Anne-Sofie Corbeau: European gas demand is down to levels seen in 2000

Anne-Sofie Corbeau: European gas demand is down to levels seen in 2000:



"The European gas market is a disaster in terms of the weather, according to Anne-Sofie Corbeau, Senior Gas Expert at the International Energy Agency (IEA), who offered her insights on European gas flows to Natural Gas Europe at Flame in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.



Ms. Corbeau comments, “The demand has totally collapsed. I mean it was already on a downward trend, but with the weather effect across all Europe we are seeing in some cases demand being down by up to 20%. So this year from the demand perspective is going to be way below, probably at the level that we saw at the beginning of the year 2000. So we are back to one decade ago.”



She explains that the IEA has recently released (on June 10) its Medium-Term Market Report 2014 on natural gas, which she says covers the period from 2012 up to 2019."



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Dubai Investments PJSC net profit surges to Dhs805 million |

Dubai Investments PJSC net profit surges to Dhs805 million |:



"Dubai Investments PJSC [DI], the leading investment company listed on the Dubai Financial Market [DFM], announced that its net profit for the first six months of 2014 has surged to Dhs805 million, an increase of 118% compared to a net profit of Dhs370 million for the similar period last year.



Announcing its financial results for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, DI reported a consolidated total income Dhs1.8 billion in the first half of 2014, as against Dhs1.3 billion for the comparable period last year. Total assets as on June 30, 2014 stood at Dhs13.5 billion, while net worth increased to Dhs9.6 billion.



The annualized return on share capital achieved for the period was also higher at 42.1%, compared to 21.5% for the full year of 2013."



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UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Aldar pulls down Abu Dhabi, Barwa buoys Qatar - Zawya

UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Aldar pulls down Abu Dhabi, Barwa buoys Qatar - Zawya:



"Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates fell in early trade on Sunday in response to global cues, after U.S. markets dropped at the end of last week on Argentina's debt crisis, confusion over U.S. monetary policy and geopolitical tensions.



The main Abu Dhabi index was down 0.6 percent after an hour of trade. Aldar Properties, the most heavily traded stock, sank 2.7 percent after it reported a 168 percent year-on-year jump in its second-quarter net profit, excluding one-time merger gains in the corresponding period last year. That was in line with analysts' estimates.



Dubai's index fell 0.4 percent with real estate developers generally weak; Emaar Properties, which is expected to announced its second-quarter earnings as soon as on Sunday, dropped 0.5 percent."



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Emaar malls unit set for $9bn DFM flotation mid-September | The National

Emaar malls unit set for $9bn DFM flotation mid-September | The National:



"Emaar Properties, the developer of the Dubai Mall, will float its malls division on the Dubai Financial market in a Dh9bn initial public offering as early as the middle of next month, in a move that will be a further boost to UAE stock markets. 




Advisers to the IPO say about 25 per cent of the business will be put up for sale on the local market, increasing the capitalisation of the DFM by about 10 per cent at a stroke and enhancing the liquidity of Dubai’s main market for retail investors.



The IPO will be the biggest on any UAE market since the listing of DP World in late 2007, and will be the centrepiece of a busy post-summer period for UAE markets."



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Optimism over Kazakhstan energy outlook | The National

Optimism over Kazakhstan energy outlook | The National:



"Abu Dhabi investors should look to Kazakhstan for expansion opportunities while it is still cheap to enter its energy sector, according to the chief executive of an oil producer active in the country.



Market fundamentals look positive, with Kazakhstan growing at 6 per cent annually, and the country aiming to produce 2 million barrels per day by 2020.



The Kazakh government is planning new tendering rounds over the next year, when it will award new exploration blocks."



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Abu Dhabi Shares Decline Tracking Emerging Markets; Dubai Gains - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi Shares Decline Tracking Emerging Markets; Dubai Gains - Bloomberg:



"Abu Dhabi stocks fell, following a decline in emerging markets last week and as Aldar Properties PJSC’s (ALDAR) quarterly profit missed estimates. Dubai shares gained.



The ADX General Index (ADSMI) retreated 0.9 percent to 5,011.9 at 11:42 a.m. local time, heading for the biggest slide since July 20. Aldar, the sheikhdom’s biggest developer, slumped 1.6 percent, while First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB), the lender owned by the emirate’s ruling family, fell 1.4 percent. Dubai’s DFM General Index advanced 0.8 percent to 4,871.54.



