February Second Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #47
As Lebanon Economy Collapses, Some Young Men Have Joined the Islamic State – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – As Lebanon slid deeper into economic misery over recent months, dozens of young men have disappeared from the country’s marginalized north and later surfaced in Iraq, where they are believed to have joined the Islamic State group. – Disappearance of young men began to rise in late August. – There are several factors making the youth flee, and the main one is lack of jobs,” the mayor said. – Even before the crisis, Tripoli was Lebanon’s poorest city — and things have only gotten worse with scores of young, seemingly unemployed men in the streets. – When a young man who is between 15 and 30 cannot get married or buy anything or enter a restaurant to have a meal like all people, of course he will choose death and will be an easy target.” Read more. UAE Oil Producer Adnoc May Aim for $5 Billion of Bonds This Year – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. executives told debt investors during a call on Tuesday that they’re considering setting up a multi-year bond program of around $15 billion, said three of the people. The first deal, which will be issued from a new entity called Adnoc Murban, will be used to help refinance the company’s existing loans. – Adnoc Murban was this week given the third-highest rating of AA or its equivalent by Moody’s Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. Read more. UAE to Levy Federal Tax on Business Profits From June 2023 – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The measure comes as the UAE seeks to align itself with new international standards, particularly the move toward a global minimum tax on multinational corporations endorsed by the Group of 20 major economies last year. – The UAE announced in July its support for global tax standards and said Monday that its new 9% rate, which will come into effect in June 2023. – Though in the UAE many of these large corporations operate inside free zones and will remain exempt provided they don’t do business with the mainland. – Introducing a CT regime reaffirms the UAE’s commitment to meeting international standards for tax transparency and preventing harmful tax practices,” it said in a statement on its website. – In 2020, the government abolished the need for companies to have Emirati shareholders — a major shake-up of foreign-ownership laws — and last year it unveiled plans to offer citizenship to a select group of foreigners. Read more. Chimera Capital: One of Biggest-Ever Tech Funds Wins Backing of UAE Royal’s Firm – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – A United Arab Emirates investment firm linked to an influential member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family has emerged as a backer of one of the largest funds in venture capital history, joining forces with New York-based Alpha Wave to deploy $10 billion with a focus on India. – Chimera Capital, part of a business empire overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed, said the Alpha Wave Ventures II Fund will target companies that have yet to go public, focusing on a range of assets from financial technology to artificial intelligence and life sciences. – The fund has already invested in companies like Revolut, Monzo Bank Ltd. and Indian electric vehicle manufacturer Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd. Read more. Salomon Brothers Alumni Tap Storied Firm’s Legacy in Revival – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Smith said plans first hatched around three years ago to launch a bank that would take up the old Salomon Brothers mantle. – For one thing, the bank won’t run a large bond-trading desk like the one that defined its predecessor. – Even so, there will still be a chance for bankers to make a name for themselves by launching independent, boutique investment-banking practices that would still be able to draw on the larger organization’s reputation and resources, Smith said. Read more. Bolt’s Founder Ryan Breslow Is Worth Billions and Going After the Valley Elite – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Breslow slammed the popular accelerator Y Combinator, attacked his sometime rival Stripe Inc. and called the Silicon Valley startup industry a “boys club” full of “mob bosses.” – Breslow is the co-founder of Bolt Financial Inc., a startup that facilitates online checkouts and secured an $11 billion valuation from investors in January. – He has a 25% stake that’s worth about $2.75 billion. – The startup doesn’t charge merchants for using its software but earns money every time a shopper who has already enrolled in Bolt’s system checks out. – Breslow raised money from prominent New York firms including funds managed by BlackRock Inc., General Atlantic and Dan Och’s Willoughby Capital. – Ultimately, Bolt’s success will hinge on how many large customers it can sign up. Bolt and its competitors, like PeachPay Inc. and Shopify’s Shop Pay, are trying to create the largest possible group of merchants and shoppers that use their software. Read more.
