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Oil fell about 1.5% on Monday as the world’s major oil producers discussed extending deep output cuts at talks this week, but benchmark crude will end the month with a strong rally built on hopes that COVID-19 vaccines will soon be available.
Brent crude for January delivery, which expires on Monday, dropped 68 cents, or 1.4%, to $47.50 a barrel by 1:24 p.m. EST (1824 GMT). The more actively traded February Brent contract was down 85 cents, or 1.76%, at $47.40.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for January fell 73 cents, or 1.6%, to $44.80 a barrel.
OPEC members reached a broad consensus on the need to extend existing oil production cuts for three months from January if their allies in the wider OPEC+ group also support such a move, ministers and delegates said on Monday.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and others, known as OPEC+, plan to hold wider talks on Tuesday after discussions of key ministers on Sunday failed to reach a consensus.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is a potential contender to buy a local offshore oil-services firm that counts the state-owned crude producer among its major clients, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zakher Marine International is working with Bank of America Corp. as it weighs its strategic options, including a sale, said the people, declining to be named because the information isn’t public yet. The process is still at an early stage and the company may still decide against selling, they said. Other buyers may also emerge.
Established in 1984, privately owned Zakher provides services to the offshore energy industry and currently operates a fleet of more than 35 support vessels, according to its website. It wasn’t immediately clear what valuation the company would seek, the people said.
Bank of America and Adnoc declined to comment, while representatives of Abu Dhabi-based Zakher didn’t reply to several messages and calls seeking comment.
OPEC ministers started hashing out the size of the cartel’s oil-production cuts for next year, as the group’s president called for caution in a fragile market.
The coalition is debating whether to maintain supply at current levels or increase it as planned in January. Some members are concerned that global markets remain too weak to absorb more barrels while others want to sell more crude as prices surge amid hopes for virus vaccines.
Market-watchers have been expecting OPEC+ to agree on a three-month delay -- and if the group doesn’t deliver prices will suffer. At stake also is the credibility of the cartel whose actions have underpinned the market since the spectacular oil crash earlier this year. The runup to the meeting has been marked by new cracks emerging in the coalition.
A couple of hours into the call on Monday, a delay of three months was proposed, according to delegates, and so far there’s been no opposition. But delegates said it was likely a final decision wouldn’t be reached until Tuesday.
OPEC oil output rose for a fifth month in November, a Reuters survey found, as increased Libyan production offset full adherence by other producers to cuts agreed in an OPEC-led supply deal.
The 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 25.31 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, the survey found, up 750,000 bpd from October and a further increase from the three-decade low reached in June.
OPEC, Russia and their allies, a group known as OPEC+, are gathering virtually on Monday and Tuesday and will consider whether to extend existing curbs due to weak demand or increase output gradually from January, sources say.
“OPEC+ seem unable to reach agreement, at least in the run-up to today’s meeting,” said Eugen Weinberg of Commerzbank.
The Non-performing Debt Relief Fund announced on Monday that 12 banks had waived the debts of 1,607 Emirati citizens, with a total value of more than AED869.85 million.
The banks that participated included First Abu Dhabi Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Mashreq Bank, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Standard Chartered, RAKBANK, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic, NBQ, and the Arab Bank for Investment & Foreign Trade (Al Masraf).
The move was implemented as per the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and the follow-up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
On this occasion, Jaber Mohammed Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Non-performing Debt Relief Fund, said that this gesture is part of the UAE's wise leadership's keenness to ensure a decent life for all Emiratis and the highest possible standard of social stability.
Saudi and Dubai shares ended higher on Monday, with most markets recording monthly gains thanks to optimism that the progress in COVID-19 vaccine development would help global economies recover at a quicker pace than initially anticipated.
Financial markets worldwide have gained in most sessions after U.S. drugmakers Pfizer PFE.N and Moderna MRNA.O, and Britain's AstraZeneca AZN.L released positive trial data on their vaccine candidates.
Oil prices, however, tumbled on uncertainty about whether OPEC+ would agree to extend large output cuts at talks this week.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI finished 0.4% higher. Lender Al-Rajhi Bank 1120.SE and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco 2222.SE were the top gainers on the index, putting on 1% and 0.7%, respectively.
The Saudi benchmark also powered to a monthly gain of 10.6%, its biggest in four years.
Top oil exporter Saudi is expected to raise its official selling prices for Asian buyers in January, tracking stronger benchmark prices as some refiners increase output to meet higher winter demand, a Reuters survey showed.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI closed down 0.4%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD declining 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark, which has mostly underperformed its Gulf peers in November, declined 0.4% in the month.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI finished 0.8% higher, buoyed by lender Emirates NBD ENBD.DU, which gained 5.8%.
The benchmark registered a monthly gain of 10.6%, marking its best month since April.
The markets in the United Arab Emirates are closed for the rest of the trading week for holidays.
The Qatar benchmark index .QSI concluded trading 0.2% lower, with Qatar National Bank QNBK.QA declining 1.9%.
The index but posted a monthly gain of nearly 6% to cap its best month since April.
Turkey’s exports to Saudi Arabia fell 15% in September versus the same period last year, the third straight month of declines, amid an unofficial boycott of Turkish goods by authorities in the kingdom. Preliminary data from the Turkey Exporters’ Assembly suggests October’s drop in shipments was even bigger. A late November phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman signaled a possible thaw in ties, and interviews in Riyadh suggest curbs on the sale of products made in Turkey are being eased.
Axa SA sold its Persian Gulf business for $269 million to a Kuwait-based group, as the French insurance giant shifts its focus and exits some overseas investments to shore up its finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Paris-based insurer said on Monday it sold its stakes in Axa Gulf, Axa Cooperative Insurance Company and Axa Green Crescent Insurance Company to Gulf Insurance Group, a Kuwaiti insurance group in which Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. is a major shareholder.
Axa has been seeking to raise funds by divesting peripheral operations under Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl, who wants to focus on property and casualty insurance following a $15.3 billion purchase of XL Group Ltd. in 2018. It’s also looking to shore up its capital buffers as the global pandemic weighs on its profits.
