Friday 8 December 2017

UAE, Bahrain say they'll act to get off EU's tax blacklist

UAE, Bahrain say they'll act to get off EU's tax blacklist:

"The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain expect to be removed from the European Union’s tax-haven blacklist after taking steps to block tax avoidance by companies, the governments of the two countries said on Thursday. Two days ago, EU finance ministers included the UAE and Bahrain on a new blacklist of 17 jurisdictions deemed to be tax havens. Inclusion on the list could affect billions of dollars of capital flows through both countries, which are Middle Eastern banking centers. Countries on the blacklist may no longer be used by EU institutions for international financial operations, and transactions involving them could be subject to closer scrutiny."



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Putin Blesses Multibillion-Dollar Bet on Russia Competing in LNG - Bloomberg

Putin Blesses Multibillion-Dollar Bet on Russia Competing in LNG - Bloomberg:

"As Russia’s President Vladimir Putin oversees the official start of a $27 billion liquefied natural gas plant in the snow-covered tundra of northern Siberia, his mind may wander to its biggest competitor more than 3,000 miles away in Qatar.

While the two regions may have vastly different climates, Putin is determined to make Russia’s Arctic competitive in the fuel that turned Qatar into the richest nation per capita. On Friday, he will witness the loading of the first custom-built icebreaking tanker from the Yamal LNG plant in a region that potentially contains more gas than the Persian Gulf, flanked by a delegation that includes the energy minister of Saudi Arabia."



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Qatar signs €12bn worth of deals with France

Qatar signs €12bn worth of deals with France:

"Qatar signed €12bn worth of deals with France on Thursday, including for 12 Rafale fighter jets and 490 armoured vehicles.

“In total, it amounts to nearly €12bn which was signed today and which underlines the closeness of our relations,” Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, said at a press conference in Qatar, according to Reuters.

As part of the €12bn worth of contracts, Qatar — which is embargoed by other Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — exercised an option to buy a further 12 Rafale jets from Dassault Aviation."



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