Monday 3 August 2020

#AbuDhabi's NMC Health secures $250mln bank funding | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Abu Dhabi's NMC Health secures $250mln bank funding | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

NMC Health, an Abu Dhabi-based hospital chain, has secured a $250-million financing facility, conditional on a planned second-phase restructuring that would help the group to continue its operations, according to a statement by its administrators from Alvarez & Marsal.

The funding agreed by NMC LLC's leading lenders in the UAE will provide the financial security for the business and will ensure that it can provide healthcare for patients and stability for staff and suppliers.

This will be provided as the hospital operator "enters a second-phase restructuring”. The funds have been provided "contingent on certain conditions, which the Group are close to completing," the statement added.

These conditions will be covered by the start of a second-phase restructuring and as NMC LLC begins delivery of a new three-year business plan.

Oil rises more than 1% on hopes for economic recovery - Reuters

Oil rises more than 1% on hopes for economic recovery - Reuters:

Oil prices were up more than 1% on Monday on positive economic data from the United States, Europe and Asia, but investors remained concerned about rising COVID-19 cases globally and oversupply as OPEC begins to lift supply cuts.

Brent crude settled at $44.15 a barrel, rising 63 cents, or 1.5%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 74 cents, or 1.8%, to end at $41.01 a barrel.

U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated to its highest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in July as orders increased despite a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections, the Institute for Supply Management said.

A similar survey showed manufacturing activity across the euro zone expanded last month for the first time since early 2019, while positive manufacturing data in Asia also boosted oil.

Oil falls as OPEC+ set to boost output - Reuters

Oil falls as OPEC+ set to boost output - Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Monday on fears about the economic fallout from rising COVID-19 cases around the globe and on oversupply worries as OPEC and its allies are set to wind back output cuts in August. 

Brent crude fell 18 cents, or 0.4%, to $43.34 a barrel by 1123 GMT, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 19 cents, or 0.5%, at $40.06.

In the last month, Brent has been trading in a range between $41 and almost $45.

“Oil continues to trade in an incredibly rangebound manner,” said Warren Patterson, ING’s head of commodities strategy.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE close

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.


Singapore's Hyflux Suitor Utico Extends Offer Acceptance Deadline - Bloomberg

Singapore's Hyflux Suitor Utico Extends Offer Acceptance Deadline - Bloomberg:

The saga of Singapore’s highest profile restructuring case, Hyflux Ltd., looks set to run a bit longer.

United Arab Emirates-based suitor Utico FZC agreed to extend a binding offer until Aug. 30, according to a filing. Utico has been pursuing Hyflux since last year, and had previously said the binding offer it made last month was open for acceptance until July 31.

Hyflux was once a high-flier that stumbled after an ill-timed foray into the energy business that eventually led to it starting a court-supervised process in 2018. The extended path toward resolution of its debts has left some 34,000 individual investors in the lurch.

Utico said that its offer will remain open for acceptance whether a judicial manager is appointed or not.

Alibaba Boosts Investment in EV Maker Xpeng Before New York IPO - Bloomberg

Alibaba Boosts Investment in EV Maker Xpeng Before New York IPO - Bloomberg:

Chinese electric-car startup Xpeng Motors is raising more funds from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and other investors ahead of its planned initial public offering in New York, according to people familiar with the matter.

Qatar Investment Authority also is one of the backers putting in another $300 million total in Xpeng, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. That expands Xpeng’s pre-IPO funding round announced last month to $800 million. The increased funding reflects investor demand, one of the people said.

The Guangzhou-based carmaker still may add to its haul before the IPO, the people said, as investor interest in electric vehicles increases following gains in shares of Tesla Inc. and the U.S.-listed NIO Inc. this year. Xpeng competes against those two companies and a raft of other startups in China, the world’s largest EV market.

The company has filed confidentially to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to go public as soon as this quarter, the people said.

#AbuDhabi's NMC Health 'close' to securing $250m bank funding | Banking – Gulf News

Abu Dhabi's NMC Health 'close' to securing $250m bank funding | Banking – Gulf News:

Abu Dhabi headquartered NMC Health is all set to sign off on a $250 million debt funding that it desperately needs from UAE banks, according to financial industry sources. The terms of the deal have been agreed, and the funds would come in handy for the hospital operator to meet its medium-term cashflow requirements, including salary payoffs.

But some banking sources say the amount could still be higher.

If the loan programme is confirmed, it would mean that UAE banks are willing to take a longer term view on their exposures to the cash-strapped NMC, which had run up exposures of $6 billion plus to more than 80 institutions, a lot of which was kept off the books until recently. (Another UAE based company, the engineering firm Drake & Scull International, also recently confirmed that it had been making significant progress on its financial restructuring with lender banks)

JPMorgan Sees Virus Fallout Stoking Middle East Deals Into 2021 - Bloomberg

JPMorgan Sees Virus Fallout Stoking Middle East Deals Into 2021 - Bloomberg:

The financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic will keep fueling debt issuance from the Middle East into 2021, while also stoking mergers and acquisitions as companies seek to consolidate, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Growth in lending by the bank, coupled with fees from arranging bond and M&A deals, will drive the U.S. company’s operations in the region, Karim Tannir, JPMorgan’s joint-senior country officer for the Middle East and North Africa, said in an interview. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia will be the main drivers.

The first six months saw $72 billion of bond issuance from the region, the busiest start yet, with JPMorgan among the top arrangers, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Governments have been tapping debt markets to shore up finances battered by a slump in oil prices and as lockdowns to curb Covid-19 weigh on their economies.


Emirates REIT hires Houlihan Lokey for strategic review | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Emirates REIT hires Houlihan Lokey for strategic review | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Emirates REIT, a Dubai-based sharia-compliant real estate investment trust, said on Monday it had appointed Houlihan Lokey to advise its board on the strategic review of the fund.

As part the review, all directors and employees of its manager Equitativa and Emirates REIT will be permitted to buy shares of the company, it said in a bourse filing. 


The statement came few weeks after the company said it was considering de-listing from Nasdaq Dubai amid a downturn in the United Arab Emirates' real estate sector and weak equity market conditions.

The real estate sector in Dubai, one of the main emirates of the UAE, has been sluggish for years, due to a chronic oversupply of homes coupled with weak economic growth, a problem now exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis.

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg #UAE mid-session

European, Middle Eastern & African Stocks - Bloomberg:

Updated stock indexes in Europe, Middle East & Africa. Get an overview of major indexes, current values and stock market data in Europe, UK, Germany, Russia & more.


Oil falls on fears of glut as OPEC+ set to boost output - Reuters

Oil falls on fears of glut as OPEC+ set to boost output - Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Monday on oversupply worries as OPEC and its allies are set to wind back output cuts in August and a rise in worldwide COVID-19 cases points to a slower pick-up in demand.

Brent crude futures slid 27 cents, or 0.6%, to $43.25 a barrel by 0642 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 34 cents, or 0.8%, at $39.93.

Brent posted a fourth month of gains in July and U.S. crude posted a third as both rose from depths hit in April, when much of the world was in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Investors are worried about oversupply as OPEC+ is due to start reducing production cuts this month and a recovery in oil prices from record lows is likely to encourage U.S. shale producers to ramp up output,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, general manager of research at Nissan Securities.