Saudi Telecom Co. to Invest $400 Million Expanding Data Centers - Bloomberg
Saudi Telecom Co., the biggest telecommunications company in the Middle East, will invest 1.5 billion riyals ($400 million) to build the largest cloud-enabled data center in the region as the oil rich-kingdom seeks to become a center for digitalization, according to a spokesman for the company.
STC, as the firm is known, is implementing the third phase of its data-center program with a facility that has an allocated land area of more than 180,000 square meters, according to a statement.
The Riyadh-based telecommunications company completed the first phase of the project in 2019 and the second phase is already is in the final commissioning stage. STC’s data-centers program consists of 16 data centers in six cities, the statement said.
“We have big plans for our data centers to become a gateway for the MENA infrastructure,” Chief Technology Officer Haithem Alfaraj said in the statement. “STC is geared up to grow-on-demand.”
Sunday 14 November 2021
Emaar Posts Record Sales as #Dubai Property Market Rebounds - Bloomberg
Emaar Posts Record Sales as Dubai Property Market Rebounds - Bloomberg
The dramatic recovery in Dubai’s property market has helped its biggest property developer to report its highest-ever sales.
Emaar Properties PJSC posted real estate sales of 26 billion dirhams ($7.2 billion) in the first nine months of the year -- three times the sales for the year-ago period. Sales in its Dubai home market were five times the 2020 figures.
Average home prices in Dubai are rising at the fastest pace since February 2015 and transaction volumes surged 77% in August on an annual basis, according to real estate adviser CBRE Group Inc. Dubai is also hosting the World Expo 2020, which it expects will attract foreign capital and revive the economy.
An imbalance between supply and demand in the Middle East’s business hub had led prices to drop more than a third since 2014. It led the government to set up a committee in 2019 to tackle oversupply. The pandemic exacerbated problems last year as many expatriates left Dubai, depressing demand further.
The dramatic recovery in Dubai’s property market has helped its biggest property developer to report its highest-ever sales.
Emaar Properties PJSC posted real estate sales of 26 billion dirhams ($7.2 billion) in the first nine months of the year -- three times the sales for the year-ago period. Sales in its Dubai home market were five times the 2020 figures.
Average home prices in Dubai are rising at the fastest pace since February 2015 and transaction volumes surged 77% in August on an annual basis, according to real estate adviser CBRE Group Inc. Dubai is also hosting the World Expo 2020, which it expects will attract foreign capital and revive the economy.
An imbalance between supply and demand in the Middle East’s business hub had led prices to drop more than a third since 2014. It led the government to set up a committee in 2019 to tackle oversupply. The pandemic exacerbated problems last year as many expatriates left Dubai, depressing demand further.
Emirates Islamic closes $500mln sukuk issuance | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Emirates Islamic closes $500mln sukuk issuance | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Emirates Islamic, an Islamic financial institution based in the UAE, has closed a $500 million five-year sukuk, or shariah-complaint bonds, at a profit rate of 2.082 percent per annum.
The issue, which is part of its $2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme, is rated A+ by Fitch, and is listed on NASDAQ Dubai and Euronext Dublin’s Regulated Market, the financial institution said in a statement on Sunday.
The order book came in at $1.2 billion, which was 2.4 times the issuance size. The strong demand, allowed the bank to tighten the spread on the sukuk by 25 basis points from initial guidance, resulting in a profit rate of 2.082 percent per annum, the bank said.
This pricing represents the lowest spread ever paid by a UAE bank since 2008 for a US dollar benchmark public debt issuance, the statement said.
Emirates Islamic, an Islamic financial institution based in the UAE, has closed a $500 million five-year sukuk, or shariah-complaint bonds, at a profit rate of 2.082 percent per annum.
The issue, which is part of its $2.5 billion Certificate Issuance Programme, is rated A+ by Fitch, and is listed on NASDAQ Dubai and Euronext Dublin’s Regulated Market, the financial institution said in a statement on Sunday.
The order book came in at $1.2 billion, which was 2.4 times the issuance size. The strong demand, allowed the bank to tighten the spread on the sukuk by 25 basis points from initial guidance, resulting in a profit rate of 2.082 percent per annum, the bank said.
This pricing represents the lowest spread ever paid by a UAE bank since 2008 for a US dollar benchmark public debt issuance, the statement said.
#Dubai’s Utility Asks Banks to Pitch for Multi-Billion Dollar IPO - Bloomberg
Dubai’s Utility Asks Banks to Pitch for Multi-Billion Dollar IPO - Bloomberg
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority has invited banks to pitch for a role on an initial public offering that could value the utility at around $25 billion, people familiar with matter said.
