Davos Latest News: Mubadala Says Emirates Global Aluminium IPO Likely This Year - Bloomberg
Emirates Global Aluminium, the Middle East’s biggest producer of the metal, may sell shares to the public as soon as the third quarter of 2023, according to the head of one of its biggest shareholders.
“It will happen maybe this year. We’ll see how markets react,” Mubadala Investment Co. Chief Executive Officer Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. “If it’s appropriate and makes sense for us and the shareholders, we might go in the third quarter or fourth quarter.”
EGA, which is owned equally by Mubadala and Investment Corp. of Dubai, has been examining the possibility of an initial public offering for a number of years. It was set to hire three US banks as lead underwriters of the deal in 2021 that could have valued the company at more than $15 billion, Bloomberg reported at the time.
A listing of EGA this year would follow a boom for IPOs in the region that started in 2022 and fetched almost $23 billion — over half of the proceeds in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Aluminum had a roller coaster year in 2022, initially rallying as much 45% to hit a record high in March on worries about Russian supply, before slumping on mounting concerns about demand. Prices have rebounded strongly in 2023, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. among those calling for a sharp move higher as consumption recovers in China and Europe.
A previous plan to list EGA in 2018 was shelved after the then-US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on aluminum imports from the UAE.
UBS Dubai Taps Credit Suisse Bankers to Target Wealthy Indians - Bloomberg
UBS Group AG in Dubai is hiring a group of private bankers from rival Credit Suisse Group AG as the Swiss lender continues to expand its Gulf business that caters to India’s wealthy diaspora.
Sanjay Advani and members of his team that serve non-resident Indians are set to join UBS in the coming months, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the information is private.
Their appointment is part of push by UBS to focus on the growing number of rich Indians living overseas at a time when the sub-continent is seeing rising wealth. The Asian nation recently overtook the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy. UBS in Singapore also recently hired three private bankers from Credit Suisse to boost its NRI coverage. Niels Zilkens runs UBS’s NRI business globally.
A representative for Credit Suisse said the bank remains fully committed to the Middle East and will continue to invest. Clients are being served by its existing team, they said. Advani and a representative for UBS declined to comment.
First Abu Dhabi Bank raises $600mln via bonds - document
First Abu Dhabi Bank sold $600 million in senior unsecured bonds maturing in 5-1/4 years, a bank document showed on Wednesday.
FAB sold the bonds at a spread of 105 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries from initial guidance of around 130 bps over the same benchmark after demand topped $1.45 billion, the document showed.
Citi, Emirates NBD, FAB, HSBC and Standard Chartered are joint lead managers and bookrunners on the debt sale.
Davos 2023: Saudi Arabia taps unconventional sectors for jobs -minister | Reuters
Saudi Arabia's economy minister said on Wednesday the kingdom would continue to tap into non-traditional sectors like entertainment and esports to create jobs, boost the quality of life and lure talent.
Saudi Arabia launched "Vision 2030" in 2016, an economic agenda to cut oil dependence and build new industries while investing in existing ones including energy and petrochemicals.
The kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has pushed social reforms alongside the economic agenda to help modernise the kingdom, in recent years allowing women to drive, music concerts and cinemas for the first time.
"In the past, these were seen as hopeful byproducts of an economic transformation. Today, they are seen as master ingredients for an optimum economic transformation," the minister, Faisal al-Ibrahim, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Most Gulf markets fall on China economic concern | Reuters
Most major Gulf markets closed lower on Wednesday, as weak economic growth in China renewed concerns about an economic downturn and low energy demand.
China's economic growth slowed sharply to 3% in 2022, its second-worst performance since 1976. Moreover, China's oil refinery output in 2022 had fallen 3.4% from a year earlier for its first annual decline since 2001, though daily December oil throughput rose to the second-highest level of 2022.
However, the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China is set to boost global oil demand this year to a new record high, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday, while price cap sanctions on Russia could dent supply.
The benchmark index (.TASI) in Saudi Arabia fell 0.2%, with luxury real estate developer Retal Urban Development (4322.SE) dropping 1%, while Arab National Bank (1080.SE) continued its slide for the fourth session to close 1.8% lower. Saudi's oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) remained flat at 0.2%.
On Wednesday, Aramco's trading arm acquired U.S.-based firm Motiva and launched Aramco Trading Americas. The new entity will be sole supplier and 'offtaker' of Motiva Enterprises, which owns the largest oil refinery in North America.
In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) fell 0.4% with the country's biggest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD) down 1.9% and conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding (ALPHADHABI.AD) declining 1.8%.
Dubai's benchmark index (.DFMGI) dropped 0.2%, on track to end a four-session winning streak. The index was dragged down by several financial and real estate stocks, with a fall of 0.8% in lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) and a 1% decline in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).
