Saturday 2 December 2017

Entrepreneurship Index: Qatar leads GCC countries - The Peninsula Qatar

Entrepreneurship Index: Qatar leads GCC countries - The Peninsula Qatar:

"Qatar has been ranked first in GCC countries in Global Entrepreneurship Index 2018 while the country secured second place in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and 22nd position globally. According to 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI), released by The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), Qatar stands at number 22 out of 137 countries included in the index in global ranking with 55% overall GEI score.  The Index further indicates that individual score of Qatar is 77% and its institutional score is 73%. Individual score means the entrepreneurial qualities of the people in the ecosystem while institutional score represents quality of the institutions that support entrepreneurship. The GEI 2018 has termed “high growth” as Qatar’s strongest area regarding entrepreneurship."



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Global LNG demand seen to hit 500mtpa by 2030 - The Peninsula Qatar

Global LNG demand seen to hit 500mtpa by 2030 - The Peninsula Qatar:

"Global LNG demand is expected to grow by nearly five percentage points every year, on average, to almost 500 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2030. Projected population growth in developing economies, continuing high rates of urbanisation globally, and an increasingly environmentally conscientious public pushing for more regulations to adopt cleaner fuels in an effort to improve air quality have all been driving demand. Moreover, LNG for commercial land-based transport and marine bunkering is forecasted to grow exponentially if policy initiatives currently under consideration are enacted at a national, regional, or global level, according to Qatargas. Qatargas’ 2016 performance has been outstanding on all fronts, starting with safety and ending with financial performance, even after being subjected to a challenging business environment towards the end of 2015, Qatargas noted in its 2016 annual sustainability report."



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Egyptian billionaire denounces Saudi corruption crackdown

Egyptian billionaire denounces Saudi corruption crackdown:

"Egyptian billionaire businessman Naguib Sawiris condemned on Friday a crackdown on graft in Saudi Arabia, saying the purge had undermined the rule of law in the Kingdom and would deter investment.

In unusually outspoken comments, Sawiris, a well-known business figure in North Africa and the Middle East, also accused Qatar of destabilizing the region, and said there were only a handful of Arab nations that were safe to invest in.

Saudi security forces rounded up dozens of members of the country’s political and business elite last month on the orders of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in what was billed as a war on rampant corruption."



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MENA M&A deal value up 23% in Q3 2017: EY | ZAWYA MENA Edition

MENA M&A deal value up 23% in Q3 2017: EY | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

"In the third quarter of 2017, a total of 76 deals were announced, a decrease of 10 percent when compared to the 84 deals in Q3 of 2016. MENA M&A deal value, however increased by 23 percent to $4.3 billion, up from $3.5 billion in Q3 2016, according to the EY Q3 2017 M&A report. Phil Gandier, MENA transaction advisory services leader, EY, said: “MENA executives continue to remain confident about the M&A market. According to the latest EY Capital Confidence Barometer, a record 65 percent of respondents indicated their intention to actively pursue deals in the next 12 months. With the recent oil prices, a slow-growth environment and the diversification agendas of many MENA countries still more in the planning than execution stages, MENA executives understand that they need to ‘buy’ versus ‘build’ to remain competitive.” Domestic M&A saw the largest y-o-y improvement, increasing by 17 percent in number and 343 percent in value. Furthermore, the average size of domestic deals rose by 258 percent compared to Q3 2016. However, inbound and outbound deals did not fare as well, decreasing by 21 percent and 26 percent, respectively compared to Q3 2016. "



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UPDATE 2-Bahrain reaffirms dollar peg, says economy robust after S&P cut

UPDATE 2-Bahrain reaffirms dollar peg, says economy robust after S&P cut:

"S&P Global Ratings lowered Bahrain’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’ on Friday, prompting Bahrain’s central bank to reaffirm the country’s currency peg to the U.S. dollar.

S&P Global Ratings said the rating cut was due to weak external liquidity and increasing financial risk due to more limited access to international capital markets.

The Central Bank of Bahrain said in a statement received on Saturday that the kingdom “remains committed to maintaining a fixed rate regime with the U.S. dollar” for its dinar currency, adding that the IMF has endorsed this policy."



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OPEC Just Did American Shale Drillers a Big Favor - Bloomberg

OPEC Just Did American Shale Drillers a Big Favor - Bloomberg:

"OPEC and Russia just gave their most implacable foe, U.S. shale, an early holiday gift.

As corporate boards for American oil explorers prepare to sketch out 2018 drilling budgets, Thursday’s historic agreement by Saudi Arabia, Russia and other major crude producers to extend supply caps for another year may prompt directors to spend more on drilling. That’s because the producer group’s restraint has meant higher prices for U.S. shale drillers, who haven’t been shy about hiring more rigs or flooding global markets with more cargoes.

After climbing out of a crater dug by the worst oil-market collapse in a generation, North American explorers probably will boost spending by 20 percent next year, according to an Evercore ISI survey of industry budget trends. That would follow an estimated 41 percent jump in 2017.

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Hedge Funds Signal Trust in OPEC - Bloomberg

Hedge Funds Signal Trust in OPEC - Bloomberg:

"Hedge funds are giving Saudi Arabia and Russia a big vote of confidence. As the two oil powerhouses pushed for the extension of supply curbs ahead of Thursday’s OPEC meeting, money managers shifted their stance on West Texas Intermediate crude to the most bullish since February. That’s largely due to a strong decline in short-selling. Bets on rising Brent crude also increased as short positions slumped. “There was definitely a consensus that we were going to see a six- to nine-month extension, so to be short in front of that obviously would not be a good positioning for hedge funds,” said Nick Holmes, an analyst at Tortoise Capital Advisors LLC, which manages $16 billion in energy-related assets. “There was definitely some bullishness that we were going to see a pretty good result out of OPEC, which we did.”"



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