FGB shares to be delisted on Thursday ahead of merger with NBAD | The National:
"The Abu Dhabi lender FGB will have its shares delisted from the stock exchange today ahead of its merger with National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).
Shares in the new entity, which retains the NBAD name, will begin trading on Sunday after the formal declaration of the new merged entity at the close of trade today, the banks said in a brief statement on the website of the Abu Dhabi stock exchange. Those shares include 5,643,000,000 new NBAD ordinary shares issued to FGB shareholders, the lenders said.
The merger, which was approved by both banks’ shareholders on December 7, was done in part to cut down on costs by removing duplicate posts and sharing resources."
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Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Abu Dhabi fund loses crisis-related arbitration against Citigroup | Reuters
Abu Dhabi fund loses crisis-related arbitration against Citigroup | Reuters:
"Citigroup Inc (C.N) has prevailed in the latest arbitration pursued by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority over the sovereign wealth fund's $7.5 billion investment in 2007 to shore up the then-struggling bank during the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority said on Wednesday it was disappointed by the outcome of the arbitration.
Documents in the case were unsealed on March 20 in Manhattan federal court, where Citigroup filed a petition earlier in the month to have a federal judge confirm a decision an arbitration panel issued in December."
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"Citigroup Inc (C.N) has prevailed in the latest arbitration pursued by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority over the sovereign wealth fund's $7.5 billion investment in 2007 to shore up the then-struggling bank during the subprime mortgage meltdown.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority said on Wednesday it was disappointed by the outcome of the arbitration.
Documents in the case were unsealed on March 20 in Manhattan federal court, where Citigroup filed a petition earlier in the month to have a federal judge confirm a decision an arbitration panel issued in December."
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UPDATE 1-Russia plans to produce more than 70 mln tonnes of LNG a year in Arctic | Reuters
UPDATE 1-Russia plans to produce more than 70 mln tonnes of LNG a year in Arctic | Reuters:
"Russia may produce more than 70 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year in its remote Arctic regions, the head of gas producer Novatek said on Wednesday. "The Gydan and Yamal peninsulas have a vast resource base that allows the production of over 70 million tonnes (of LNG); it is comparable to LNG production in Qatar", Leonid Mikhelson, the head and co-owner of Novatek told a conference. Novatek, which was put on the list of Russian companies sanctioned by the West over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, plans to ship its first liquefied gas cargo from the Yamal LNG plant in December, mainly targeting Asian markets."
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"Russia may produce more than 70 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year in its remote Arctic regions, the head of gas producer Novatek said on Wednesday. "The Gydan and Yamal peninsulas have a vast resource base that allows the production of over 70 million tonnes (of LNG); it is comparable to LNG production in Qatar", Leonid Mikhelson, the head and co-owner of Novatek told a conference. Novatek, which was put on the list of Russian companies sanctioned by the West over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, plans to ship its first liquefied gas cargo from the Yamal LNG plant in December, mainly targeting Asian markets."
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Barclays Qatar SFO Charging Deadline Delayed to May - Bloomberg
Barclays Qatar SFO Charging Deadline Delayed to May - Bloomberg:
"Charging decisions over Barclays Plc’s 2008 emergency fundraising from Qatar may not come before May after the U.K. Serious Fraud Office wrote to targets extending the deadline, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The SFO sent letters to a number of former Barclays executives in the last week informing them it will make a decision on whether to file charges by the end of May, according to the people, who didn’t want to be identified because the letters are private. The SFO previously told a London court it would make a decision by the end of March."
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"Charging decisions over Barclays Plc’s 2008 emergency fundraising from Qatar may not come before May after the U.K. Serious Fraud Office wrote to targets extending the deadline, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The SFO sent letters to a number of former Barclays executives in the last week informing them it will make a decision on whether to file charges by the end of May, according to the people, who didn’t want to be identified because the letters are private. The SFO previously told a London court it would make a decision by the end of March."
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Saudi Arabia considering changes to debut dollar sukuk structure –sources | Reuters
Saudi Arabia considering changes to debut dollar sukuk structure –sources | Reuters:
"Saudi Arabia is considering whether to change the structure of its planned U.S. dollar sukuk issue, which would be the kingdom's first international issue of Islamic bonds, banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Riyadh is expected to sell up to $10 billion of sukuk with an issue that could take place in the next few weeks, bankers say. It has been planning a hybrid structure for the sukuk. The structure would comprise a mudaraba agreement, a form of Islamic investment management partnership, plus a murabaha facility that would trade commodities with a special purpose vehicle."
