GlobalFoundries investor Mubadala sees growth for semiconductor sector
The semiconductor industry is on track to record exponential growth over the next decade, according to the CEO of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, who said chipmakers are poised to play a “crucial” role in the global economy.
“It took 50 years for the semiconductor business to turn into a half a trillion-dollar business. It’s going to take probably eight to 10 years to double. And it’s going to double right after that, probably in four to five years,” Khaldoon Al Mubarak told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in an exclusive interview.
Mubadala is Abu Dhabi’s state investment fund and manages roughly $240 billion in assets. It is also a major shareholder of chipmaker GlobalFoundries, recently raising almost $2.6 billion in an initial public offering — one of the largest on a U.S. exchange this year.
Saudi Arabia Says OPEC+ Will Deal With Oil ‘Speculators’ - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister warned traders against shorting oil prices, saying OPEC+ could react quickly to any fall in prices.
OPEC+, a 23-nation group led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided on Dec. 2 to raise daily oil output by 400,000 barrels in January. But it kept the meeting open and said it would be able to reconvene at short notice to change course.
“I call my friends every day, we chat and share notes,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in Riyadh, referring to fellow OPEC+ ministers. “So the meeting is truly not suspended. It continues to be in session.”
That strategy has helped bolster crude prices by making traders warier of taking short positions, according to analysts.
Oil eases on worries Omicron could reduce demand | Reuters
Oil futures eased on Monday on worries that rising coronavirus cases around the world could reduce crude demand as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron variant.
Brent futures fell 76 cents, or 1.0%, to settle at $74.39 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 38 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $71.29.
The Omicron variant, reported in more than 60 countries, poses a "very high" global risk, with some evidence that it evades vaccine protection, according to the World Health Organization. read more
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its world oil demand forecast for the first quarter of 2022 but left its full-year growth prediction steady, saying the Omicron variant would have a mild impact as the world gets used to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. read more
Developer Union Properties to elect new chairman and vice-chairman in a bid to exit latest troubles | Property – Gulf News
The developer Union Properties has called a shareholders’ meeting on Wednesday (December 15) to elect a new Chairman and Vice-Chairman after federal investigations placed the previous chairman under a cloud.
If the upcoming meeting does manage to elect a new chairman, it will be the second such change at the top in four years. Recently, federal authorities confirmed they were looking into the developer’s books, and notably in the way it disposed some of its land holdings and which could have favoured some interested parties. The previous chairman was also placed under detention.
According to stock market sources, Union Properties’ problems is not confined to that of key personnel. “There is still some heavy debt the developer is carrying and which will need some sort of solution,” said Vijay Valecha, Chief Investment Officer at Century Financial. “This is even after it managed to restructure a near Dh1 billion debt with Emirates NBD last year.”
In its nine-month financials for 2021, Union Properties saw a sharp erosion in net profits, and actually went into a loss in the July to end September phase. The stock has been under the hammer in recent days.
Lower energy investment could spark supply crisis -Saudi minister | Reuters
Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Monday that oil markets could face a dangerous period as reduced investments in exploration and drilling threaten to cut crude production by 30 million barrels per day by 2030.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud, speaking at a budget conference in Riyadh, also said that top oil exporter Saudi Arabia would be one of the few countries that could raise its oil production capacity in 2022.
"We are set for a period that could be dangerous. If there isn't more spending on investments to preserve production capacity and increase it, an energy crisis is coming to the world," Prince Abdulaziz said.
"In a way or another, I am not predicting, but I am warning that spare production capacity will disappear."
Oil little changed as OPEC, governments weigh Omicron risks | Reuters
Oil futures were little changed on Monday as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron coronavirus variant, though OPEC predicted in its monthly report that the variant's impact on fuel demand would be mild.
Brent futures fell 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $74.93 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EST (1625 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $71.54.
Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly increase in seven.
"The major oil contracts registered decent weekly gains, but it is noticeable that current prices are still way below the pre-Omicron levels," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Kuwait has made the least progress among Gulf states to address government wage bill - World Bank | Reuters
Kuwait has made the least progress among countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to reform its wage bill, the World Bank's lead economist for the Gulf said on Monday.
"In Kuwait, they have actually increased hiring in recent years, and after the oil price drop [of 2014], they actually increased hiring from 15,000 a year to 25,000 a year which is almost a whole cohort," said the World Bank's Ismail Radwan at a news conference in Dubai.
"So we have a situation now where one-third of the Kuwaiti civil service has been recruited in the past five years, so that's why we say it's unsustainable," Radwan said.
Hit hard by lower oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the OPEC oil producer was facing liquidity risks largely because parliament has not authorised government borrowing due to a standoff. S&P in July cut Kuwait's rating by one notch to A+ from AA-(minus)and kept its outlook on the country negative, citing the country's lack of a funding strategy to finance its deficit.
Israel, UAE to establish joint research and development fund | Reuters
Israel and the United Arab Emirates plan to establish a joint research and development fund, the UAE's state news agency WAM said on Monday, citing a joint statement.The fund "will harness the leading economic and technological minds in the UAE and Israel, tasking them with finding solutions to challenges such as climate change, desertification and clean energy", said the statement, issued after an official visit by Israel's prime minister to Abu Dhabi.
