#Dubai decides to hear long delayed $600mn #Abraaj case against KPMG | Financial Times

Dubai decides to hear long delayed $600mn Abraaj case against KPMG | Financial Times

The courts of Dubai’s financial centre have decided to hear a long-delayed $600mn claim against KPMG made by the administrators of collapsed private equity firm Abraaj. 

The case has been stuck in legal limbo since March 2021, when Abraaj first claimed $600mn in damages for alleged lapses in KPMG’s audit work. 

In April 2021, KPMG brought a competing claim against Abraaj in Dubai’s onshore courts. The two sets of proceedings were referred to the Joint Judicial Committee, a legal body that adjudicates on jurisdiction between the local, Arabic-language courts and the common-law, English-language courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre. 

Both parties then agreed a stay on DIFC proceedings in January 2022. But the JJC, which has yet to provide its ruling on the KPMG case, has not published a decision since March 2021. 

In an online hearing, the DIFC courts’ Justice Wayne Martin last week lifted the stay on the proceedings before the DIFC courts, despite objections from KPMG’s legal team. 

“This court can exercise its jurisdiction and, given the inordinate delay [in the JJC ruling], it is very strongly in the interest of justice for this court to do so,” he said.

Most Gulf markets gain on rising oil prices; #Saudi falls | Reuters

Most Gulf markets gain on rising oil prices; Saudi falls | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Sunday in response to Friday's rise in oil prices, although the Saudi index bucked the trend to close lower.

Oil prices gained almost 1% to a nine-month high on Friday on rising U.S. diesel futures and worries about tight oil supplies after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended supply cuts earlier in the week.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI) gained 1.1%, with most stocks on the index in positive territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) which advanced 3.5%.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) dropped 0.6%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE) losing 0.9% and a 1.7% decrease in Alinma Bank (1150.SE).

The International Monetary Fund expects GDP growth in Saudi Arabia to slow further from the current 1.9% forecast to reflect the latest extension of oil production cuts, an agency official said, even as non-oil growth is seen remaining strong.

The world's top oil exporter is also projected to swing to a fiscal deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 2023, from a surplus of 2.5% in 2022, the IMF said in its latest Article IV report.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) climbed 1%, hitting an all-time high, buoyed by a 4.7% jump in tobacco monopoly Easter Company (EAST.CA).

Egypt's net foreign reserves reached $34.928 billion in August from $34.879 billion in July, the central bank said on Thursday.

#UAE boosts trade with #Iran after eased restrictions on business activity | Financial Times

UAE boosts trade with Iran after eased restrictions on business activity | Financial Times

Trade between Iran and the United Arab Emirates has surged as the Gulf’s commercial capital eased restrictions on business activity between the two neighbours, business people and officials say. 

Executives said the UAE has in recent months rolled back limits on corporate registrations and the issuance of visas to companies from Iran, which remains subject to tough US sanctions. Iranian financiers are also exploring how to enhance bilateral trade by creating financial mechanisms to fund legitimate transactions, they added. 

Flourishing trade relations between Iran and the UAE, the traditional centre for re-exports into the Islamic republic, forms part of the Gulf state’s pivot towards regional de-escalation and a focus on business. This comes after a decade of muscular interventionism in the wake of the Arab spring uprisings of 2011. 

“UAE foreign policy seems to have shifted toward one that is primarily driven by economic statecraft,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in the US, while adding that current and future sanctions on Iran would temper this growth. 

UAE diplomatic outreach to Iran since 2019, in response to attacks on international shipping around the Gulf, has been strengthened by the China-brokered breakthrough this year that re-established relations between the Islamic republic and its traditional foe Saudi Arabia. This has helped to ease a decade of cold war-style tensions between the rival Gulf powers.