February First Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #46
Explained: How UAE’s new family business ownership law protects against ‘hostile situations’, surprise deals – News | Khaleej Times — www.khaleejtimes.com Highlights: – Jimmy Haoula, Managing Partner, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates LLP has explained that one of the key attributes of the new law is the prevention of the sale of shares or dividends of family-owned businesses to individuals or companies outside the family. – The law stipulates that no partner may dispose the share thereof to a person from outside the family, outside the framework of the law, unless by approval of all partners. – in case the new partners from outside the family own more than 40 per cent of the shares. The dual voting shares lose their characteristics. Read more. The UAE is set to levy corporate tax: Here’s what analysts say Highlights: – Mohamed Abu Basha, head of macroeconomic research at investment bank EFG Hermes: “In terms of its impact on attracting investment, I don’t think it will much affect UAE’s ability to attract investments. First, companies in free zones will continue to enjoy their tax benefits, hence are shielded from the decision. Second, most other Gulf countries already impose a corporate income tax on multinational operating in the economy, including 20 per cent in Saudi, 15 per cent in Oman and 10 per cent in Qatar.” – David Daly, a partner at Gulf Tax Accounting Group: “There is quite a bit of detail that needs to come out still but for large companies operating in the UAE, corporate taxes were expected and now they know the rate.” – Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Dubai-based consultancy Century Financial: “While the news was a surprise, there is little evidence to suggest that corporate tax rates have any type of meaningful impact on equity markets. Counterintuitive to conventional expectations, a study suggests that the S&P 500 Index had higher average returns on every occasion of an increase in corporate taxes in the US.” Read more. EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL Forward Living – The Pixel Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage. Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza. Learn more. Turks flock to cryptocurrencies in search of stability | Financial Times — www.ft.com – The surge in interest in cryptocurrency — and a scandal last year that saw the sudden shutdown of a Turkish crypto exchange that left hundreds of thousands of customers unable to access their funds — has alarmed the country’s authorities who now want to regulate the sector. – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said a cryptocurrency law will soon be presented to parliament. He has said his government is engaged in a “war” against cryptocurrency. – Turkey has the highest crypto transaction volumes in the Middle East, where volumes expanded 1,500 per cent last year compared with 2020. – For now the prospect of regulation has done little to dent interest in Turkey. TV news channels present bitcoin and ethereum prices alongside the dollar and euro exchange rates. Half-time television adverts at football matches tout the virtues of crypto exchanges. Read more. Hong Kong Travel Restrictions Deter Expat Bankers as Hub Loses Lure – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Seeking to fill jobs, headhunters are finding they can only recruit candidates who are already in Hong Kong. The crunch comes as the former British colony is dealing with a growing outflow of expatriates who are frustrated with the city’s strict zero-Covid policies. – Officials this month clamped down further as omicron emerged, forcing close contacts into government camps, closing schools and banning flights, on top of the 21 days of mandated quarantine for incoming travellers. – It’s also the largest U.S. dollar funding centre after London and New York, with banking assets equal to nine times its gross domestic product, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Read more. Putin’s Financial Fortress Blunts Impact of Threatened Sanctions – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Russia is much better prepared for sanctions than it was in 2014 at least on its macro-indicators,” said Natalia Lavrova, chief economist at BCS Financial Group in Moscow. “The state sector is ready and the financial cushion is big,” she said. In all but the most extreme of scenarios, the economy would continue growing, though at a slower rate and with higher inflation, she said. – With President Vladimir Putin expressing hope this week of a diplomatic solution, investors have started cautiously moving back into Russian assets. – Scott Johnson, Bloomberg Economics – “The most likely sanctions on investment, banking and trade would inflict severe financial pain but limited economic disruption, as long as oil and gas keep flowing. In the more extreme scenarios, Russia would bear a much heavier cost, at a prohibitively high price for Europe.” Read more. Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio Sees U.S. on Path to Civil War Amid Rising Polarization – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Dalio, the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, said that both the left and right are “fighting to win at all costs,” eliminating moderates and the ability to compromise as a result – Not knowing what is true because of distortions in the media and propaganda increases as people become more polarized, emotional, and politically motivated.” Other Key Quotes: – When the causes that people are passionately behind are more important to them than the system for making decisions, the system is in jeopardy.” – When winning becomes the only thing that matters, unethical fighting becomes progressively more forceful in self-reinforcing ways.” Read more.
