Saudi bankruptcy law to aid struggling businesses - The National:
Saudi Arabia’s landmark bankruptcy law, which is now being implemented, will strengthen the kingdom’s business environment by helping cash-strapped firms restructure and incentivising more foreign investment.
“The new law will protect companies and allow them to show the reality of their financial situation, ultimately improving business transparency,” Mazen Al Sudairi, head of research at Al Rahji Capital, told The National.
Saudi Arabia is following in the footsteps of the UAE, which approved a bankruptcy law in 2016 to better deal with corporate insolvencies. Previously, neither country had a single law setting out procedures for businesses that ran into financial trouble, but the issue has become more pressing after years of economic slowdown in the Middle East and worldwide.
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Sunday, 19 August 2018
ADIB approves Dh1bn rights issue and Dh2.75bn sukuk - The National
ADIB approves Dh1bn rights issue and Dh2.75bn sukuk - The National:
Shareholders of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the emirate’s biggest Sharia-compliant lender, approved on Sunday a Dh1 billion rights issue and the issuance of a Dh2.75bn ($750 million) sukuk in line with its growth strategy.
“Our focus has always been on maintaining a solid capital base, which can provide stability and enable the bank to expand and grow from a position of strength,” said Khamis Buharoon, vice-chairman and acting chief executive of ADIB, in a statement following ADIB’s general assembly in Abu Dhabi.
The rights issue will increase ADIB’s issued and subscribed-to share capital to Dh3.6bn through the issuance of 464,000,000 new shares issued at Dh2.16 per share. This represents a 45 per cent discount to the market share price as of July 25, ADIB said in the statement.
Shareholders of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, the emirate’s biggest Sharia-compliant lender, approved on Sunday a Dh1 billion rights issue and the issuance of a Dh2.75bn ($750 million) sukuk in line with its growth strategy.
“Our focus has always been on maintaining a solid capital base, which can provide stability and enable the bank to expand and grow from a position of strength,” said Khamis Buharoon, vice-chairman and acting chief executive of ADIB, in a statement following ADIB’s general assembly in Abu Dhabi.
The rights issue will increase ADIB’s issued and subscribed-to share capital to Dh3.6bn through the issuance of 464,000,000 new shares issued at Dh2.16 per share. This represents a 45 per cent discount to the market share price as of July 25, ADIB said in the statement.
AlixPartners to oversee separation of Abraaj health fund from Abraaj Group | GulfNews.com
AlixPartners to oversee separation of Abraaj health fund from Abraaj Group | GulfNews.com:
Investors in the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund (AGHF) have announced the appointment of global consulting firm, AlixPartners, to oversee the separation of AGHF from the Abraaj Group.
The separation is aimed at ensuring the long term success of the fund in delivering accessible, affordable and quality health care in developing countries, AGHF said in a statement.
AGHF is a $1 billion investment fund with a mandate to provide affordable, high-quality health care to underserved low and middle-income patients throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with performance measured by both financial returns and development impact metrics. The fund is now in the process of separating from the Abraaj Group to ensure continuity and build a stable platform for the future.
Investors in the Abraaj Growth Markets Health Fund (AGHF) have announced the appointment of global consulting firm, AlixPartners, to oversee the separation of AGHF from the Abraaj Group.
The separation is aimed at ensuring the long term success of the fund in delivering accessible, affordable and quality health care in developing countries, AGHF said in a statement.
AGHF is a $1 billion investment fund with a mandate to provide affordable, high-quality health care to underserved low and middle-income patients throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with performance measured by both financial returns and development impact metrics. The fund is now in the process of separating from the Abraaj Group to ensure continuity and build a stable platform for the future.
Weekly Energy Recap: Too early to gauge trade tension fallout on oil markets
Weekly Energy Recap: Too early to gauge trade tension fallout on oil markets:
Brent crude finished the week at $71.83 per barrel while WTI dropped to $65.91 as the Brent/WTI spread widened to $5.92 per barrel.
Oil prices fell as a result of market sentiment impacted by hypothetical fears over lower global economic growth.
Brent crude price fell below $72 for the first time since mid-April 2018.
Brent crude finished the week at $71.83 per barrel while WTI dropped to $65.91 as the Brent/WTI spread widened to $5.92 per barrel.
Oil prices fell as a result of market sentiment impacted by hypothetical fears over lower global economic growth.
Brent crude price fell below $72 for the first time since mid-April 2018.
The Caspian is a sea after all — but landlocked in geopolitics | Arab News
The Caspian is a sea after all — but landlocked in geopolitics | Arab News:
Despite its name, the Caspian Sea by strict definition a very large lake. The body of water that historically marks the boundary between Europe and Asia has no contiguous connection with any other outlet that would link it with the open oceans, so strictly speaking cannot be called a sea.
That might seem the ultimate pedantry, but actually it has profound implications for energy policy in the crucial central Asian and East European regions, with big knock-on effects for Middle East energy economics.
The Caspian basin is strategically important as the place where the tectonic plates of empires — the Russian, the Ottoman and the Persian — banged up against each other for centuries. But it has always been one of the world’s great energy-rich zones.
Despite its name, the Caspian Sea by strict definition a very large lake. The body of water that historically marks the boundary between Europe and Asia has no contiguous connection with any other outlet that would link it with the open oceans, so strictly speaking cannot be called a sea.
