Sheikh Tahnoon’s IHC reports another year of stellar growth | Financial Times #AbuDhabi #UAE

Sheikh Tahnoon’s IHC reports another year of stellar growth | Financial Times

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company grew net profit by 181 per cent in 2022 as the listed vehicle controlled by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan reported another year of exceptional growth. 

Profit at the rapidly growing conglomerate grew from Dh11.6bn ($3.2bn) in 2021 to Dh32.6bn last year, thanks to what the company described as subsidiaries’ performance and global acquisitions. 

IHC’s fortunes in recent years have perplexed bankers owing to its meteoric rise under Sheikh Tahnoon, the national security adviser of the United Arab Emirates, who became chair of the conglomerate in 2020. 

IHC’s results come as Sheikh Tahnoon, who also chairs Abu Dhabi’s state holding company ADQ and the country’s largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank, was this week elevated as chair of the $790bn Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Oil prices set for 5% weekly drop on U.S. rate hike jitters | Reuters

Oil prices set for 5% weekly drop on U.S. rate hike jitters | Reuters

Oil fell for a fourth session on Friday, heading for its biggest weekly loss in five weeks on worries about the prospect of steep interest rate hikes in the United States hitting fuel demand.

Brent dipped 63 cents, or 0.8%, to $80.96 a barrel by 1140 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) was down 69 cents, or 0.9%, at $75.03.

Expectations of further rate hikes in the world's largest economy and in Europe have clouded the global growth outlook and driven both crude benchmarks down more than 5% so far this week, their worst drop since early February.

Mideast Stocks: United Arab Emirates markets mirror losses in crude prices #UAE

Mideast Stocks: United Arab Emirates markets mirror losses in crude prices

Stock markets in United Arab Emirates closed lower for a fourth straight session on Friday, mirroring losses in crude prices on worries that a tighter monetary policy will affect fuel demand.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has warned of higher and potentially faster rate hikes, saying the Fed was wrong in initially thinking inflation was "transitory".

Oil prices — a key contributor to Gulf economies — extended losses to the fourth session, with Brent dipping 24 cents, or 0.29%, to $81.38 a barrel by 1102 GMT. Most Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including UAE, have their currencies pegged to the dollar, thus making them directly exposed to any monetary changes in the world's largest economy.

Dubai's main market index dropped 0.7%, dragged by heavy losses in heavyweight real estate and financial sectors stocks. Dubai Commercial Bank, the biggest loser in the index, plunged 11.8% as the stock was trading ex-dividend. Business park operator Tecom Group slipped 2.9%.

Separately, UAE-based exchange house Al Ansari Financial Services said on Thursday it plans to float 10% of the company on the Dubai Financial Market through an initial public offering (IPO).

In Abu Dhabi, the index fell 0.3%, with investment firm Multiply Group dropping 2.1%. Conglomerate Alpha Dhabi Holding lost 0.4%.

The Abu Dhabi stock market could continue to see some price corrections amid declining crude prices and deteriorating global sentiments, said Farah Mourad, senior market analyst at XTB MENA.