January Last Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #45
Lebanon: toothless watchdog ‘unable to properly monitor election’ — www.thenationalnews.com Highlights: – The electoral campaign officially started on January 10 but the commission, without a budget, has not been able to hire the 40 or so necessary media, observers. – The head of Lebanon’s supervisory commission for elections, retired Judge Nadim Abdelmalak said that 45 complaints for media violations registered since the last election in 2018 are still pending at the publications court, which deals with all media matters. – I’ll tell you why this commission was created,” he continued. “It’s to satisfy the international community and say that Lebanon is working according to transparency and accountability, but unfortunately that is only in name.” – George Adwan, the head of parliament’s administration and justice committee, told that parliament was unable to reform the 2017 electoral law because it was “divided” between “those who wanted a completely new electoral law and those who wanted to keep it with [some] reforms.” – Mr Abdelmalak said ” If we resign now, there will be no general election,” he said”. Read more. UAE: Over 20,000 requirements to set up businesses cancelled by local, federal entities – News | Khaleej Times — www.khaleejtimes.com Highlights: – The cancellations of requirements made by ADDED and multiple local and federal partner entities, effectively align the emirate’s regulatory environment with economic growth priorities and span various sectors such as healthcare, transportation, food and agriculture, public health, and environment. – Sameh Al Qubaisi – Executive Director of ADDED’s Executive Affairs Office – elaborated: explains further, “We introduced our user-friendly ‘Investor Journey’ portal, showcased at GITEX Technology Week 2021, to support investors with the information and services required to set up a commercial business in Abu Dhabi. Read more. EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL Forward Living – The Pixel Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage. Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza. Learn more. Ras al-Khaimah: Casino Operator Wynn Plans Resort With Gaming Facilities in UAE – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The project, set to be built on Al Marjan island in the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. – The planned resort is scheduled to open in 2026 and will include more than 1,000 rooms. – Ras Al Khaimah’s Tourism Development Authority said it will consider the “social, cultural, and environmental landscape of the Emirate,” as it comes up with regulations. Read more. Why a Swiss Bank for the Super Rich Is Luring Young People Still Building Wealth – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Robo advisers, which offer services tuned to Gen Z and millennial investors needs, have surged in popularity and managed $785 billion at the end of 2020, according to Backend Benchmarking. Wealthfront and Betterment were early entrants, but players like Vanguard Personal Advisor Services and Edelman Financial Engines now control a huge chunk of the assets. – “The advisory world is getting more digital and cheaper, and that’s what young people are buying,” said Eric Balchunas, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s a foreshadow of where the whole advisory world is going to go.” – This still-rich-but-not-ultra-rich portion of the market hasn’t yet been meaningfully tapped by the bank. Read more. Singapore’s Wary Crypto Embrace Leaves Binance CEO CZ in the Cold – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – An affiliate of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange had just withdrawn its application to run a bourse in Singapore. – The real reason for the withdrawal was that Binance’s affiliate didn’t meet Singapore’s criteria for protecting against money laundering and terrorist financing – the city-state embraces the technologies of cryptocurrency and has launched a framework for regulating the industry when other countries such as China have opted for outright bans. On the other, it doesn’t want its people getting burned by speculation, is wary of the criminal risks and is extremely picky about who it lets in. – Some 170 firms applied, But about 100 applicants have already withdrawn or been rejected. – When Binance left, it became a statement that Singapore doesn’t welcome the big boys,” said Anndy Lian, the chairman of cryptocurrency bourse BigONE Exchange. “Many people are going for Dubai, because they see Singapore as not welcoming, and don’t know the real reasons behind that.” Read more. Rising Energy Price Cap, Tax Increases, High Inflation—Coming to U.K. in April – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The Centre for Economics and Business Research forecasts a 1,980-pound rise in overall annual living costs — even before payroll taxes go up. – The recent surge in wholesale energy costs means regulated gas and electricity prices will increase sharply. Prices are already rising in Europe, but April’s one-off increase will push U.K. energy-price inflation above its continental peers in one move. – April’s tax rise will see the U.K. raise an additional 14 billion pounds from working households this year via national insurance contributions, a form of payroll tax, and by freezing thresholds. Another 12 billion pounds will come from businesses in 2023 when corporate taxes rise. – According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.K. is leading the way in Europe on fiscal repair — normalizing borrowing levels faster than Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Read more.
