NMC Rises 34% as It Plans Independent Review After Short Report - Bloomberg

NMC Rises 34% as It Plans Independent Review After Short Report - Bloomberg:

NMC Health Plc shares gained after the company said it plans an independent review of assertions from “certain third parties,” partly recovering from a slump that followed allegations by short seller Muddy Waters Capital LLC last week.

The company, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, has been under siege since Carson Block’s Muddy Waters said its financial statements hint at potential overpayment for assets, inflated cash balances and understated debt. The stock lost 47% last week after the report.

NMC said last week that those claims are unfounded, and also denied a Financial Times article saying it planned to raise 200 million euros ($222 million) of off-balance-sheet debt.

The Abu Dhabi-based company said on Monday that it believes the current share price is not an accurate reflection of the company’s value. The review, by an accounting firm, will be overseen by a committee made up of a majority of independent directors. The shares rose 34% in London on Monday, but are still down 33% since the short seller report.

OPEC’s Rebel Makes Gesture of Atonement Ahead of New Oil Cuts - Bloomberg

OPEC’s Rebel Makes Gesture of Atonement Ahead of New Oil Cuts - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia’s pressure on fellow OPEC nations to do a better job of cutting output appears to be paying off with the cartel’s main renegade, Iraq.

Baghdad reduced supplies this month to honor some of its outstanding commitments to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Petro-Logistics SA and Genscape Inc., which track output. Baghdad pared production by 110,000 barrels a day in December, Petro-Logistics estimates.

Yet the country still has a long way to go. At 4.67 million barrels a day, output is now back down to near the starting point for this year’s cutbacks after the country increased production for much of 2019. It will need much sharper reductions to implement the new accord starting in 2020, and some market-watchers are skeptical the country can achieve the target.

Exclusive: #Dubai's Emaar to sell view from world's tallest tower - sources - Reuters

Exclusive: Dubai's Emaar to sell view from world's tallest tower - sources - Reuters:

Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) is selling the observation decks of the world’s tallest skyscraper the Burj Khalifa, four sources told Reuters, potentially raising $1 billion for Dubai’s biggest developer amid a real estate downturn.

FILE PHOTO: The Burj Khalifa is lit up during New Year celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 1, 2019. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed

Two of the sources said Emaar had appointed Standard Chartered (STAN.L) to advise it on the sale of the popular “At The Top” tourist attraction.

Emaar, in which the Dubai government has a minority stake of 29.2%, and Standard Chartered declined to comment.

At over 828 metres, the Burj Khalifa is twice as tall as New York’s Empire State Building and nearly three times the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

At The Top is a popular tourist destination in Dubai, which attracted 15.92 million overnight visitors in 2018.

Oil Markets Brace For Another 500,000 Bpd Oil Field To Come Online | OilPrice.com

Oil Markets Brace For Another 500,000 Bpd Oil Field To Come Online | OilPrice.com:

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia could be days from agreeing the restart of oil production from the two fields they share in the so-called neutral zone. 


Bloomberg quoted Kuwait’s Oil Minister, Khaled Al-Fadel, as saying during a news conference on Sunday that “We hope that by the end of the year things will be cleared out and things will go back to normal.”

The report is the latest in a series about Kuwait and Saudi Arabia trying to resume production from the neutral zone despite the latest extension and deepening of the OPEC+ oil production cuts.

Two fields in the partitioned zone—Khafji and Wafra—pumped half a million barrels daily until 2015. Operational differences and a worsening in bilateral relations led to the suspension of production during that year. The worsening came as Saudi Arabia renewed Chevron’s concession for Wafra. According to the Kuwaiti side, Riyadh did that without consulting it.

Oil steadies as Russia touts easing OPEC+ output - Reuters

Oil steadies as Russia touts easing OPEC+ output - Reuters:

Oil prices were little changed on Monday as Russia said an OPEC-led producer group may consider easing output cuts next year, offsetting support from some investor optimism that an initial U.S.-China trade deal would be signed soon.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled up 25 cents, or 0.4%, at $66.39 after a day of thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 ended the session up 8 cents, or 0.1%, at $60.52 a barrel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other top producing nations led by Russia agreed this month to extend and deepen output cuts in the first quarter of 2020.

However, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday that the group, known as OPEC+, may consider easing the output restrictions at its meeting in March.