“This transaction marks another step in Axa’s continued simplification journey,” Buberl said.
Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign fund is in talks with U.S. firm KKR to invest in Telecom Italia’s (TIM) last-mile network in a deal that has drawn scrutiny from Italy’s government, three sources close to the matter told Reuters.
Rome typically welcomes foreign investments but demands assurances that investors will follow the country’s national interests. The government has special vetting powers to block unwanted bids in industries deemed of strategic importance.
TIM agreed in August to sell KKR a 37.5% stake of a newly created company, FiberCop, into which it has transferred its ‘last-mile’ network connecting street cabinets to people’s homes.
KKR now wants to sell up to 30% of the unit that will hold that stake to Infinity Investments, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), as it looks for co-investors in the Italian deal, the sources said, asking not to be named.
OPEC+ members will consider whether to extend existing oil cuts for three to four months or to increase output gradually from January during their two days of talks that start on Monday, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and others, a group known as OPEC+, held an initial round of talks on Sunday before formal discussions began but failed to reach agreement on policy for 2021.
OPEC+ had been due to ease existing production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 2021, but a second coronavirus wave has reduced demand for fuel around the world, prompting a rethink among members of the group.
OPEC+ is now considering extending the existing cuts of 7.7 million bpd, about 8% of global demand, into the first months of 2021, a position supported by OPEC’s de-facto leader Saudi Arabia and other major producers in the group, sources said.
Preliminary consultations on Sunday between Saudi, Russian and other key ministers did not agree on strategy.
The US oil sector is emerging gingerly from this year’s price crash and may even start increasing output again — so long as an increasingly fractious Opec agrees this week to keep propping up crude prices.
West Texas Intermediate, the US crude benchmark, has risen to $45 a barrel in recent days, buoyed by coronavirus vaccine news and expectations that Opec and its partners will keep curbs on supply deep into 2021.
The rally has raised hopes that America’s worst oil crash in decades is coming to an end. A modest recovery in drilling and well-completion activity is under way.
“Oil at $45 takes you out of the ICU,” said Ian Nieboer, head of research at consultancy Enverus. “But there is still a ways to go before you declare shale healthy again. That’s why Opec is so important.”
Law firms in the UAE have been fined and suspended from practice for failing to comply with government anti-money laundering procedures.
Sultan bin Saeed Al Badi Al Dhaheri, Minister of Justice, said 200 law firms in the UAE were suspended from practicing for one month, and will have the suspension lifted once they fulfil their obligations.
A further seven law firms were fined AED 100,000.
Al Badi was speaking at a higher committee meeting overseeing national strategy on anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism, held virtually, which also heard from Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, who said that earlier this year, the Cabinet issued Resolution No. 74 for 2020.
Dubai builder Arabtec Holding is asking shareholders to reverse a decision made in September to proceed with a bankruptcy and liquidation filing, according to a bourse filing on Monday.
Instead, the troubled builder is asking shareholders, scheduled to meet at a general assembly meeting on Monday, to approve the continuity and restructure the company, the filing said.
The contracting firm said the request was made “at the request of shareholders representing more than 5% of the company.” It did not name the shareholders.
“It seems that these points have been raised by a group of investors. The fact that they’re being discussed at the general assembly doesn’t mean there’s a change of heart, it means that these points will be voted on,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief strategy officer at Al Dhabi Capital Ltd.
Meet the clean supermajors. They have the clout and financial might of the energy behemoths that plumbed the world over for oil and gas before them. But instead of digging mines and drilling wells, they’re leading the race to electrify the global economy.
These four companies—Enel, Iberdrola, NextEra Energy and Orsted—prioritized the building or buying of clean-power plants when those assets were still considered alternative and expensive. Now they’re on the cusp of a breakthrough. Ever-cheaper solar panels and wind turbines are beginning to dominate new power installations, threatening the growth of natural gas on our power grids and upending energy markets.
China has also shifted its biggest state-run energy companies toward renewables. In 2017, it formed China Energy Investment Corp. by merging two state-owned giants. The company has close to 40 gigawatts of renewable power generation capacity, according to BloombergNEF, more than any of the European and American majors. Coal is still a huge part of its business, with 185 gigawatts of thermal power produced in 2019. Unlike the biggest clean-energy giants in Europe, China Energy is almost entirely focused on its home market.
Renewable energy such as solar and wind can be generated without producing heat-trapping carbon dioxide. A global transition to these cleaner fuels is the only chance we have of avoiding the most catastrophic effects of climate change. An estimated $11 trillion of renewables investment will be needed in the next 30 years to make that happen, and investors want in.
Crude oil prices tumbled on Monday, as investors waited for a decision by producer group OPEC+ whether to extend large output cuts to balance global markets, but vaccine hopes helped keep benchmarks on track to rise more than a fifth in November.
January Brent crude futures, which will expire later on Monday, dropped $1.01, or 2.1%, to $47.17 a barrel by 0749 GMT. The more actively traded February Brent contract was at $47.29 a barrel, down 96 cents.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures for January fell 86 cents, or 1.9%, to $44.67 a barrel.
However, both benchmarks are still set for a rise of more than 20% in November, the strongest monthly gains since May, boosted by hopes for three promising coronavirus vaccines to limit spread of the disease and thus support fuel demand.
Most major Gulf markets weakened on Monday, tracking lower oil prices ahead of a crucial meeting of producer group Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), but they were set to finish the month higher on hopes of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Financial markets worldwide have gained in most sessions over the past couple of weeks as U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Moderna Inc MRNA.O as well as Britain's AstraZeneca AZN.L released positive trial data on the effectiveness of their vaccine candidates.
Also, crude oil prices, a vital catalyst for the Gulf markets, fell on jitters ahead of a meeting of producer group OPEC+ to decide whether to extend large output cuts to balance global markets. O/R
Analysts and traders also expect the group and its allies, including Russia, to delay next year's planned increase in oil output as a second coronavirus wave has hit global fuel demand.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI shed 0.2%. Healthcare firm Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group 4013.SE and oil behemoth Saudi Aramco 2222.SE were the top losers on the index, falling 1.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
However, the Saudi benchmark is poised for a monthly gain of nearly 10%, its biggest in four years.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI edged down 0.1%, dragged by property stock Emaar Properties EMAR.DU slipping 0.6%. The benchmark, however, is on course for a monthly gain of nearly 10%.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI slipped about 0.4%, with major lenders First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank ADIB.AD declining 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.
