Thursday, 16 November 2017
Saudi authorities offer freedom deals to princes and businessmen
Saudi authorities offer freedom deals to princes and businessmen:
"Saudi authorities are negotiating settlements with princes and businessmen held over allegations of corruption, offering deals for the detainees to pay for their freedom, say people briefed on the discussions.
In some cases the government is seeking to appropriate as much as 70 per cent of suspects’ wealth, two of the people said, in a bid to channel hundreds of billions of dollars into depleted state coffers.
The arrangements, which have already seen some assets and funds handed over to the state, provide an insight into the strategy behind Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dramatic corruption purge."
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"Saudi authorities are negotiating settlements with princes and businessmen held over allegations of corruption, offering deals for the detainees to pay for their freedom, say people briefed on the discussions.
In some cases the government is seeking to appropriate as much as 70 per cent of suspects’ wealth, two of the people said, in a bid to channel hundreds of billions of dollars into depleted state coffers.
The arrangements, which have already seen some assets and funds handed over to the state, provide an insight into the strategy behind Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s dramatic corruption purge."
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Saudi Aramco's IPO Just Lost World's Largest Equity Investor - Bloomberg
Saudi Aramco's IPO Just Lost World's Largest Equity Investor - Bloomberg:
"Selling the world’s largest initial public offering wasn’t going to be easy. For Saudi Arabia, the mission just got a lot more complicated: the Aramco IPO won’t have the support of the biggest equity investor.
Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund has proposed dumping all its oil and gas stocks -- roughly $35 billion -- to diversify away from energy. The Nordic nation is one of the world’s top oil producers and its fund invests heavily in energy, owning large chunks of Big Oil as well as stakes in major state-controlled companies including Petrobras of Brazil and Sinopec of China."
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"Selling the world’s largest initial public offering wasn’t going to be easy. For Saudi Arabia, the mission just got a lot more complicated: the Aramco IPO won’t have the support of the biggest equity investor.
Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund has proposed dumping all its oil and gas stocks -- roughly $35 billion -- to diversify away from energy. The Nordic nation is one of the world’s top oil producers and its fund invests heavily in energy, owning large chunks of Big Oil as well as stakes in major state-controlled companies including Petrobras of Brazil and Sinopec of China."
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Saudi central bank says no big money outflow due to graft crackdown: CNN
Saudi central bank says no big money outflow due to graft crackdown: CNN:
"There has been no big outflow of money from Saudi Arabia as a result of the anti-corruption crackdown that was announced two weeks ago, Saudi central bank Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey told CNN television on Thursday. “We see some increase, but it’s not that much,” he said, adding that the increase was in the form of corporate transfers of funds. Individuals were not moving large amounts of money out of the country by individuals, he said. Kholifey repeated statements by top government officials that although individual businessmen had been caught in the crackdown, their companies and the economy as a whole had not been hurt, and companies could still transfer money as usual."
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"There has been no big outflow of money from Saudi Arabia as a result of the anti-corruption crackdown that was announced two weeks ago, Saudi central bank Governor Ahmed al-Kholifey told CNN television on Thursday. “We see some increase, but it’s not that much,” he said, adding that the increase was in the form of corporate transfers of funds. Individuals were not moving large amounts of money out of the country by individuals, he said. Kholifey repeated statements by top government officials that although individual businessmen had been caught in the crackdown, their companies and the economy as a whole had not been hurt, and companies could still transfer money as usual."
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First Rule of Saudi Business Is Don't Talk About Saudi Business - Bloomberg
First Rule of Saudi Business Is Don't Talk About Saudi Business - Bloomberg:
"In London, New York, Zurich and beyond, the answer from international bankers is the same: We don’t want to talk about the Saudis and their billions.
More than a week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrested wealthy princes, officials and businessmen, in a power play that could reshape the oil-rich kingdom and the Middle East, bankers who’ve been discretely tending Saudi fortunes seem all but frozen.