MIDEAST STOCKS-Most Gulf markets rise, #Saudi outperforms - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Most Gulf markets rise, Saudi outperforms - Reuters:

Most Gulf stock markets rose on Monday, with Saudi Arabia
outperforming its regional peers on the back of a rise in banking stocks and a
rebound in shares of oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The Saudi index rose for a seventh consecutive session and was up
1.4%. Samba Financial Group and Banque Saudi Fransi
increased 5.9% and 3.9%, respectively.

Aramco edged up 0.9% to 35.6 riyals on bargain-hunting after four straight
sessions of losses.

The Aramco stock's recent fall raised investors' appetite to buy more shares
to average down the cost of investment after having bought at higher prices, an
investor told Reuters.

Saudi Industrial Investment Group climbed 6.5% to its biggest
intraday rise since Oct. 15, 2018. The company's board recommended a 0.75 riyal
per share dividend for the second half of the year.

No Clarity Seen in NMC Health, Daman Securities Says - Bloomberg

No Clarity Seen in NMC Health, Daman Securities Says - Bloomberg:

Marie Salem, the head of institutions at Daman Securities in Dubai, talks about Saudi Aramco and NMC Health Plc. Both shares have fallen for four straight sessions. She also discusses the outlook for Gulf banks with Manus Cranny on "Bloomberg Daybreak; Middle East." (Source: Bloomberg)

Foreigners Top #Saudi Stock Buyers in Week of Aramco Inclusion - Bloomberg

Foreigners Top Saudi Stock Buyers in Week of Aramco Inclusion - Bloomberg:

International investors were the biggest purchasers of shares in Saudi Arabia last week, when oil giant Saudi Aramco started to be added to main gauges tracking emerging-market equities.

Investors from outside of the Gulf were net buyers of about 3.56 billion Saudi riyals ($950 million) for the week ended Dec. 19, according to data provided by the stock exchange. Qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIs) boosted the figure and bought the most.

Index compiler MSCI Inc., which upgraded Saudi Arabia this year, added Aramco to its emerging-market index last week, spurring buying from passive funds. FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones also added the stock outside of regular reviews due to the size of the initial public offering. While foreigners balked at the IPO, citing what they deemed to be an expensive valuation among other concerns, managers tracking benchmarks passively had to purchase Aramco in order to comply with the index changes.

Still, the flows from abroad weren’t enough to sustain the stock price near a peak reached after the listing. Aramco fell 3.5% last week, erasing a third of the gains that followed the world’s biggest IPO. Investors from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi individuals and Saudi institutions, who were key for the IPO to happen, were net sellers last week, data from the exchange showed.

Oil eases as U.S. drilling activity picks up - Reuters

Oil eases as U.S. drilling activity picks up - Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Monday after an increase in U.S. drilling activity, but held near recent three-month highs on hopes for a trade deal between the United States and China.

Brent crude LCOc1 was down 22 cents, or 0.33%, at $65.92 per barrel by 0742 GMT in thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was down 25 cents, or 0.41%, at $60.19 a barrel.

Oil prices have risen since the two nations signed a so-called phase one trade deal earlier this month following months of tit-for-tat negotiations that unsettled markets.

Under a deal due to be signed in January, the United States is expected to agree to reduce some tariffs in return for a big increase in purchases by Chinese importers of U.S. farm products.

#UAE's NMC Health to begin independent review of financials - Reuters

UAE's NMC Health to begin independent review of financials - Reuters:

NMC Health Plc said on Monday it had launched an independent review of its books, less than a week after U.S. short-selling firm Muddy Waters criticised the healthcare group’s financials, triggering a major selloff in its shares.

The UAE-based firm said the third-party review would be undertaken by an accounting firm and would be overseen by a committee consisting of independent non-executive directors of NMC.

Muddy Waters last week questioned the value of NMC’s assets and cash balance as well as its reported profits and debts in a research note.

MIDEAST STOCKS- #Saudi extends gains as Aramco bounces back after recent falls - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Saudi extends gains as Aramco bounces back after recent falls - Agricultural Commodities - Reuters:

Saudi Arabia’s stock market rose in early trade on Monday, partly driven by gains in Saudi Aramco on bargain-hunting after four straight sessions of losses.

Recent falls raised investors’ appetite to buy more shares to average down the cost of investment after having bought at higher prices, an investor told Reuters.

Aramco shares were last up 0.6% at 35.5 riyals.

Saudi Arabia’s key stock index was up 0.4%, heading for a seventh consecutive session of gain.

Saudi Industrial Investment Group climbed 3.5% after the company board recommended a 0.75 riyal per share dividend for the second half of the year.