Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) Joins KKR in $15 Billion Ramsay Health Bid – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Ramsay, which operates a network of private hospitals across Australia and Europe, revealed the takeover proposal on Wednesday.
– The Australian Financial Review reported ADIA’s participation earlier on Thursday. Representatives for ADIA and KKR declined to comment.
– Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is among investors in a consortium led by KKR & Co. seeking to buy Australia’s Ramsay Health Care Ltd. for A$20.1 billion ($15 billion).
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Dubai Breaks Into World’s Top Five Listing Venues With DEWA IPO – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– DEWA’s IPO, which drew $86 billion in orders, is a watershed moment for Dubai, after the city missed out on a listing boom that swept through the Middle East last year.
– DEWA is the first of 10 planned listings of state-owned assets to reinvigorate Dubai’s capital market. They include road-toll collection system Salik and business park operator Tecom Group, both expected to be smaller than DEWA.
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Majid Al Futtaim Death Leaves Dubai to Untangle Inheritance Plan – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Al Futtaim’s inheritance was left unresolved when the octogenarian died in December. While the villa was intended as a residence for him and his third wife, the centerpiece of the estate is Majid Al Futtaim Holding.
– The company controls $16.5 billion in assets including a renowned indoor ski hall, the opulent Mall of the Emirates and the Carrefour hypermarket franchise in the Middle East. It has activities in 17 countries, extending into Africa.
– To oversee any potential disputes, Dubai’s leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum appointed a special judicial committee, a relatively rare occurrence reserved for high-profile cases.
– Al Futtaim founded the business in the 1990s with funds from a succession dispute with his cousin. His company was the first to combine shopping and entertainment.
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Coal Tycoon Low Tuck Kwong Is Making Billions in a World Aiming to Go Green – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Burning coal is still common, generating about 35% of the world’s electricity and twice as much in Indonesia.
– the miner is building new infrastructure to boost its production capacity to as much as 60 million tons by 2026 from 37.6 million tons in 2021
– Even if the Russian-Ukraine conflict subsides, she said, “coal will still be needed by most of the Asian countries by 2050, and lack of financing at coal mines will provide price support.
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Ukraine’s Wheat Fields Sow Putin’s Megalomania – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– For centuries, Ukraine has been one of the most productive places on the planet when it comes to growing wheat.
– Much of Ukraine is along what’s called the chernozem belt, a beautifully aerated black loam that is excellent for growing almost anything.
– High prices for grain are also likely to hurt consumers in cities in North Africa and the Middle East, which have been consuming grain since the days of the old Byzantine Empire. Wheat makes up about 40% of the calories consumed by the poorest households in those places. Because food prices are going up, as they did in 2011, we may see food riots comparable to what we saw during Arab Spring.
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Russia Economy Defies Forecasts Despite Looming Recession, High Inflation – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The bleakest scenario hasn’t materialized in large part because Russia contained the spread of financial contagion with stiff capital controls while plentiful petrodollars helped the ruble recoup losses and put a leash on inflation.
– For many, however, the hardships are only just beginning. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said about 200,000 jobs are at risk in the Russian capital alone because of the exit or halt to operations by foreign businesses.
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Chip-Starved Firms Are Scavenging Silicon From Washing Machines – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Automakers have yet to overcome a semiconductor crunch that has challenged their operations for over a year. Tesla Inc. said this week that production remains hampered by shortages and elevated prices for key components, while Volkswagen AG has cautioned to expect continued negative effects from chip scarcity. Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Corp. trimmed its output target by about 100,000 units for this year on insufficient semiconductor supply
– Some signs of weakening consumer electronics demand have yet to translate into relief for manufacturers of other silicon-hungry products and devices.
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Sanctions on Russian Diamonds Cause Chaos as Industry Scrambles to Keep Buying – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Buyers across the big trading centres in Antwerp and Dubai and manufacturing hubs in India have spent the past two weeks consulting lawyers to determine what the U.S. sanctions on Alrosa PJSC mean and how they can continue to buy
– The disruption is already being felt in diamond prices, as the cost of the smaller stones that Alrosa specializes in has started to rise in the past week
– The disruptions around Russian diamonds are being felt through the global industry, which was already facing a shortage of rough stones even before the war in Ukraine.
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