DEWA has named Moelis as an adviser on what will likely be the city’s biggest listing yet, the people said. The company, owned by the Dubai government, will probably choose a mix of international and local banks, they said.
While Dubai firms are required to sell at least 25% of their shares in an IPO, DEWA may try to list a smaller amount at first, the people said.
DEWA and Moelis didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Dubai Electricity & Water Authority has invited banks to pitch for a role on an initial public offering that could value the utility at around $25 billion, people familiar with matter said.
DEWA has named Moelis as an adviser on what will likely be the city’s biggest listing yet, the people said. The company, owned by the Dubai government, will probably choose a mix of international and local banks, they said.
While Dubai firms are required to sell at least 25% of their shares in an IPO, DEWA may try to list a smaller amount at first, the people said.
DEWA and Moelis didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mideast Stocks: #Dubai outperforms most Gulf bourses, #AbuDhabi at peak | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Mideast Stocks: Dubai outperforms most Gulf bourses, Abu Dhabi at peak | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Most major stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Sunday, with the Dubai index outperforming the region as Dubai Financial Market resumed gains driven by a bourse expansion plan.
Dubai's main share index finished 0.9% higher, hitting its highest since March 2018, buoyed by a 14.9% surge on the Dubai Financial Market.
Earlier this month, the emirate announced plans to launch a 2 billion dirham ($545 million) market-maker fund and initial public offerings of 10 state-backed companies as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse.
Since the announcement DFM has risen more than 80%.
Dubai plans to list its "Salik" road toll system on the Dubai Financial Market, the emirate's deputy ruler, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed, said on Twitter on Saturday.
However, Union Properties tumbled 9.7%.
On Tuesday, the company said its chairman, Khalifa Hassan al-Hammadi, had been dismissed from the board following the disclosure that the public prosecution office in the United Arab Emirates had ordered his arrest.
The UAE attorney general announced the investigation in October into allegations of financial violations by the chairman and other officials of Union Properties, state news agency WAM had reported.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged 0.1% higher, extending gains for a second session, with Sahara International Petrochemical Co 2310.SE rising 2.4%.
Nevertheless, Saudi mall operator Arabian Centres plunged 10%. On Thursday, Arabian Centres said its title deed on a piece of land in Riyadh has been cancelled by a court.
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.1% to an-all-time high of 8,296.190 points, helped by a 1.3% gain in Emirates Telecommunications.
The Qatari index dropped 0.6%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index concluded 0.8%, with Commercial International Bank gaining 1.1%, after the lender reported a rise in third-quarter profit.
Egypt has scrapped import duties for steel billets, rebar and aluminium products on the back of high global inflation and energy prices, the trade ministry said on Sunday.
Most major stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Sunday, with the Dubai index outperforming the region as Dubai Financial Market resumed gains driven by a bourse expansion plan.
Dubai's main share index finished 0.9% higher, hitting its highest since March 2018, buoyed by a 14.9% surge on the Dubai Financial Market.
Earlier this month, the emirate announced plans to launch a 2 billion dirham ($545 million) market-maker fund and initial public offerings of 10 state-backed companies as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse.
Since the announcement DFM has risen more than 80%.
Dubai plans to list its "Salik" road toll system on the Dubai Financial Market, the emirate's deputy ruler, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed, said on Twitter on Saturday.
However, Union Properties tumbled 9.7%.
On Tuesday, the company said its chairman, Khalifa Hassan al-Hammadi, had been dismissed from the board following the disclosure that the public prosecution office in the United Arab Emirates had ordered his arrest.
The UAE attorney general announced the investigation in October into allegations of financial violations by the chairman and other officials of Union Properties, state news agency WAM had reported.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index edged 0.1% higher, extending gains for a second session, with Sahara International Petrochemical Co 2310.SE rising 2.4%.
Nevertheless, Saudi mall operator Arabian Centres plunged 10%. On Thursday, Arabian Centres said its title deed on a piece of land in Riyadh has been cancelled by a court.
In Abu Dhabi, the index rose 0.1% to an-all-time high of 8,296.190 points, helped by a 1.3% gain in Emirates Telecommunications.
The Qatari index dropped 0.6%, as most of the stocks on the index were in negative territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar.
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index concluded 0.8%, with Commercial International Bank gaining 1.1%, after the lender reported a rise in third-quarter profit.
Egypt has scrapped import duties for steel billets, rebar and aluminium products on the back of high global inflation and energy prices, the trade ministry said on Sunday.
OPEC’s Fears of an Oil Glut Are Built on Faulty Forecasts - Bloomberg
OPEC’s Fears of an Oil Glut Are Built on Faulty Forecasts - Bloomberg
OPEC+ oil ministers point to a massive surplus early next year as their justification for sticking to a plan of only modest production increases. But those forecasts are built on fanciful numbers — and they’re wrong.