January Fourth Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #44
Attack on Abu Dhabi risks upsetting a cautious detente in the Gulf Highlights – The assault risks ending the first serious attempts in decades to build detente across the Gulf between the Sunni Arab monarchies and Iran’s Shia Islamic republic. – After the 2019 attack on Aramco, and the failure of the US under then-president Donald Trump to respond, the UAE largely withdrew from Yemen and declared it would be concentrating on expanding its thriving economy, based on trade and tourism — and stability. That took a hit with this week’s exposure of its vulnerability. – These strikes were so precise that analysts and officials in and outside the UAE are wondering whether Iran was behind them, rather than Houthi militiamen. Read more. Saudi Arabia Seeks $170 Billion of Mining Investment By 2030 – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The investment will come from foreign and local firms, including state miner Maaden. It should enable the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to reach $64 billion annually by 2030, he said, more than four times today’s figure of $17 billion. – Saudi ministry said it will auction exploration licenses to foreign investors for the first time. The sale will be for deposits of copper, zinc, gold, silver and lead about 200 kilometres from Riyadh, the capital. Read more. EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL Forward Living – The Pixel Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage. Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza. Learn more. US in talks with Qatar over gas supplies to Europe in event of Ukraine invasion Highlights: – Preliminary discussions have started between Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of LNG, the UK and European states about long-term gas supply “solutions,” – Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said last week that Russia was throttling gas supplies to Europe at a time of “heightened geopolitical tensions”. – The person added that Europe needed to guarantee a long-term deal with Qatar or others to ensure stability and reduced dependence on Russia. Read more. Middle East Rivalries Cool as the Region’s Political and Economic Outlook Shifts – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – In January 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatari emir, to a Gulf summit, where they signed an agreement ending the three-year-plus boycott of Qatar that the kingdom had led. – The UAE-Syria meeting in November signalled the possibility of a normalization of Syria’s regional ties at the upcoming Arab League summit, to take place in Algeria in March. – Also in November the UAE’s de facto ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, paid a visit to Turkey, launching a $10 billion fund to invest in the country. – Iran has had rounds of talks with Saudi Arabia in Iraq, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been invited to the UAE, a visit that’s expected to mark a turning point in relations between the countries. Read more. Hottest Countries: Kuwait, a Wealthy Oil Exporter, Is Becoming Unlivable – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Kuwait — one of the hottest countries on the planet — is fast becoming unlivable. In 2016, thermometers hit 54 degrees Celsius (129 Fahrenheit), the highest reading on Earth in the last 76 years. – Home to the world’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund and just over 4.5 million people, it’s not a lack of resources that stands in the way of cutting greenhouse gases and adapting to a warmer planet, but rather political inaction. – The London School of Economics, which conducted the only comprehensive survey of climate opinions in Kuwait, found older residents remain skeptical of the urgency, with some speaking of a conspiracy to hobble Gulf economies. – A study published in Science Direct last year found that on extremely hot days, the overall number of deaths doubles, but it triples for non-Kuwaiti men, more likely to take on low-paid work. Read more. China Experts Map Out Endgame for Xi’s Revamped Property Sector – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – China watchers predict the days of home-price surges and debt-fueled building sprees by billionaire property tycoons are set to fade. – They’ll be replaced by a much more staid market where authorities are quick to clamp down on speculative frenzies and development is dominated by state-run companies earning utility-like returns. – Craig Botham, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics says “China will need to find new drivers of consumption and alternative savings vehicles. And it will need to step away from the growth target — Xi Jinping can’t double income by 2035, this is neither achievable or sustainable.” – Gabriel Wildau. a senior vice president at global business advisory firm Teneo says “Larger and often state-owned developers will likely take over the weaker players. That consolidation suits the government’s long-term objectives for the housing sector quite well.” – Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis SA says “The golden age of booming property prices and soaring revenue for developers is probably gone.” Read more. Generation Start-up: How a company is helping entrepreneurs one connection at a time — www.thenationalnews.com Highlights: – Founded in June, Wasta helps users build their professional networks. The platform curates one-to-one professional introductions between people who share common goals, interests and objectives across the region. – Wasta helps founders, investors and entrepreneurs build stronger connections,” Mr Visavadia, chief executive and co-founder of the start-up, says. – Wasta’s automation technology matches users with people closely aligned to their goals and they are then introduced through opt-in emails, allowing them to connect and plan an in-person or a virtual meeting. – Wasta currently operates across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — the Arab world’s largest economies Read more.
