Dubai’s investment arm ICD posts $7.7bln net profit on tourism boom, high interest rates
Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the main investment arm of the Dubai government, nearly doubled its net profit during the first half of the year as the local economy continued its growth momentum.
The company reported on Thursday a net profit of 28.3 billion dirhams ($7.7 billion), up by 91% from a year earlier. The record earnings were propped up by strong revenues in key business segments that have benefited from the expansion in travel and tourism, as well as high interest rates and strong lending.
Total revenues reached AED145.1 billion, up by 20%, said the company, whose portfolio includes various free zones, as well as top brands such as Emaar, Emirates, dnata, flydubai and Emirates NBD, among many others.
“[The growth in revenues was] due to the significant rise in travel and tourism activities reflected in the transportation and other segments, and a jump in banking and financial services revenues on higher interest rates and strong lending growth,” the company said.
“Overall, revenues increased faster than operational costs, boosting margins.”
Assets grew 6.5% to approximately AED1.3 trillion, primarily driven by the expansion in banking assets.
Liabilities rose to AED974.5 billion on much higher banking customer deposits, while non-banking borrowings and lease liabilities fell by 5.7%. The group’s share of equity went up by 4.2% to AED225.7 billion.
“The Group clearly benefited from the strong economic momentum the emirate is experiencing,” said Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, Managing Director, ICD.
The Dubai economy grew by 3.6% to AED223.8 billion in the first half of the year, driven by strong growth in transportation, wholesale and retail trade, financial and insurance, accommodation and food services, real estate, information and communication and manufacturing.
Friday 24 November 2023
#SaudiArabia: Syndicated Loan Raises $11 Billion to Help Fund Budget Deficit - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia: Syndicated Loan Raises $11 Billion to Help Fund Budget Deficit - Bloomberg
Saudi Arabia raised $11 billion through a syndicated loan, the biggest globally by a government this year, as it looks to finance a budget deficit amid weaker oil revenues.
The 10-year loan was funded by roughly 18 banks, including a handful of branches affiliated with the same parent lender, according to people familiar with the matter. Chinese banks committed roughly $5 billion, the people said.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Finance didn’t respond to requests to comment.
Saudi Arabia revised its financial outlook, forecasting deficits from 2023 until at least 2026, according to a medium term budget projection published in October. The deficit comes amid weaker-than-expected oil prices, lower production from May and rising government spending as the kingdom pours hundreds of billions of dollars into a diversification drive championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and dubbed Vision 2030.
Saudi Arabia raised $11 billion through a syndicated loan, the biggest globally by a government this year, as it looks to finance a budget deficit amid weaker oil revenues.
The 10-year loan was funded by roughly 18 banks, including a handful of branches affiliated with the same parent lender, according to people familiar with the matter. Chinese banks committed roughly $5 billion, the people said.
A spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Finance didn’t respond to requests to comment.
Saudi Arabia revised its financial outlook, forecasting deficits from 2023 until at least 2026, according to a medium term budget projection published in October. The deficit comes amid weaker-than-expected oil prices, lower production from May and rising government spending as the kingdom pours hundreds of billions of dollars into a diversification drive championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and dubbed Vision 2030.
Turkey: Simsek Sees ADQ Bond Sale By End of 2024 - Bloomberg
Turkey: Simsek Sees ADQ Bond Sale By End of 2024 - Bloomberg
Turkey is nearing its inaugural bond sale to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund by the end of this year, a milestone for Turkish policymakers trying to regain foreign investor confidence after years of mistrust.
The government will likely offer 10-year bonds in tranches to ADQ, owned by the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates, Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek told Bloomberg on Thursday.
The expected transaction marks the beginning of what’s likely to be the biggest flow of capital into Turkey’s $1 trillion economy from the Middle East petrostates. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have both expressed interest in investing, following a policy makeover that’s brought Turkey’s era of cheap money to an end under Simsek, who was appointed in June. At the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan boosted ties with regional heavyweights and led the outreach to oil producers.