The Abu Dhabi benchmark, which has mostly underperformed its Gulf peers in November, is set for a monthly decline of 0.4%.
The Qatar benchmark index .QSI lost 0.3% in early trade, with energy firm Qatar Gas Transport Co QGTS.QA being the biggest loser, declining 4.3%.
The index is on track to register a monthly gain of nearly 6%, its best month since April.
The Saudi central bank has extended a loan deferral program to help small businesses cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic until the end of the first quarter next year.
The monetary authority said in a statement Sunday that the plan has impacted over 77 billion riyals ($20.5 billion) of loans and the extension was taken to help support economic growth. Announced in March as one of the kingdom’s first responses to the economic costs of the health emergency, the measures have already been prolonged and were due to expire in December.
The central bank has been at the forefront of the kingdom’s efforts to protect the economy at a time when the government is set to cut spending in order to stop the budget deficit from widening. Last week, the Saudi central bank’s mandate was broadened to formally include promoting economic growth, partly in recognition of the role it was already playing.
In the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the central bank extended similar stimulus measures through June 2021.
Dubai cut fuel surcharge for electricity and water as part of efforts to provide the services at “globally competitive prices.”
Fuel surcharge for electricity will be 5 fils for kilowatt hour instead of 6.5 fils, according to a statement on Dubai’s Media Office website. Surcharge for water will be 0.4 fils for imperial gallon instead of 0.6 fils.
“The savings achieved in fuel consumption as a result of the increase in solar energy production will be passed to customers,” according to the statement. The reduction will be applied on electricity and water bills from Dec. 1.
The shares closed 5.5% higher in Riyadh, taking the gain for the year to 58%. The benchmark Tadawul index rose 0.2%.
The non-binding memorandum of understanding with CureVac includes the possibility of extending the supply and distribution rights in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, the company said. Saudi Pharmaceutical said it’ll determine the financial impact of the deal after obtaining approvals and signing the final deal.
CureVac’s coronavirus vaccine showed a good immune response in early trials and its chief executive officer said advanced clinical trials are on track to start by year-end. The European Union has agreed to pay $11.84 per dose for an initial supply of 225 million doses of CureVac’s vaccine candidate, Reuters reported earlier this month.
Major Gulf stock markets ended mixed on Sunday with Saudi Arabian shares extending gains for a sixth consecutive day, while Dubai fell after five days of rises.
All major Gulf stocks registered gains in the week to Thursday, riding on a rally fuelled by optimism around COVID-19 vaccine developments.
Saudi Arabia’s main index was up 0.2% as Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group surged 8.7%, its sharpest intra-day rise since July and registering third straight gains.
The healthcare firm will be included in the MSCI Global Standard Index, as of Nov. 30, the MSCI semi-annual index review shows.
Saudi Electricity advanced 3% in its fifth daily rise in six trading days.
Moody’s on Wednesday upgraded the utility company’s rating to A1, citing increased government support. The company recently signed an agreement with the government to convert state liabilities worth 167.92 billion riyals ($45 billion) into a subordinated perpetual financial instrument.
Elsewhere, Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corporation jumped 5.5%. The company said it signed a memorandum of understanding with German biopharmaceutical company Curevac to supply and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dubai’s index fell 0.8%, ending a winning streak of five consecutive sessions.
Emirates NBD Bank dropped 1.9%, while Emaar Malls declined 3.1%.
Abu Dhabi’s index was up 0.3% with Emirates Telecommunications Group rising 1.3% and International Holdings Company gaining 0.7%
The Qatari index edged down 0.1% with most of its constituents closing in the red. Qatar Gas Transport led the losers, declining 2.1%.
Losses were partially offset by Industries Qatar which rose 2%.
Most Middle East stock markets advanced, taking their cue from rising crude oil prices and gains elsewhere in emerging markets last week.
Indexes in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman climbed as much as 0.3%, while those in Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar slipped. The Tadawul All Share Index in Riyadh rose for the sixth consecutive session to trade at the highest level since July 2019.
The prospect of the formal start to President-elect Joe Biden’s transition to power and optimism that the roll-out of vaccines will speed up the economic recovery helped emerging-market stocks and currencies to post their fourth week of gains through Friday. Oil also rallied ahead of an OPEC+ ministerial gathering this week.
Sunday’s gains defied increased tensions in the region following the killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist on Friday. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Israel of what he called an “act of terrorism,” saying his country will respond “when the time is right.”
MIDDLE EASTERN MARKETS:
Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries and Medical Appliances Corp. rose as much as 6.3% after it said it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with German biotech company CureVac to provide a Covid-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Telecom Co., the biggest mobile operator in the Middle East, said its chief executive officer resigned after just over two years in the role
STC shares gain 0.2% as of 10:07 a.m. in Riyadh
Kuwait’s Boubyan Bank obtains approval to issue as much as $500 million or its equivalent in other currencies in sukuks
Israel’s Delek Drilling said on Sunday it was looking to spin off most of its assets into a new company that will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The company, a unit of conglomerate Delek Group, said in a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv that it had filed a request with the Financial Conduct Authority to list the new company on the main market in London.
Delek Drilling said it would continue to hold a stake in the Israeli natural gas field Tamar, while other assets, which include shares in the Leviathan and Aphrodite fields and a partial ownership of a pipeline to Egypt, would be transferred to the new company.
As OPEC+ ministers gather virtually this week, the city that traditionally hosts their meetings will be locked down. Vienna’s Christmas markets will be closed, the famous Ringstrasse boulevard silent. For oil ministers, the scene should urge caution.
But while the Austrian capital provides a dramatic example of how the second wave of the pandemic is shutting down economies in Europe and the U.S., the global picture is more nuanced.