January Third Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #43
Dr. Atie J. El Mouallem – Redesigning Lebanon’s Consociational Confessional Democracy — atiejelmouallem.com Pluralistic institutions promote development. They create a virtual cycle of growth, development and prosperity for citizens. But if the institutional framework is not well designed, elites get control over extractive institutions. The crisis in Lebanon is a crisis in the moral ethics of our elites. There are socio-cultural factors for the current corrupt behaviour of our elites. I believe we need to find a truly Lebanese solution to our democratic crisis by understanding the roots of our socio-cultural ethos and then re-design our democratic institutional framework. Read more. Covid-19 News: UAE Urges Return to Normal And Vows No Virus Lockdown – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Before the omicron strain emerged, the UAE had managed to keep cases under control for most of 2021, but new virus cases have risen to more than 2,500 a day in recent weeks. – “Omicron is way less impactful than the delta (variant) and even during delta we haven’t locked down the country. The balance has been there throughout the omicron for sure and with any future variants when it comes to corona, we will not go back to the full lockdown of the country,” Thani Al-Zeyoudi, the minister of state for foreign trade. UAE Business: 2022 set to be a bumper year for UK-to-Mena trade — www.gdnonline.com Highlights: – UK businesses have been expanding their operations across the Middle East as a result of Brexit-fuelled global geographic expansion – Since 2018, the Middle East’s contribution to overall revenue has increased by 1% Y-o-Y. In 2020, the Mena region generated 14% of revenue for FTSE listed companies, compared to 13% in 2019 and 12% in 2018. – While UK companies already established in the region are growing their operations, Lumina also sees new companies eyeing up the Mena opportunity and expanding to the region for the first time. The number of FTSE listed companies with operations in the Mena increased from 22 to 25 between 2018 and 2020. – While there are multiple examples of capital flowing from the UK into the GCC, capital is also moving back the other way, with a number of high-profile investments being announced in recent months. Read more. EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL Forward Living – The Pixel Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage. Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza. Learn more. Ministry of Economy sees growth in Industry Property and Patents based on amended and new laws — www.sme10x.com Highlights: – The UAE was ranked first in the Arab world for the sixth consecutive year by the Global Innovation Index 2021 owing to its success in developing an integrated system for intellectual property applications and services. – The new provisions are: – Expedited applications, a fast track channel for patent applications – Conversion of patent applications to utility certificate requests, and vice versa. – The possibility of dividing patent applications, utility certificates and industrial designs into several applications. – Retrieval of applications. Read more. French Election 2022: Macron Second Term Could Hinge on Economic Recovery – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – As he seeks reelection in April, the president who was nurtured in the top echelons of the French technocracy has a potential knockout punch to throw: the robust economy. – At a time when crowing about France’s decline seems to be in fashion, we have among the best economic growth figures in the euro zone and we got back to pre-crisis levels of activity three months sooner than expected,” Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. – Let’s be proud of our economic policy, the jobs we have created, investment that is recovering, the attractiveness of France.” – Quickly after taking office in 2017, Macron used contentious decree-like tools to push further changes to labor laws through Parliament. And in his first budget, the then 39-year-old president picked apart France’s heavy taxes on wealth and capital. Read more. Lula Leads Election Poll as Brazil Frets About Jobs, Virus – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The economy is the nation’s biggest problem, according to 37% of those surveyed. – Unemployment was their top concern, followed by the rate of economic growth, and then inflation. – Despite cash payments to the poor in December, 51% of respondents said their ability to make ends meet actually worsened over the last three months. – 44% of Brazilians surveyed said they would back Lula, while 23% favored the incumbent Bolsonaro. Read more RIL’s Mukesh Ambani: Asia’s Richest Man to Invest $76 Billion in Green Projects – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Ambani is in the midst of transforming his fossil fuel-fed empire and pivoting it toward green energy and digital technology. – These projects will also boost Reliance’s target to make its operations carbon-neutral by 2035 – an ambitious target for a company that derived 60% of its revenue from oil refining and petrochemicals. – Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, announced plans to invest $76 billion toward clean energy projects, dwarfing an earlier commitment of $10 billion by the world’s biggest fossil-fuel billionaire. Read more. Bitcoin (BTC USD) Trading President Bukele Likely Loses Money for El Salvadorans – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The country’s overseas dollar bonds posted the world’s worst performance in 2021 as investors were spooked by Bukele’s unorthodox economic management and the nation’s experiment with Bitcoin. – Bukele said it will fast-track citizenship for investors who buy $100,000 or more of a proposed blockchain bond expected to be issued this year on Blockstream Corp.’s Liquid Network. Read more.
