Tuesday 24 October 2017

Mubadala to float Emirates Global Aluminium next year, CEO says - The National

Mubadala to float Emirates Global Aluminium next year, CEO says - The National:

"Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi government-owned strategic firm with US$127 billion in assets, plans to take Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) public through a share float next year, said Mubadala's group chief executive said.

“We hope to take this company [EGA] public in 2018,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak said at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.

“It’s a great story,” he said of the company’s evolution as a global industrial champion but did not give details of the planned initial public offering."



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Middle Eastern sovereigns eye loans in fundraising drive

Middle Eastern sovereigns eye loans in fundraising drive:

"Gulf states are ramping up plans to raise syndicated loans for state-owned firms in a fundraising drive designed to offset the effects of low oil prices that also includes privatisations, financial restructurings and IPOs of state assets. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is in the market for a US$6bn loan and a US$3bn bond as it plans to float stakes in some of its services businesses as part of a major shakeup. “The Middle East market is distressed and sovereigns are looking for cash through oil companies, GREs (Government Related Entities) and IPOs,” a banker said."



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Abu Dhabi's Mubadala says it plans Emirates Global Aluminium IPO in 2018 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala says it plans Emirates Global Aluminium IPO in 2018 | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

"Abu Dhabi's state fund Mubadala Investment Co [MUDEV.Ul} plans to take Emirates Global Aluminium public in an initial public offer of shares next year, Mubadala's chief executive Khaldoon al-Mubarak said at a business conference on Tuesday. "



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UAE: the Middle East’s power broker flexes its muscles

UAE: the Middle East’s power broker flexes its muscles:

"Behind roadblocks and newly laid roads, workers are putting the finishing touches to a gleaming “floating dome” that emerges from the sand like a large spaceship. The 7,000-tonne latticed structure is the centrepiece of a new Louvre that will finally open in Abu Dhabi next month.

The museum is the flagship project of the emirate’s multibillion-dollar development plans — the latest instalment of its efforts to present itself to the world as a tolerant global city that links east and west. It forms part of a plan conjured up a decade ago by an ambitious younger generation of leaders.

Back then, the talk in the United Arab Emirates’ capital was about weaning the economy off its dependence on oil and equip a youthful population, raised in a conservative society, with the skills to prosper in the modern world."



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Saudi Arabia's NEOM: Oasis or Sand Castle? - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia's NEOM: Oasis or Sand Castle? - Bloomberg:

"The promotional video for NEOM, Saudi Arabia's proposed $500 billion city of the future announced on Tuesday, errs toward the dreamy and inspirational end of the artistic spectrum. But I couldn't shake the feeling it might also be perfect as the happy prelude to some dystopian movie where society drowns in its own hubris.

NEOM debuted at a conference this week in Riyadh, dubbed "Davos in the desert" and effectively a giant marketing pitch to draw in dollars as part of Saudi Arabia's effort to reform its oil-dependent economy. It manages to be simultaneously ambitious and derivative -- which underscores a central challenge facing the country and the global oil market that depends on it.

On the ambitious side of the ledger, offering people "a lifestyle that surpasses that of any other metropolis" isn't even NEOM's most aggressive claim. It is supposed to cover just over 10,000 square miles of desert in Saudi Arabia's northwestern corner -- big enough to accommodate about 37 Singapores."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia flat, Emaar lifts Dubai market

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia flat, Emaar lifts Dubai market:

"Saudi Arabia’s stock market ignored a huge investment conference in Riyadh and remained flat while Emaar Properties and contractor Drake & Scull helped Dubai to rebound on Tuesday.

The market barely reacted to bullish news from a major investment conference in the kingdom, which attracted hundreds of bankers, businessmen and government officials from around the world.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old architect of reforms designed to end Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil exports, announced a $500 billion plan to build a business and industrial zone that would extend into Jordan and Egypt."



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Saudi to build new $500bn economic zone where robots may outnumber humans

Saudi to build new $500bn economic zone where robots may outnumber humans:

"Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced plans for a new economic zone in the kingdom’s northwest region with up to $500bn in investments, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The new zone, called Neom, will cover an area of 26,000 sq km along 486km on the Red Sea coast and will run across Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.

“Neom will be constructed from the ground-up, on greenfield sites, allowing it a unique opportunity to be distinguished from all other places that have been developed and constructed over hundreds of years and we will use this opportunity to build a new way of life with excellent economic prospects,” the prince said on Tuesday."



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Saudi Arabia commits $20bn to Blackstone fund

Saudi Arabia commits $20bn to Blackstone fund:

"Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said it has firmed up its $20bn commitment to a $40bn fund launched with US private equity firm Blackstone earlier this year.

Yasir al-Rumayyan, the PIF’s managing director, said the PIF needed to invest in “conventional investments,” such as medical care and education.

PIF, which is hosting a large investment conference in Riyadh, said it had committed to a $40bn Blackstone fund first announced in May. It has not signed up to a new $50bn Blackstone fund, as reported earlier."