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"Saudi Arabia is considering whether to change the structure of its planned U.S. dollar sukuk issue, which would be the kingdom's first international issue of Islamic bonds, banking sources told Reuters on Wednesday. Riyadh is expected to sell up to $10 billion of sukuk with an issue that could take place in the next few weeks, bankers say. It has been planning a hybrid structure for the sukuk. The structure would comprise a mudaraba agreement, a form of Islamic investment management partnership, plus a murabaha facility that would trade commodities with a special purpose vehicle."
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Turkey State-Run Bank Sinks After U.S. Sanctions Case Arrest - Bloomberg
Turkey State-Run Bank Sinks After U.S. Sanctions Case Arrest - Bloomberg:
"The biggest state-owned bank on Turkey’s stock market plunged the most on record on Wednesday after its deputy chief executive was arrested in the U.S., accused of using his position at the bank to help facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The shares of Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, as the lender is formally known, fell as much as 19 percent in Istanbul, knocking 2.1 billion liras ($576 million) off its market value. Traders exchanged almost 153 million shares by 4:56 p.m., the most since the shares were listed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer now detained in the U.S., faces charges including conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran and banking fraud. Investors have been on tenterhooks since Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader accused of running a scheme to help the Iranian government launder hundreds of millions of dollars, was arrested in the U.S. last March. Tapes released in a previous corruption investigation in Turkey showed Zarrab coordinating with Halkbank officials including Atilla."
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"The biggest state-owned bank on Turkey’s stock market plunged the most on record on Wednesday after its deputy chief executive was arrested in the U.S., accused of using his position at the bank to help facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran. The shares of Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, as the lender is formally known, fell as much as 19 percent in Istanbul, knocking 2.1 billion liras ($576 million) off its market value. Traders exchanged almost 153 million shares by 4:56 p.m., the most since the shares were listed, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer now detained in the U.S., faces charges including conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran and banking fraud. Investors have been on tenterhooks since Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader accused of running a scheme to help the Iranian government launder hundreds of millions of dollars, was arrested in the U.S. last March. Tapes released in a previous corruption investigation in Turkey showed Zarrab coordinating with Halkbank officials including Atilla."
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OPEC compliance with oil curbs rises in March as UAE joins cut: survey | Reuters
OPEC compliance with oil curbs rises in March as UAE joins cut: survey | Reuters:
"OPEC oil output is likely to fall for a third straight month in March, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, as the United Arab Emirates made progress in trimming supplies while maintenance and unrest cut production in exempt nations Nigeria and Libya. The reduction by the UAE has helped boost OPEC compliance this month with its production-cutting deal to 95 percent, up from an initial February estimate of 94 percent and a record high, according to Reuters surveys. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pledged to reduce output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 - the first accord on supply curbs since 2008. Non-OPEC countries pledged to cut about half as much."
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"OPEC oil output is likely to fall for a third straight month in March, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, as the United Arab Emirates made progress in trimming supplies while maintenance and unrest cut production in exempt nations Nigeria and Libya. The reduction by the UAE has helped boost OPEC compliance this month with its production-cutting deal to 95 percent, up from an initial February estimate of 94 percent and a record high, according to Reuters surveys. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pledged to reduce output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 - the first accord on supply curbs since 2008. Non-OPEC countries pledged to cut about half as much."
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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia outperforms in otherwise quiet region | Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi Arabia outperforms in otherwise quiet region | Reuters:
"A small rebound in crude oil prices towards $52 barrel helped lift Saudi Arabia's stock index in early trade on Wednesday, in an otherwise quiet region. The Saudi index added 0.4 percent in the first 40 minutes as almost four-fifths of listed petrochemical producers advanced; Saudi Kayan Petrochemical was up 1.3 percent Builder Al Khodari climbed 2.0 percent after saying it had renewed its credit line of 373 million riyals ($99.5 million) with Alawwal Bank to help it finance working capital. Alwwal was up 0.5 percent."
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"A small rebound in crude oil prices towards $52 barrel helped lift Saudi Arabia's stock index in early trade on Wednesday, in an otherwise quiet region. The Saudi index added 0.4 percent in the first 40 minutes as almost four-fifths of listed petrochemical producers advanced; Saudi Kayan Petrochemical was up 1.3 percent Builder Al Khodari climbed 2.0 percent after saying it had renewed its credit line of 373 million riyals ($99.5 million) with Alawwal Bank to help it finance working capital. Alwwal was up 0.5 percent."