January Second Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #42
Redesigning Lebanon’s Consociational Confessional Democracy — atiejelmouallem.com Lebanon has adopted the consociational confessional framework of democracy due to its complex multi-religious sectarian population. These electoral laws were created under French mandate in 1926 and for the most part, have endured to this day as the current electoral system. This arrangement was to be temporary, as mentioned in the 1943 National Charter, and the Taif Agreement also mentions that a national committee was to be formed to investigate sectarianism and that the distribution of top positions was temporarily allowed on the basis of sectarian lines. Our ideal democratic institution would be a secular, numerical democracy, but that has not been possible because of sectarianism and religious fanaticism. The real problem is not consocialism per se, but the rigid and extreme consocialism practised here. So before we go about redesigning Lebanon’s Consociational Confessional Democracy we need to know what are the frailties of the existing design. Read more. Why buy now pay later is on the rise across the GCC Highlights: – There is a huge gap in the market that the current legacy financial solutions are not filling. To get a sense of the size of this gap, Tamara is only 15 months old and 2021 was our first financial year, yet 2 million customers joined our platform and we have processed around SAR 1 billion of GMV across 2,000 merchants in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” said Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, the CEO of the Saudi-based BNPL platform. – Hosam Arab, CEO and co-founder of tabby says “Young millennials are savvy consumers and want transparency in how they are transacting and therefore if you are very clear with them about what happens at the time of purchase – meaning that they don’t get charged any hidden fees and what happens if they miss a payment – they will embrace it. – This transparency has allowed for consumers to adopt this payment method en masse and is something that will continue to displace some of the more traditional methods out there” – Platforms such as tabby make their money by charging participating merchants a fee, explained Arab. Read more. EXPERIENCE LIVING IN PIXEL Forward Living – The Pixel Pixel is the first mixed-use residential community at Makers District. Pixel offers its residents & visitors a unique space to enrich, collaborate & engage. Designed as human-scale, the 7 mixed-use residential towers surrounded by quiet pocket gardens have been strategically arranged around a vibrant pedestrianized plaza. Learn more. Abu Dhabi’s Alpha Dhabi makes its second big real estate investment, with 25.24% in Al Qudra | Property – Gulf News — gulfnews.com Highlights: – Hamad Salem Mohamed Al Ameri, Managing Director and CEO of Alpha Dhabi Holding said. “Al Qudra’s business strategy is a perfect fit for ADH, and this acquisition will add considerable shareholder value as we continue investing in carefully selected industries with sustainable growth potential, as the company is active in unique investment opportunities and has facilitated the development of various projects that meet the local and regional market needs.” Read more. Europe’s Energy Supply Crisis Has the EU at the Mercy of Putin and the Weather – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – With its natural gas stockpiles running dangerously low, the European Union is at the mercy of two wily forces—Putin and the weather. – The energy crisis hit the bloc when the security of supply was not on the menu of EU policymakers,” says Maximo Miccinilli, head of energy and climate at consultants FleishmanHillard EU. He expects the energy crunch to keep prices volatile and also trigger more political tension between regulators in Brussels and the leaders of the bloc’s 27 member states. – Europe is in the midst of an energy transition, shutting down coal-fired electricity plants and increasing its reliance on renewables. Wind and solar are cleaner but sometimes fickle, as illustrated by the sudden drop in turbine-generated power the continent recorded last year. – Russia stands poised to further cement its position as the bloc’s top