Monday 10 April 2017

ADGM lowers fund capital requirements to fall into line with international counterparts | The National

ADGM lowers fund capital requirements to fall into line with international counterparts | The National:

"Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has announced lower capital requirements for managers of selected funds established in the free zone, bringing its regulations into line with other international jurisdictions.

The free zone’s regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FRSA), unveiled new base capital requirement rules for authorised firms managing collective investment funds (CIF).

The FRSA said that it was adopting an enhanced tier structure for base capital requirements (BCR), previously set at US$250,000. Under the new structure, the BCR requirement for CIF managers of Public Funds will be revised down to $150,000. Managers of exempt funds and qualified investor funds will have a BCR of $50,000.


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MIDEAST DEBT-Hefty demand to keep Saudi Arabia’s debut dollar sukuk pricing in check – investors | Reuters

MIDEAST DEBT-Hefty demand to keep Saudi Arabia’s debut dollar sukuk pricing in check – investors | Reuters:

"High demand for Saudi Arabia's international sukuk, set to be the largest ever dollar Islamic bond, will reduce the new issue premium to barely a few basis points over Saudi Arabia's existing conventional bonds, investors said. The dual-tranche sukuk, with maturities of five and 10 years, could total up to $10 billion, bankers previously said. A transaction of that scale could translate into a premium of 10 to 15 basis points over Saudi Arabia's existing five- and 10-year paper issued in October last year. But should the kingdom keep the issue size in check, the sukuk is likely to trade flat to Saudi's existing curve, investors said."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Geopolitical risk keeps funds away, but Abu Dhabi's TAQA shines | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Geopolitical risk keeps funds away, but Abu Dhabi's TAQA shines | Reuters:

"Most stock markets closed down on Monday with volumes low as geopolitical risk kept institutional funds away, but Abu Dhabi's energy company TAQA kept rising after the government increased its stake in the company last week.

Abu Dhabi's index fell 0.4 percent, with shares of the recently merged lender First Abu Dhabi Bank down 0.9 percent, its third consecutive session of declines.

Shares of what is now the largest bank by assets in the emirate outperformed last week as emerging market funds adjusted weightings in their portfolios to reflect the merger."



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Denmark proposes law change to block Gazprom pipeline

Denmark proposes law change to block Gazprom pipeline:

"Denmark’s government wants to change the country’s laws in a way that could allow a proposed Russian gas pipeline to Europe to be blocked, in a sign of the growing unease in the EU over the project.

EU officials have been seeking ways to delay or halt Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, fearing the initiative will strengthen Russia’s dominance of the European gas market and help the state-controlled energy group bypass Ukraine.

Lars Christian Lilleholt, Denmark’s energy minister, told the Financial Times that the government was proposing a bill to allow foreign and security policy considerations to be taken into account in assessing whether projects such as Nord Stream 2 should be allowed."



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North Sea oil is in its death throes. But the industry has one last grand act left | Ian Jack | Opinion | The Guardian

North Sea oil is in its death throes. But the industry has one last grand act left | Ian Jack | Opinion | The Guardian:

"To witness the beginning or end of a great industry or a way of living isn’t unusual. Each generation has its list of comings and goings – great grandfathers who remember the advent of the motor car, grandmothers who recall the last factory hooter in Accrington, fathers and mothers who can say where and when they last used a typewriter or first saw a mobile phone. But for the same generation to know both – the end, say, of the car or the typewriter, as well as their beginning: this is exceptional. North Sea oil is coming close to that distinction. Its life seems to be passing with remarkable speed. You don’t need to be impossibly old to remember the discovery of its first reserves in 1969 or its initial exploitation six years later, and while the very end is still some way off – perhaps as late as the 2050s, if the oil price goes high enough – its inevitability has recently become stark, and nowhere more so than at a recently built concrete quayside at the mouth of the Tees. This, I felt on Wednesday, looking around the quay and the adjacent hundred acres that waits to be filled by scrap, is where the ending begins."



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Middle East airline brand values nosedive, but banks a source of greater wealth | The National

Middle East airline brand values nosedive, but banks a source of greater wealth | The National:

"The value of many of the UAE’s bank brands increased substantially in 2016, but airline brand values ran into headwinds as a result of worsening revenue forecasts, according to the consultancy Brand Finance.

In the brand valuation specialist’s annual Middle East 50 report Emirates was deposed from its top spot for the first time since the ranking began in 2010. Its brand was valued at US$6.08 billion, placing it second behind Saudi Arabian telecoms operator STC, whose brand was valued at $6.22bn.


Qatar Airways was the company within the ranking which experienced the steepest decline in brand value – dropping by 38 per cent to almost $2.17bn.

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IranAir may receive first Boeing jet sooner than planned | Reuters

IranAir may receive first Boeing jet sooner than planned | Reuters:

"IranAir may get its first new Boeing jetliner a year earlier than expected under a deal to take jets originally bought by cash-strapped Turkish Airlines, Iranian media and industry sources said.

Iran had been expected to receive the first of 80 aircraft ordered from the U.S. planemaker in April 2018, but at least one brand-new aircraft is reported to be sitting unused because it is no longer needed by the Turkish carrier.

Industry sources said Boeing was in negotiations to release at least one 777-300ER originally built for Turkish Airlines, which is deferring deliveries due to weaker traffic following last year's failed coup attempt in Turkey.

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Oil Extends Gain Above $52 as Russia Weighs Output Cut Extension - Bloomberg

Oil Extends Gain Above $52 as Russia Weighs Output Cut Extension - Bloomberg:

"Oil headed for its highest settlement in a month as Russia signaled it’s weighing an extension to OPEC-led production cuts, offsetting concern rising U.S. production will exacerbate a global glut. Futures rose as much as 0.7 percent in New York after advancing 3.2 percent last week following a U.S. military strike on Syria. Russia’s energy ministry has been in discussions with oil companies regarding the need to prolong the six-month deal when it expires, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. In the U.S., companies increased the rig count to the highest since August 2015."



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UAE's DAMAC gives initial price guidance for dollar sukuk - lead | Reuters

UAE's DAMAC gives initial price guidance for dollar sukuk - lead | Reuters:

"DAMAC Properties, a United Arab Emirates real estate company, has set initial price guidance for its planned five-year dollar sukuk in the mid 6 percent area, a document from one of the banks leading the deal showed on Monday. The Regulation S senior, unsecured Islamic bond will be of benchmark size, which usually means upwards of $500 million. The sukuk is expected to price on April 11, the document said. DAMAC, the second-largest listed Dubai developer, is rated BB with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor's."



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Summer Driving Expectations Get Oil Investors Excited Again - Bloomberg

Summer Driving Expectations Get Oil Investors Excited Again - Bloomberg:

"Summer may be a few months away but oil investors are already getting their hopes up that American drivers will do their part to rebalance the market. Hedge funds increased bets on higher West Texas Intermediate crude prices for the first time in six weeks, shrugging off rising U.S. supplies, as the coming driving season is expected to help ease the glut. Their wagers on more expensive gasoline jumped the most since last year, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Abu Dhabi's TAQA rises, most other shares flat | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Abu Dhabi's TAQA rises, most other shares flat | Reuters:

"Shares of Abu Dhabi National Energy jumped ahead of most other shares in the region in early trade on Monday as last week's news that the company may have turned a corner attracted buyers. Abu Dhabi National Energy jumped 3.4 percent, heading for a third consecutive session of gains. Shares in the gas explorer have been volatile since last week when Abu Dhabi's state utility tightened its grip on loss-making company by boosting its stake to 74 percent, days after it granted land that could potentially wipe out the energy company's losses."



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