In Asia, the situation is almost the opposite to that of Vienna. The streets in India were full during the recent celebration of Diwali; China’s Golden Week holiday saw millions take cars, trains and even planes to visit relatives across the country.
The east-west divide is an added conundrum for OPEC+, which on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 needs to decide whether to delay a production increase slated for January -- and if so, for how long. And there’s another crucial divide in the global oil market: while gasoline and diesel demand have recovered to about 90% of their normal level, consumption of jet fuel languishes at about 50%.
The demand for ready-to-move-in villas and townhouses in Dubai surged to an all-time high in October. A total of 665 secondary or ready-to-move-in villas/townhouses were transferred during the month, 7.2 percent higher than in September 2020 and more than 500 percent higher than in May 2020, according to data from the Dubai Land Department (DLD).
In October 2020, the DLD recorded a total of 3,395 sales transactions worth AED 6.93 billion ($1.89 billion), with 37.2 percent in the off-plan segment and 62.8 percent in the secondary segment. This brings the year-to-date total to 27,815 sales transactions worth AED 57.43 billion, according to Mo’asher, Dubai’s official sales price index developed by DLD and Property Finder.
Latifa Ibrahim Ahmed, Director of the Real Estate Studies & Research Department at DLD, said, "Among the most important data that can be obtained this month is the emergence of strong signs of recovery in the market and its return to normal paths across the various segments of real-estate units, especially through the demand for luxury units and the registration of sustainable growth month after month. Overall, this means that the market will enter the new year strongly, especially if we take into account the growing momentum of preparations for Expo Dubai.”
Dubai's overall index has remained stable at 1.092. The Dubai apartment and villa/townhouse index remained steady as well due to more affordable units coming into the ready market.
Major Gulf stock markets were steady in early Sunday trading, having gained last week on optimism about COVID-19 vaccines.
Saudi Arabia’s index was up 0.3% as Al Rajhi Bank gained 0.3% and Saudi Electricity added 2.1% in its fifth daily rise in six trading days.
Moody’s on Wednesday upgraded the utility company’s rating to A1, citing increased government support. The company recently signed an agreement with the government to convert state liabilities worth 167.92 billion riyals ($45 billion) into a subordinated perpetual financial instrument
Elsewhere, Saudi Pharmaceutical Industries & Medical Appliances Corporation jumped 5.2%. The company said it signed a memorandum of understanding with German biopharmaceutical company Curevac to supply and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.
Abu Dhabi’s index was up 0.4% with Emirates Telecom gaining 0.9% and Aldar Properties rising 1.6%.
Dubai’s index gained 0.2%. Dubai Investments rose 1.6% and Emaar Properties edged up 0.3%.
The Qatari index was down 0.5% as Industries Qatar fell 2.5% and Qatar Islamic Bank lost 0.7%.
OPEC’s oil ministers have a few challenges to consider at a crucial summit next week, but for the first time in years the shale boom won’t be at the top of the list.
A devastating global pandemic and a reckoning with Wall Street appear to have broken the resolve of the shale wildcatters who turned the U.S. into the world’s biggest oil producer. Years of breakneck growth, at the expense of crude kingpins in the Middle East and Russia, have come to an end. If there was ever any doubt, it’s now abundantly clear who has the upper hand in the global oil market.
“In the future, certainly we believe OPEC will be the swing producer — really, totally in control of oil prices,” Bill Thomas, chief executive officer of EOG Resources Inc., the biggest independent shale producer by market value, said earlier this month. “We don’t want to put OPEC in a situation where they feel threatened, like we’re taking market share while they’re propping up oil prices.”
The shale industry’s prudence, also echoed by the CEOs of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Occidental Petroleum Corp., means that production will probably flatten after a steep plunge this year. U.S. oil output will end 2021 close to 11 million barrels a day, about the same as it is now, according to forecasters IHS Markit, Rystad Energy, Enverus and the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
When Patrick went to a media launch for a new smartphone in Dubai, the Gulf’s tourism and commercial hub, the expatriate never imagined that the evening would end in a police station.
After an enthusiastic embrace of the free bar that so often graces such marketing events, a verbal altercation with a taxi driver led to his arrest.
His contrite response to police questioning over his non-existent liquor licence — the official permission residents and visitors need to drink alcohol in the United Arab Emirates — helped secure his release after a night in the cells. A friend, who went through a similar experience, was “mouthy and aggressive”. He faced a different fate.
“They threw the book at him,” said Patrick, who declined to give his surname. “He went to court, paid a fine and left Dubai as soon as he got his passport back.”
Boozy brunches, high-end restaurants and seedy nightclubs have long formed part of Dubai’s allure for expatriates putting down roots in the conservative Gulf and tourists seeking winter sun. But for decades, consuming alcohol without a licence left people liable to a fine or jail term, generating headlines in the western press about legal jeopardy in Dubai.
Oil prices were mixed on Friday but posted a fourth straight week of gains ahead of an OPEC+ meeting early next week.
Brent crude January futures rose 38 cents to settle at $48.18 a barrel, while the more active February contract gained 46 cents to $48.25.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 18 cents to settle at $45.53 a barrel.
Brent rose 7.2% over the week, while WTI gained 8% for the week. Encouraging news on potential COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca and others have lifted the markets. However, questions have been raised over AstraZeneca’s “vaccine for the world,” with several scientists sounding caution over the trial results.
Saudi Arabia has stepped up its efforts to resolve its more than three-year dispute with Qatar after US president Donald Trump’s election defeat, according to people briefed on the talks.
The move to end the Gulf states’ blockade of their gas-rich neighbour is being perceived as an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to curry favour with the incoming Biden administration and deliver a parting present to Mr Trump.
Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto leader, forged close ties with the Trump White House and the president stood by the crown prince as Riyadh grappled with its worst diplomatic crisis in decades after Saudi agents murdered Jamal Khashoggi two years ago. But the incoming administration of president-elect Joe Biden is expected to be far cooler towards the young royal who has drawn widespread criticism from Democrats over the killing of Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen and the detention of scores of activists, businessmen and senior royals.
“This is a gift for Biden,” said an adviser to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. He added that Prince Mohammed “feels like he’s in the line of fire” after Mr Biden’s election victory and wants a deal with Qatar to “signal he is willing and ready to take steps”.
Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the royal court, said the Saudi leadership had for months been “open to put this issue to bed”. “For some time, they have been working on closing many hot files and clearly this is one,” he said.
The Qatar dispute is thought to be one of the more tractable issues for Prince Mohammed to resolve.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June 2017, alleging that Doha sponsored Islamist groups and was too close to Iran.
Qatar, the world’s richest nation in per capita terms, denied the allegations and all sides have until now refused to make concessions, resisting Washington’s pressure to resolve the crisis. The Trump administration has been concerned that the dispute weakens the Arab alliance it has sought to forge against the Iran and is frustrated that Tehran benefits financially as the embargo has meant flights to and from Qatar are forced to use Iranian airspace.
The latest talks were being mediated by the US and Kuwait with the aim of laying the foundations for direct negotiations between Riyadh and Doha, said a diplomat briefed on the talks.
Qatar wants to ensure there are preconditions before any bilateral talks. These could include a “confidence building” measure such as the lifting of the air embargo, the diplomat said. Another possibility would be to allow free movement of Qatari citizens to the countries that imposed the embargo, although Doha would want guarantees about their welfare.
Robert O’Brien, the US’s national security adviser, said this month that he hoped to see Qatar Airways being able to fly over boycotting Arab countries “in the next 70 days” before the end of Mr Trump’s presidency.
The adviser to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi said the Saudi and Emirati leaderships wanted Qatar to “tone down” Al Jazeera television network’s Arabic language channel, which critics accuse of being a propaganda tool for Doha, and to end its criticism of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After imposing the embargo, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi presented Doha with an extraordinary list of 13 demands that included closing Al Jazeera, curbing Doha’s relations with Iran and closing a Turkish military base. But the adviser said Kuwaiti mediators had secured a new deal to replace the 13 terms to “pave way for a kiss and make up”.
A thawing of relations between Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, and its Gulf neighbours could also include the shipment of LNG to Bahrain, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations.
However, a person briefed on Doha’s position said that no details of confidence-building measures had been discussed. Gulf officials cautioned against any significant breakthrough in the near term. There are also questions about Abu Dhabi’s stance.
Last week, Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s influential ambassador in Washington, said that ending the dispute was not a priority, pointing to outstanding differences between the two countries over the future direction of the Middle East. But western officials and regional analysts said the UAE would likely fall behind its larger ally Saudi Arabia.
A member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family is looking to buy a roughly 50% stake of Israeli Premier League soccer club Beitar Jerusalem, the club’s owner said on Friday.
Beitar said in September it was negotiating a possible investment by a group in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a statement that followed the announcement that Israel and the UAE had agreed to normalize ties.
Beitar owner Moshe Hogeg said in a phone call with Reuters he had received a non-binding letter of intent from Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan to buy a stake of about 50% in the club.
Al Nahyan could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Saudi Central Bank updated its mandate to include supporting economic growth as one of its prime objectives, formally changing its fundamental operating principles for the first time in more than 60 years, Vice-Governor Ayman Alsayari said.
“Including support of economic growth as an explicit element in the central bank’s mandate is meant to cover evolving variables such as financial innovation, which has the potential to foster economic growth if steered in the appropriate direction,” Alsayari said in a written response to questions from Bloomberg on Thursday.
The central bank’s new charter also reflects “changes in the financial sector and new types of risk,” he said. The bank now reports directly to the king under the new charter, a move intended to “make its independent status clearer and more explicit,” he said.
Saudi Arabia’s central bank has been one of the key vehicles for providing stimulus to the economy this year as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the private sector, and as authorities refrained from providing a significant fiscal response. The monetary authority has provided over 100 billion riyals ($22.4 billion) to local banks in liquidity injections and to cover the costs of loan deferrals for small businesses hit by the pandemic.
Saudi Arabia and Russia summoned OPEC+ ministers who oversee their oil production cuts for last-minute talks on Saturday, as the cartel prepares for a decision on whether to delay January’s output increase.
A clear majority of OPEC+ watchers expect the group to maintain their supply curbs at current levels for a few months longer due to lingering uncertainty about the strength of demand. However, the decision is by no means certain amid public complaints from Iraq and Nigeria, and private discord with the United Arab Emirates.
The two leading members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, requested an informal video conference with their counterparts from the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which includes Algeria, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Nigeria and the UAE, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg.
The unscheduled gathering comes just two days before a full OPEC ministerial meeting on Nov. 30, which will be followed by OPEC+ talks on Dec. 1. The JMMC met online as recently as Nov. 17, but that ended without any kind of recommendation about delaying the January supply increase.
Oil prices were lower on Friday in quiet trade due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, dropping amid concerns about oversupply and doubts about a vaccine to end the coronavirus pandemic.
Brent crude was down by 31 cents, or 0.7%, at $47.49 by 0758 GMT, having fallen 1.7% overnight. West Texas Intermediate was down by $1.02, or 2.2%, at $44.69. U.S. crude prices did not settle on Thursday due to the holiday.
Both benchmarks have risen about 6% this week after AstraZeneca said that its COVID-19 vaccine could be up to 90% effective, adding to successful trial results of two others under development in the fight to end the pandemic.
But questions have been raised over the “vaccine for the world”, with several scientists sounding doubts over how robust the results of the trials were.
“With much of oil’s rally in November built on expectation, sentiment and speculative fast money, some sort of correction was long overdue,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
Abu Dhabi shares ended lower on Thursday but all major Gulf markets managed weekly gains, riding on a rally fuelled by optimism around COVID-19 vaccine developments.
Financial markets globally have gained in most sessions over the past couple of weeks as U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc, and British firm AstraZeneca released positive data on the effectiveness of their vaccine candidates.
Investors are optimistic that progress made on the vaccine front would help economies recover at a faster pace than expected.
Oil slipped from seven-month highs as signs of growing supplies helped to halt a rally driven by hopes that the progress in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic will revive fuel demand.
The Abu Dhabi index closed down 0.3%, but managed a weekly rise of 1.2%, marking a ninth successive week of gains.