Many are afraid to say, much less do, anything that might draw attention in Riyadh, where dozens of the kingdom’s richest people, including at least 11 princes, are being detained in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Saudi Arabia’s market regulator has frozen the trading accounts of individuals being detained or investigated, according to three people familiar with the matter."
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"In London, New York, Zurich and beyond, the answer from international bankers is the same: We don’t want to talk about the Saudis and their billions.
More than a week after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrested wealthy princes, officials and businessmen, in a power play that could reshape the oil-rich kingdom and the Middle East, bankers who’ve been discretely tending Saudi fortunes seem all but frozen.
Many are afraid to say, much less do, anything that might draw attention in Riyadh, where dozens of the kingdom’s richest people, including at least 11 princes, are being detained in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. Saudi Arabia’s market regulator has frozen the trading accounts of individuals being detained or investigated, according to three people familiar with the matter."
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MIDEAST STOCKS- Apparent state support aids Saudi, Qatar blue chips rebound | ZAWYA MENA Edition
MIDEAST STOCKS- Apparent state support aids Saudi, Qatar blue chips rebound | ZAWYA MENA Edition:
"Saudi Arabia's stock market closed flat on Thursday, apparently in response to buying by state-linked funds, while Qatar rebounded from a six-year low as blue chips regained strength.
The Saudi index spent most of the day lower and was down as much as 0.9 percent before a burst of buying in the final 20 minutes lifted it to close 0.02 percent higher - a pattern seen on almost every day since the government announced a sweeping anti-corruption purge two weeks ago.
Many asset managers believe that with over 2,000 bank accounts frozen in the purge and many tycoons and individual investors alarmed by the huge extent of the crackdown, state-linked funds have been mounting an operation to stabilise the market and prevent panic from spreading."
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"Saudi Arabia's stock market closed flat on Thursday, apparently in response to buying by state-linked funds, while Qatar rebounded from a six-year low as blue chips regained strength.
The Saudi index spent most of the day lower and was down as much as 0.9 percent before a burst of buying in the final 20 minutes lifted it to close 0.02 percent higher - a pattern seen on almost every day since the government announced a sweeping anti-corruption purge two weeks ago.
Many asset managers believe that with over 2,000 bank accounts frozen in the purge and many tycoons and individual investors alarmed by the huge extent of the crackdown, state-linked funds have been mounting an operation to stabilise the market and prevent panic from spreading."
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Saudi Aramco says state corruption purge should hearten investors
Saudi Aramco says state corruption purge should hearten investors:
"Saudi Arabia’s sweeping anti-corruption purge should be viewed “very positively” by potential investors in Saudi Aramco as a sign the kingdom is committed to economic reform, according to the state energy giant’s chief executive. As the world’s biggest oil producer prepares to sell shares to the public next year in what has been billed as the biggest initial public offering in history, Amin Nasser said investors should “appreciate” efforts to root out graft at the top of Saudi Arabia’s society. “We support and welcome all the measures taken by the government to eradicate any type of corruption,” he said in an interview. “As an investor you would like to go to a climate where you don’t see any type of corruption whatsoever. So, they should look at it very positively.”"
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"Saudi Arabia’s sweeping anti-corruption purge should be viewed “very positively” by potential investors in Saudi Aramco as a sign the kingdom is committed to economic reform, according to the state energy giant’s chief executive. As the world’s biggest oil producer prepares to sell shares to the public next year in what has been billed as the biggest initial public offering in history, Amin Nasser said investors should “appreciate” efforts to root out graft at the top of Saudi Arabia’s society. “We support and welcome all the measures taken by the government to eradicate any type of corruption,” he said in an interview. “As an investor you would like to go to a climate where you don’t see any type of corruption whatsoever. So, they should look at it very positively.”"
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Qatar faces worst decline in GCC real estate sector | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Qatar faces worst decline in GCC real estate sector | ZAWYA MENA Edition:
"Difficult economic environment is expected to weigh on the prospects of the real estate sector across the GCC, especially Qatar as it faces continuing trade and economic sanctions. “We expect that difficult operating conditions in the region will continue to hurt the real estate sector for the next 12 months in the absence of positive triggers,” said Sapna Jagtiani, an analyst at S&P. Qatar’s real estate market is suffering as a result of the blockade by its neighbours. The country experienced a decline in its population in June-August, according to Qatar’s Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, but saw a recovery in September to the same levels as before the blockade."