Australia Acting PM Wasn’t Consulted on Decision Over #Qatar Air - Bloomberg

Australia Acting PM Wasn’t Consulted on Decision Over Qatar Air - Bloomberg

Australia’s transport minister blocked a request from Qatar Airways to operate more flights into the country without consulting Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Marles, who was standing in for the prime minister when the decision was made in July, said in an interview with Sky News on Sunday that the call was “within the purview” of Transport Minister Catherine King.

“She makes the decision on any specific application,” Marles said, adding that “we want to see greater access into the Australian market.”

The refusal of the Qatar request has come under intense political scrutiny. Australia’s aviation market is highly consolidated and public anger toward Qantas Airways Ltd., which controls about 61% of the domestic market, has been growing for months. Outrage over fake-ticket allegations, exorbitant fares and canceled flights culminated in the airline’s chief executive officer, Alan Joyce, stepping down on Tuesday, two months earlier than expected.

Traveler rage reached its peak in July last year, when Joyce’s Sydney home was pelted with eggs and toilet paper.

#UAE President attends G20 Summit in India

UAE President attends G20 Summit in India

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today participated today in the 18th Group of 20 (G20) Heads of State and Government Summit held in New Delhi, India. Chaired by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, the G20 Summit brought together G20 world leaders, European Union officials, representatives of international organisations and UN bodies, and country delegations to discuss key global issues and opportunities for joint action.

The summit’s opening session, titled "One Earth", addressed the international community’s collective responsibility in protecting the planet and its natural resources, affirming that the world must cooperate to advance climate action.

His Highness the President was received at the summit venue by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wherein photos were taken with the host.

His Highness expressed his appreciation for the Republic of India’s organisation and hosting of the summit, commending the Indian G20 Presidency’s successful convening of the G20 process.

Oil cut extension raises risk of #Saudi economic contraction this year | Reuters

Oil cut extension raises risk of Saudi economic contraction this year | Reuters

Saudi Arabia faces the risk of an economic contraction this year following its decision to extend crude production cuts, highlighting its still heavy reliance on oil as reforms to diversify are slow moving.

Riyadh says it aims to stabilise the oil market by extending a voluntary oil output cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of 2023. Its announcement on Tuesday sent oil prices above $90 for the first time this year, but they are below average prices of around $100 a barrel last year in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Declining oil production and revenue this year could see Saudi Arabia's economy shrink for the first time since 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, although a hefty dividend from state oil producer Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) should provide a cushion for public finances.

Cutting oil output for another three months, on top of production cuts earlier in the year, translates into a 9% fall in production in 2023 - the biggest production drop in nearly 15 years for OPEC's de facto leader - said analyst Justin Alexander at Khalij Economics.

PIF-Backed Driller, Holders Seek up to $1.2 Billion in #Saudi IPO - Bloomberg

PIF-Backed Driller, Holders Seek up to $1.2 Billion in Saudi IPO - Bloomberg

ADES Holding Co. and its main shareholders, which include Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, are seeking to raise as much 4.6 billion riyals ($1.2 billion) in its initial public offering that’s set to be the kingdom’s largest this year.

The price range has been set at 12.5 riyals to 13.5 riyals a share, valuing the company at as much as 15.2 billion riyals, according to a statement. The oil and gas driller is selling 237.1 million new shares in the offering, while the Public Investment Fund, ADES Investments Holding Ltd. and Zamil Group Investment Ltd. are selling about 101.6 million shares. The total stake being offered is 30% of the company.

Book-building for institutional investors runs until Thursday, while retail buyers will be able to place orders from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28. The final offer price is due to be announced on Sept. 20.

The PIF teamed up with the major owners of then London-listed ADES to take the business private in 2021, in a deal valuing the company at about $516 million. ADES, which provides oil and gas drilling and production services in the Middle East and North Africa, has since grown through acquisitions.

It has a fleet of 85 rigs and operations across seven countries, including India where three rigs will be operating this year, according to its website. Its major clients include Saudi oil giant Aramco, Kuwait Oil Company and North Oil Company in Qatar, which account for over 95% of ADES’ backlog as of the end of last year, its prospectus shows.