“We don’t have to spend it immediately,” Simsek said of the likely proceeds from the expected sale. “Therefore, we may benefit from this opportunity partially before the end of this year.”
Simsek’s comments boosted the nation’s equities and domestic debt. The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 index rose as much as 1.2%, led by a 2% surge in the banking index. The yield on two-year lira notes fell from an intraday high of 41.6% to 41.17% as of 4:55 p.m. in Istanbul, though it was still six basis points higher than Thursday’s close.
The ADQ funds will be used to finance reconstruction efforts in Turkey’s southeastern provinces that were struck by two powerful earthquakes in February.
Turkey is nearing its inaugural bond sale to an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund by the end of this year, a milestone for Turkish policymakers trying to regain foreign investor confidence after years of mistrust.
The government will likely offer 10-year bonds in tranches to ADQ, owned by the oil-rich capital of the United Arab Emirates, Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek told Bloomberg on Thursday.
The expected transaction marks the beginning of what’s likely to be the biggest flow of capital into Turkey’s $1 trillion economy from the Middle East petrostates. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have both expressed interest in investing, following a policy makeover that’s brought Turkey’s era of cheap money to an end under Simsek, who was appointed in June. At the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan boosted ties with regional heavyweights and led the outreach to oil producers.
“We don’t have to spend it immediately,” Simsek said of the likely proceeds from the expected sale. “Therefore, we may benefit from this opportunity partially before the end of this year.”
Simsek’s comments boosted the nation’s equities and domestic debt. The benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 index rose as much as 1.2%, led by a 2% surge in the banking index. The yield on two-year lira notes fell from an intraday high of 41.6% to 41.17% as of 4:55 p.m. in Istanbul, though it was still six basis points higher than Thursday’s close.
The ADQ funds will be used to finance reconstruction efforts in Turkey’s southeastern provinces that were struck by two powerful earthquakes in February.
COP28 President's Renewable Firm Masdar Isn't The Giant It Claims - Bloomberg
COP28 President's Renewable Firm Masdar Isn't The Giant It Claims - Bloomberg
As world leaders descend on Dubai for this year’s biggest climate conference COP28, the United Arab Emirates is pushing for a global commitment to triple renewable energy deployment by the end of the decade. It will also showcase its own investments in solar and wind power.
But a closer look at the numbers shows the UAE’s homegrown renewables champion isn’t the giant it claims — at least not yet.
The UAE was among the first of the Middle East’s major oil exporters to start thinking about the end of fossil fuels. In 2006, it founded Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) under the management of Sultan Al Jaber, who’s now president of COP28. (He also remains Masdar chairman and chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.)
Masdar, which operates renewable projects in the US and the UK as well as the UAE, now claims it has “more than 20 gigawatts of total clean energy production capacity” and that it is “one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies.”
As world leaders descend on Dubai for this year’s biggest climate conference COP28, the United Arab Emirates is pushing for a global commitment to triple renewable energy deployment by the end of the decade. It will also showcase its own investments in solar and wind power.
But a closer look at the numbers shows the UAE’s homegrown renewables champion isn’t the giant it claims — at least not yet.
The UAE was among the first of the Middle East’s major oil exporters to start thinking about the end of fossil fuels. In 2006, it founded Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) under the management of Sultan Al Jaber, who’s now president of COP28. (He also remains Masdar chairman and chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.)
Masdar, which operates renewable projects in the US and the UK as well as the UAE, now claims it has “more than 20 gigawatts of total clean energy production capacity” and that it is “one of the world’s largest renewable energy companies.”
Mideast Wealth Funds Draw US Scrutiny Over China Ties - Bloomberg
Mideast Wealth Funds Draw US Scrutiny Over China Ties - Bloomberg
Middle Eastern wealth funds are facing greater scrutiny on US deals from the Biden administration, part of a broader pushback on entities perceived to have close ties with Beijing, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is reviewing several multibillion dollar deals this year on concerns they could pose national security risks, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. Officials in President Joe Biden’s cabinet are currently reviewing more than half a dozen acquisitions, including deals from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Co. and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, they said.