Most major stock markets rise as Omicron fears ease | Reuters
Most major stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Monday as investor appetite improved amid a growing view that the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) gained 0.5%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) rising 1%.
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it expected to post its first budget surplus in nearly a decade next year, as it plans to restrict public spending despite a surge in oil prices that helped to refill state coffers hammered by the pandemic. read more
Riyadh plans to reduce military spending next year by around 10% from its 2021 estimates, the budget showed, a sign that the cost of the military conflict in neighbouring Yemen has started to ease.
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) (7010.SE) advanced 2.4%, reversing much of the previous day's around 3% loss posted after the final price for the sale of 120 million shares of the company was set at 100 riyals per share, the lower end of an indicative range of 100 to 116 riyals. read more
The kingdom's Public Investment Fund is set to raise 12 billion riyals ($3.20 billion) through the sale of a 6% stake in STC.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) added 0.5%, led by a 1.8% gain in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) and a 0.9% increase in sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU).
Dubai's deputy ruler and finance minister Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed announced the listing of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the emirate's media office reported on Saturday. read more
Investors remain optimistic regarding the market's potential to grow with upcoming IPOs and the new volumes it could attract by shifting to a Monday-Friday trading week, better aligning the bourse with foreign markets, said Farah Mourad, Senior Market Analyst of XTB MENA.
The Qatari index (.QSI) was up 0.3%, helped by a 0.6% increase in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) lost 0.4%, weighed down by a 2.3% fall in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD).
Saudi Arabia’s Wealth Fund Misses Domestic Investment Target - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund invested only half of the $40 billion it planned to plow into the domestic economy this year to help drive diversification.
The Public Investment Fund has invested 84 billion riyals ($22 billion) during the current year, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said in a statement after the government issued its budget for next year. The fund would invest more than 150 billion in 2022, he said.
Previously the Crown Prince had said it planned to invest 150 billion riyals or more a year from 2021 to 2025. The fund is now targeting to invest up to 1 trillion riyals inside the kingdom by 2025, Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan said at an event in Riyadh on Monday.
The fund, which the prince also chairs, is the main investor behind behind hundreds of billions of dollars of new developments ranging from entertainment hubs to sustainable cities and tourism developments. Yet progress on many of those has been slow. Work on Neom, the crown prince’s signature development, has progressed little further than “earthworks.”
Saudi 'austere' budget outsources spending to PIF, leaves room for debt | Reuters
Saudi Arabia will increasingly rely on its $450 billion PIF sovereign wealth fund to drive an ambitious spending push, keeping the government's books relatively clear while leaving room to increase debt if needed.
The world's top oil exporter said on Sunday it expects to post its first budget surplus in nearly a decade next year by keeping a tight rein on the public purse strings while revenues roll in, boosted by higher crude prices. read more
Among other measures, the budget foresees an 18.2% fall in capital expenditure compared to estimates for this year.
Announcing it, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said: "If reserves are at adequate levels ... the surplus will go to National Development Fund to finance the private sector and to PIF for investments."
Oil fall as Omicron risks weigh | Reuters
Oil fell on Monday as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron coronavirus variant, though OPEC predicted in its monthly report that the variant's impact on fuel demand will be mild.
Brent crude fell 54 cents, or 0.7%, to $74.61 a barrel by 1443 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 51 cents, or 0.7%, at $71.16.
Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven.
"The major oil contracts registered decent weekly gains, but it is noticeable that current prices are still way below the pre-Omicron levels," said Tamas Varga, oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates.
Israeli banks may resume regular dividends in 2022, regulator says | Reuters
Israel's banking regulator said on Monday that Israeli banks could resume regular divided payouts starting in 2022, cancelling a temporary directive made at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic while cautioning banks over market uncertainty caused by the virus.
"With the return to orderly economic activity, the need for providing easings to banking corporations in their banking activities declined," the Bank of Israel said. "Therefore, beginning from January 1, 2022, the temporary directive will expire."
Dividend payments and share buybacks were suspended in March 2020 to ensure banks had sufficient credit to lend to businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In return, banks received a 1% reduction in minimum capital ratios.
The Banking Supervision Department at the central bank said it was of the view that the return to orderly activity enables banking corporations to forecast capital needs and to distribute dividends.
Analysis: Stuck in the middle? UAE walks tightrope between U.S, Israel and Iran | Reuters
The United Arab Emirates is walking a diplomatic high wire between superpower ally Washington, new friend Israel and old adversary Iran as it seeks to avoid a costly regional conflict that could torpedo its trade and tourism ambitions.
Abu Dhabi hosts Israel's prime minister this week and will receive a U.S. delegation seeking to warn companies in the UAE about compliance with sanctions on Iran over its nuclear activities. The Gulf state also dispatched a senior official to Tehran last week in a bid to mend ties and contain tensions.
