Friday 6 April 2018

Qatar readies to make dollar bond return

Qatar readies to make dollar bond return:

"Qatar is seeking to tap international debt markets for the first time since other Gulf states blockaded it last summer. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Doha last June, claiming that its regional policies fuelled extremism and terrorism. Since then Riyadh has held back from US attempts to resolve the rift, with the Saudi foreign minister recently describing Qatar as “irrelevant”."



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Deripaska share plunge acts as warning to Russian tycoons

Deripaska share plunge acts as warning to Russian tycoons:

"If the US Treasury wanted to show Russia’s oligarchs how damaging its sanctions programme could be, a 22 per cent fall in the value of aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska’s holding company EN+ was a powerful message. Washington passed sweeping sanctions on Friday targeting Mr Deripaska and six other oligarchs, 12 of their businesses, 17 senior Russian government officials and two state-owned companies, in a marked escalation of its attacks on the country’s business interests, responding to what it called Moscow’s “malign activity around the globe”.  Hardest hit was Mr Deripaska, along with eight of his companies — the first time the US has gone after an oligarch and his entire business empire and a clear warning to other Russian billionaires and industrialists who have cultivated close links to President Vladimir Putin. "



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Oil and gas project investment falls to lowest point in a decade

Oil and gas project investment falls to lowest point in a decade:

"The average spent on developing major upstream oil and gas projects, which were sanctioned in 2017, fell to the lowest in a decade at $2.7 billion (SR10.12 billion), according to a report by the consultancy Wood Mackenzie on Thursday. To put the latest data into context, the average project capital expenditure (capex) over the last decade was $5.5 billion a year, said the report. WoodMac defines “major” projects as those with commercial reserves of more than 50 million barrels of oil equivalent."



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Qatar and Iran to boost economic ties - The Peninsula Qatar

Qatar and Iran to boost economic ties - The Peninsula Qatar:

"Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Towar Al Kuwari (second right), Vice-Chairman of Qatar Chamber, met yesterday with members of the visiting high level trade delegation from Iran led by Yidalah Rahmani, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs and Resource Development in Fars Province, in the presence of Mohammad Sadiq Humaidian, Vice-President of Shiraz Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Mining, and others. Both sides explored business opportunities and also discussed ways of expanding the bilateral trade and economic cooperation, which has witnessed fast growth over the past several months."



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Indian state firms plan to nearly double Iranian oil imports: sources

Indian state firms plan to nearly double Iranian oil imports: sources:

"Indian state refiners plan to almost double oil imports from Iran in 2018/19, drawn by incentives offered by Tehran, sources with knowledge of the matter said, potentially helping Iran increase its share in the world’s third-biggest oil importer.

Iran is pushing to retain its oil customers in Asia, offering better terms than other Middle Eastern suppliers including Saudi Arabia, even as the threat looms of potential further U.S. sanctions on the OPEC member.

 Tehran recently deepened freight discount to firms in India, its second-biggest oil client after China, in return for higher volumes."



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Wanted in Paris: $17 Billion to Rescue a Pivotal Mideast Nation - Bloomberg

Wanted in Paris: $17 Billion to Rescue a Pivotal Mideast Nation - Bloomberg:

"Lebanon will appeal in Paris on Friday for the billions of dollars it needs to turn around one of the world’s most indebted economies and stabilize a critical corner of the Middle East.

Delegates from 41 nations, including Western and Arab powers, will gather with officials from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other organizations to discuss funding a seven-year wish-list of Lebanese proposals priced at $17 billion. The projects range from waste-water plants to transport links and power-grid upgrades.

The conference, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, comes as Lebanon faces some daunting challenges. It’s teetering under public debt equivalent to 150 percent of gross domestic product -- the third-biggest burden globally -- while hosting 1.5 million refugees from Syria’s war, and being buffeted by the duel between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The meeting will be followed by another in April focusing on refugees."



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Mideast airlines boost passenger numbers | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast airlines boost passenger numbers | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

"Middle Eastern carriers experienced improved growth in passenger numbers in February, but lagged behind the growth witnessed by their international counterparts. The region’s airlines witnessed a 3.4 percent year-on-year rise in demand in February, compared with just 0.5 percent in January, according to figures released on Thursday by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Such growth trailled all other world regions, with international carriers benefiting from a “robust economic backdrop and solid business confidence,” according to IATA’s director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac."



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Oil traders will find Middle East power struggle harder to ignore

Oil traders will find Middle East power struggle harder to ignore:

"In the past 14 days Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has faced a barrage of missiles aimed at its capital city, an attack on a supertanker hauling 2m barrels of crude, and a second missile launch aimed at oil storage tanks on its Red Sea coast.

Oil prices, normally a reasonable barometer of geopolitical risk in the Middle East, have responded to these attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen by falling 3 per cent over the same time period.

Oil traders, distracted for now by a brewing trade war between the US and China, are at risk of growing complacent. But it is unlikely they will be able to discount Saudi Arabia’s conflict in Yemen much longer."



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