Thursday, 23 February 2023

Oil Trader Wellbred Plans Small-Scale Refinery in #SaudiArabia - Bloomberg

Oil Trader Wellbred Plans Small-Scale Refinery in Saudi Arabia - Bloomberg

Oil trader Wellbred Trading DMCC plans to build a refinery in Saudi Arabia to process waste chemicals into gasoline components and fuels for blending.

Rabigh Refining & Petrochemical Co. has signed a non-binding agreement to supply waste chemicals from its complex on the Red Sea coast for the trader to convert into energy products, Wellbred Chief Executive Officer Ghazi Abu Al-Saud said in an interview.

Wellbred currently trucks around 5,000 to 10,000 tons a month from that complex to a small refinery in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates for processing. It wants to divert those flows to the new Saudi facility to be built near Petro Rabigh’s complex, which would be able to process around 100,000 tons per year. Wellbred would therefore avoid having to transport the volumes a long distance.

The plans will require Saudi government approval and the refinery could be operating within two years, according to Wellbred. It will either finance the construction costs on its own or use some funding from other sources, Abu Al-Saud said.

Wellbred hired Nasser Al-Mahasher as chairman for its Saudi operations a year ago and intends to open an office in either Riyadh or the Eastern Province in the next couple of months, Abu Al-Saud said. Al-Mahasher was previously CEO of Petro Rabigh and worked for S-Oil Corp., a Korean refiner controlled by Saudi Aramco, according to Wellbred.

Petro Rabigh didn’t respond to requests for comment.

#Saudi property developer Dar Global to list in London on Feb. 28 | Reuters

Saudi property developer Dar Global to list in London on Feb. 28 | Reuters

Saudi property developer Dar Global said on Thursday it plans to directly list in London Stock Exchange's main market at a valuation of about $600 million.

Dar Global said it is expected to list its entire issued ordinary share capital on Feb. 28, adding that the listing was approved by Britain's Financial Conduct Authority.

Dar Global completed a private placement by issuing about 21 million shares at $3.33 per share to raise $72 million, the company said.

Major Gulf bourses drop on Fed's hawkish tone | Reuters

Major Gulf bourses drop on Fed's hawkish tone | Reuters


Major Gulf bourses closed lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious after the U.S. Federal Reserve's minutes from latest meeting reinforced a hawkish tone, although the Egyptian index bucked the trend.

Minutes from the latest Fed meeting on Wednesday showed that a majority of the policymakers agreed that the risks of high inflation warranted further rate hikes.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.

The benchmark index (.TASI) in Saudi Arabia dropped 1.1%, dragged down by losses in most sectors.

The world's largest Islamic bank by assets, Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), declined 2.6% and oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) slid 1.9% after J.P. Morgan cut its share target price to 39 riyals from 40 riyals.

Shares of Saudi Kayan Petrochemical (2350.SE) declined 1.9% after it reported full-year net loss of 1.24 bln riyals ($330.54 mln) compared with profit of 2.39 bln riyals a year ago.

Qatari Stock index (.QSI) dropped 1.8%, extending its losses to a third session. With steepest intraday decline since Jan. 17, the index witnessed losses in almost all sectors, led by financial and energy stocks.

The gulf region's largest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA) declined 2.1% and Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) plunged 9.6%, the sharpest intraday slide since March 2020 as the stock traded ex-dividend.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) fell 0.4%, extending its losses to a fourth session. The index was pulled down by a 1.1% drop in real estate developer Aldar Properties (ALDAR.AD) and a 2.3% slide in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB.AD).

Dubai's benchmark index (.DFMGI) dropped 0.4%, dragged down by losses in almost all sectors, with Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) declining 1.8% and Dubai's largest lender Emirates NBD (ENBD.DU) falling 1.8%.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) rose 1.4%, snapping its previous session losses.

The index was lifted by gains in most sectors, with Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA) rising 2.9% and Egypt Kuwait Holding (EKHO.CA) gaining 1.9%.

The Egypt-based investment holding company reported a rise in fourth-quarter net profit.

#Dubai’s Mashreq approves $490mln dividend after profit nearly quadruples

Dubai’s Mashreq approves $490mln dividend after profit nearly quadruples

The shareholders of Dubai’s Mashreq have approved a recommendation to distribute a cash dividend worth 1.8 billion UAE Dirhams ($490 million) for the financial year ended December 31, 2022

The lender is expected to pay 9 UAE Dirhams per share, representing 90% of Mashreq’s paid-up capital, according to a disclosure on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on Thursday.

Mashreq’s shareholders voted for the dividend proposal during their annual general assembly on Wednesday.

The bank, majority-owned by the UAE’s Al Ghurair family, reported a net profit of 3.7 billion UAE Dirhams for the full year of 2022, up by 270% from the previous year.