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Foreign money strains at leash ahead of 'inevitable' Saudi MSCI listing - The National

Foreign money strains at leash ahead of 'inevitable' Saudi MSCI listing - The National:

"HSBC, which has the biggest investment bank in Saudi Arabia, says foreign investors are getting ready for their first significant stock purchases in the kingdom as an upgrade to emerging-market status looks likely. It’s “inevitable” that MSCI, whose classifications can influence billions of dollars of asset allocations, will add Saudi Arabia to its emerging-market benchmarks, said Majed Najm, the chief executiveof the British lender’s Saudi unit. In June, MSCI put Saudi Arabia, which currently stands alone from broader groupings, on the watchlist for a potential upgrade in 2018. Another index provider, FTSE Russell, last month said the kingdom would soon meet the criteria to be promoted from its current unclassified status to a secondary emerging market, but refrained from doing so for now."



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Decline in Dubai rents to continue in 2018? | GulfNews.com

Decline in Dubai rents to continue in 2018? | GulfNews.com:

"With a glut of apartments and villas for lease and tenant demand failing to keep up, rents in many areas around Dubai have been heading south for some time now. And if the latest analysis were correct, it looks like the trend will continue towards year-end and even drag on into 2018. According to Jesse Downs, managing director of Phidar Advisory, many signs point to the cost of renting a home in Dubai coming down further and these include the huge influx of new residential developments and slow employment growth. Construction of new flats, villas and townhouses has been quite aggressive of late, especially since the city expects the number of Dubai visitors to swell during the Expo 2020 hosting. As of the last quarter, thousands of apartments and hundreds of villas were delivered in Dubai, providing more options for the tenants to choose from and pushing rates down."



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As curtain rises on ‘Saudi Davos,’ all eyes are on the PIF performance | Arab News

As curtain rises on ‘Saudi Davos,’ all eyes are on the PIF performance | Arab News:

"The stage is set, the actors are waiting in the wings and the audience is expectant. The three-day performance by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has been billed as the “Saudi Davos,” and by the end of the week the world expects to know a lot more about the Kingdom and its strategy to diversify away from oil dependency. Like the Swiss gathering of the World Economic Forum, the Future Investment Initiative will be crammed full of plenaries, bilaterals, workshops, breakout sessions and (hopefully) media interviews and briefings. It will be a difficult choice to decide which session to attend when there is so much going on in a concentrated time frame. Here, in no particular order, are the questions I will be looking to have answered by the time the event closes on Thursday. "



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At Riyadh jamboree, Saudis may struggle to lure foreign funds in recession

At Riyadh jamboree, Saudis may struggle to lure foreign funds in recession:

"With low oil prices and austerity pushing Saudi Arabia into recession, the government may struggle to persuade international business leaders this week to pour billions of dollars of badly needed investment into the kingdom.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old architect of reforms designed to end Saudi Arabia’s reliance on oil exports, will make a rare public address to hundreds of bankers, businessmen and government officials from around the world at a three-day conference starting on Tuesday.

Arranged by Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund, the $180 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF), the event is labeled the Future Investment Initiative - an effort to present the world’s top oil exporter as a leading global investment destination."



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Saudi Aramco listing on track for 2018, says sovereign wealth fund

Saudi Aramco listing on track for 2018, says sovereign wealth fund:

"Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering is on track to take place next year, Saudi Arabia’s top sovereign wealth fund said on Tuesday.

“Everything is on track. 2018 is our target. There is nothing that I know about that can take us off track,” Public Investment Fund Managing Director Yasir al-Rumayyan told a major investment conference in Riyadh.

 Asked if the possible involvement of investors such as the Chinese would delay the IPO, Rumayyan said it would not."



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Saudi Arabia's Market Makeover Looks Great on Paper, But Stocks Are Languishing - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia's Market Makeover Looks Great on Paper, But Stocks Are Languishing - Bloomberg:

"Saudi Arabia’s market regulator is implementing reforms at breakneck speed to attract foreign investors, but investors wouldn’t know it by looking at the stocks.

Two years after international investors were first allowed to trade Saudi stocks directly, total foreign ownership has lingered below 5 percent of the value of shares on the exchange. The 50-day moving average for the Tadawul All Share Index’s volume fell this month to the lowest level since 2011 and the stock gauge is among the world’s top 10 worst performers this year, missing out on a rally that sent emerging-market equities soaring 30 percent."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Emaar helps Dubai rebound, Saudi banks recover

MIDEAST STOCKS-Emaar helps Dubai rebound, Saudi banks recover:

"Emaar Properties and contractor Drake & Scull helped Dubai’s market to rebound in early trade on Tuesday and Saudi Arabia edged up, led by petrochemical and bank stocks.

The Dubai index rose 0.6 percent with Emaar adding 1.2 percent, recouping part of Monday’s 2.0 percent loss sustained after the company said it expected to sell 20 percent of property development unit Emaar Development LLC next month in an initial public offering.

Previously, Emaar had said it would offer up to 30 percent of the business, distributing the funds raised as dividends to shareholders in the parent company. It did not say on Sunday why the sale was expected to be only 20 percent."



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