UK sanctions oil trader Paramount and others over Russia ties #Dubai #UAE

UK sanctions oil trader Paramount and others over Russia ties

The UK government has imposed sanctions on Dubai-based oil trader Paramount Energy & Commodities DMCC as part of a swath of actions against companies and individuals accused of supporting Russia’s gold, oil and finance industries. 

The sanctions, which target 29 people and entities including several based in the United Arab Emirates, “will hit those who provided succour to [Vladimir] Putin by helping him to lessen the impact of our [existing] sanctions on Russian gold and oil”, said UK foreign secretary James Cleverly. 

The Financial Times reported in March that Swiss-based Paramount Energy & Commodities SA, founded by veteran Dutch trader Niels Troost, had transferred its Russian oil trading activity to a subsidiary in the UAE called Paramount DMCC. 

Troost, who has not been targeted by UK sanctions, has long maintained that western restrictions on the trade in Russian oil — introduced in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year — do not apply to Paramount DMCC because it is a separate legal entity from its Swiss parent company and is incorporated outside the G7.

#SaudiArabia’s Next Act Is Supplying the World With EV Batteries - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Next Act Is Supplying the World With EV Batteries - Bloomberg

The world’s biggest oil producer is now also aiming to become a key hub for making batteries for electric vehicles, as Saudi authorities look for new ways to diversify the economy and develop a domestic auto industry.

Saudi Arabia is looking at investing in the production of EV batteries and manufacturing hydrogen-powered vehicles as the next step in its plans to build a nexus for carmaking in the Middle East, Khalid Al-Falih, the minister of investment, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

“What’s next is the supply chain,” Falih said Wednesday during the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. Authorities “hope that EV batteries will be a key supply chain manufacturing opportunity.”

Seven years into Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s program to wean the country off hydrocarbons, focus is increasing on manufacturing after scant progress in diversifying an economy that still relies on oil and its close derivatives — petrochemicals and plastics — for more than 90% of its exports.

#Dubai Real Estate: Home Sales Zoom Past 2022’s Record in 10 Months - Bloomberg

Dubai Real Estate: Home Sales Zoom Past 2022’s Record in 10 Months - Bloomberg

A property boom in Dubai that pushed the number of residential transactions to a record high last year has continued into 2023, with sales surpassing those levels in the first 10 months of this year.

The Middle East’s tourism and financial hub recorded 93,590 transactions through to the end of October, surpassing 92,178 in all of 2022, according to CBRE Group Inc. Still, the number of sales slowed in October, falling 23.6% from a year earlier as developers offered fewer new off-plan projects.

“Demand hasn’t weakened even as monthly transactions have started to slow because fewer new projects are being started,” Taimur Khan, CBRE’s head of research, said in an interview. “The absorption that we have seen within the off-plan segment of the market has been almost unprecedented.”

Dubai’s property market has broken a decade-long record for total home sales and seen rents jump to unprecedented levels. That rebound from a seven-year slump has been fueled by an influx of foreigners — from crypto millionaires and bankers relocating from Asia to wealthy Russians seeking to shield assets. The government also relaxed visa laws and introduced permits for job seekers and freelancers.

Off-Plan Demand
Off-plan developments have seen a surge in demand since 2022, with 90% of all homes in prime and core locations already sold. Just over 67% of such properties across the city have also garnered buyers, according to CBRE.

Such properties are popular in Dubai as they allow buyers to enter the market at lower prices compared to existing homes. Most developers tend to complete projects within a two-to-three year period.

Last week, about 800 homes in a new Dubai residential development sold out within hours generating $844 million for the firms backing the project, which includes Abu Dhabi’s main developer Aldar Properties PJSC. Construction of the first phase of the development is due to begin in the second quarter of 2024.

Meanwhile, average home prices climbed 19.1% in the year through October, slowing from a month earlier. The rate of increase for rents is also slowing, rising 19.7% in October, slightly lower than the 20.6% growth registered a month earlier, according to the real estate adviser.

#Saudi wealth fund raises stake in carmaker Aston Martin | Reuters

Saudi wealth fund raises stake in carmaker Aston Martin | Reuters

Aston Martin (AML.L) said on Wednesday Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) had raised its stake in the British luxury carmaker by 2.6% to 20.5%, gaining the second spot in the shareholder list.

PIF is the third largest stakeholder in the Gaydon-based company, according to LSEG data.

Most Gulf markets retreat as spotlight turns to Fed chief | Reuters

Most Gulf markets retreat as spotlight turns to Fed chief | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday as traders waited to see if U.S. Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell will push back against rate-cut talk when he speaks later in the day.

Financial markets reckon the Fed is now done with its most aggressive monetary tightening cycle in decades, and investors have ramped up bets for rate cuts next year since Friday's key U.S. jobs data showed some signs of slowing.

Powell speaks on Wednesday and Thursday.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by Fed decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI) eased 0.2%, with Arabian Internet and Communications Services (7202.SE) losing 2.4% and Saudi National Bank (1180.SE) falling 1.4%.

The Saudi stock market continued to trade in a range over the last couple of days after recovering to a certain extent, said George Pavel, General Manager at Capex.com Middle East.

"The direction in oil markets as well as crude production cuts could continue to weigh on sentiment."

Oil prices - a key catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - remained under pressure after sliding to their lowest in more than three months in the previous session, slipping further on concern over waning demand in the United States and China.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) dropped 0.6%, weighed down by a 2% drop in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

The Dubai bourse recorded some price corrections after a series of gains, said Pavel.

"Traders could continue to monitor developments around monetary policy in the U.S. as well as geopolitical tensions in the region which could fuel some volatility."