It doesn’t matter which of the three oil market forecasts presented last week to the OPEC+ group you look at, they all show the same thing in different degrees: The current tight oil market will soon evaporate, to be replaced by one in which supply is running ahead of demand and global stockpiles are rising again. That switch, however, is based on highly inflated estimates of the group’s own future production.
In the most optimistic case, from the producer group’s point of view, a supply deficit of 2.7 million barrels a day in the third quarter of 2021 becomes a surplus of 2.5 million barrels a day in the first quarter of next year. Supply continues to run ahead of demand for the whole of 2022, returning global oil stockpiles to a level slightly above those seen at the end of 2020 by the end of the year.
OPEC+ oil ministers point to a massive surplus early next year as their justification for sticking to a plan of only modest production increases. But those forecasts are built on fanciful numbers — and they’re wrong.
It doesn’t matter which of the three oil market forecasts presented last week to the OPEC+ group you look at, they all show the same thing in different degrees: The current tight oil market will soon evaporate, to be replaced by one in which supply is running ahead of demand and global stockpiles are rising again. That switch, however, is based on highly inflated estimates of the group’s own future production.
In the most optimistic case, from the producer group’s point of view, a supply deficit of 2.7 million barrels a day in the third quarter of 2021 becomes a surplus of 2.5 million barrels a day in the first quarter of next year. Supply continues to run ahead of demand for the whole of 2022, returning global oil stockpiles to a level slightly above those seen at the end of 2020 by the end of the year.
#Dubai Tees Up Next IPO - Bloomberg video
Dubai Tees Up Next IPO - Bloomberg
Mohammed Ali Yasin, Chief Strategy Officer at Al Dhabi Capital, discusses the latest Dubai-based company set to IPO on the exchange, Salik, the Gulf-emirate's automatic road toll collection system. Yasin sees the company as a dividend-yielding stock for potential investors. He speaks with Yousef Gamal El-Din on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Middle East."
Mohammed Ali Yasin, Chief Strategy Officer at Al Dhabi Capital, discusses the latest Dubai-based company set to IPO on the exchange, Salik, the Gulf-emirate's automatic road toll collection system. Yasin sees the company as a dividend-yielding stock for potential investors. He speaks with Yousef Gamal El-Din on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Middle East."
#Dubai’s IPO Gambit Adds $2.3 Billion to Bourse Operator’s Value - Bloomberg
Dubai’s IPO Gambit Adds $2.3 Billion to Bourse Operator’s Value - Bloomberg
Dubai’s aggressive moves to grab a piece of the red hot Middle Eastern IPO market has helped double the value of its exchange operator over two weeks.
While Abu Dhabi and Riyadh drew in orders worth billions of dollars from marquee listings, Dubai was left behind. The new head of the city’s financial market has announced a series of steps this month to help reverse that.
A flurry of announcements since the start of the month have helped push Dubai Financial Market’s market value to about 17 billion dirhams ($4.6 billion). The stock has rallied 107% since Nov. 1 after languishing for most of this year.
Once the United Arab Emirates’ leading exchange by traded volume, the city’s bourse is now second to Abu Dhabi. Dubai has seen one listing since 2017, and a string of delistings that have dented investor confidence. Equity trading in Dubai has fallen in three of the past four years.
Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed’s plans to grab a slice of the IPO action include listing as many as 10 state-owned firms, including utility DEWA -- likely to be the city’s biggest deal -- and its Salik road toll collection system. Private and family-owned businesses are also being encouraged to sell shares on the local bourse.
Dubai Financial Market shares jumped about 10% on Sunday after the Salik listing plan was announced on Saturday.
Dubai’s aggressive moves to grab a piece of the red hot Middle Eastern IPO market has helped double the value of its exchange operator over two weeks.
While Abu Dhabi and Riyadh drew in orders worth billions of dollars from marquee listings, Dubai was left behind. The new head of the city’s financial market has announced a series of steps this month to help reverse that.
A flurry of announcements since the start of the month have helped push Dubai Financial Market’s market value to about 17 billion dirhams ($4.6 billion). The stock has rallied 107% since Nov. 1 after languishing for most of this year.
Once the United Arab Emirates’ leading exchange by traded volume, the city’s bourse is now second to Abu Dhabi. Dubai has seen one listing since 2017, and a string of delistings that have dented investor confidence. Equity trading in Dubai has fallen in three of the past four years.
Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed’s plans to grab a slice of the IPO action include listing as many as 10 state-owned firms, including utility DEWA -- likely to be the city’s biggest deal -- and its Salik road toll collection system. Private and family-owned businesses are also being encouraged to sell shares on the local bourse.
