#Israel- #UAE peace deal 'big' for trade in Middle East - BBC News

Israel-UAE peace deal 'big' for trade in Middle East - BBC News:

Israel's peace deals with the UAE and Bahrain are "going to be big" for business and trade in the region, one of the most influential businessmen in the Middle East has told the BBC.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman and CEO of Dubai-based DP World, says they will remove barriers to business links previously "not allowed", by shortening trade routes and making it easier to deal with Europe.

Israeli estimates suggest trade with the UAE could eventually total $4bn a year, creating 15,000 jobs.

Mr bin Sulayem agrees it would be mutually beneficial: "We need something from Israel, they need something from us".

Many exports are likely to be technology based, including cyber-security, as well as the latest innovations in medicine and agriculture.

Oil dips on COVID-19 resurgence, fears of more supply | Reuters

Oil dips on COVID-19 resurgence, fears of more supply | Reuters:

Oil prices edged lower on Friday, dragged down by concerns that a spike in COVID-19 cases in the United States and Europe will continue to drag on demand in two of the world’s biggest fuel-consuming regions.

OPEC+, a grouping of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and ally producers including Russia, fear a prolonged second wave of the pandemic and a jump in Libyan output could push the oil market into surplus next year, according to a confidential document seen by Reuters, a much gloomier outlook than just a month ago.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 fell 23 cents to settle at $42.93 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 8 cents to settle at $40.88 a barrel.

Brent rose 0.2% for the week, while WTI was on track to gain 0.7%.

#AbuDhabi Wealth Fund ADQ Said to Pursue Bausch’s Egypt Unit - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi Wealth Fund ADQ Said to Pursue Bausch’s Egypt Unit - Bloomberg:

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ is exploring a potential acquisition of Bausch Health Cos.’s Egyptian drug unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

ADQ has been evaluating the Bausch business, known as Amoun Pharmaceutical Co., as it seeks to expand its portfolio of health-care investments, according to the people. Amoun could fetch at least $700 million in a sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

No final agreements have been reached, and there’s no certainty the deliberations will lead to a transaction, the people said. Amoun could also attract other suitors, according to the people. Representatives for ADQ and Amoun couldn’t immediately comment. A spokesperson for Bausch declined to comment.

Bausch, formerly known as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., has been reshaping its operations since becoming infamous on Wall Street for raising drug prices. One activist investor, Glenview Capital, has been pushing Bausch to sell or spin off more businesses. The company said in August it would separate its eye-care unit into an independent publicly-traded company.

Middle East News: Commodity Trader GP Global Sells Assets to Restructure - Bloomberg

Middle East News: Commodity Trader GP Global Sells Assets to Restructure - Bloomberg:

Troubled commodities trader GP Global Group has “accounting irregularities” in its books, according to the restructuring adviser hired to salvage the company’s assets.

In a presentation seen by Bloomberg News, FTI Consulting warned that unsecured lenders in the holding company for the group could expect to recover between 0% and 27.5% of their debts.

It marks an acknowledgment of the seriousness of the situation at the United Arab Emirates-based commodities firm, which trades oil products as well as operating storage facilities and a refinery in Hamriyah and Fujairah.

Lenders have more than $1 billion in exposure to the company, Bloomberg reported earlier this month, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Known as Gulf Petrochem Group until 2018, GP Global said in July it was restructuring its finances after lenders withdrew credit lines.

#Saudi ESG Investments: Countries on Candriam Blacklist for Emerging Markets - Bloomberg

Saudi ESG Investments: Countries on Candriam Blacklist for Emerging Markets - Bloomberg:

A top-performing emerging-market bond fund is avoiding investments in Russia, China and Saudi Arabia as the three countries score too low in its ratings for environmental, social and governance risks. 

The $1.5 billion Candriam SRI Bond Emerging Markets Fund has outperformed almost 90% of peers in the past three years and screens for ESG factors. The bottom 25% of countries on the fund’s ranking get blacklisted, no matter how big a role they play in the bond world.

This approach could be a harbinger of the challenges facing developing-nation governments that rely on foreign capital. At the moment sovereign borrowing costs don’t typically take into account factors such as commitment to cutting carbon emissions or reducing corruption, but they might in the future.

“ESG investing is gaining pace in the emerging-market debt space,” Magda Branet, deputy head of emerging-market debt at Candriam, said in an emailed response to questions. “Clearly investors will increasingly look to be compensated for ESG-related risks. They will demand higher risk premia from countries that score poorly in their criteria, or avoid some issuers altogether.”

Barclays, Staveley spar in final lap of London trial | Reuters

Barclays, Staveley spar in final lap of London trial | Reuters:

A bitter High Court clash between Barclays BARC.L and British businesswoman Amanda Staveley, over whether she was deceived while negotiating a financial lifeline for the bank at the height of the credit crisis, draws to a close on Friday.

Staveley is claiming hundreds of millions of pounds in damages from Barclays in a civil case that kicked off in June and hinges on how the bank secured emergency funds from Qatar and Abu Dhabi and averted a state bailout in October 2008.

Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners, which led a 3.25 billion pound ($4.2 billion), Abu Dhabi-backed investment, alleges it was induced to fund Barclays on much worse terms than Qatar -- despite assurances it would get the same deal.

PCP, which reduced its maximum damages claim to 836 million pounds from 1.5 billion during the trial, alleges Barclays paid Qatar 346 million pounds in secret fees and handed the Gulf state a $3 billion loan that almost matched Qatar’s investment.

#Dubai's Arabtec expects to submit liquidation application by end-November - Arabianbusiness

Dubai's Arabtec expects to submit liquidation application by end-November - Arabianbusiness:

Dubai-based construction giant Arabtec Holding has announced it expects an application to liquidate the company will be submitted by the end of November, meeting a deadline set by shareholders.

A filing to the Dubai Financial Market by Antoine Abi Rached, the company's general counsel and board secretary also said that the appointment of a trustee or liquidator will be subject to the  "absolute discretion of the competent court which will consider   the application to commence the process under the Federal Bankruptcy Law". 

The company, whose board of directors is due to discuss the liquidation process at a meeting planned for Monday, added that it was currently working to collate "the extensive number of documents" required to accompany the application for liquidation.

On September 30, Arabtec shareholders had voted to discontinue with the company and dissolve it due to its untenable financial situation.

Oil slides on COVID-19 resurgence and strong dollar | Reuters

Oil slides on COVID-19 resurgence and strong dollar | Reuters:

Oil prices fell on Friday, dragged down by concerns that a spike in COVID-19 cases in Europe and the United States is curtailing demand in two of the world’s biggest fuel consuming regions, while a stronger U.S. dollar also pressured prices.

Brent crude futures for December LCOc1 dropped 60 cents, or 1.4%, to $42.56 a barrel by 1017 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery CLc1 slid 51 cents, or 1.3%, to $40.45.

Both benchmarks dipped the previous day but remain barely unchanged from a week earlier.

“The reality is that we’re now seeing a pretty active spread of the pandemic across Europe and it’s spreading again in North America, and that potentially will weigh on oil demand recovery,” said Lachlan Shaw, head of commodity research at the National Bank of Australia.