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Merged U.A.E. Banking Giant Seen Earning Bigger MSCI Weighting - Bloomberg
Merged U.A.E. Banking Giant Seen Earning Bigger MSCI Weighting - Bloomberg:
"A mega-merger of the two biggest banks in the United Arab Emirates should leave the combined company with a larger representation on the benchmark emerging-market index, triggering hundreds of millions of dollars of inflows to the stock, according to calculations by EFG-Hermes strategists. Thursday marks the last day of trading in First Gulf Bank PJSC before its combination with National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC in a deal that creates the biggest financial institution in the country. The combined entity starts trading on April 2, with FGB stock holders receiving 1.254 shares for each one they own before the merger. While FGB’s last trading day is likely to see foreign investors selling out of the stock, this should more than reverse over time for the combined company as it reaches liquidity benchmarks in 2018, said Mohamad Al Hajj, a Dubai-based equity strategist at EFG Hermes. The enlarged bank, trading as National Bank of Abu Dhabi, could gain an MSCI Emerging Markets Index weighting of 0.18 percent, once a liquidity factor adjustment is removed, compared with the banks’ combined 0.1 percent right after the merger, he said."
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"A mega-merger of the two biggest banks in the United Arab Emirates should leave the combined company with a larger representation on the benchmark emerging-market index, triggering hundreds of millions of dollars of inflows to the stock, according to calculations by EFG-Hermes strategists. Thursday marks the last day of trading in First Gulf Bank PJSC before its combination with National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC in a deal that creates the biggest financial institution in the country. The combined entity starts trading on April 2, with FGB stock holders receiving 1.254 shares for each one they own before the merger. While FGB’s last trading day is likely to see foreign investors selling out of the stock, this should more than reverse over time for the combined company as it reaches liquidity benchmarks in 2018, said Mohamad Al Hajj, a Dubai-based equity strategist at EFG Hermes. The enlarged bank, trading as National Bank of Abu Dhabi, could gain an MSCI Emerging Markets Index weighting of 0.18 percent, once a liquidity factor adjustment is removed, compared with the banks’ combined 0.1 percent right after the merger, he said."
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After six decades, U.S. set to turn natgas exporter amid LNG boom | Reuters
After six decades, U.S. set to turn natgas exporter amid LNG boom | Reuters:
"The last time the United States was a net exporter of natural gas was in 1957, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. That should change in 2018 when the country is expected to become the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). By the end of next year, U.S. LNG export capacity in the lower 48 states will top 6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), or 8 percent of the country's domestic consumption, up from zero at the beginning of 2016. Six bcfd of gas can fuel about 30 million U.S. homes, or almost every house in California, Texas and Florida combined. That growth in U.S. LNG exports is set to transform world energy markets. Just a decade ago, before the shale revolution, the United States was expected to become a growing LNG importer, not an exporter, likely dependent on Russian, Middle East and North African gas, much as it has for decades depended on foreign crude."
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"The last time the United States was a net exporter of natural gas was in 1957, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. That should change in 2018 when the country is expected to become the world's third-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). By the end of next year, U.S. LNG export capacity in the lower 48 states will top 6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), or 8 percent of the country's domestic consumption, up from zero at the beginning of 2016. Six bcfd of gas can fuel about 30 million U.S. homes, or almost every house in California, Texas and Florida combined. That growth in U.S. LNG exports is set to transform world energy markets. Just a decade ago, before the shale revolution, the United States was expected to become a growing LNG importer, not an exporter, likely dependent on Russian, Middle East and North African gas, much as it has for decades depended on foreign crude."
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Turkey's Halkbank Plunges After U.S. Probe Extends to Lender - Bloomberg
Turkey's Halkbank Plunges After U.S. Probe Extends to Lender - Bloomberg:
"The biggest state-owned bank on Turkey’s stock market plunged on Wednesday after its deputy chief executive was arrested in the U.S., accused of using his position at the bank to help facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The shares of Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, as the lender is officially known, fell as much as 19 percent in Istanbul, the most on record. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer now detained in the U.S., faces charges including conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran and banking fraud.
Investors have been on tenterhooks since Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader accused of running a scheme to help the Iranian government to launder hundreds of millions of dollars, was arrested in the U.S. last March. Tapes released in a previous corruption investigation in Turkey showed Zarrab coordinating with Halkbank officials including Atilla."
