Friday, 30 March 2012

Dubai: city of the centa-millionaires | beyondbrics – FT.com

Being a millionaire isn’t what it used to be. In their new 2012 Wealth Report, the property consultancy Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank take a look at the rise of the centa-millionaires of the world – those with at least $100m in liquid assets.

More centa-millionaires are popping up across the world thanks to what the report says is the central trend dominating the world’s prime property markets: “the relentless growth of ‘plutonomy’ economics, a phenomenon that sees the wealth of the richest 1 per cent  growing far quicker than that of the general population.”

Globally, the number of centa-millionaires rose by 29 per cent from 2006-11, but in the Middle East they doubled in the same period, and are expected to rise by half again in the coming five years. There will be 1,000 new people with $100m or more in the Middle East by 2016.

Dubai in the pink of wealth

Dubai has shrugged off the downturn and has made a strong comeback among the wealth conscious across the world.
A healthy score of eight among global cities growing in importance is an indication of its rising influence. It has also been chosen the 7th best city for economic activity, and tops the region.
Overall, the regional business and trading hub has been voted as the 13th most important city in the world, according to the Wealth Report, produced by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank, which looked at prime property and wealth in 71 cities.

Dubai port firm DP World profit rises 18 percent - BusinessWeek

DP World, the Dubai-based port operator, said Thursday its profit rose 18 percent last year as cargo volumes increased through its network.

The cargo handler said it earned $532 million in 2011, up from $450 million the previous year.

Adjusted earnings, which included gains from the partial sale of the company's Australian business, were up 67 percent to $751 million.

NAB Eyes Islamic Bond Issuance Down Under - Deal Journal Australia - WSJ

Growing appetite for Islamic finance is spurring both large and small Australian financials to boost their offering of Sharia-compliant fixed-income assets, the head of the country’s first Islamic wealth manager said on Thursday.

National Australia Bank Ltd., or NAB,  is considering selling up to US$500 million in Islamic bonds in what would be the first issuance of Sharia-compliant debt securities in Australia, two people familiar with the deal told Dow Jones Newswires.

The bonds would be structured to comply with Muslim law by paying a profit from the bond, rather than interest, which is banned in Islam. A spokeswoman for NAB declined to comment.