Net profit for the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 1.13 billion UAE Dirhams, nearly doubling the 737 million UAE Dirhams recorded a year earlier.

#Dubai Ruler’s Company in Talks to Sell Nikki Beach Resort - Bloomberg

Dubai Ruler’s Company in Talks to Sell Nikki Beach Resort - Bloomberg


Dubai Holding, an investment firm owned by the emirate’s ruler, is in talks to sell the local branch of Nikki Beach resort, according to people familiar with the matter, as the city cashes in on an influx of tourists and newcomers.

Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai, a luxurious beach club that includes 117 rooms, 15 ultra-deluxe villas and 63 private residences on the Pearl Jumeira waterfront development, is being valued at about 800 million dirhams ($218 million) in the discussions, the people said, asking not to be identified because the talks are private.

Nikki Beach is working with Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. on the potential sale and the property consultant is arranging talks with interested parties, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and there is no certainty a deal will go ahead, they said.

A representative for Dubai Holding wasn’t immediately available to comment. Representatives for Nikki Beach and JLL declined to comment.

Adnoc Gas $2 Billion IPO Covered in Hours as Buyers Pile In - Bloomberg

Adnoc Gas $2 Billion IPO Covered in Hours as Buyers Pile In - Bloomberg


Investors snapped up all available shares within hours of the start of Adnoc Gas’s $2 billion initial public offering, showing that demand for Middle Eastern stock sales remains strong.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. is selling a 4% stake in Adnoc Gas, with each of the 3.07 billion shares being offered at between 2.25 and 2.43 dirhams (66 cents). The company will be valued at $50.8 billion at the high end, making it one of the world’s largest listed gas firms and roughly on a par with Eni SpA and Occidental Petroleum Corp.

It will be the biggest IPO so far this year, even if priced at the bottom of the range.

The order book opened on Thursday morning and is now fully covered, according to a message sent to investors and seen by Bloomberg. Several funds, including Abu Dhabi state-linked entities, committed $850 million as cornerstone investors. Among them were also Alpha Dhabi and International Holding Co.

#Qatar posts 2022 budget surplus of $24.34 bln - state news agency | Reuters

Qatar posts 2022 budget surplus of $24.34 bln - state news agency | Reuters

Qatar had a budget surplus of 89 billion riyals ($24.34 billion) in 2022, the state news agency reported on Thursday, citing the finance ministry, a massive increase from 2021 as high oil and gas prices significantly boosted public revenue.

In 2021 the budget surplus was 1.59 billion, according to Moody's citing finance ministry figures.

For 2023, Qatar anticipates a budget surplus of 29 billion riyals, finance minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari was quoted as saying in December, which he attributed to an estimated 16.3% rise in revenue, thanks to rising average oil prices.

The Gulf Arab state, which hosted the soccer World Cup during the third quarter of 2022, is one of the world's largest exporters of natural gas and has benefited from huge windfalls from soaring global oil and gas prices.

Qatar's oil and gas revenues surged 67% in the first half of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021 and prices remained high for the balance of the year.

Gulf stocks fall after Fed minutes, #Qatar weighed by ex-dividend stocks | Reuters

Gulf stocks fall after Fed minutes, Qatar weighed by ex-dividend stocks | Reuters

Most major Gulf stock markets fell on Thursday, despite a small gain in oil prices, as minutes of the Federal Reserve's last meeting kept investors cautious about how much further U.S. interest rates could rise.

Minutes from the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting released overnight showed nearly all Federal Reserve policymakers rallied behind a decision to further slow the pace of interest rate hikes at the U.S. central bank's last policy meeting.

But they also indicated that curbing unacceptably high inflation would be the "key factor" in how much further rates need to rise.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) fell 0.7% with losses in almost all sectors. Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) dropped 1.2% while state oil giant and index heavyweight Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) lost more than 0.9% after JP Morgan cut its share target price to 39 riyals from 40 riyals.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical (2350.SE) fell more than 2% after reporting a 1.24 billion riyals ($330.54 million) loss in fiscal year 2022 against a profit of 2.39 billion riyals ($637.10 million) in 2021.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index (.FTFADGI) slipped 0.8%, led by a 1.3% slide in Alpha Dhabi (ALPHADHABI.AD).

Separately, state oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) said on Thursday it has set a price range for an initial public offering (IPO) of its gas unit that could raise up to $2 billion and give ADNOC Gas an equity valuation of $47 billion to $50.8 billion.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) lost 0.6%, dragged down by a 3.5%% decline in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU) and a 1.9% decrease in Dubai Islamic bank (DISB.DU).

The benchmark stock index (.QSI) in Qatar declined 1.4%, with almost all of its banking stocks in negative territory. Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) dived more than 8% as the stock was trading ex-dividend, while Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), the Gulf's largest lender, was down 1%.