While the US remains a preferred investment destination for the region’s largest wealth funds, China has emerged as an increasingly attractive jurisdiction. The value of acquisitions and investments by Gulf funds into the Asian country has climbed to $2.3 billion in 2023 from about $100 million last year, according to boutique adviser Global SWF. That coincides with Beijing’s push to bolster political ties in the region since President Xi Jinping’s December visit to Riyadh.
“An area where we’re starting to see increased sensitivity is with the Gulf states,” Stephenie Gosnell Handler, a Washington-based partner at Gibson Dunn, said on a webinar last month. “We have been seeing CFIUS start to ask more questions.”
Middle Eastern wealth funds are facing greater scrutiny on US deals from the Biden administration, part of a broader pushback on entities perceived to have close ties with Beijing, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is reviewing several multibillion dollar deals this year on concerns they could pose national security risks, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. Officials in President Joe Biden’s cabinet are currently reviewing more than half a dozen acquisitions, including deals from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Co. and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, they said.
While the US remains a preferred investment destination for the region’s largest wealth funds, China has emerged as an increasingly attractive jurisdiction. The value of acquisitions and investments by Gulf funds into the Asian country has climbed to $2.3 billion in 2023 from about $100 million last year, according to boutique adviser Global SWF. That coincides with Beijing’s push to bolster political ties in the region since President Xi Jinping’s December visit to Riyadh.
“An area where we’re starting to see increased sensitivity is with the Gulf states,” Stephenie Gosnell Handler, a Washington-based partner at Gibson Dunn, said on a webinar last month. “We have been seeing CFIUS start to ask more questions.”
Sheikh Mohammed: #Qatar’s hostage negotiator is no stranger to crisis
Sheikh Mohammed: Qatar’s hostage negotiator is no stranger to crisis
Just hours after Hamas’s devastating dawn assault on southern Israel, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was preparing for action. He established a task force and a working group to co-ordinate with Washington — his government being one of the few with direct lines to the US, Israel, Hamas and the Islamist group’s backer, Iran. Within 48 hours, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also foreign minister, had spoken to Mossad chief David Barnea, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, his Iranian counterpart, and Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
Just hours after Hamas’s devastating dawn assault on southern Israel, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani was preparing for action. He established a task force and a working group to co-ordinate with Washington — his government being one of the few with direct lines to the US, Israel, Hamas and the Islamist group’s backer, Iran. Within 48 hours, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also foreign minister, had spoken to Mossad chief David Barnea, US secretary of state Antony Blinken, his Iranian counterpart, and Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
The initial intention was to take the temperature of an erupting crisis. Israel, enraged and traumatised after the deadliest attack on its soil since the state’s founding in 1948, was in no mood for negotiations. Instead, it demanded that Hamas released the hostages its militants seized during its brutal October 7 raid, says an official briefed on the talks.
When Sheikh Mohammed spoke to Hamas’s political leaders — in exile in Doha and distanced from the group’s military wing in Gaza — they insisted that the militants did not mean to capture so many hostages, including civilians. “OK, show us by releasing all the civilians now,” replied Qatari officials. “It’s more complicated,” was the response.
It has been complicated for Sheikh Mohammed ever since. Working closely with Barnea and CIA chief Bill Burns, the quietly spoken 43-year-old has co-ordinated diplomatic efforts to secure the hostages’ release. On Wednesday, after weeks of tortuous negotiations, Israel and Hamas finally agreed a deal in which the militant group will release 50 women and children from around 240 captives. In return, Israel will pause its offensive on Hamas-controlled Gaza for four days, beginning on Friday, allow more aid and fuel into the besieged strip and free 150 Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
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