Friday 11 November 2011

AIRSHOW-Qatar Airways, Emirates set for big orders-sources | Reuters

Qatar Airways, Dubai's Emirates and Kuwaiti lessor Alafco could place hefty aircraft orders at the Dubai Airshow starting on Sunday, industry sources said.

Qatar Airways is expected to place a $6.5-billion order for 50 fuel-saving A320neo jets and five A380s from Airbus, while Emirates is negotiating to place an order for at least 30 and possibly as many as 50 Boeing 777 long-range aircraft worth $8.5 billion to $14.5 billion, the sources said.

The sources stressed that the deals were still being finalised and there was no guarantee they would be completed in time for the show.

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's proposed sukuk trust certificates assigned 'A' sssue rating - bi-me.com

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'A' issue rating to the proposed sukuk trust certificates to be issued late November, subject to investor demand, by ADCB Islamic Finance (Cayman) Limited, a special purpose company (SPC) of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB; A/Stable/A-1).

The 'A' rating on the proposed sukuk trust certificates is based on the 'A' long-term counterparty credit rating on ADCB.

The rating on the five-year US$750 million trust certificates reflects ADCB's irrevocable undertaking to purchase the assets held by the issuer at the redemption date of the sukuk. ADCB's sukuk obligation will also rank pari passu with all other senior unsecured obligations of ADCB.

FT Alphaville » Bursting the MENA credit bubble

And now for something completely different..

Middle Eastern credit spreads could soon blow up amid an outbreak of political strife with potentially global consequences.

Another portion of grief to your plate then. In a report on Friday, Citigroup argued that investors are in no way compensated for political risk in the region, a prospect that could soon rear its head. It said (emphasis ours):

Alabbar sees Dubai homes market subdued to 2014 - Real Estate - ArabianBusiness.com

Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar has said Dubai's real estate will remain a "challenging" environment for two or three years but house prices are beginning to recover.

He also said he saw "optimism in the city" and confidence among consumers and the government, resulting in growth in key sectors of Dubai's economy.

He said in an interview on Bloomberg TV that tourism was experiencing strong growth while spending this year was up, adding that "things were looking good" for the emirate.

gulfnews : Etihad to pass up Aer Lingus shares

Etihad will not be buying a stake in Irish national airline Aer Lingus, Gulf News can report.

Senior Irish government and travel industry sources have confirmed independently that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier of the UAE had ‘kicked the tyres' and briefly considered purchasing Dublin's 25.4 per cent share of Aer Lingus.

Speculation about a purchase arose last month after Etihad CEO James Hogan visited Ireland and met with the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny at an investment forum.

Egyptian property in need of a shake-up - The National

Egyptian property developers must change their business models if they want to unlock the benefits of government housing initiatives introduced in the post-Mubarak era.

Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa region's most populous country, faces the biggest shortfall of affordable housing. The government has pledged to build 1 million extra units, but the global property investment and advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle puts total demand for affordable homes at 1.5 million.

Until recently, the industry has focused much of its attention on the wealthy elite, pricing out the majority of Egyptians.

Chip maker delays plan for factory in capital - The National

Globalfoundries, the chip manufacturer, has postponed its plan to start building the Gulf's first microprocessor-fabrication plant in Abu Dhabi next year.

The company, which is 91 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Company (Atic), will not start construction of the facility next year because of the uncertain global economic outlook.

"We will not be engaging in any ground breaking in Abu Dhabi in 2012," said Ibrahim Ajami, the chief executive of Atic.

Iran currency market feels impact of sanctions - FT.com

For many Iranians, the most tangible impact of international sanctions is on their country’s currency market, which struggles with a multiple-rate system and is jittery at the possibility of US restrictions on the central bank.

For more than a decade Iran’s central bank supported the national currency through a managed float system that helped it maintain a single rate against hard currencies.

The system enabled the central bank to pump foreign currency into the market and bring down rates as soon as the rial showed signs of weakening, or to withhold the hard currency supply to earn more rial-denominated income when the government faced a budget deficit.

Exxon Mobil Signs Kurd Oil, Gas Exploration Contracts -FT

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) last month signed contracts with the Kurdistan Regional Government, or KRG, to explore for oil and gas in six blocks in the region, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing an adviser to the KRG.

This makes Exxon the first of the "supermajor" oil companies to venture into Kurdistan, the newspaper said.

"The KRG has for the last few months been in discussions with a number of major oil companies. This resulted in the recent signing by Exxon Mobil of contracts to explore in six blocks," Michael Howard, an adviser to the KRG, told the newspaper.