Saturday 24 October 2020

Lionel Barber’s diaries — encounters with Merkel, Fuld and a piano-playing Putin | Financial Times #Dubai #UAE

Lionel Barber’s diaries — encounters with Merkel, Fuld and a piano-playing Putin | Financial Times


Below are a selection of the Simeon Kerr reports from the traumatic months, for #Dubai, of November and December, 2009:

Pressure mounts over $4bn sukuk

Dubai’s ruler tightens financial controls

Focus turns to debt restructuring

Dubai property merger blocked

Abu Dhabi left with little choice

Anger within emirate levelled at leadership

Abu Dhabi expected to prop up smaller brother

Dubai rejects debt guarantee

Dubai cast adrift as credibility crumbles

Dubai ousts financial chief over debt troubles

Comment: Leaders pay price for Dubai excess

Why #SaudiArabia's dependence on Aramco billions is 'unsustainable' - Arabianbusiness

Why Saudi Arabia's dependence on Aramco billions is 'unsustainable' - Arabianbusiness

Saudi Arabia's dependence on dividends paid by state-controlled oil giant Aramco to delay spending cuts is not sustainable and the kingdom may face challenges to keep its debt/GDP ratio under control, according to a leading analyst.

Eirini Tsekeridou, fixed income research analyst at Julius Baer, told Arabian Business that Saudi Arabia will only be able to deliver a balanced budget in 2023 as the economy struggles with the impact of coronavirus.

Saudi Arabia has recently published its 2021 pre-budget statement with the final version to be released in December.

In it, Saudi Arabia expects a budget deficit in 2020 close to 12 percent, declining to 5.1 percent of GDP in 2021, and be balanced only by 2023.

#UAE merges insurance authority with central bank - Dubai ruler tweet | Reuters

UAE merges insurance authority with central bank - Dubai ruler tweet | Reuters

The United Arab Emirates has taken a decision to merge the Insurance Authority with the central bank, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said on Saturday.

The decision also transfers all operational and executive powers of the Securities and Commodities Authority to the local stock markets, while the SCA maintains regulation and oversight of the local financial markets, Sheikh Mohammed said in a tweet.

#Kuwait plans to deport 70% of expat workers | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Kuwait plans to deport 70% of expat workers | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The Human Resources Development Committee held a meeting to review and determine the National Assembly’s decision to refer the demographic regulation law to the Legislative Committee to study the drafting of the articles of the law after its amendment.

The government sources confirmed its ambitious plan aimed to deport 70% of expat workers from Kuwait.

The sources reaffirmed the government’s intention to end 160,000 jobs in the private sector and deport marginal laborers and illiterate expats. The time frame to rectify the demographic imbalance is five years.

Committee Chairman Khalil Al-Saleh stated, the Corona crisis shed light on the issue of demographics and the need to work on assessing the situation in Kuwait, so that problems do not recur in the future.

#Dubai Plans $136 Million in Support for Virus-Hit Businesses - Bloomberg

Dubai Plans $136 Million in Support for Virus-Hit Businesses - Bloomberg

Dubai plans to offer 500 million dirhams ($136 million) of aid for businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis, Crown Prince Hamdan Bin Mohammed said on Twitter on Saturday.

The package, which will consist of rent breaks and the elimination of government fees and fines for some businesses, will bring total government support to 6.8 billion dirhams, according to the prince.

The emirate is known as the business hub of the Middle East, and has been hit hard by Covid-19 as it relies on trade and tourism. The International Monetary Fund expects the United Arab Emirates’ economic output to shrink 6.6% this year. Job losses and weak domestic demand remain a drag on businesses in the expatriate-dominated city.

“The private sector is a major partner in Dubai’s development process,” the price said. “We have adopted a set of new exemptions for some fees and a reduction in rents for some sectors, as well as an extension of the validity of a previous set of exemptions from fees.”