First Abu Dhabi Bank and telecom major Emirates Telecom were the major decliners in the session, shedding 0.5% and 1%, respectively.
Dubai's main share index closed higher for a fifth session in a row, climbing 0.3%, with Dubai Islamic Bank gaining 0.7%.
The Dubai index rose 4.5% for the week, its third straight weekly gain.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index closed up 0.1% to cap a five-session winning run and a fourth straight weekly gain.
Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services Group was the top gainer on the index, jumping 7.5%, while National Commercial Bank led the decliners, shedding nearly a percent on the day.
In Qatar, the index edged down 0.1%, with Qatar Commercial Bank losing nearly a percent. Qatar's blue-chip index eked out a 1.8% weekly gain.
BP Plc said it will invest more money in Middle Eastern oil and natural-gas fields even as it transitions to renewable energy and tries to lower emissions.
The company is a major producer in countries such as Iraq, where it operates the world’s third-largest oil field of Rumaila, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. It’s focusing on their low-cost oil, while also boosting output of gas, according to Stephen Willis, BP’s senior vice president for the Middle East.
“We will continue to invest in these,” Willis said in a video interview from Oman, without specifying how much BP planned to spend. Deposits in Iraq, the UAE emirate of Abu Dhabi and Oman have “world-leading operating cost, capital cost and production efficiency performance.”
European oil majors are seeking greener sources of energy to combat climate change. BP, which is selling assets and cutting its dividend in response to oil’s coronavirus-triggered crash this year, is targeting a 40% decline in hydrocarbon production by 2030 and won’t explore for crude in any new countries.
In the Middle East, several countries are beginning to exploit renewable energy resources and focus more on gas, the production and burning of which emits less carbon than oil or coal.
Qatar announced on Thursday a series of high-profile investments in Turkey, its biggest ally in a years-long rift with Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, including the purchase of a stake in the country’s main bourse.
Doha-based sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority signed a memorandum of understanding with its Turkish counterpart known as TWF to purchase a 10% stake in Borsa Istanbul AS.
The agreement for a minority stake in the company that runs the main Turkish stock exchange, for an undisclosed amount, was unveiled at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Turkey’s capital Ankara. It was overseen by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
The Gulf state also signed another preliminary deal to invest in a multibillion dollar port project in Istanbul and finalized an earlier agreement to buy a stake in Istinye Park, one of Istanbul’s largest shopping malls that’s popular among tourists from the Middle East.
Oil slipped from seven-month highs on Thursday as signs of growing supplies helped to halt a rally driven by optimism that COVID-19 vaccines will revive fuel demand.
Brent futures had risen to nearly $50 a barrel this week after three major pharmaceutical companies announced progress on vaccines that could start to be rolled out before the end of the year.
But Brent was down 74 cents, or 1.5%, at $47.87 a barrel by 1650 GMT on Thursday, having dropped as much as $1. The contract gained about 1.6% in the previous session.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 66 cents, or 1.4%, to $45.05 after gaining 1.8% on Wednesday.
“Despite a number of strong fundamentals rallying the markets, especially vaccine development supporting oil, bearish concerns remain,” said Avtar Sandu, senior commodities manager at Phillip Futures.
Two of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East are exploring a joint bid for an Egyptian pharmaceutical company, a deal that could mark the beginning of wider co-investment plans between the two state-controlled firms, people familiar with the matter said.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and ADQ, formerly known as Abu Dhabi Development Holding Co., are weighing the purchase of Bausch Health Cos.’s Cairo-based drug unit, the people said, asking not to be identified because negotiations are private. In addition, the two funds have held talks to work closely on other transactions in areas such as food security, health care and industrials, the people said.
A representative for ADQ wasn’t available to comment. The PIF and Bausch declined to comment. A spokesperson for Amoun didn’t answer two calls, or respond to a text message seeking comment.
Fearing global supply disruptions, Gulf states have been buying overseas farmlands and investing in agricultural technology. Abu Dhabi, mostly through ADQ, intensified efforts during the coronavirus pandemic by acquiring a stake in agricultural trader Louis Dreyfus Co. and investing in Lulu Hypermarket Group’s expansion into Egypt. The PIF is said to be weighing an investment into the same supermarket chain operator.
ADQ has been holding talks to acquire Bausch’s Egyptian business, known as Amoun Pharmaceutical Co., which could be valued at around $700 million, Bloomberg reported last month. Talks are ongoing and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction involving one or both of the funds, the people said.
United Arab Emirates airline flydubai started direct passenger flights to Israel on Thursday after the two countries normalised ties in a Washington-brokered deal.
Israel and the UAE agreed in August to establish diplomatic relations, paving the way for economic cooperation. Bahrain and Sudan have also agreed to forge formal ties with Israel in deals brokered by the Trump administration and promoted as a strategic Middle East shift that isolates Iran.
Dubai state-owned flydubai will operate twice-daily fights between the UAE’s and Israel’s financial capitals - Dubai and Tel Aviv - the airline said this month.
Dubai’s Emirates, the UAE’s biggest airline, will sell tickets on the flydubai service through a codeshare agreement between the carriers, an Emirates spokeswoman said.
International debt sales from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council are likely to notch another record year in 2021 as governments need to fill wider deficits and corporates look to grab money on the cheap amid low rates.
The oil-rich region saw a second consecutive year of record international bonds, topping $100 billion, as issuers’ finances were battered by the COVID-19 pandemic along with low oil prices, with a few issues still possible before year-end.
“I think overall, the market will grow. We can easily add $7-10 billion more to 2020 total issuance,” said Khalid Rashid, head of debt capital markets for the Middle East and North Africa at Deutsche Bank.
S&P Global Ratings said in July GCC government balance sheets are expected to continue to deteriorate up until 2023.
Most major Gulf markets struggled in the final trading session of the week on Thursday, as a rally fuelled by optimism around COVID-19 vaccine developments lost steam.
Financial markets globally have gained in most sessions over the past couple of weeks as U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Moderna Inc MRNA.O, and British firm AstraZeneca AZN.L released positive data on the effectiveness of their vaccine candidates.
