Wednesday 30 April 2014

IMF board approves $17 billion for Ukraine #EuroMaidan

IMF board approves $17 billion for Ukraine:



"The International Monetary Fund board on Wednesday approved a two-year, $17 billion loan package for cash-strapped Ukraine as it seeks to regain stability following Russia's annexation of Crimea.



The IMF assistance pledged in March was hinged on economic reforms in Ukraine, including raising taxes, freezing the minimum wage and raising energy prices — all steps that could hit households hard and strain the interim government's tenuous hold on power.



Ukraine's interim government finds itself caught between the demands of international creditors and a restive population that has endured decades of economic stagnation, corruption and mismanagement."



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Abu Dhabi and Soros got 'golden ticket' in Royal Mail sale - Telegraph

Abu Dhabi and Soros got 'golden ticket' in Royal Mail sale - Telegraph

Value of listed sukuk on Dubai capital markets tops $20b | GulfNews.com

Value of listed sukuk on Dubai capital markets tops $20b | GulfNews.com

MIDEAST STOCKS-UAE markets slide; Qatar, Egypt rebound | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-UAE markets slide; Qatar, Egypt rebound | Reuters:



"Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates remained weak on Wednesday while bourses in Qatar and Egypt rebounded after several days of losses.



Dubai's bourse edged down 0.5 percent with declines across the board. Lender Emirates NBD, down 2 percent, was the main drag.



Shares in Arabtec's, which soared 50 percent this month, fell 0.6 percent in early trade before trading was suspended for the rest of the day from 0700 GMT when its annual shareholder meeting opened."



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China economy set to overtake US - YouTube

China economy set to overtake US - YouTube: ""



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UPDATE 1-Bahrain's Batelco first quarter net profit rises 8 pct | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Bahrain's Batelco first quarter net profit rises 8 pct | Reuters:



"Bahrain Telecommunications Co (Batelco) posted an 8 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Wednesday as the operator added more domestic subscribers and revenue grew following its largest ever acquisition last year.



The former monopoly, which had reported declining profits in 16 of the previous 18 quarters and went nearly a year without a permanent chief executive, made a net profit of 14.5 million dinars ($38.46 million) in the three months to March 31, it said in an emailed statement.



This compares with a profit of 13.4 million dinars in the year-earlier period."



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Abu Dhabi fund IPIC posts 23.4 pct profit hike for 2013 | Reuters

Abu Dhabi fund IPIC posts 23.4 pct profit hike for 2013 | Reuters:



"International Petroleum Investment Co, an investment fund owned by the Abu Dhabi government, posted a 23.4 percent increase in 2013 net profit on Wednesday.



IPIC, which focuses on investments in the energy and related sector, made 7.9 billion dirhams ($2.15 billion) in 2013, according to a statement, up from 6.4 billion dirhams in the previous year.



Its total assets grew to 251.2 billion dirhams at the end of 2013, up from 239.3 billion dirhams on December 31, 2012."



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Ukraine's richest man says has faith in industrial east - chicagotribune.com #EuroMaidan

Ukraine's richest man says has faith in industrial east - chicagotribune.com:



"Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, said on Wednesday he had no plans to sell his businesses in the country's industrial east and his faith was unshaken in a region increasingly in the hands of pro-Russian separatists.



The 47-year-old tycoon said he would continue to invest in Ukraine, which must find a way to unite again as rebels seized more buildings across the Donbass coal and steel belt around the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk.



Most of Akhmetov's Ukrainian business empire, which runs from steel and metals to media and telecoms, is based in the Donbass area, where members of the self-declared "People's Republic of Donetsk" have called for a referendum on independence on May 11."



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Qatar’s Al Mirqab Agrees to Buy Heritage Oil for $1.5 Billion - Bloomberg

Qatar’s Al Mirqab Agrees to Buy Heritage Oil for $1.5 Billion - Bloomberg:



"Al Mirqab Capital SPC, a company controlled by Qatar’s royal family, offered to buy Heritage Oil Plc (HOIL) for 924 million pounds ($1.5 billion) in cash.



The 320 pence a share offer, recommended by Heritage’s board, is a 25 percent premium to yesterday’s closing price, Heritage said in a statement today.



