Egypt Stocks Slump Most in a Year on Tax Plans; Abu Dhabi Drops - Bloomberg

Egypt Stocks Slump Most in a Year on Tax Plans; Abu Dhabi Drops - Bloomberg:



"Egypt’s benchmark EGX 30 Index fell the most in a year after the government said it’s preparing a levy on investor profits. Abu Dhabi’s measure also retreated. 




Egypt’s gauge dropped 4.2 percent to 7,894.73 at the close in Cairo. Trading was halted for 30 minutes after the broader EGX 100 Index slid 5 percent. About 803 million Egyptian pounds ($112 million) of stocks traded, compared with a one-year full-day average of 594 million pounds. Commercial International Bank Egypt SAE, the country’s biggest publicly traded lender, led declines with a 2.7 percent slide. Abu Dhabi’s ADX General Index fell from an eight-year high. 




Stocks in the North African country have tumbled 9.9 percent over the past four days amid plans for the tax and as investors collected profits on former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi winning the presidency. The government submitted a draft law today for ratification, calling for a 10 percent annual tax on net realized portfolio profits and cash dividends, according to a bourse statement.



“The market is panicking, especially retail investors that have made substantial profits,” Mohamed Ebeid, head of brokerage at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE, said by phone from Cairo. “This tax will have a long-term impact, especially on companies that are considering initial public offerings.”"



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Etihad to Enter Final Talks After Alitalia Approves Conditions - Bloomberg

Etihad to Enter Final Talks After Alitalia Approves Conditions - Bloomberg:



"Etihad Airways PJSC said it set conditions for an investment in Alitalia SpA that would give the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates another foothold in a major European economy.



Etihad will send a letter including criteria that Alitalia’s board will have to approve before final talks between the two airlines get started, according to a joint statement today. The airlines didn’t specify the conditions.



Under Chief Executive Officer James Hogan, Etihad has embarked on an purchase spree of stakes in second-tier airlines, assembling a group with interests from Germany to Serbia to the Seychelles and Australia. Hogan has said the strategy gives him access to passenger flows that he can direct through Abu Dhabi, where Etihad is competing with neighboring airlines Qatar Airways and industry leader Emirates."



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Asian business: A world to conquer | The Economist

Asian business: A world to conquer | The Economist:



"

BUSINESS power follows economic power. In the 1920s British firms owned 40% of the global stock of foreign direct investment. By 1967 America was top dog, with a 50% share. Behind those figures lie cultural revolutions. The British spread the telegraph and trains in Latin America. American firms sold a vision of the good life, honed by Hollywood and advertising. Kellogg’s changed what the rich world ate for breakfast, and Kodak how it remembered holidays. The next corporate revolution, as we describe in our special report this week, is happening in Asia. This too will change how the world lives."



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UAE plan to revive Egypt’s economy - Khaleej Times

UAE plan to revive Egypt’s economy - Khaleej Times:



"The UAE foresees greater stability in Egypt after former army chief Abdel Fattah Al Sisi won the presidential election last week and will continue to back it financially, UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said here on Saturday.



Shaikh Abdullah said that the UAE wanted international partner to join in their efforts to repair Egypt’s shattered economy.



“We want to have partners from around the world involved, whether it be partners like Germany ... or institutions like the World Bank and the IMF,” Shaikh Abdullah said here during a visit by his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.



Shaikh Abdullah said the UAE has a plan to revive Egypt’s economy and put it back on track. “The next period will be different. The previous one was a transitional period and now there will be more stability,” he said."



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Deutsche Boerse’s MNI: Russian companies mainly downbeat about business | EmergingMarkets.me

Deutsche Boerse’s MNI: Russian companies mainly downbeat about business | EmergingMarkets.me:



"A survey by Deutsche Boerse-owned data provider MNI suggests that overall business sentiment among Russian companies has been increasingly negative as a result of western sanctions against Russia became predominantly pessimistic in May.



The mood of the country’s business community hit its lowest level last month May since last December and plunged by 11.2% since May 2013, MNI, a company with multiple offices across the world, said in reporting the findings of the latest of monthly surveys by its London-based research division MNI Indicators.



The polls involve interviews with executives at manufacturing, service, construction and agricultural firms – around 200 altogether – listed on Moscow Exchange.



Upbeat attitudes that built up in the run-up to the Sochi Winter Olympics have been eroding steadily since the US and European Union imposed their sanctions on Russia in March for its annexation of Crimea, according to MNI Indicators."



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International talks hold promise on trade for Iran | The National

International talks hold promise on trade for Iran | The National:



"Interest in Iran as a destination for business is growing ahead of the latest international talks this month aimed at resolving a deadlock about Tehran’s nuclear programme.



If the discussions between the six world powers and Iran progress smoothly, there is potential for sanctions against the country being eased and commercial routes being revived.



“It’s not an alternative between Iran opening up and not opening up,” said Trita Parsi, the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council, a US-based non-profit organisation aimed at advancing the interests of Iranian-Americans. “It is a case of either moving towards resolving this issue or the situation between the US and Iran deteriorating. It is either going to move in a positive or negative direction.”"



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Many UAE and Qatar stocks in ‘overpriced territory’ as they join MSCI index | The National

Many UAE and Qatar stocks in ‘overpriced territory’ as they join MSCI index | The National:



"As the UAE and Qatar join the MSCI Emerging Market Index on Sunday, a developing world stock guru is warning that many of their equities have gone into “overpriced territory”.



That is after a spectacular run for the Arabian Gulf states’ stock benchmark indexes in the past year and a half.



While Mark Mobius, who manages US$50 billion in emerging market stocks at the fund manager Franklin Templeton, continues to see potential in the UAE and Qatar in the long run as the countries’ economies recover, he sees better buying opportunities at the moment elsewhere including Russia and Thailand, where recent political upheavals have battered stock prices."



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Fund managers’ opinions on the UAE and Qatar’s emerging markets upgrade | The National

Fund managers’ opinions on the UAE and Qatar’s emerging markets upgrade | The National:



"Fund managers in Singapore, New York, London and Abu Dhabi answer questions related to the entry of the UAE and Qatar into the MSCI Emerging Markets Index on Sunday. The countries were upgraded from the MSCI Frontier Markets Index because of increased economic stability and improved access to international investors in their nascent stock markets.





Mark Mobius, Singapore-based executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group



How attractive are UAE and Qatar shares, given the strong rallies over the past year? 



There is still value to be had in both the UAE and Qatar over the long term. Of course, many of the stocks have gone into overpriced territory but there are some that are reasonably priced, given their strong growth prospects."



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UAE Exchange still hopes to open bank in India after licence snub | The National

UAE Exchange still hopes to open bank in India after licence snub | The National:



"The remittances company UAE Exchange is still eager to set up a bank in India after missing out in the first round of licences issued.



India’s finance ministry on Thursday said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would be likely to start inviting applications to form new banks in the next few months after preparing a new set of guidelines for the licences.



UAE Exchange India applied for a bank licence last year after the RBI allowed corporate houses and non-banking finance companies to do so. It was among 25 companies that applied for a licence. Only two were successful in the first round – IDFC, an infrastructure lender based in Mumbai, and Bandhan, a Kolkata-based microfinance organisation, were awarded preliminary licences in April, the first bank licences to be issued in more than a decade. The RBI has said that it plans to issue more licences."



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