Investors are optimistic that progress made on the vaccine front would help economies worldwide recover at a faster pace than expected.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index .TASI fell about 0.6% after a four-session winning run but was on track to eke out a fourth straight weekly gain.
Financial stocks dragged down the index with the top three losers belonging to that sector.
Al-Rajhi Bank 1120.SE and National Commercial Bank 1180.SE declined 0.4% and 1%, respectively.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI retreated 0.4%, with top lender Emirates NBD ENBD.DU and real estate stock Emaar Properties EMAR.DU declining 0.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
The Dubai benchmark has gained for the past four sessions in a row.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI eased 0.4%, with First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD and telecom major Emirates Telecom ETISALAT.AD shedding 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively.
In Qatar, the index .QSI edged down 0.1%, with Industries Qatar IQCD.QA shedding 1.4%.
Dubai’s ENBD REIT, a Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust, managed by the asset-management arm of Emirates NBD, has seen a further deterioration in the value of its portfolio due to the slowdown triggered by the coronavirus.
Its net asset value (NAV) as of September 30, 2020 stood at $198 million, down by $32 million from the $230 million recorded in March 31. The fund’s property portfolio was also lowered from $410 million to $377 million due to the slowdown in the property market.
ENBD REIT has a diversified portfolio of residential, office and alternative assets in the UAE.
The property market in the UAE has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, with rental values, sale prices and occupancy levels posting monthly declines amid a slump in demand.
The latest data showed that occupancy levels in ENBD REIT’s portfolio have indeed softened in recent months, averaging at 76 percent in September 2020, down from 82 percent in March 2020. Lower uptake has been observed in residential properties like the Binghatti Terraces and Arabian Oryx House.
UAE’s food and beverages giant Agthia Group announced on Thursday a strategic acquisition to expand its footprint in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
Part of the state-owned holding company ADQ, Agthia has signed a sales purchase agreement to acquire a homegrown Kuwaiti brand, Al Faysal Bakery and Sweets, which has an annual turnover of more than $25 million.
“[The move will] build our regional F&B footprint, adding significant scale to our existing operations in Kuwait and further diversifying our portfolio,” said Alan Smith, chief executive officer of Agthia Group.
Agthia Group chairman and chief investment officer Khalifa Sultan Al Suwaidi said the company remains committed to grow across several categories and have identified Kuwait as an important market.
“The acquisition… underscores our priorities to deliver value to our shareholders,” Al Suwaidi said.
Abu Dhabi’s media free zone twofour54, home to the regional headquarters of Ubisoft Entertainment SA and CNN, is aiming to triple the size of the emirate’s media industry over the next decade, as part of ongoing efforts to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
“Abu Dhabi is in the process of transforming itself from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy,” twofour54’s Chief Executive Officer Michael Garin said in an interview. “They’ve identified the media and digital sector as one of the drivers of that.”
The new, government-funded Yas Creative Hub is projected to add 3.5 billion dirhams ($952.9 million) to gross domestic product by 2023 and create 11,000 new jobs by 2031 in sectors like gaming and production, Garin said.
With oil revenue diminishing, Abu Dhabi, like other Gulf energy exporters, faces pressure to diversify its economy and explore new sources of revenue. Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which includes the business hub of Dubai.
OMV AG anchor investors are seeking further changes to its supervisory board to strengthen oversight of Chief Executive Officer Rainer Seele’s transformation plan, people familiar with the matter said.
A dispute about oversight and governance after OMV’s $4.7 billion purchase of chemicals producer Borealis AG has already triggered the ouster of the long-time Chairman Wolfgang Berndt. But the changes haven’t gone far enough to resolve the concerns of the company’s top shareholders, the Austrian government and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co., the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.
The upheaval at OMV is an important issue for Austria. It’s the country’s biggest industrial company and one of its few global players, securing thousands of well-paid jobs and contributing sizeable dividends to the federal budget. The growing rancor at the top threatens to undermine OMV’s plan to move beyond fossil fuels to become a producer of low-carbon energy and chemicals.
Investors want to replace some members of the supervisory board that have little experience in oil, gas or chemicals with industry specialists who can provide a more robust testing ground for Seele’s plans, the people said.
With OPEC+ just days from meeting, those countries who favor ratcheting up oil production may be finding some support for their arguments from surging prices.
Headline futures contracts jumped 30% this month with Brent at one point on Wednesday hitting $48.75 a barrel, the highest since March. Critically though, a much more fundamental shift has taken place in the forward curve, which offers clues about traders’ perspectives on supply and demand -- both now and in future. Large parts of the curve are now trading in a structure known as backwardation, suggesting a clamor for barrels. Just a week ago, they were in contango and pointing to surplus.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, who will meet on Monday and Tuesday, are already grappling with a difficult market to evaluate. Oil demand has rarely been so volatile. A supply glut -- built up when coronavirus first emerged -- remains but is being eroded. Adding supplies again in January would risk reversing the strength that has grown in recent weeks.
“The more relaxed ministers feel because prices are rising, the more difficult it can be to achieve consensus on further market stabilization measures,” Standard Chartered analyst Paul Hornsell wrote in a report. The bank sees a 3-month extension of curbs as the market’s minimum expectation when OPEC and its allies meet early next week.
The shift in the forward curve brings another challenge: average Brent prices for 2021 and 2022 are now above $48 a barrel, meaning producers from outside the group can lock in output for years ahead at the best levels in months. Some already are.
The longer OPEC+ keeps supplies constrained, the more support those companies and countries get.
Oil prices climbed nearly 2% to their highest in more than eight months on Wednesday, as data showing a surprise drop in weekly U.S. crude inventories extended a rally driven by hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine will boost fuel demand.
Brent crude rose 75 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $48.61 a barrel, its highest since early March.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also closed at its highest since early March, rising 80 cents, or 1.8%, to $45.71.
Both benchmarks, which gained 4% on Tuesday, rose for a fourth straight session.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 754,000 barrels last week, government data showed, surprising analysts who in a Reuters poll had predicted a 127,000-barrel rise. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI, fell by 1.7 million barrels.
