Thursday 6 October 2016

Saudi Aramco prepares to publish its accounts for first time — FT.com

Saudi Aramco prepares to publish its accounts for first time — FT.com:

"Saudi Aramco is preparing to give investors unprecedented access to its accounts, lifting the lid on the world’s biggest oil producer ahead of a planned initial public offering in 2018.

Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled oil company is busy overhauling its accounts so as to publish figures for its 2017 financial year in an industry-friendly format, said four people close to the company. It is also planning to show investors backdated accounts in this format for its 2015 and 2016 financial years, which could be released as soon as 2017.

The kingdom’s influential deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman said in April that the planned listing of 5 per cent of Saudi Aramco could value the company at more than $2tn. This means it could become the world’s largest listed company: Apple, currently in top spot, has a market capitalisation of more than $600bn."



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NBAD finalising plan for benchmark bond issue -sources | GulfNews.com

NBAD finalising plan for benchmark bond issue -sources | GulfNews.com:

"National Bank of Abu Dhabi is finalising plans to issue a conventional bond of at least benchmark size, sources familiar with the plans told Reuters on Thursday.
NBAD has mandated banks to arrange the issue and is in the process of organising an investor roadshow, one of the sources said, declining to name the banks. Benchmark is commonly understood to mean at least $500 million (Dh1.8 billion).
There was no immediate official comment from NBAD."



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Saudis Risk More Pain From OPEC Reversal as Oil Rivals Ramp Up - Bloomberg

Saudis Risk More Pain From OPEC Reversal as Oil Rivals Ramp Up - Bloomberg:

"For OPEC’s production deal to work, it was always clear that Saudi Arabia would need to make sacrifices. The world’s largest oil exporter faces the risk the costs will keep getting bigger.
To bring daily output to the top end of the 32.5 million to 33 million-barrel range agreed to by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Saudis would only need to make the typical end-of-summer reductions as local demand tapers off, according to Citigroup Inc. If Nigeria and Libya restore production, the kingdom may need to cut twice as much, Petromatrix GmbH estimates. U.S. shale drillers also stand ready to fill any supply gap.
“At this point, the Saudis have shown willingness to cut by an amount that’s equal to their seasonal swing in production,” Petromatrix Managing Director Olivier Jakob said by phone from Zug, Switzerland. “If Libya and Nigeria are out, it’s relatively easy to live by the commitment they made. If Nigeria and Libya don’t falter, it’s going to be extremely difficult.” "



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Saudi Arabia's Engine of Growth Is Running Out of Gas - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia's Engine of Growth Is Running Out of Gas - Bloomberg:

"The first year of Saudi Arabia’s drive to reduce its oil dependence may end with the opposite result.
A flurry of cost-cutting measures will likely push the non-oil economy into recession, analysts say. That means that any overall growth in 2016 will be largely due to record crude output.
Efforts to manage the fallout from cheap oil gathered steam over the past two weeks. Policy makers have suspended bonuses and trimmed allowances for government employees. Ministers’ salaries were cut by 20 percent. The central bank also said it’s injecting about 20 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) into the banking system to ease a cash crunch."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi petchems rise, but most of Gulf weak | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi petchems rise, but most of Gulf weak | Reuters:

"Saudi petrochemical shares continued rising early on Thursday, encouraged by strong oil prices, but most stocks in the region weakened in quiet trade.

The Saudi index edged up 0.2 percent after Brent oil futures rose as high as $52.09 per barrel overnight, the highest since early June.

National Petrochem, which surged 8.2 percent on Wednesday, climbed a further 3.0 percent to 15.60 riyals; NCB Capital and SICO upgraded their views of the stock this week, with targets of 17.30 and 19.00 riyals respectively."



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