Friday 14 October 2016

Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field (finally) makes first shipment

Kazakhstan’s Kashagan oil field (finally) makes first shipment:

"Kazakhstan’s troubled Kashagan oil field, one of the most expensive and delayed projects from the $100 oil era, has exported its first ever cargo of oil.

The giant field, which has become known in the industry as “cash-all-gone” for its bumper price tag and lengthy overruns, has shipped almost 200,000 barrels of crude, Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said.

The field, first discovered in 2000, is one of the largest conventional finds in four decades, but its location in the northern part of the Caspian Sea has complicated the development by Kazakhstan’s state oil company, KazMunayGas, and a consortium of some of the world’s biggest oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell, reports David Sheppard."



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Qatar: Doha property market ready for kick-off ahead of World Cup

Qatar: Doha property market ready for kick-off ahead of World Cup:

"Wealthy Qataris seem to have been more interested of late in the UK capital than their own. Agent DTZ estimates Qataris own £1bn worth of residential property in London, largely in Mayfair. Since the UK’s Brexit vote in June, inquiries have jumped by a quarter, the agent says, as buyers seize on a weaker pound and reported discounts on prices.

At home, by contrast, Qataris and their Middle Eastern neighbours are proving positively shy. International agent Cluttons has surveyed the super-rich of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar). Qataris, along with Saudis and Kuwaitis, had the bleakest view, with a third reporting they felt their economies were deteriorating.

Only 3 per cent of the GCC’s super-rich said they planned to buy property in Doha, Qatar’s capital, this year. This is roughly the same proportion planning to buy in India’s southern state of Kerala, and a long way off the 14 per cent intending to invest in Dubai."



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SoftBank and Saudi Arabia plan $100bn tech fund

SoftBank and Saudi Arabia plan $100bn tech fund:

"SoftBank and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund are preparing to launch a new tech fund that will manage as much as $100bn, in a move that will create one of the largest tech investment funds in the world.

The new fund, dubbed the SoftBank Vision Fund, will be based in London and seeded with $25bn from SoftBank and up to $45bn from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund over the next five years, according to a statement from the Japanese telecoms group.

The unusually large fund underscores investors’ enduring appetite for tech sector investments, even amid concerns in Silicon Valley about inflated valuations for late-stage start-ups such as Uber and Airbnb."



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Libya ruling set to cast fresh light on Goldman practices

Libya ruling set to cast fresh light on Goldman practices:

"Goldman Sachs will find out today whether it has defeated a $1bn lawsuit brought against it by the Libyan Investment Authority in a case that is set to once again shine a spotlight on the US bank’s activities.

The ruling from the UK’s High Court brings to a close a trial in which it was claimed Goldman exploited the LIA’s limited financial experience while its bankers sought to win lucrative business from the sovereign wealth fund by offering its officials lavish corporate hospitality — and in one case procuring prostitutes.

The case revolved around LIA’s claims that it was a fledgling wealth fund that was enticed by Goldman into risky derivative trades from which the bank made $200m in profits but the LIA lost its entire $1.2bn investment. The bank denied the allegation and claimed that the LIA was suffering from a classic case of “buyer’s remorse”.

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