An oil tanker came under attack while at a Saudi Arabian terminal in the Red Sea about 125 miles north of the country’s border with Yemen, according to the vessel’s owner.
The Agrari, a so-called Aframax-class vessel able to haul about 700,000 barrels of oil, was holed about 1 meter above the waterline in the incident, a statement distributed on behalf of the carrier’s owner said. The incident took place as the ship was preparing to leave a berth at the Shuqaiq facility, having finished unloading its cargo, it said.
It wasn’t clear who launched the attack and no one claimed responsibility. A few hours after the incident, state TV reported that Saudi-led coalition forces were destroying an explosives-laden boat and a commercial vessel was damaged in the process.
The incident wasn’t at a crude oil export facility and will almost certainly have zero effect Saudi Arabia’s capacity to produce or export oil. It follows a separate low-level attack on Monday, in which Yemen’s Houthis fired a missile at a Saudi Aramco fuel depot in Jeddah, the kingdom’s second-biggest city. The resulting blaze was extinguished in 40 minutes.
Airlines in the Middle East will see an improvement in business next year after a difficult period in 2020, but they will continue to burn through cash, with estimated losses in the industry expected to reach $3.3 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The projected losses in 2021 will be nearly half this year’s revenue drop of $7.1 billion, which is still a “worrisome” picture for a region that is largely dependent on revenues from the tourism and air transport sectors, which both contribute $13 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) and support 3.4 million jobs, said Muhammad Ali Albakri, IATA regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East.
“The forecast for 2021 is not that much better, but it is better than 2020. However, it's still in the negative territory in terms of passenger traffic and revenues,” Albakri said in a media briefing on Wednesday.
According to Albakri, the current landscape in the Middle East’s air travel industry is worrisome. He noted that prior to the crisis, airlines in the region were witnessing double-digit growth, while aviation hubs served a record number of destinations, with city pairs accounting for 1,060 as of April 2019.
Major Gulf markets rallied on Wednesday as investors cheered the prospects of a faster-than-expected global economic recovery, driven mainly by encouraging news on the COVID-19 vaccine development front.
Financial markets worldwide have gained in the past couple of weeks as U.S. drugmakers Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Moderna Inc MRNA.O as well as British firm AstraZeneca AZN.L released positive data on the effectiveness of their vaccine candidates.
Aiding sentiment, the uncertainty over presidential transition in the United States seemed ending with President Donald Trump's administration clearing the way for President-elect Joe Biden to prepare for the start of his administration.
Oil, a key catalyst for the economies in the Gulf region, rose for the fourth straight session as the market shrugged off an industry report showing U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected, extending a rally driven by vaccine hopes. O/R
Saudi Arabia's benchmark .TASI closed 0.6% higher. National Commercial Bank 1180.SE gained more than 2% and was the top gainer on the index. Another lender Al-Rajhi Bank 1120.SE put on 0.5%.
The Saudi benchmark has now gained for four consecutive sessions.
Dubai's main share index .DFMGI finished 0.6% higher, with Dubai Islamic Bank DISB.DU and property firm Emaar Properties EMAR.DU leading the gains, ending the session 0.9% higher each.
The Dubai benchmark has gained for four straight sessions now.
The Abu Dhabi index .ADI bounced back from the previous session's losses to gain about 0.9%. Lenders First Abu Dhabi Bank FAB.AD appreciated 0.9%, while real estate firm Aldar Properties ALDAR.AD put on more than 4%.
Elsewhere, in Qatar, the blue-chip index .QSI added 0.4%, buoyed by Industries Qatar IQCD.QA, which gained 2.4% in the session.
Israeli telecoms group Partner Communications moved to a net loss in the third quarter, citing a loss of roaming revenue due to a steep decline in tourists caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Partner, Israel’s second-largest mobile operator, said on Wednesday it lost 5 million shekels ($1.5 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 7 million shekels a year earlier.
Revenue dropped 3% to 800 million shekels, hurt by restrictions on international travel that lowered roaming services and reduced activity in shopping malls, while the sector as a whole remains competitive and faces price erosion.
“Despite the effects of the coronavirus crisis, Partner’s results exhibit stability and resilience in the third quarter due to the consistent growth in the fixed-line segment, which contributes to a revenue mix that establishes long-term financial strength,” said CEO Isaac Benbenisti.
Azrieli Group, one of Israel’s largest shopping mall operators, on Wednesday reported lower third-quarter profits, citing rent relief given to its retail tenants due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Azrieli said it earned 192 million shekels ($58 million) in the third quarter, down from 289 million shekels a year earlier. It said profit was also impacted by higher financing expenses.
The company said that excluding the lockdown periods in March, April, May and September aimed at containing the COVID-19 virus, store revenue between January and Sept 18 was up 1.2% over the same period last year.
The company invested 307 million shekels in the quarter in investment properties, both to develop and construct new properties and to upgrade existing ones.
The UAE’s Ministry of Economy (MoE) has developed a strategic plan to combat money laundering practices in the country by setting up a specialized department called the ‘Anti-Money Laundering Department’
The new department, acting within the structure of the MoE, aims to create awareness, and to regulate all activities listed under the business sector and specific non-financial professions.
Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy said that the Anti-Money Laundering Department will add further value to the progress made in strengthening the legislative and regulatory framework to confront money laundering in the country during the past three years, which is being led by the Supreme Committee for Combating Money Laundering.
The designated non-financial business and professions sector, which is supervised by MoE, with regard to combating money laundering, includes a wide range of non-financial sectors and activities that are most exposed to the risks of money laundering, according to a statement from the MoE.
Abu Dhabi’s financial centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), will sign a memorandum of understanding with Israel Securities Authority and Israel’s biggest lender, Bank Hapoalim, to support financial technology, ADGM chairman Ahmed Ali al-Sayegh said on Wednesday.
After the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel agreed to normalise relations in August, the two countries have signed a host of accords to boost economic and business ties.
Last month, the two countries signed an agreement that would give incentives and protection to investors who make investments in each other’s countries.
Abdulhamid Saeed Alahmadi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said at the same conference the central bank will issue a series of regulations over the coming months on fintech.
