Saturday 14 January 2017

Total in deal-making mode could add to Abu Dhabi shareholding | The National

Total in deal-making mode could add to Abu Dhabi shareholding | The National:

"Total has started to pursue deals more aggressively as oil prices stabilise and could acquire more assets in Abu Dhabi, including an increased stake in its onshore oil concession.

"We had two years where we were under constraint because of the oil price," said Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s chief executive an interview with The National. "We are now out of this period and have more margin to manoeuvre."


The French oil major was the first to take a stake in the new Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) concession at the beginning of 2015, when it paid US$2.2 billion for a 10 per cent stake and lead on two of the biggest oilfields, even as it led a wave of industry-wide cost-cutting amid slumping oil prices."



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Dubai real estate had a sluggish year of fewer trades and turnover | The National

Dubai real estate had a sluggish year of fewer trades and turnover | The National:

"Dubai’s real estate sector experienced a slowdown in 2016 as fewer transactions took place during a year of sluggish property prices.

Figures from Dubai Land Department on Saturday showed that overall transaction value in the city fell by nearly 3 per cent, to Dh259 billion from Dh267bn in 2015, even as the number of transactions fell to 60,595 last year compared with 63,719 deals a year earlier.

A report from the property consultants Cavendish Maxwell last week showed that transaction volumes for sales in Dubai dropped by 19 per cent year-on-year, citing 14,500 deals between January and mid-December.


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Al Mansouri confident about economic growth prospects in 2017 | GulfNews.com

Al Mansouri confident about economic growth prospects in 2017 | GulfNews.com:

"The UAE’s Minister of Economy, Sultan Al Mansouri, said he was confident about the country’s prospects for economic growth in 2017 despite challenges like lower oil prices. He expects growth rate this year to remain almost steady compared to 2016 at three per cent.
In an interview with Gulf News, Al Mansouri said his optimism was fuelled by factors that include the UAE’s economic diversification policy, which is reducing reliance on oil income. He said non-oil contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.6 per cent in 2016, and said that analysts are eyeing a non-oil growth rate of up to 3.8 per cent in 2017.
“With all of this … the UAE will surely come out with positive results of a clear future, further raising the attractiveness of the UAE’s business environment. This is also likely to result in GDP growth of 3 per cent in 2017, complementing the International Monetary Fund’s prediction of a growth rate of 3.3 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent at the end of 2016,” the Minister said via email."



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Airbus versus Boeing: Iran deals the difference in plane battle | Reuters

Airbus versus Boeing: Iran deals the difference in plane battle | Reuters:

"Over the past two decades, planemakers Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) have traded the crown in the annual orders race, and it was usually clear who had bragging rights in the fiercely competitive $120 billion annual jet market.

On Wednesday, Airbus retained the top spot when it said it had recorded a total of 731 net orders for 2016, beating Boeing's tally of 668 for the year released a week ago.

Standing out as the unusual kingmaker between the two Western giants is Iran, emerging from decades of sanctions to place billions of dollars of new orders. Because of fragile demand elsewhere, its comeback carries unusual weight."



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