Dubai Financial Market shares jumped about 10% on Sunday after the Salik listing plan was announced on Saturday.
Gulf's #Oman Air seeking further government aid, targets 2024 break-even | Reuters
Gulf's Oman Air seeking further government aid, targets 2024 break-even | Reuters
Oman Air is seeking additional financial assistance from the government and will raise more debt as it recovers from the pandemic, with a target of breaking even in 2024, its chief executive said.
The state-owned Gulf carrier has received government aid during the pandemic but further state support was needed to help cover next year's operational costs, Abdulaziz Al Raisi told Reuters.
He did not disclose how much support had been received so far, or how much more the airline needed.
Al Raisi, who took over as CEO in 2018 after serving in the role in an acting basis, also said the airline has raised debt against non-core aviation assets like hotels, and planned to raise more to cover operational costs.
Oman Air is seeking additional financial assistance from the government and will raise more debt as it recovers from the pandemic, with a target of breaking even in 2024, its chief executive said.
The state-owned Gulf carrier has received government aid during the pandemic but further state support was needed to help cover next year's operational costs, Abdulaziz Al Raisi told Reuters.
He did not disclose how much support had been received so far, or how much more the airline needed.
Al Raisi, who took over as CEO in 2018 after serving in the role in an acting basis, also said the airline has raised debt against non-core aviation assets like hotels, and planned to raise more to cover operational costs.
Major Gulf bourses mixed in early trade | Reuters
Major Gulf bourses mixed in early trade | Reuters
Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Sunday, with the Saudi index on track to extend gains for a second session, while the Abu Dhabi index retreated from a record high.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) edged 0.1% higher, with Saudi Telecom Company (7010.SE) rising 0.9% and Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) putting on 0.3%.
However, Saudi mall operator Arabian Centres (4321.SE) plunged 10%. On Thursday, Arabian Centres said its title deed on a piece of land in Riyadh has been cancelled by a court.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) rose 0.2%, supported by a 8.2% jump in Dubai Financial Market (DFM) (DFM.DU).
Earlier this month, the emirate announced plans to launch a 2 billion dirham ($545 million) market-maker fund and initial public offerings of 10 state-backed companies as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse. read more
Since the announcement DFM has risen more than 70%.
The United Arab Emirates plans to list Dubai's "Salik" road toll system on the Dubai financial market, its finance minister Maktoum Bin Mohammed said on Twitter on Saturday. read more
Union Properties (UPRO.DU) declined 5.8%.
On Tuesday, the company said its chairman, Khalifa Hassan al-Hammadi, was dismissed from the board following the disclosure that the public prosecution office in the United Arab Emirates had ordered his arrest.
The UAE attorney general announced the investigation in October into allegations of financial violations by the chairman and other officials of Union Properties, state news agency WAM had reported. read more
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) eased 0.1%, retreating from a record high it reached in the previous session, with conglomerate International Holding (IHC.AD) losing 0.5%.
The Qatari index (.QSI) fell 0.5%, weighed down by a 1.1% fall in Commercial Bank (COMB.QA).
Major stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Sunday, with the Saudi index on track to extend gains for a second session, while the Abu Dhabi index retreated from a record high.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) edged 0.1% higher, with Saudi Telecom Company (7010.SE) rising 0.9% and Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) putting on 0.3%.
However, Saudi mall operator Arabian Centres (4321.SE) plunged 10%. On Thursday, Arabian Centres said its title deed on a piece of land in Riyadh has been cancelled by a court.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) rose 0.2%, supported by a 8.2% jump in Dubai Financial Market (DFM) (DFM.DU).
Earlier this month, the emirate announced plans to launch a 2 billion dirham ($545 million) market-maker fund and initial public offerings of 10 state-backed companies as part of plans to boost activity on the local bourse. read more
Since the announcement DFM has risen more than 70%.
The United Arab Emirates plans to list Dubai's "Salik" road toll system on the Dubai financial market, its finance minister Maktoum Bin Mohammed said on Twitter on Saturday. read more
Union Properties (UPRO.DU) declined 5.8%.
On Tuesday, the company said its chairman, Khalifa Hassan al-Hammadi, was dismissed from the board following the disclosure that the public prosecution office in the United Arab Emirates had ordered his arrest.
The UAE attorney general announced the investigation in October into allegations of financial violations by the chairman and other officials of Union Properties, state news agency WAM had reported. read more
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) eased 0.1%, retreating from a record high it reached in the previous session, with conglomerate International Holding (IHC.AD) losing 0.5%.
The Qatari index (.QSI) fell 0.5%, weighed down by a 1.1% fall in Commercial Bank (COMB.QA).