Tuesday 18 July 2023

Adnoc Is Said to Boost Covestro Takeover Bid to €11 Billion - Bloomberg

Adnoc Is Said to Boost Covestro Takeover Bid to €11 Billion - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has increased its takeover offer for Covestro AG to about €11 billion ($12.4 billion) as it seeks to convince the German chemical producer to enter talks, people familiar with the matter said.

Adnoc’s latest proposal values Covestro at about €57 per share, up from its first informal bid of around €55, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The state-backed firm voiced confidence in Covestro’s strategy and management, according to the people.

Shares of Covestro jumped 5.6% in late Frankfurt trading to close at €50.30, the highest level since February 2022.

Last month, Leverkusen-based Covestro rejected Adnoc’s earlier proposal as too low, people familiar with the matter said at the time. Covestro also raised questions around Adnoc’s plans for its specialties operations.

Most Gulf bourses gain on dovish Fed bets; #Saudi eases | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses gain on dovish Fed bets; Saudi eases | Reuters


Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Tuesday on bets for an imminent end to U.S. interest rate hikes, although the Saudi index eased on volatile energy prices.

A cooler reading of U.S. consumer inflation was enough to convince investors that the Federal Reserve could deliver the final rate hike of its monetary policy cycle this month.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and generally follow the Fed, exposing the region to a direct impact from any U.S. monetary policy moves.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) gained 0.2%, trading at its highest since late 2015, led by a 1.1% rise in utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWAA.DU).

The Dubai bourse extended its uptrend thanks to the positive sentiment among traders overall. Strong local fundamentals continue to support the market and could help the main index continue to rise, said Daniel Takieddine, CEO MENA at BDSwiss.

"However, the market could remain exposed to some price correction due to the long series of gains if traders move to secure their gains."

In Abu Dhabi, the inndex (.FTFADGI) inched 0.1% higher.

The Qatari benchmark index (.QSI) added 0.3%, with Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) gaining 0.8%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) eased 0.1% in a choppy trade, hit by a 2% slide in Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Services (4013.SE).

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - were little changed as investors weighed a possible tightening of U.S. crude supplies against weaker-than-expected Chinese economic growth.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) climbed 0.5%, as most of the stocks on the index were in positive territory including Fawry For Banking Technology and Electronoc Payment (FWRY.CA), which gained 1.6%.

#AbuDhabi's Masdar set to raise $750mln with green bonds

Abu Dhabi's Masdar set to raise $750mln with green bonds

Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is set to raise $750 million from a debut sale of green bonds that fetched over $4.2 billion in demand, a bank document showed on Tuesday.

The bonds launched at a spread of 115 basis points (bps) over U.S. Treasuries from initial guidance of around 150 bps over the same benchmark, the document from one of the arranging banks showed.

Issuers in the hydrocarbon-rich Gulf have increasingly looked to burnish their environmental credentials by issuing green bonds or other sustainability-linked debt. The UAE will host the COP28 climate summit in November.

Sultan al-Jaber, head of state oil giant ADNOC, will lead the U.N. climate conference, which has drawn criticism. He also chairs Masdar and was its founding CEO.

Debt sales in the region restarted last week after about a month-long lull that began after Commercial Bank of Dubai sold green bonds, with Dubai developer Sobha Realty opening the way with a $300 million sukuk offering.

Two Abu Dhabi banks then followed, raising a total of $1.25 billion from the sale of conventional and Islamic bonds.

Saudi Arabia's Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co was set to raise $600 million with sukuk on Tuesday and Saudi food and beverage firm Almarai is also in the market with dollar sukuk.

#Saudi Aramco VC Fund Joins Thiel to Back AI-Powered Emissions Monitor Tenderd - Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco VC Fund Joins Thiel to Back AI-Powered Emissions Monitor Tenderd - Bloomberg

Saudi Aramco’s venture capital arm has invested in Tenderd, a United Arab Emirates-based firm backed by Peter Thiel, which uses AI-generated insights to monitor and help reduce emissions.

Aramco’s $500 million venture fund, Wa’ed Ventures, didn’t disclose how much it invested in the startup.

Wa’ed targets technologies that can bring new business to Saudi Arabia, which means Tenderd’s technology could be end up being used by Aramco as it looks to reduce its environmental impact and hit a target of net zero emissions from its operations by 2050.

Thiel, one of the biggest names in tech investing, backed a $5.8 million seed funding round for Tenderd in 2019.

“With Wa’ed Ventures investment, we will be able to evolve industrial operations and lead the charge towards a greener, more sustainable future” Tenderd Chief Executive Officer Arjun Mohan said in the statement.

QatarEnergy's 2022 net profit jumped to $42.4bln as energy prices soared

QatarEnergy's 2022 net profit jumped to $42.4bln as energy prices soared

State-owned QatarEnergy said its full-year 2022 net profit rose 58% to 154.6 billion Qatari riyals ($42.5 billion), compared to QAR 97.9 billion in 2021, state news agency QNA reported on Tuesday without giving details.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) prices surged following Russia'a invasion of Ukraine last year and Qatar, as the world's top LNG exporter, was a key beneficiary alongside the US. The company's North Field Expansion Project is part of efforts to increase LNG production capacity from 77 million tons per annum (Mtpa) to 126 Mtpa by 2027.

The Qatari Minister of Energy Saad al-Kaabi said at a conference last week that about 40% of all the new LNG that will come to the market by 2029 will be from Qatar due to its expansion project, which expects to deliver the first shipments in 2026.

#Saudi bourse hits nine-month high; #Qatar eases | Reuters

Saudi bourse hits nine-month high; Qatar eases | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's stock market rose in early trade on Tuesday hitting its highest in nearly nine months on bets for an imminent end to U.S. interest rate hikes, while the Qatari bourse eased.

A cooler reading of U.S. consumer inflation was enough to convince investors that the Federal Reserve could deliver the final rate hike of its monetary policy cycle this month.

Most Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have their currencies pegged to the U.S. dollar and generally follow the Fed, exposing the region to a direct impact from any U.S. monetary policy moves.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) gained 0.3%, hitting its highest since late-October, led by a 3.1% rise in Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) and a 2.5% increase in Alinma Bank (1150.SE).

Separately, the kingdom agreed on Tuesday to buy Turkish drones, one of several lucrative contracts President Tayyip Erdogan secured for Turkey's struggling economy as Ankara reaps the benefits of his recent diplomatic push to repair ties with Gulf Arab powers.

The two countries also inked several memorandums of understanding in different sectors including energy, real estate and direct investments, SPA said.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) - which is trading at an eight-year high - advanced 0.4%.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) was flat.

Japan's Itochu (8001.T) said on Tuesday it has teamed up with JFE Steel Corp, Emirates Steel Arkan (EMSTEEL.AD) and Abu Dhabi Ports Group (ADPORTS.AD) for a low-carbon iron supply chain, as Japan and the United Arab Emirates are pursuing green goals.

Shares of Emirates Steel Arkan and Abu Dhabi Ports Co retreated 0.6% each.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) eased 0.1%, on track to snap four sessions of gains, with Islamic lender Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA) losing 1%.