Oil steady, ends week lower as trade tensions weigh - Reuters:
Oil prices were mostly steady on Friday, ending the week slightly lower as trade tensions stoked by a U.S. move to hike tariffs on Chinese goods overshadowed tightened global supplies and expectations of rising U.S. refining demand.
Brent crude oil settled 23 cents, or 0.4%, higher at $70.62 a barrel, but posted a weekly loss of 0.3%.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures ended 4 cents lower at $61.66, with a weekly loss of 0.5%.
Friday, 10 May 2019
Oil Options Traders Eye Price Spike as Political Risks Swirl - Bloomberg
Oil Options Traders Eye Price Spike as Political Risks Swirl - Bloomberg:
Whether it’s the U.S. sending military warnings to Iran or tensions in Venezuela, some oil traders have started to gear up for a possible price surge as political risks escalate.
Trading in relatively cheap option contracts that would profit from crude soaring to as much as $110 a barrel has taken off in the past two weeks. In total, the equivalent of more than 45 million barrels of $90, $100 and $110 calls, have traded in the last 9 sessions.
Those trades come against the backdrop of disruptions to supply in major oil producing nations. U.S. sanctions have forced output in both Iran and Venezuela sharply lower, while America has also dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Middle East in a warning to its Persian Gulf nemesis. With turmoil in other OPEC nations, some are looking at political risks as a source of potential value.
Whether it’s the U.S. sending military warnings to Iran or tensions in Venezuela, some oil traders have started to gear up for a possible price surge as political risks escalate.
Trading in relatively cheap option contracts that would profit from crude soaring to as much as $110 a barrel has taken off in the past two weeks. In total, the equivalent of more than 45 million barrels of $90, $100 and $110 calls, have traded in the last 9 sessions.
Those trades come against the backdrop of disruptions to supply in major oil producing nations. U.S. sanctions have forced output in both Iran and Venezuela sharply lower, while America has also dispatched an aircraft carrier to the Middle East in a warning to its Persian Gulf nemesis. With turmoil in other OPEC nations, some are looking at political risks as a source of potential value.
#Saudi sovereign fund invests indirectly in Arabian Centers IPO: sources - Reuters
Saudi sovereign fund invests indirectly in Arabian Centers IPO: sources - Reuters:
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, has indirectly invested in the $747 million initial public offering of mall operator Arabian Centers, sources familiar with the matter said.
PIF has made the investment through institutional funds and will not have a direct stake in Arabian Centers, one of the sources said, although the investment represents strong government support for the IPO, a second source told Reuters.
The IPO of Arabian Centers, majority-owned by Fawaz Alhokair Group, is the first in the kingdom under Rule 144a, which allows the sale of securities primarily to qualified institutional buyers in the United States.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, has indirectly invested in the $747 million initial public offering of mall operator Arabian Centers, sources familiar with the matter said.
PIF has made the investment through institutional funds and will not have a direct stake in Arabian Centers, one of the sources said, although the investment represents strong government support for the IPO, a second source told Reuters.
The IPO of Arabian Centers, majority-owned by Fawaz Alhokair Group, is the first in the kingdom under Rule 144a, which allows the sale of securities primarily to qualified institutional buyers in the United States.
TPG agrees to manage #Abraaj’s $1bn healthcare fund despite fraud cases | Financial Times
TPG agrees to manage Abraaj’s $1bn healthcare fund despite fraud cases | Financial Times:
US private equity group TPG has agreed to manage Abraaj’s $1bn healthcare fund despite criminal fraud cases against the collapsed Dubai-based buyout house’s senior executives.
TPG Growth, the group’s mid-market buyout arm, said in a statement that it would take over the existing assets of Abraaj’s Growth Markets Health Fund, renaming it The Evercare Health Fund.
TPG’s Rise Fund, a global impact investing fund, will co-invest in existing and new healthcare assets with other limited partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
US private equity group TPG has agreed to manage Abraaj’s $1bn healthcare fund despite criminal fraud cases against the collapsed Dubai-based buyout house’s senior executives.
TPG Growth, the group’s mid-market buyout arm, said in a statement that it would take over the existing assets of Abraaj’s Growth Markets Health Fund, renaming it The Evercare Health Fund.
