Tuesday 21 February 2017

DP World wins tribunal case against Djibouti over bribe case

DP World wins tribunal case against Djibouti over bribe case:

"DP World has won an arbitration case against the government of Djibouti, which claimed the Dubai ports operator made illegal payments to win a concession to operate a container terminal in the Red Sea African state.

A London tribunal ordered the government to bear legal and other costs, throwing out claims that DP World had bribed Abdourahman Boreh, the former head of Djibouti’s ports free zone authority.

Despite the ruling, the Djibouti government’s attitude to the Dubai government-controlled company’s operations remains unclear."



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U.S. Said to Rekindle Iran Sanctions Probe of Deutsche Boerse Unit - Bloomberg

U.S. Said to Rekindle Iran Sanctions Probe of Deutsche Boerse Unit - Bloomberg:

"U.S. prosecutors are pushing forward on an Iran sanctions investigation that had languished during the multiyear period when Washington and Tehran were negotiating their nuclear pact, according to people briefed on the matter.

The Justice Department is continuing to examine whether Clearstream Banking SA and its parent company, Deutsche Boerse AG, provided a conduit for illegal Iranian transactions and made false statements to regulators during a review of Deutsche Boerse’s unsuccessful 2012 bid to buy the New York Stock Exchange, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The investigation is being run by the office of Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, a holdover from the Obama administration who was asked to stay on by President Donald Trump. The inquiry picked up again last year, they said, after the sensitive international negotiations had been completed and the nuclear agreement had taken effect, and before the Nov. 8 election that carried Trump to the presidency."



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UPDATE 1-Saudi Arabia issues request for proposals for international sukuk - sources | Reuters

UPDATE 1-Saudi Arabia issues request for proposals for international sukuk - sources | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia has sent a request for proposals (RFP) to banks for a planned U.S. dollar sukuk, or Islamic bond, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The debt sale would be Saudi's second international bond offering, after the sovereign issued a debut $17.5 billion bond in October last year in what was the largest bond ever sold across emerging markets. The government approached lenders which had worked on Saudi's first issuance, one of the sources said."



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Six banks pitched for Aramco IPO role on Saudi bourse: sources | Reuters

Six banks pitched for Aramco IPO role on Saudi bourse: sources | Reuters:

"Saudi oil giant Aramco has received proposals from at least six banks for an advisory role on the firm's planned initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange, sources familiar with the process told Reuters on Tuesday.

Saudi authorities are planning to list up to five percent of the world's largest oil producer on both the Saudi stock exchange in Riyadh, the Tadawul, and one or more international markets in an IPO that could raise $100 billion.

Riyadh-based HSBC Saudi Arabia, a joint venture between Saudi British Bank and HSBC, NCB Capital, Samba Capital, Saudi Fransi Capital, Riyad Capital and GIB Capital, the investment banking arm of Bahrain-based Gulf International Bank, submitted proposals to Aramco in early February, the sources said."



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Banks Said to Reject Saudi Telecom Bid to Resolve Debt Issue - Bloomberg

Banks Said to Reject Saudi Telecom Bid to Resolve Debt Issue - Bloomberg:

"Banks rejected a Saudi Telecom Co. plan to resolve a dispute over a missed payment on a $4.75 billion loan at a Turkish unit, prolonging a five-month impasse on the debt, people with knowledge of the matter said. The lenders turned down the plan because it involved taking a loss on the loan, three people said, asking not to be identified because talks are private. Saudi Telecom’s plan envisaged lending about $160 million to its Otas unit -- which missed the payment -- and also buying a direct stake in the business, they said. At present, the Saudi company only owns an indirect stake in Otas. Otas -- which owns 55 percent of Turk Telekom -- failed to make a $290 million repayment in September on the loan, Turkey’s biggest syndicated borrowing. A slump in the lira led to a decline in the dollar value of dividends Otas receives from the phone company and had counted on to help repay the loan, a person with knowledge of the matter said in October."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai falls sharply as Arabtec slides, Egypt rebounds | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai falls sharply as Arabtec slides, Egypt rebounds | Reuters:

"Dubai's stock market fell on Tuesday, breaking technical support as construction firm Arabtec continued to slide, while Egypt rebounded from a drop triggered by foreign investors' selling.