Heritage holds stakes in oil fields in Nigeria. The company’s chief executive officer, Tony Buckingham, will retain a 20 percent holding in the company and serve as adviser for at least five years."



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Dubai sale still on as Ramadan nears | GlobalCapital

Dubai sale still on as Ramadan nears | GlobalCapital:



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Why the eurozone crisis is over - YouTube

Why the eurozone crisis is over - YouTube: ""



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Banks - prevention better than cure - YouTube

Banks - prevention better than cure - YouTube: ""



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Former DIFC governor tries Marka for size with investment stake | The National

Former DIFC governor tries Marka for size with investment stake | The National:



"Welcome back, Omar bin Sulaiman. The former governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, who left that position at the height of the financial crisis as the Dubai authorities purged some of the top jobs in the Emirates, is back in the public eye, having kept a low profile for the past few years.



Mr bin Sulaiman appears in the prospectus for Marka, the investment vehicle that plans big things in the retail, luxury and restaurant business in the Arabian Gulf region. Marka recently got away with a hugely successful initial public offering, attracting some US$2.7 billion worth of interest for $75 million of shares on offer, or around 36 times oversubscribed."



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Strong recovery for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise as profit skyrockets | The National

Strong recovery for Dubai Aerospace Enterprise as profit skyrockets | The National:



"Net profit soared at Dubai Aerospace Enterprise more than 1,300 per cent last year as the company recovered from its financial woes.



The aircraft leasing company yesterday announced net profits of Dh410 million, compared with just Dh29m in 2012.



The rise in profits was attributable to the absence of one-off items, consisting principally of “litigation items” in its maintenance repair and operations business that negatively affected results in 2012, DAE said."



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MAF tightens pricing ahead of $500m bond sale | GulfNews.com

MAF tightens pricing ahead of $500m bond sale | GulfNews.com:



"Dubai-based shopping mall developer Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) has tightened price guidance on its planned 10-year $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) bond issue, which is due to be sold later on Tuesday, a document from lead arrangers showed.



High demand for the offering — the order book was currently north of $2 billion, arranging banks said — has helped MAF reduce the prospective cost of its borrowing.



The bond will price in the range between 195 basis points (bps) and 200 bps over midswaps, the document said. This is down from the 212.5 bps area over midswaps communicated earlier on Tuesday."



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Exxon’s $900 Billion Arctic Prize at Risk After Ukraine - Bloomberg

Exxon’s $900 Billion Arctic Prize at Risk After Ukraine - Bloomberg:



"Exxon Mobil (XOM) Corp.’s dream of drilling in the Russian Arctic may risk running aground on the politics of Ukraine.



The company plans to start drilling in August in the Arctic’s remote Kara Sea -- the centerpiece of Exxon’s global alliance with Russian state-controlled OAO Rosneft. (ROSN) The partnership, which includes shale exploration in Siberia and joint venture fields in Texas, will come under greater scrutiny after the U.S. placed sanctions on Rosneft’s Chief Executive Officer Igor Sechin.



“With Sechin being sanctioned it may complicate relations for Rosneft with Western companies,” said Mattias Westman, who oversees about $3.3 billion in Russia assets as CEO of Prosperity Capital. “Maybe some transactions will be threatened as a result and perhaps Russia will counter and they will be less keen for American companies to work on Arctic projects.”"



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Saudi Oil Faces Summer Heat Challenge: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg

Saudi Oil Faces Summer Heat Challenge: Chart of the Day - Bloomberg:



"

Saudi Arabia will probably have to sustain production above 10 million barrels a day for the longest period in more than 30 years as it meets the summer surge in domestic demand and compensates for production losses in Libya.



The CHART OF THE DAY shows how, over the past half decade, Saudi Arabian crude oil burning for power generation expanded by an average of 500,000 barrels a day in the six months through August as people turned up their air conditioners. A repeat this year would eat up about 5 percent of the kingdom’s current output at a time when Libya, the holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves, is all but offline.



“The summer this year will pose the real challenge, particularly if most Libyan production remains offline,” Robin Mills, the head of consulting at Dubai-based Manaar Energy Consulting and Project Management, said in an interview. To meet both international and domestic crude demand, the kingdom would have to raise production above 10 million barrels a day and sustain it for several months, he said."



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