Emerging-market stocks posted their biggest weekly loss since March as Samsung Electronics Co. reported lower-than-estimated earnings and Argentina’s bond default reduced investor demand for riskier assets. Aldar’s second-quarter profit of 506 million dirhams ($138 million) missed analysts’ estimates of 583 million dirhams."



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Etisalat’s Egypt Unit Said to Plan $500 Million Cairo IPO - Bloomberg

Etisalat’s Egypt Unit Said to Plan $500 Million Cairo IPO - Bloomberg:



"Etisalat Misr, the Egyptian phone company controlled by Emirates Telecommunications Corp. (ETISALAT), is in talks with investment banks about what may be Egypt’s largest initial public offering in almost five years, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.



Etisalat Misr, 66 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi company known as Etisalat, has asked banks to make proposals to manage the share sale. The IPO is planned for Cairo and may raise about $500 million, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.



A spokesman for Etisalat Misr didn’t return e-mails and telephone calls requesting comment."



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Aldar Declines as Abu Dhabi Developer’s Profit Misses Estimates - Bloomberg

Aldar Declines as Abu Dhabi Developer’s Profit Misses Estimates - Bloomberg:



"Aldar Properties PJSC (ALDAR), the developer that took over Sorouh Real Estate Co. last year, dropped in Abu Dhabi after reporting quarterly profit that missed estimates.



The shares fell as much as 5.8 percent before trimming losses to 2.7 percent at 11:07 a.m. in Abu Dhabi. Aldar, which has the fourth-highest weighting on the benchmark ADX General Index, helped drag the measure down 1 percent. 




Second-quarter profit fell to 506 million dirhams ($138 million) from 1.25 billion dirhams year earlier, the developer said in a statement today. Like-for-like profit was 189 million dirhams in the second quarter of last year after excluding 1.06 billion dirhams of one-time gain related to the takeover of Sorouh. The mean estimate of four analysts was for a profit of 583 million dirhams, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."



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Kuwait's Investment Dar Loses Protection Against Creditor Legal Claims » Gulf Business

Kuwait's Investment Dar Loses Protection Against Creditor Legal Claims » Gulf Business:



"Investment Dar, the Kuwaiti firm whose assets include a stake in luxury carmaker Aston Martin, said on Saturday a local court had ruled to lift protection the company had against legal action by creditors.



Investment Dar was one of several local financial firms which struggled to refinance debt in the aftermath of the global economic crisis but was the first to reorganise under Kuwait’s Financial Stability Law – introduced in 2009 to assist debt renegotiations in a country with opaque bankruptcy rules.



As part of that legislation, Investment Dar secured a halt to all legal cases being brought against the firm in relation to non-payment of debts to allow it to implement its restructuring."



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UAE Stock Market Correction Offers An Opportunity To Reform » Gulf Business

UAE Stock Market Correction Offers An Opportunity To Reform » Gulf Business:



"Stock market corrections often throw up the best opportunities for reform. In the case of the UAE’s pre-Ramadan correction, the most logical way to revive confidence would be to unite the two stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi into a single well regulated and more highly capitalised entity.



If nothing else, reform offers investors some compensation for their recent losses and a chance to share the blame.



No speculator buying into the top of a bull market likes to think that they might be in some way to blame for its collapse. It’s always the forces outside of their control that somehow ruined their luck and not their own blind optimism."



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Should you buy into the $2.5bn IPO for Emaar malls unit next month? « ArabianMoney

Should you buy into the $2.5bn IPO for Emaar malls unit next month? « ArabianMoney:



"The $2.5 billion initial public offering for Emaar Properties’ malls division will go ahead in the middle of next month provided that the Dubai Financial Market does not see a repeat of its recent high volatility.



You could argue that holding an IPO that will increase the market capitalization of the DFM by about 10 per cent after the recent sharp correction is unwise because an oversupply of apples tends to push the price down. Investors also tend to sell-off the old apples to buy the new ones."



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S. Arabia’s gas initiative fails to pay off - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

S. Arabia’s gas initiative fails to pay off - Newspaper - DAWN.COM:



"Saudi Arabia’s decade-long ‘Gas Initiative’ is unravelling — with considerable impact on global energy balance — as galloping domestic consumption seems eating into the exportable crude surplus of the Opec kingpin — Saudi Arabia. 




Launched by the then crown prince, and now King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz, way back in September 1998, when during an hour long private meeting with senior executives of seven US oil majors he invited them to help develop the kingdom’s energy resources. But things have turned ‘sour’ since.



Initially, the three mooted gas projects focused on a $15 billion scheme to develop gas reserves in South Ghawar field and two minor $5bn ventures that involved gas production for petrochemical, power and water desalination projects."



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