Sunday 23 November 2014

Dubai needs to diversify for stable growth | The National

Dubai needs to diversify for stable growth | The National:



"AlixPartners is a global consultancy known for its work on corporate turnarounds and restructuring. Eugenio Berenga, managing director of the company’s enterprise improvement practice in Dubai, talks to Sean Cronin about the economic prospects of the emirate and the region five years on from the Dubai World crisis.



What are the biggest challenges facing regional corporates in the current economic cycle? 



This region is a growing economy that has invested significantly in its basic industries. Many companies have grown very fast and have become very profitable. But now many of them face a different paradigm because if they want to grow faster they need to go international, and that is a completely different ball game. If you look at the economy here, it is not very diversified. A significant portion of the economy is driven by oil and gas and there is another big portion driven by construction and real estate development. The third element is consumer goods trading. All of the large organisations have developed on these three main sectors. The more people who get involved in this, the fewer opportunities there are. So they need to diversify into different industries."



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Dubai stands taller than ever five years on from its debt crisis | The National

Dubai stands taller than ever five years on from its debt crisis | The National:



"Five years ago this week, Dubai was the focus of world attention for all the wrong reasons.



“Dubai shock after debt standstill call” was one headline, along with “A breathtaking blunder by Dubai” and “Dubai stuns debt markets”.



One British tabloid went further: “Bye-bye Dubai” it blazed across the front page, casting hysterical doubts on the emirate’s financial sustainability."



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Principles of economic freedom pay off for GCC | GulfNews.com

Principles of economic freedom pay off for GCC | GulfNews.com:



"The recently released 2014 report on ‘Economic Freedom of the Arab World’ is generous enough towards the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states … for all the logical reasons.



The report ranks Jordan on par with the UAE at the top position, followed by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon and then Saudi Arabia. Of the 22 Arab League nations, 20 are ranked, ostensibly reflecting the availability of data.



The report is issued by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, International Research Foundation of Oman and Frazer Institute of Canada."



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Spending is one thing, spreading value in the Gulf is another | GulfNews.com

Spending is one thing, spreading value in the Gulf is another | GulfNews.com:



"It has not been difficult to sense recently that around the world, other than the US, a certain doubt is growing about economic prospects and policy methods, several years on from the outbreak of the global financial crisis.



Indeed, perhaps it was only an outbreak, and a war of policy attrition continues, against the lingering threats of growth dependent on easy money, persisting debt overloads and the possibility still of a further, potentially even more shocking credit disorder.



It’s an unavoidable context that now frames most business projects in most locations. Even in the Gulf, the bedrock beneath the region’s rebound, namely firmly-situated oil prices, is being shaken, quite possibly in a crucial contest for market share, as a structural pendulum appears to shift in favour of the US, while global demand cyclically suffers.
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Iran May Propose OPEC Oil-Output Cut in Saudi Meeting, Mehr Says - Bloomberg

Iran May Propose OPEC Oil-Output Cut in Saudi Meeting, Mehr Says - Bloomberg:



"Iran may propose that OPEC cuts its output target by as much as 1 million barrels a day to prop up prices when the country’s oil minister meets his Saudi counterpart as the group gathers this week, Mehr News reported.



Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will confer on the sidelines of the planned meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to define a common view among the group’s 12 members for supporting crude prices, state-run Mehr reported, without saying where it got the information.



OPEC, supplier of about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will meet Nov. 27 in the Austrian capital to assess its collective output amid a supply glut and a 27 percent drop in prices this year. Half the analysts in a Bloomberg survey last week forecast that OPEC would cut production to shore up prices, while the other half said they didn’t see it deviating from an official 30 million barrel-a-day production target."



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Iran May Propose OPEC Oil-Output Cut in Saudi Meeting, Mehr Says - Bloomberg

Iran May Propose OPEC Oil-Output Cut in Saudi Meeting, Mehr Says - Bloomberg:



"Iran may propose that OPEC cuts its output target by as much as 1 million barrels a day to prop up prices when the country’s oil minister meets his Saudi counterpart as the group gathers this week, Mehr News reported.



Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi will confer on the sidelines of the planned meeting in Vienna of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to define a common view among the group’s 12 members for supporting crude prices, state-run Mehr reported, without saying where it got the information.



OPEC, supplier of about 40 percent of the world’s oil, will meet Nov. 27 in the Austrian capital to assess its collective output amid a supply glut and a 27 percent drop in prices this year. Half the analysts in a Bloomberg survey last week forecast that OPEC would cut production to shore up prices, while the other half said they didn’t see it deviating from an official 30 million barrel-a-day production target."



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Dubai Leads Mideast Gains After Stimulus, Oil; Abu Dhabi Rises - Bloomberg

Dubai Leads Mideast Gains After Stimulus, Oil; Abu Dhabi Rises - Bloomberg:



"Dubai shares advanced, led by Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), as central banks from China to Europe take additional stimulus measures and oil gained. Abu Dhabi’s stocks gauge increased.



The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) rose 1.1 percent, the most since Nov. 18, to 4,611.84 at 1:14 p.m. local time. Emaar, the developer of the world’s tallest tower, climbed 2.8 percent before tomorrow’s shareholders' meeting on its dividend payment. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB) added 0.9 percent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index advanced 0.3 percent, set for the strongest close since Oct. 9.



China, the world’s second-largest oil-consuming country, cut interest rates last week for the first time since July 2012, and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he will do what's necessary to raise inflation, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high. Brent crude climbed 1.2 percent last week to $80.36 a barrel. The Middle East is home to some of the world’s biggest oil producers.

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Dubai Leads Mideast Gains After Stimulus, Oil; Abu Dhabi Rises - Bloomberg

Dubai Leads Mideast Gains After Stimulus, Oil; Abu Dhabi Rises - Bloomberg:



"Dubai shares advanced, led by Emaar Properties PJSC (EMAAR), as central banks from China to Europe take additional stimulus measures and oil gained. Abu Dhabi’s stocks gauge increased.



The Dubai Financial Market General Index (DFMGI) rose 1.1 percent, the most since Nov. 18, to 4,611.84 at 1:14 p.m. local time. Emaar, the developer of the world’s tallest tower, climbed 2.8 percent before tomorrow’s shareholders' meeting on its dividend payment. Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC (DIB) added 0.9 percent. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index advanced 0.3 percent, set for the strongest close since Oct. 9.



China, the world’s second-largest oil-consuming country, cut interest rates last week for the first time since July 2012, and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said he will do what's necessary to raise inflation, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an all-time high. Brent crude climbed 1.2 percent last week to $80.36 a barrel. The Middle East is home to some of the world’s biggest oil producers.

"



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Saudi Arabia’s Mobily Suspends CEO After Accounting Error - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Mobily Suspends CEO After Accounting Error - Bloomberg:



"Etihad Etisalat Co., (EEC) the Saudi Arabian phone operator known as Mobily, suspended its chief executive officer after auditing errors prompted a sell-off in its shares that erased about $5 billion from its market value.



The suspension of Khalid Omar Al Kaf took effect from Nov. 21 until the audit committee submits its report to the board, the company said in a statement to the Saudi stock market today. Deputy CEO Serkan Okandan will run the operations as the audit committee identifies responsibilities with regards to mistakes in its financial statement, according to the statement.



Mobily said on Nov. 3 that an error in timing of revenue recognition of a promotional program affected the financial statements for 2013 and the first half of this year. The period ended June 30 was also impacted by mistakes in revenue relating to leasing of its fiber-optic communication network, it said."



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