That might seem the ultimate pedantry, but actually it has profound implications for energy policy in the crucial central Asian and East European regions, with big knock-on effects for Middle East energy economics.
The Caspian basin is strategically important as the place where the tectonic plates of empires — the Russian, the Ottoman and the Persian — banged up against each other for centuries. But it has always been one of the world’s great energy-rich zones.
MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai ends nine-day losing streak as Turkey impact eases, Egypt soft | Reuters
MIDEAST STOCKS-Dubai ends nine-day losing streak as Turkey impact eases, Egypt soft | Reuters:
Dubai’s stock market snapped a nine-day losing streak on Sunday that was triggered by Turkey’s economic crisis, but trade was thinned drastically by the onset of Eid al-Adha holidays in the region. Egypt’s bourse remained soft.
The Dubai index, which had dropped 5.9 percent over the previous nine trading days, rebounded by 0.4 percent in one of the lowest daily volumes this year.
Emirates NBD, which had plunged nearly 16 percent because it is in the process of acquiring Turkey’s Denizbank for $3.2 billion, climbed 2.3 percent. Overall, 17 Dubai stocks rose and nine fell.
Dubai’s stock market snapped a nine-day losing streak on Sunday that was triggered by Turkey’s economic crisis, but trade was thinned drastically by the onset of Eid al-Adha holidays in the region. Egypt’s bourse remained soft.
The Dubai index, which had dropped 5.9 percent over the previous nine trading days, rebounded by 0.4 percent in one of the lowest daily volumes this year.
Emirates NBD, which had plunged nearly 16 percent because it is in the process of acquiring Turkey’s Denizbank for $3.2 billion, climbed 2.3 percent. Overall, 17 Dubai stocks rose and nine fell.
Sovereign wealth funds search for new investments | Financial Times
Sovereign wealth funds search for new investments | Financial Times:
Elon Musk’s “take Tesla private” tweet after securing a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund caused a stir. It also brought sovereign wealth investment funds back into focus.
The funds, spanning about 50 nations, have $7tn in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. They are shareholders in some of the largest companies including Apple, Uber and Nestlé, and China has the largest sovereign wealth assets — $2.2tn across five funds.
About half of the funds by assets are from the Middle East. But with oil prices lower over the past few years and the emergence of US shale, a lack of new discoveries and the shift to renewable energy, the funds face an uncertain future.
Elon Musk’s “take Tesla private” tweet after securing a deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund caused a stir. It also brought sovereign wealth investment funds back into focus.
The funds, spanning about 50 nations, have $7tn in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. They are shareholders in some of the largest companies including Apple, Uber and Nestlé, and China has the largest sovereign wealth assets — $2.2tn across five funds.
About half of the funds by assets are from the Middle East. But with oil prices lower over the past few years and the emergence of US shale, a lack of new discoveries and the shift to renewable energy, the funds face an uncertain future.
Oil Prices Are Down. Nobody Told the Gas Pumps - Bloomberg
Oil Prices Are Down. Nobody Told the Gas Pumps - Bloomberg:
Oil’s popularity isn’t what it used to be.
It’s not just a looming global trade war. As I’ve written, not only will tariffs and retaliatory measures stifle the activity that normally stokes consumption, they’ll squeeze economies everywhere. That’s a good way to stifle demand.
But that’s not the only problem the market faces.
Oil’s popularity isn’t what it used to be.
It’s not just a looming global trade war. As I’ve written, not only will tariffs and retaliatory measures stifle the activity that normally stokes consumption, they’ll squeeze economies everywhere. That’s a good way to stifle demand.
But that’s not the only problem the market faces.
Emerging Markets Turmoil Revives a Dreaded Old OPEC Ghost - Bloomberg
Emerging Markets Turmoil Revives a Dreaded Old OPEC Ghost - Bloomberg:
For more than two decades, OPEC has tried to avoid repeating a mistake that cost it dearly. In November 1997, at a meeting in Jakarta, Saudi Arabia convinced fellow oil producers to boost output, ignoring a crisis brewing in emerging markets.
The output increase came at the worst possible time. What in November 1997 looked like a hiccup, by mid-1998 was a full emerging-markets crisis spreading to Russia and Brazil. Global oil demand growth slowed, in part because of an unusually warm winter in the northern hemisphere. Benchmark oil prices fell below $10 a barrel, the lowest since the 1973-74 oil embargo.
For Saudi Arabia, it was a painful blunder, and one that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries officials have vowed never to repeat. Now the cartel is facing trouble again in emerging markets. So far, it isn’t remotely similar to the 1997 crisis. And yet, signs abound of slower economic growth from Turkey to China.
For more than two decades, OPEC has tried to avoid repeating a mistake that cost it dearly. In November 1997, at a meeting in Jakarta, Saudi Arabia convinced fellow oil producers to boost output, ignoring a crisis brewing in emerging markets.
The output increase came at the worst possible time. What in November 1997 looked like a hiccup, by mid-1998 was a full emerging-markets crisis spreading to Russia and Brazil. Global oil demand growth slowed, in part because of an unusually warm winter in the northern hemisphere. Benchmark oil prices fell below $10 a barrel, the lowest since the 1973-74 oil embargo.
For Saudi Arabia, it was a painful blunder, and one that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries officials have vowed never to repeat. Now the cartel is facing trouble again in emerging markets. So far, it isn’t remotely similar to the 1997 crisis. And yet, signs abound of slower economic growth from Turkey to China.