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"Difficult economic environment is expected to weigh on the prospects of the real estate sector across the GCC, especially Qatar as it faces continuing trade and economic sanctions. “We expect that difficult operating conditions in the region will continue to hurt the real estate sector for the next 12 months in the absence of positive triggers,” said Sapna Jagtiani, an analyst at S&P. Qatar’s real estate market is suffering as a result of the blockade by its neighbours. The country experienced a decline in its population in June-August, according to Qatar’s Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics, but saw a recovery in September to the same levels as before the blockade."
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Biggest Dubai Share Sale in Three Years Raises $1.3 Billion - Bloomberg
Biggest Dubai Share Sale in Three Years Raises $1.3 Billion - Bloomberg:
"Emaar Properties PJSC raised 4.82 billion dirhams ($1.31 billion) from the sale of a 20 percent stake in its United Arab Emirates development business, pricing the initial public offering at the bottom of a revised range. The Dubai-based developer of the world’s tallest skyscraper sold 800 million shares of Emaar Development PJSC at 6.03 dirhams a share, it said in a statement. That compares with a revised price guidance of 6.03 dirhams to 6.9 dirhams and initial range of 5.7 dirhams to 6.9 dirhams. About 6.2 percent of the shares were sold to individual investors and 93.8 percent to qualified investors. Emaar managed to complete the sale even after almost $19 billion was wiped out from exchanges across the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council countries last week. The market rout came after a Saudi crackdown against alleged corruption that led to the arrest of several princes and billionaires and as Tehran and Riyadh traded barbs on a missile attack on Saudi Arabia."
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"Emaar Properties PJSC raised 4.82 billion dirhams ($1.31 billion) from the sale of a 20 percent stake in its United Arab Emirates development business, pricing the initial public offering at the bottom of a revised range. The Dubai-based developer of the world’s tallest skyscraper sold 800 million shares of Emaar Development PJSC at 6.03 dirhams a share, it said in a statement. That compares with a revised price guidance of 6.03 dirhams to 6.9 dirhams and initial range of 5.7 dirhams to 6.9 dirhams. About 6.2 percent of the shares were sold to individual investors and 93.8 percent to qualified investors. Emaar managed to complete the sale even after almost $19 billion was wiped out from exchanges across the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council countries last week. The market rout came after a Saudi crackdown against alleged corruption that led to the arrest of several princes and billionaires and as Tehran and Riyadh traded barbs on a missile attack on Saudi Arabia."
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MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi slips early on, Dubai's Emaar up after unit's IPO news | ZAWYA MENA Edition
MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi slips early on, Dubai's Emaar up after unit's IPO news | ZAWYA MENA Edition:
"Saudi Arabia's stock market edged down in early trade on Thursday while Dubai rose as its top real estate firm, Emaar Properties , gained after pricing the initial public offer of its local development unit. The Saudi index was 0.2 percent lower after 20 minutes as real estate firm Dar Al Arkan , the most heavily traded stock, sank 1.6 percent. It has been volatile in heavy volumes over the past week, after announcing strong quarterly earnings. Wednesday's 1.0 drop by the Saudi index raised doubts over the extent to which state-linked funds are still willing to support that market."
'via Blog this'
"Saudi Arabia's stock market edged down in early trade on Thursday while Dubai rose as its top real estate firm, Emaar Properties , gained after pricing the initial public offer of its local development unit. The Saudi index was 0.2 percent lower after 20 minutes as real estate firm Dar Al Arkan , the most heavily traded stock, sank 1.6 percent. It has been volatile in heavy volumes over the past week, after announcing strong quarterly earnings. Wednesday's 1.0 drop by the Saudi index raised doubts over the extent to which state-linked funds are still willing to support that market."
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