'via Blog this'
"The biggest state-owned bank on Turkey’s stock market plunged on Wednesday after its deputy chief executive was arrested in the U.S., accused of using his position at the bank to help facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
The shares of Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, as the lender is officially known, fell as much as 19 percent in Istanbul, the most on record. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, the deputy chief executive officer now detained in the U.S., faces charges including conspiring to evade trade sanctions on Iran and banking fraud.
Investors have been on tenterhooks since Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish gold trader accused of running a scheme to help the Iranian government to launder hundreds of millions of dollars, was arrested in the U.S. last March. Tapes released in a previous corruption investigation in Turkey showed Zarrab coordinating with Halkbank officials including Atilla."
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Saudi Aramco's $2 Trillion Valuation Has Too Many Assumptions - Bloomberg View
Saudi Aramco's $2 Trillion Valuation Has Too Many Assumptions - Bloomberg View:
"Changing a tax system that has endured since the 1970s is no small matter, especially when it concerns what could be the world’s most valuable company. Saudi Arabia’s announcement on Monday that it was cutting the tax rate on large oil companies to 50 percent from 85 percent is crucial for the fate of the initial public offering of state oil giant Aramco. But is it enough to bridge the gap between a $2 trillion aspiration and independent estimates of $400 billion? When the IPO was first publicly suggested in January 2016, a notional value of $2 trillion was given, and it has become important to justify a figure around this level. The problem is that this number, based on a simplistic multiple of the company’s reserves, overlooked two factors: Aramco’s high tax rate, and the long period over which reserves are expected to be produced. The original tax rate of 85 percent was set back in the 1970s, when Aramco was still a consortium of U.S. majors: Exxon, Mobil, Chevron and Texaco. Nationalisation was completed in 1982. The company also pays a royalty on gross revenues of 20 percent, which has apparently not been affected by the latest reform."
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"Changing a tax system that has endured since the 1970s is no small matter, especially when it concerns what could be the world’s most valuable company. Saudi Arabia’s announcement on Monday that it was cutting the tax rate on large oil companies to 50 percent from 85 percent is crucial for the fate of the initial public offering of state oil giant Aramco. But is it enough to bridge the gap between a $2 trillion aspiration and independent estimates of $400 billion? When the IPO was first publicly suggested in January 2016, a notional value of $2 trillion was given, and it has become important to justify a figure around this level. The problem is that this number, based on a simplistic multiple of the company’s reserves, overlooked two factors: Aramco’s high tax rate, and the long period over which reserves are expected to be produced. The original tax rate of 85 percent was set back in the 1970s, when Aramco was still a consortium of U.S. majors: Exxon, Mobil, Chevron and Texaco. Nationalisation was completed in 1982. The company also pays a royalty on gross revenues of 20 percent, which has apparently not been affected by the latest reform."
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Saudi Aramco to Price Islamic Bond in $10 Billion Debt Push - Bloomberg
Saudi Aramco to Price Islamic Bond in $10 Billion Debt Push - Bloomberg:
"Saudi Arabian Oil Co. set final pricing for its debut Islamic bond as the company presses ahead with plans to raise $10 billion in debt, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Aramco, as the world’s largest oil producer is known, is selling debt with a seven year tenure in a private placement at 25 basis points over the country’s interbank offered rate, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The company is seeking to raise about $2 billion in its debut sale of Islamic bonds under a 37.5 billion-riyal ($10 billion) sukuk program, people with knowledge of the matter said this month. The oil giant is selling debt ahead of an initial public offering in 2018 as the country’s finance ministry plans to cut taxation on the company, potentially raising its valuation to more than $1 trillion, according to estimates by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The cut will boost Aramco’s net income by 300 percent, putting per-barrel income in a range similar to that of international oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Bernstein analysts said. "
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"Saudi Arabian Oil Co. set final pricing for its debut Islamic bond as the company presses ahead with plans to raise $10 billion in debt, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Aramco, as the world’s largest oil producer is known, is selling debt with a seven year tenure in a private placement at 25 basis points over the country’s interbank offered rate, the person said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The company is seeking to raise about $2 billion in its debut sale of Islamic bonds under a 37.5 billion-riyal ($10 billion) sukuk program, people with knowledge of the matter said this month. The oil giant is selling debt ahead of an initial public offering in 2018 as the country’s finance ministry plans to cut taxation on the company, potentially raising its valuation to more than $1 trillion, according to estimates by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. The cut will boost Aramco’s net income by 300 percent, putting per-barrel income in a range similar to that of international oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Bernstein analysts said. "
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