TPG’s Rise Fund, a global impact investing fund, will co-invest in existing and new healthcare assets with other limited partners, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
Why Foreigners Will Buy #Saudi Stocks, Like It or Not- Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia: Khashoggi Killing Can't Stop Foreign Investment - Bloomberg:
Four years after Saudi Arabia first let foreigners into its stock market, many overseas investors will soon have little choice. That’s because MSCI Inc., the U.S.-based index compiler, is about to classify the kingdom as an emerging market, meaning some global funds will have to adjust portfolios to include Saudi equities. The biggest market in the Arab world comes with caveats, including lofty valuations, a sputtering economy, the presence of influential funds with ties to the government and a heavy dose of geopolitical risk. It’s also got a potential jewel.
1. What is happening and when?
MSCI will add the kingdom to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in two steps. It will identify the first batch of Saudi stocks on May 13 and the second batch on Aug. 8. That’s a huge deal since about $1.8 trillion in assets were benchmarked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as of June 2018. Arqaam Capital estimates the first phase alone could result in inflows from passive investment funds of about $7.1 billion, with Saudi Arabia representing 1.46% of the emerging-market benchmark. Mohamad Al Hajj, an equities strategist at EFG-Hermes, foresees about $12 billion of inflows plus another $5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in British compiler FTSE Russell’s equivalent index, which was announced in March 2018.
Four years after Saudi Arabia first let foreigners into its stock market, many overseas investors will soon have little choice. That’s because MSCI Inc., the U.S.-based index compiler, is about to classify the kingdom as an emerging market, meaning some global funds will have to adjust portfolios to include Saudi equities. The biggest market in the Arab world comes with caveats, including lofty valuations, a sputtering economy, the presence of influential funds with ties to the government and a heavy dose of geopolitical risk. It’s also got a potential jewel.
1. What is happening and when?
MSCI will add the kingdom to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in two steps. It will identify the first batch of Saudi stocks on May 13 and the second batch on Aug. 8. That’s a huge deal since about $1.8 trillion in assets were benchmarked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as of June 2018. Arqaam Capital estimates the first phase alone could result in inflows from passive investment funds of about $7.1 billion, with Saudi Arabia representing 1.46% of the emerging-market benchmark. Mohamad Al Hajj, an equities strategist at EFG-Hermes, foresees about $12 billion of inflows plus another $5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in British compiler FTSE Russell’s equivalent index, which was announced in March 2018.
Oil gains as supply factors offset trade tensions - Reuters
Oil gains as supply factors offset trade tensions - Reuters:
Oil prices rose on Friday even as the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods kept tensions high in the trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
Brent crude oil was up 45 cents at $70.84 a barrel by 0917 GMT, having touched a peak of $71.23.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 43 cents at $62.13, having earlier hit $62.49.
Oil prices rose on Friday even as the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on $200 billion of Chinese goods kept tensions high in the trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
Brent crude oil was up 45 cents at $70.84 a barrel by 0917 GMT, having touched a peak of $71.23.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 43 cents at $62.13, having earlier hit $62.49.
Cashing out in Uber's IPO: China, Russia and the Middle East - Reuters
Cashing out in Uber's IPO: China, Russia and the Middle East - Reuters:
In 2015, Uber Technologies Inc went on a fundraising spree in China, tapping venture capitalists and state-backed corporations for cash and connections to try and navigate the Chinese regulatory environment.
Uber ultimately pulled out of China, but the investors it gained in the country became part of a gallery of far-flung Uber financiers that include U.S. geopolitical rivals under intense regulatory scrutiny by the U.S. government.
Uber’s investors come in all stripes: state-owned banks and corporations from China and Russia; sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, Singapore and Saudi Arabia; a Russian businessman arrested last year on embezzlement charges; venture capital funds from across Europe and the United Arab Emirates; and Indian conglomerates and a Malaysian public pension fund.
In 2015, Uber Technologies Inc went on a fundraising spree in China, tapping venture capitalists and state-backed corporations for cash and connections to try and navigate the Chinese regulatory environment.
Uber ultimately pulled out of China, but the investors it gained in the country became part of a gallery of far-flung Uber financiers that include U.S. geopolitical rivals under intense regulatory scrutiny by the U.S. government.
Uber’s investors come in all stripes: state-owned banks and corporations from China and Russia; sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, Singapore and Saudi Arabia; a Russian businessman arrested last year on embezzlement charges; venture capital funds from across Europe and the United Arab Emirates; and Indian conglomerates and a Malaysian public pension fund.
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