The whirl of diplomacy marks a shift in foreign policy approach for the UAE, which is retreating from military adventurism after having waded into a series of damaging conflicts over the past decade, from Yemen to Libya, according to Emirati officials, analysts and regional diplomats.
"We need to avoid a major conflict that will embroil the United States or indeed the countries in the region," senior UAE official Anwar Gargash told a U.S.-based think-tank on Thursday. "Our interest is to try and avoid it at all costs."
Abu Dhabi's IHC approves merger of Al Tamouh and Al Qudra Holding | ZAWYA MENA Edition
International Holding Co. or IHC, an Abu Dhabi–based conglomerate, has approved the merger of its subsidiary, Al Tamouh Investments with investment holding company, Al Qudra Holding.
The transaction will be completed through the transfer of shares in Al Tamouh Investments, a real estate developer, in return for unsecured mandatory convertible bonds issued by Al Qudra Holding, IHC said in a statement on Sunday.
Abu Dhabi-based Tamouh is the primary developer of a number of projects including Marina Square, the City of Lights, Fantasy Island, Meena Hotel and Towers, and the Royal Group Headquarters.
Meanwhile, the board of directors of Al Qudra Holdings has approved a new foreign ownership limit of 30 percent of outstanding shares, subject to regulatory approvals. Previously, only UAE nationals were permitted to own shares in the company.
Al Qudra Holding invests in sectors such as oil and gas, banking and finance and real estate.
Qatar Energy to take 17% stake in Shell-operated blocks in Egypt's Red Sea | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Shell Exploration & Production B.V., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc. has signed farm out agreements (FOAs) with state-owned QatarEnergy, under which QatarEnergy will acquire 17 percent stake in each of Shell-operated Block 3 and Block 4 in the Egyptian Red Sea.
The FOAs, contracts which allow a project participant to add new parties to the project by selling a percentage stake in the venture, are subject to government and regulatory approvals, without prejudice to pre-emption rights, Shell Egypt said in a statement on Monday.
This follows an earlier dilution of Blocks 3 and 4 to BHP Petroleum (Egypt) Ltd., which is also subject to government and regulatory approvals.
Shell will remain the operator in both blocks, it said. Following the FOA, Qatar Energy will hold 17 percent in Block 3, with Shell holding 43 percent. BHP and Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum will hold 30 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Saudi Arabia Won’t Go On Spending Spree If Oil Income Rises - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia wants to send investors one message from its budget this year - regardless of the oil price spending won’t change.
The budget sets out multiple scenarios for how the pandemic could hit its revenue forecasts, but says spending is fixed regardless. That’s a marked contrast from previous years when oil booms led to wave of spending on new projects and expensive handouts to Saudi citizens.
The main budget forecast released on Sunday sees a surplus of 90 billion riyals ($24 billion), the first in eight years. In the past the kingdom, like its Gulf neighbors, raised spending in times of surging crude. But in four scenarios outlined in its budget statement late on Sunday, it kept projected spending at 955 billion riyals ($255 billion), regardless of income fluctuations.
“We haven’t exited the pandemic completely,” Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said during a press conference late Sunday. The kingdom envisaged “a very large group of different scenarios so we can be more prepared to face any international crises,” he said, in a nod to how global uncertainty surrounding the pandemic has made economic predictions worldwide more challenging.
Saudi bourse outperforms Gulf peers in early trade | Reuters
Stock markets in the Gulf were mixed in early trade on Monday, with the Saudi index outperforming the region as oil prices rose.
Oil prices, a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets, extended their rally as investor appetite improved amid a growing view that the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness and will likely have a limited impact on global fuel demand.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) gained 0.8%, buoyed by a 1% rise in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) and a 1.3% increase in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp (2010.SE).
The kingdom said on Sunday it expected to post its first budget surplus in nearly a decade next year, as it plans to restrict public spending despite a surge in oil prices that helped to refill state coffers hammered by the pandemic. read more
Riyadh plans to reduce military spending next year by around 10% from its 2021 estimates, the budget showed, a sign that the cost of the military conflict in neighbouring Yemen has started to ease.
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) added 0.4%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) rising 1% and sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU) climbing 0.7%.
Dubai's deputy ruler and finance minister Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed announced the listing of Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the emirate's media office reported on Saturday. read more
Gulf exchanges are likely to have another busy year of initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2022, possibly surpassing this year's bumper crop, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing a Bank of America (BAC.N) executive. read more
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.ADI) lost 0.3%, with the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) dropping 2.1%.
The Qatari index (.QSI) eased 0.2%, hit by a 1.5% decline in the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA).
Oil gains as investors see limited Omicron impact on demand | Reuters
Oil prices extended their rally on Monday as investor appetite improved amid growing relief the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness and will likely have a limited impact on global fuel demand.
Brent futures climbed 72 cents, or 1.0%, to $75.87 a barrel by 0744 GMT, after rising 1% on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 85 cents, or 1.2%, to $72.52 a barrel, following a 1% increase in the previous session.
Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven. They have recovered more than half the losses suffered since Omicron headlines first hit Nov. 25.
