Tuesday 19 May 2015

Emirates NBD, Abraaj Said to Weigh IPO of Payments Unit - Bloomberg Business

Emirates NBD, Abraaj Said to Weigh IPO of Payments Unit - Bloomberg Business:



"Emirates NBD PJSC, Dubai’s largest lender, and buyout firm Abraaj Group are considering an initial public offering of credit-card processing unit Network International LLC, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.



The business, one of the largest payment processing firms in the Middle East and North Africa, would be valued at more than $1 billion in an IPO, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The share sale would take place in the fourth quarter or in early 2016, the people said, with the two firms yet to appoint financial advisers.



Abraaj bought 49 percent of Network International from Emirates NBD for about 2 billion dirhams ($545 million) in late 2010. The unit serves about 70 banks and financial institutions in the Middle East and Africa and more than 17,000 individual merchants, according to information on Abraaj’s website. The company also manages one of the region’s most extensive ATM networks. Emirates NBD retains a 51 percent stake."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt rises further on tax delay; weaker oil leaves Gulf mixed | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt rises further on tax delay; weaker oil leaves Gulf mixed | Reuters:



"Egypt's bourse extended its rally on Tuesday after the government put on hold a capital gains tax, while Gulf markets were mixed as oil prices softened.



The Cairo index rose 0.9 percent to 8,878 points, a seven-week high, after surging 6.5 percent in the previous session.



The government on Monday froze plans for a 10 percent tax on capital gains for two years, reversing a central component of its economic reform agenda that investors had criticised. It kept in place a 10 percent dividend tax."



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Vladimir Potanin: Russia's Richest Man Says Sanctions Are Waning - Bloomberg Business

Vladimir Potanin: Russia's Richest Man Says Sanctions Are Waning - Bloomberg Business:



"Russia’s richest man said international investors are coming back to the country and the impact of sanctions has peaked.



“Now it’s getting clear that the situation is more politically stable or predictable,” Vladimir Potanin, who heads Russia’s biggest miner, OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday. “Nobody wants more sanctions. I think we reached a stable level in terms of tensions.”



Europe and the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy and finance industries and dozens of prominent individuals last year after the nation annexed Crimea from Ukraine. The ruble lost almost half its value as the central bank burned through currency reserves in an attempt to slow the collapse."



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UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets move little, lacking catalysts | Reuters

UPDATE 1-MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf markets move little, lacking catalysts | Reuters:



"Most Gulf stock markets moved little in early trade on Tuesday in the absence of fresh catalysts and against a mixed global background.



Brent oil prices have dropped in Asian trade on Tuesday on signs of weakness at the world's top energy consumer China, but U.S. crude futures have edged up on rising demand ahead of the summer driving season.



Asian shares have risen after both the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 in the United States closed at record highs."



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Saudi conglomerate improves deal for creditors - FT.com

Saudi conglomerate improves deal for creditors - FT.com:



"The Saudi conglomerate at the centre of one of the region’s largest corporate collapses has proposed a more generous repayment offer for creditors on debts of SR24bn ($6.4bn).



Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers has agreed the enhanced proposal with leading creditors, including Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas. It said it planned to present the potential deal to broader creditors at a meeting in Dubai on June 2.



The proposal is another step towards resolving the six-year saga of the Gulf’s most complicated restructuring, which has encompassed litigation across several jurisdictions amid allegations and denials of fraud."



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Reviving Turkey's economy - YouTube

Reviving Turkey's economy - YouTube: ""



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Reform-minded Ukraine merits debt reduction - YouTube

Reform-minded Ukraine merits debt reduction - YouTube: ""



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Oil price plunge leads to project cuts - YouTube

Oil price plunge leads to project cuts - YouTube: ""



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Oil down as firmer dollar, ample supplies offset Mideast turmoil | Reuters

Oil down as firmer dollar, ample supplies offset Mideast turmoil | Reuters:



"Oil slipped on Monday as a rallying dollar and concerns of growing oversupply weighed on the market after Saudi Arabia reported its highest crude exports in nearly a decade.



Crude oil futures erased early gains of more than $1 a barrel on worries of turmoil in the Middle East after a major advance by Islamic State militants in Iraq and renewed air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition against Houthi militia in Yemen.



The dollar rose more than 1 percent against a basket of major currencies .DXY, its most in three weeks. The 19-commodity, crude oil-dominated Thomson Reuters/Core Commodity CRB Index .TRJCRBTR fell 0.3 percent as the stronger dollar made raw materials denominated in the currency less affordable to holders of the euro and other denomination."



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