its payments into another development.

Sao Paulo Development says in a Dubai World Tribunal claim that it made Dh17.45 million (US$4.7m) in payments to Nakheel, the master developer behind The World, a man-made archipelago off the Dubai coastline representing the globe. The island development was put on hold in the wake of Dubai's property-market downturn, and Sao Paulo says it agreed early last year to transfer its investment to plots in other Nakheel projects.

Nakheel allegedly backed out of that deal, however, even after Sao Paulo put up an additional Dh3.57m of "fresh cash" to ensure it went forward.

CityCenter raises itself from canvas - The National

It is not just boxing fans who will be cheering tomorrow when Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley step into the ring in Las Vegas.

The nearby huge CityCenter resort, which is half-owned by the Dubai World subsidiary Infinity World, is showing signs of improving health amid evidence of a wider recovery on the Strip.

MGM Resorts, the leisure company that owns the other half of the hotel and casino development, said there had been a rise in rates and occupancy levels at its Vegas properties.

Dubai's ICD agrees $2.8 billion loan | Reuters

Dubai's sovereign wealth fund ICD launched a $2.8 billion, five-year loan refinancing on Thursday which is the largest loan to emerge from Dubai since its financial crisis, banking sources said.

Citigroup, Emirates Bank and HSBC Bank have been appointed to co-ordinate a conventional tranche and Dubai Islamic Bank and Standard Chartered are leading an Islamic tranche.

ICD could not immediately be reached for comment.