At least 10,569 Palestinians including 4,324 children, have been killed and 26,457 wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza since Oct. 7, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said on Wednesday.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) closed 0.1% lower.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30) advanced 2.5%, hitting its highest, with Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA) jumping 6.9%.

Egyptian inflation is expected to retreat in October from a record high of 38% in September as food price rises moderate, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, but Egypt's battle with inflation seems far from over, analysts say.

Insurers review Middle East events coverage after cancellations | Reuters

Insurers review Middle East events coverage after cancellations | Reuters

Some insurers are excluding Israel, Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries from their event cancellation policies after the Israel-Hamas war resulted in some activities being pulled.

European Aquatics last week called off the continental water polo championships, which was scheduled to take place in Israel in January, because of the ongoing conflict.

"Insurers in the cancellation contingency space are beginning to err on the side of caution," said Edel Ryan, a senior executive at broker Marsh.

Organisers of large events often buy cancellation insurance one to two years in advance. Such policies typically exclude war or terror attacks. Many organisers choose to buy that cover through an add-on political violence and terrorism policy.

"Some (insurers) have stated that they will not be looking at writing new business in certain territories or are having very clear specific exclusions around those territories, particularly in the Middle East -- but of course Israel and Lebanon were quoted," Ryan said.

Fear of Missing Out Grips Airlines as Deal Frenzy Comes to #Dubai - Bloomberg

Fear of Missing Out Grips Airlines as Deal Frenzy Comes to Dubai - Bloomberg

Never before have airlines placed such outsize orders as they did this year, breaking one record after another.

Indian airlines alone made close to 1,000 purchases, but the action was spread across the industry. From Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings Plc to newcomer Riyadh Air and stalwarts like United Airlines Holdings Inc., buyers from around the globe raced to get their hands on as many planes as they could before delivery slots run out.

There’s more to come. The Dubai Air Show kicks off next week, promising to send 2023 off with a flurry of orders for Airbus SE and Boeing Co. The planemaking duopoly has already racked up commitments that stand at the highest since 2014 as they head into the biennial event, where some of aviation’s biggest deals have been signed in the past.

Local champion Emirates is set to make the biggest splash, with President Tim Clark saying he’s in the market for more widebody jets. Back in June, Clark said he’d order as many as 100 to 150 aircraft, looking at both Airbus and Boeing’s largest models.

Hedge Fund Trader Sanjay Shah Loses Last Fight to Kick Out UK Cum-Ex Case - Bloomberg

Hedge Fund Trader Sanjay Shah Loses Last Fight to Kick Out UK Cum-Ex Case - Bloomberg

Hedge Fund trader Sanjay Shah lost a last-ditch attempt at the UK’s top court to stop a £1.44 billion ($1.8 billion) trial with Danish tax officials over Cum-Ex tax dividend trades going ahead in London.

The UK’s Supreme Court rejected Shah’s lawyers claims that the country was not the proper place for tax agency Skatteforvaltningen to bring its claim over the trading strategy that siphoned off billions of government revenue.

Shah had previously won the argument at a lower court but the court of appeal had sided with Skat. The civil trial, which also involves scores of other traders, is scheduled ahead in April and is set to last one year — one of the longest in the court’s history.

Shah’s lawyers had argued the claim shouldn’t take place in the UK because matters of foreign tax law cannot be ruled on here. However “the applications for refunds were all based on a lie that the applicants had paid tax in the first place which, on the respondent’s pleaded case, they had not,” Judge David Lloyd Jones said in a ruling handed down Wednesday.

Shah, founder of Solo Capital Partners LLP, has emerged as a key figure in the scandal over alleged tax fraud that has engulfed multiple European countries. Dozens of bankers, traders and lawyers have been charged in Denmark and Germany over the use of Cum-Ex trades to obtain millions of euros worth of duplicate tax refunds.

The decision is further blow to Shah’s fortunes who is currently in a Dubai waiting to be extradited from the United Arab Emirates to Denmark. Shah’s Danish criminal trial has been postponed while his extradition is organized and also faces a trial in Germany. Shah has consistently maintained his innocence.

Spokespeople for Shah and Skat didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Watch Investment in #SaudiArabia Still Strong, Minister Says - Bloomberg video

Watch Investment in Saudi Arabia Still Strong, Minister Says - Bloomberg

Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al Falih said despite the crisis in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is still the best destination to invest. The minister spoke with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua at the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore. (Source: Bloomberg)

Most major Gulf markets track Asian shares lower | Reuters

Most major Gulf markets track Asian shares lower | Reuters

Most major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trade on Wednesday tracking Asian shares lower as markets weighed the possibility of another U.S. interest rate hike while waiting on comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later in the day.

Expectations have been building in recent days that U.S. policy rates have peaked and cuts could begin as early as May, following a softening in key monthly jobs data at the end of last week and a tempering in the Fed's hawkish stance. However, investors remain sensitive to the possibility of more hikes amid guarded remarks from central bank officials.

Monetary policy in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is usually guided by Fed decisions as most regional currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI) dropped 0.3%, dragged down by a 0.7% fall in petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA) and a 0.6% decrease in Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA).

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI) retreated 0.5%, weighed down by a 1.3% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU).

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI) fell 0.2%, with conglomerate International Holding (IHC.AD) retreating 0.2%, after reporting fall in quarterly profit.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), however, gained 3%, led by a 3.1% gain in Lumi Rental Co (4262.SE).

However, oil giant Saudi Aramco (2222.SE) slipped 0.5%.

Oil prices - which fuel the Gulf's economy - struggled after sliding to their lowest levels in over three months in the previous session on concerns of waning demand in the world's top oil consumers, the United States and China.