Tuesday 10 June 2014

Dubai Courts list sheds light on 36 cancelled projects | The National

Dubai Courts list sheds light on 36 cancelled projects | The National:



"A list of 18 developers and 36 developments posted on the Dubai Courts website is believed to be the first definitive list of cancelled projects in the emirate.



While it is assumed that the list is meant to remove ambiguity over what developments are at what stage, in order to give investors clarity, Dubai Courts did not respond to interview requests from The National.



Still, the list should provide investors in the cancelled projects with a new timeline under which refunds could be forthcoming.



“Ultimately this is about improving transparency,” said Matthew Green, the head of research and consultancy at the property consultancy CBRE. “One of the main gripes of investors and people that work in the market is the lack of transparency, particularly around issues such as this. Which projects are cancelled, which are still valid. It gives more information to the investor as to what is attractive and what should be avoided. It is just one part of an overall strategy to get the market towards maturity. You would have access to this sort of information in any mature market place.”"



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Lull in UAE capital market activity for now, but great things to come | The National

Lull in UAE capital market activity for now, but great things to come | The National:



"Whatever happened to the “wave” of initial public offerings (IPOs) we were told at the beginning of the year was going to wash over UAE markets?



Sure, there has been a healthy pick-up in capital markets activity over the past six months, with IPOs successfully completed by Emirates Reit and by Marka.



The latter was heavily oversubscribed, indicating a shored-up demand for well-backed and well-conceived IPO projects, even with no trading record and no profits in prospect for some years. Its shares will begin trading soon, perhaps next week according to people involved in the transaction, so we will see how all that demand translates into the after market."



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Abu Dhabi's ADGAS plans major gas production increase - Energy - ArabianBusiness.com

Abu Dhabi's ADGAS plans major gas production increase - Energy - ArabianBusiness.com:



"Abu Dhabi Gas Liquefaction Co (ADGAS) said on Tuesday it planned to increase gas production to as much as 2.4 billion standard cubic feet (scf) per day by 2017. #



The firm, majority-owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, said its current production was 2 billion scf per day.



"There are expansions under study and we will start construction by next year, to add another 200 to 400 million a day," Fahim Kazim, ADGAS' chief executive, told reporters on the sidelines of a company event in Abu Dhabi."



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#Ukraine Gas Talks Deadlock as Gazprom Demands Debt Payment - Bloomberg

Ukraine Gas Talks Deadlock as Gazprom Demands Debt Payment - Bloomberg:



"Ukraine and Russia failed to reach an agreement on natural gas deliveries during overnight negotiations hosted by the European Union as OAO Gazprom (OGZD) insisted on receiving a debt payment before a deadline today.



Talks may resume today at 9 p.m. central European time or tomorrow morning, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told reporters in Brussels after the meeting, which lasted more than seven hours. The EU, reliant on Russian gas piped through Ukraine for about 15 percent of its supplies, is trying to broker a deal to avert a cutoff.



Gazprom will not delay today’s deadline, under which Ukraine must make prepayments for gas supplies, spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said by phone."



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Discount carrier or budget airline? | GulfNews.com

Discount carrier or budget airline? | GulfNews.com:



"When asked to address the five year old debate that revolved around flydubai’s business thrust — discount airline or budget carrier — CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith preferred to draw the spotlight on categorising it simply as “flydubai.”



“If you ask me what it stands for then we are proud of our low cost mentality in terms of running the airline but we are focused on efficiency. Low cost to us means the lowest possible operating cost to ensure that we are profitable and use those profits to manage our airline.”



According to Al Ghaith, “The concept of one market and one customer does not exist. Similarly, when it comes to the airline, we couldn’t be a product that carries the Dubai branding and deprive the customer of the best possible treatment. This must be at a standard which is compatible to Dubai and we have to ensure that we focus on this and package it to give the right service as befits the Dubai branding. Like Dubai, we too focus on pushing the boundaries.”"



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Sharp rent increases in the UAE can cause an imbalance in local economy | GulfNews.com

Sharp rent increases in the UAE can cause an imbalance in local economy | GulfNews.com:



"Only one-half of the UAE’s efforts to cool down the property market from overreaching itself has worked up to now — halting the sudden and sharp spike in asking prices for homes in freehold clusters.



The other factor that is creating an imbalance in the local economy — the rise in rentals — still has not been brought under control.



By the looks of it, bringing stability in the rental growth rates could take more time."



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TPG, Abraaj Said in Talks for Loan to Buy Fast Food Chain Kudu - Bloomberg

TPG, Abraaj Said in Talks for Loan to Buy Fast Food Chain Kudu - Bloomberg:



"TPG Capital and Abraaj Group are seeking funding for the potential acquisition of Saudi fast food chain Kudu, three people with knowledge of the matter said. 




The two private equity firms are negotiating with banks to borrow about 700 million Saudi riyals ($187 million), the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The firms are seeking to buy a 60 percent stake valued at 1 billion riyals, two of the people said, with the remaining funds coming from their existing resources. The deal should be completed in the second half, according to the people.



If the sale goes through it would be a rare sign of merger and acquisition activity in the kingdom, after deals fell about 83 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Saudi International Petrochemical Co. and Sahara Petrochemicals Co. said June 8 they were putting a planned merger on hold because of regulatory issues. That deal would have created a chemicals company with a market value of about $5.8 billion."



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