Qatar Stock index (.QSI) eased 0.2%, extending losses for the seventh straight session, with several stocks in the index moved into negative territory, led by a 3.5% slide in Qatar Commercial Bank (COMB.QA) and a 2.9% decline in Islamic bank Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA).
Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) added 0.9%, continuing its rally since Wednesday.
However, "the Egyptian stock market's direction remained uncertain after a surge of investments that followed the local currency's devaluation", said Daniel Takieddine, CEO MENA at BDSwiss.
Tabby: Dubai Buy-Now, Pay-Later Startup Valued at $660 Million in Funding Round - Bloomberg
Dubai-based Tabby raised $58 million from investors including Sequoia Capital India in a funding round that valued the buy now, pay later startup at almost $700 million.
PayPal Ventures also took part in the Series C capital fundraising, along with Mubadala Investment Capital, Saudi venture capital firm STV, Arbor Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst, Tabby said in a statement. The round valued Tabby at $660 million.
“As we continue to scale, the valuation should continue to follow,” Chief Executive Officer Hosam Arab said in an interview. “We’re not fixated on any particular number or on any particular titles.”
Tabby will use the funds to expand its product offering and support its expansion plans, Arab said.
How Rich Are Gulf Countries? Region’s Wealth Funds Have $3 Trillion to Spend
When Credit Suisse Group AG, Sam Bankman-Fried and Asia’s richest men were hunting for funds in recent months, they all turned to the same place — the Middle East.As many debt markets slammed shut last year, cash became king — and the region’s sovereign wealth funds have plenty. Surging energy prices left funds from Saudi Arabia to Qatar and Abu Dhabi managing more than $3.5 trillion, an amount that exceeds the UK’s GDP. They’re now bankrolling some of the world’s biggest rescue packages, investments and acquisitions — and show no signs of pulling back in 2023.Those ambitions are already on show early in the year. Mubadala Investment Co.’s First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, one of the Middle East’s biggest lenders, said it had explored a bid for Standard Chartered Plc, the British financial giant that’s worth more than $20 billion. That follows last year’s flurry of deal activity in the region. Saudi Arabia’s largest bank, partly owned by the kingdom’s sovereign fund, became Credit Suisse’s biggest shareholder. Bankman-Fried visited the United Arab Emirates in a last-ditch effort to secure funds before the spectacular collapse of his crypto exchange FTX.Meanwhile, Indian billionaire Gautam Adani — the richest person in Asia — has been courting Middle East sovereign wealth funds as he attempts to raise roughly $5 billion in equity across his sprawling business empire and reduce leverage, according to people familiar with the matter. Mukesh Ambani is also said to be approaching Middle Eastern funds seeking investment in his energy businesses.
Davos News: Saudi Aramco Sees Oil Demand Picking Up on China, Aviation Recovery - Bloomberg
The world’s biggest oil company is confident demand will pick up strongly this year as China reopens its economy and the aviation market recovers.
“We are very optimistic in terms of demand coming back to the market,” Saudi Aramco’s chief executive officer, Amin Nasser, said in an interview. “We are starting to see good signs coming out of China. Hopefully, in the next couple of months, we’ll see more of a pickup in the economy there.”
Demand for jet fuel is now around 1 million barrels a day below pre-pandemic levels, according to Nasser, roughly half the figure from a year ago. “It’s picking up,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Oil prices whipsawed in 2022. Brent crude surged to almost $130 a barrel in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but slumped in recent months as the Chinese, US and European economies slowed. It’s trading at about $86.80 a barrel, up 1% since the end of December.
Saudi bourse gains on rising oil prices, Qatar extends losses | Reuters
Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trade on Wednesday, tracking oil prices higher on optimism over China's recovery, although the Qatari index was on course to extend losses for a sixth session.
Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - rose around 1%, extending early gains on optimism that the lifting of China's strict COVID-19 curbs will lead to a recovery in fuel demand in the world's top oil importer.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) was up 0.2%, helped by a 1.2% rise in Saudi Arabian Mining Co (1211.SE).
China's economic growth slowed sharply to 3% in 2022, missing the official target of around 5.5% and marking its second-worst performance since 1976. But the data still beat analysts' forecasts after China started rolling back its zero-COVID policy in early December. Analysts polled by Reuters see 2023 growth rebounding to 4.9%.
OPEC said on Tuesday Chinese oil demand would rebound this year due to relaxation of the country's COVID-19 curbs and drive global growth, and sounded an optimistic note on the prospects for the world economy in 2023.
The Qatari index (.QSI) eased 0.1%, hit by a 3.3% slide in Commercial Bank (COMB.QA).
Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) dropped 0.2%, on track to end a four-session winning streak, with sharia-compliant lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU) losing more than 1%.
Among other losers, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) was down 0.3%.
Residential property prices in Dubai are expected to rise at a slower pace in 2023 after a record year that saw a more than 60% increase in total units sold, according to one of the city's biggest real estate consultancies.
