Sunday 16 December 2018

Abu Dhabi, Dubai financial markets ban insider trading

Abu Dhabi, Dubai financial markets ban insider trading:

The insider trading at public shareholding companies listed in the UAE capital markets will take effect on Monday, in compliance with the applicable regulations and rules.

The Abu Dhabi and Dubai Financial Markets called on listed shareholding companies and brokerage companies to implement the ban until the announcement of the financial statements for 2018’s fourth quarter, due to start in early January 2019.

The move comes in line with to the provisions of Article 14 of the system, of trading, clearing, settlement and transfer of ownership and custody of securities.

INTERVIEW: Samir Chaturvedi, Chief Executive of Kizad, on the #UAE becoming a global logistics hub

INTERVIEW: Samir Chaturvedi, Chief Executive of Kizad, on the UAE becoming a global logistics hub:

Samir Chaturvedi is the old hand on the block turned into the new kid in town. The chief executive of Kizad — the Khalifa Industrial Zone of Abu Dhabi — is former senior executive of Jafza — Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority.

For 13 years, Chaturvedi helped Jafza to consolidate its place as the leading maritime-based industrial hub in the Middle East; now he is charged with developing a far more ambitious project in the UAE capital that — if all goes to plan — will eventually overtake its Dubai counterpart.

He is reluctant to use the word “rivalry,” preferring instead to emphasize the beneficial effects of competition and the potential for the UAE to become a global logistics and industrial hub.

Why Saudi Arabia Isn't Meeting Its Ambitious Solar Energy Targets - Bloomberg

Why Saudi Arabia Isn't Meeting Its Ambitious Solar Energy Targets - Bloomberg:

Around the world, high oil prices tend to accelerate the shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles. In Saudi Arabia, they have the opposite effect. Over the past six years, the Saudis have announced investments of more than $350 billion aimed at making the sun-drenched kingdom the, well, Saudi Arabia of renewable energy.

But virtually no construction has begun, and with crude more than doubling from early 2016 to this October, the Saudis’ commitment to renewable energy has wavered, says Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency. “There has been a lot of stop and go,” Birol says. “There’s a need to increase electricity generation, decrease oil-based power, and make use of the huge solar potential.”

In 2012, the Kingdom introduced a $109 billion solar program intended to generate a third of its electricity from renewable energy by 2032. Two years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced a plan to wean the kingdom from its dependency on oil exports by building 210 gigawatts of solar capacity, or more than 20 percent of today’s worldwide renewable energy output.

#OPEC Needed Russia to Get Oil Output Deal, So Russia's In Charge - Bloomberg

OPEC Needed Russia to Get Oil Output Deal, So Russia's In Charge - Bloomberg:

If anyone doubted that OPEC is now little more than a zombie organization, the last 10 days have proved it.

The group has shown itself incapable of making it own decisions. Its smaller members have borne the brunt of an agreement to cut output that was only achieved after Russia took control of discussions from the heart of OPEC’s head office. Then, even after Saudi Arabia announced it would reduce supply by nearly a million barrels a day by January, oil traders merely shrugged.

It is a sad result for an organization that once made governments tremble. Here’s how it unfolded.

#UAE president orders reshuffle of central bank's board of directors, governor to remain | ZAWYA MENA Edition

UAE president orders reshuffle of central bank's board of directors, governor to remain | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

The president of the United Arab Emirates has ordered a reshuffle of the central bank's board of directors, the state news agency said on Sunday.

Central bank governor Mubarak Rashed Khamis Al Mansoori has been reappointed for the next four years, the agency said.

#Kuwait loosens ownership rules: Foreigners to be allowed to own more local bank shares | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Kuwait loosens ownership rules: Foreigners to be allowed to own more local bank shares | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Kuwait has loosened its capital market rules, allowing foreign investors to own a bigger stake of its local banks, according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Saturday, another step in the Gulf state’s bid to encourage more overseas investment into the country. (Read more here).

Foreign ownership was previously not allowed to exceed more than 49 percent of a bank’s capital, but the new resolution removes this upper limit, according to a statement in Arabic issued by the ministry on Saturday.

It is not yet clear whether shares owned by foreign investors will be allowed to represent 100 percent of a bank’s capital, or how these rules will impact local investors. However, a report by the state news agency KUNA said investors will be required to gain approval from the Central Bank of Kuwait if the shares they want to buy represent more than 5 percent of a bank’s total capital.

Mideast Stocks- #Qatar gains on QAMCO debut, most Gulf markets fall | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Mideast Stocks-Qatar gains on QAMCO debut, most Gulf markets fall | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Gulf shares ended mostly lower on Sunday, hurt by a fall in global markets on Friday, but Qatar shares bucked the trend after a successful debut of Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Co (QAMCO).

Qatar shares closed 0.4 percent higher as shares of QAMCO opened at 18.00 riyals, nearly 80 percent above their initial public offer price of 10.10 riyals, capping a successful run for Qatar's biggest equity listing this year. The shares later eased to 13.01 riyals. 

Industries Qatar also gained 0.9 percent.

#Qatar considering increasing its stake in Deutsche Bank: Handelsblatt | Reuters

Qatar considering increasing its stake in Deutsche Bank: Handelsblatt | Reuters:

Qatar is considering increasing its stake in Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Sunday.

The Qatari royal family already holds a 6.1 percent stake in Deutsche Bank, according to Deutsche Bank’s website. Qatar controls over 9 percent, once derivative positions are take into consideration, Handelsblatt said.

“We will invest in a large financial institution in Germany. This was discussed in the margins of the Doha Forum and will be announced shortly,” Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, CEO of the state-owned Qatar Financial Center, told Handelsblatt.

Shares of #Qatar Aluminium surge above IPO price on debut | Reuters

Shares of Qatar Aluminium surge above IPO price on debut | Reuters:

Shares of Qatar Aluminium (QAMC.QA) opened at 18.00 riyals on Sunday, 78 percent above their initial public offer price of 10.10 riyals, capping a successful run for Qatar’s biggest equity listing this year.

State-owned Qatar Petroleum sold 49 percent of its shares in its subsidiary Qatar Aluminium Manufacturing Co in late October in a deal that raised roughly $758 million.

The IPO price included the offering and listing costs of 0.1 riyal per share.

#UAE central bank says to support Invest Bank with all available liquidity facilities | Reuters

UAE central bank says to support Invest Bank with all available liquidity facilities | Reuters:

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Sunday it stood ready to extend “all the available liquidity facilities” to struggling Invest Bank .

The central bank said in a statement it had been working with the bank and the government of Sharjah to develop a plan to strengthen the lender’s capital base.

Invest Bank is based in Sharjah, one of the seven members of the UAE federation. It has been hit by recent high levels of bad loans, partly due to its exposure to the troubled real estate and construction market.

#Qatar Petroleum to invest $20 billion in U.S. in major expansion | Reuters

Qatar Petroleum to invest $20 billion in U.S. in major expansion | Reuters:

Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least $20 billion in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state unexpectedly quit OPEC this month.

Saad al-Kaabi, who holds the energy portfolio of the world’s top liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier, also said on Sunday the company aimed to announce foreign partners for new LNG trains needed for an ambitious domestic scale-up by the middle of next year, but was keeping open the possibility of going it alone.

Qatar, a tiny but wealthy country is one of the most influential players in the LNG market due to its annual production of 77 million tonnes. It plans to boost capacity 43 percent by 2023-2024 and will be building four liquefaction trains for the LNG expansion.