Dubai's index sank 1.2 percent to 3,560 points, confirming a break of support on the mid-February low of 3,608 points; this triggered a double top formed by the January and February peaks and pointing down to around 3,500 points.

Arabtec, which plunged its 10 percent daily limit to a five-year low on Monday, slid a further 6.7 percent. The company reported a week ago that its net loss had widened in the fourth quarter and that its board was seeking shareholder approval for a 1.5 billion dirham ($408.4 million) rights issue."



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Opec chief expects strong compliance on global supply cut

Opec chief expects strong compliance on global supply cut:

"Opec’s Secretary General has predicted greater compliance from the world’s biggest producers with a supply cut deal to curb excess inventories. Speaking at the annual International Petroleum Week conference in London, Mohammad Barkindo said: “All countries involved remain resolute in the determination to achieve a higher level of conformity.” Late last year Opec countries along with producers outside the cartel agreed to curb global supplies to ease a crude surplus and stabilise an oil price downturn. It was the first joint supply deal since 2001."



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Rosneft Signs Libya Oil Deal as More Investors Return to Country - Bloomberg

Rosneft Signs Libya Oil Deal as More Investors Return to Country - Bloomberg:

"Rosneft PJSC signed investment and crude-purchasing agreements with Libya’s National Oil Corp. as more international companies return to the North African country to gain access to Africa’s largest reserves.

Moscow-based Rosneft agreed to invest in exploration and production in Libya, the state-run NOC said Tuesday in a statement on its website, without specifying the amount or timing of the investment. The companies signed a separate accord for Rosneft to buy Libyan crude. 

The deals are part of a bigger push by the NOC to encourage additional investments by foreign oil companies to help Libya increase its production to 2.1 million barrels a day by 2020, according to the statement. Rosneft’s press service declined to comment when contacted by phone."



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Who will fill London's skyscrapers?

Abu Dhabi difficulties weigh on Mediclinic shares

Abu Dhabi difficulties weigh on Mediclinic shares:

"Shares in Mediclinic dropped 7 per cent on Tuesday morning after the FTSE 100 hospital operator warned that a string of problems at the Abu Dhabi hospitals it bought in 2015 would cause profits to be lower than expected.

The company said its southern African and Swiss operations had performed well so far in the second half of its financial year, but revenues and underlying profit margins at its Middle East operations will be lower than anticipated.

Mediclinic agreed a $2bn reverse takeover of Abu Dhabi-based Al Noor Hospital Group in 2015, but patient volumes and operating performance have disappointed this year. The company had already warned about the difficulties earlier during its interim results, but the problems have shown no sign of improving since the start of its second half in September, and were “particularly pronounced in January”."



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Oman set to announce dollar bond issue this week –sources | Reuters

Oman set to announce dollar bond issue this week –sources | Reuters:

"The government of Oman is expected to announce the launch of a new U.S. dollar bond issue this week as it seeks to plug a budget deficit caused by low oil prices, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, Societe Generale and Standard Chartered have been appointed to lead the transaction, the sources said.

Telephone calls to Oman’s finance ministry went unanswered."



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Saudi Postal Corp seeks bank advisers for privatisation -sources | Reuters

Saudi Postal Corp seeks bank advisers for privatisation -sources | Reuters:

"Saudi Arabia has invited banks to pitch for an advisory role in the sale of Saudi Postal Corp to investors, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The kingdom is launching a privatisation drive as part of wider economic reforms which aim to boost efficiency and ease pressure on state finances in an era of cheap oil.

Saudi Postal, the government-owned postal service, sent a request for proposals to local banks last month, according to bankers who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is not public. No decision on which banks will participate has been made, two bankers said."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mostly lower, Dubai's Arabtec slides again | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf mostly lower, Dubai's Arabtec slides again | Reuters:

"Most Gulf stock markets fell early on Tuesday with Dubai hit once again by weakness in construction firm Arabtec after the company reported a fourth-quarter loss and plans for a rights issue a week ago.

Dubai's index lost 0.6 percent as Arabtec, which plunged its 10 percent daily limit to a five-year low on Monday, slid a further 2.2 percent. Shares in Drake & Scull, another builder which has been struggling financially, rebounded 3.0 percent.

Abu Dhabi climbed 0.5 percent as telecommunications firm Etisalat rose 1.4 percent. The company said it would pay the federal government a royalty of 30 percent of profits for 2017-2021, the same rate as in 2016."



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