supplier. Gazprom and its European partners have plowed $11 billion into Nord Stream 2, a 1,230-kilometer (764-mile) pipeline running beneath the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. – A recent bump in LNG imports from the U.S. has provided some relief, but it’s temporary at best. Read more. Hybrid Work Schedule: Which Flexible Arrangement Employees Actually Want – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – When given a choice, most rank-and-file office workers favor two days a week in the office. Some prefer to have those days back-to-back, but the majority separate the days. – The employees who like three days per week are predominantly managers, client-facing employees, and those with highly people-heavy jobs. – Of all the employees polled, only one person preferred five in-office days, because of home conditions that aren’t conducive to working. – Pandemic upheaval has not shaken the concept of 9-to-5. Even staffers coming in for only one-morning meeting tend to stay all day, though they predominantly slip out after seven or so hours, rather than eight or nine. Read more. Billionaires Dalio, Peterffy Embrace Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum as Inflation Hedge – Bloomberg Highlights: – Thomas Peterffy, the Hungarian-born billionaire is well versed in cryptospeak. Peterffy, worth $25 billion, said it’s prudent to have 2% to 3% of one’s personal wealth in cryptocurrencies, just in case fiat currency goes to “hell.” – It’s possible that cryptocurrencies could reap extraordinary returns — even if the opposite is also true, Peterffy said. – Ray Dalio recently revealed he was holding at least some Bitcoin and Ethereum in his portfolio. – The Bridgewater Associates founder views the investments as an alternative money in a world where “cash is trash’’ and inflation erodes buying power. – Paul Tudor Jones disclosed he’s invested as a hedge against inflation, and almost half the family offices Goldman Sachs Group Inc. does business with were interested in adding digital currencies to their portfolios, according to a recent bank survey. Read more. Crypto world divide exposed by ‘bividend’ Highlights: – Bitcoin,
RECAP OF 2021 – GCC & UAE Business and Finance News – Issue #41
Dear readers, As we enter 2022 and make plans for our goals, let us look back at some of the most important events in the industry. Let me know what you think of this list? Did I miss anything? If so, hit reply and let me know. Best Regards Dr Atie J El Mouallem. Government UAE Moves Weekend Days to Saturday-Sunday, Makes Friday a Half-Day – Bloomberg – The changes, which the government said will allow the UAE to align more closely with global markets, will come into effect on Jan. 1 and apply to the public sector and schools. There will be a 4 ½-day working week with Friday – a holy day in Islam – being a half-day, the federal government said in a statement. – The government didn’t say whether the private sector would have to adopt the new 4 ½-day weeks, with the door being left open for private companies to decide how to allocate resources. – The changes “will increase the number of days we do business with the rest of the world, which will boost trade,” said Nabil Alyousuf, chief executive officer of Dubai-based International Advisory Group. – Pedro Gomes, an economist at Birkbeck, University of London, and author of the book says “Starting by the public sector is a tactical mistake. It will exacerbate the narrative of the hardworking private sector versus lazy bureaucrats. This is why the Utah 2011 4-day week failed. It should be implemented to the whole economy, giving 4/6 years for the adjustment.” Read more. Sheikh Mohammed launches ‘Operation 300bn’ strategy to foster UAE industrial sector “The 10-year comprehensive strategy aims to empower and expand the industrial sector to become a propeller of a sustainable national economy, increasing its GDP contribution from the current Dhs133bn to Dhs300bn by 2031.“ “Operation 300bn will result in the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology rolling out programmes to support more than 13,500 SMEs by 2031. Over 33,000 industrial enterprises operate in the UAE, comprising 95 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses.” “Operation 300bn will focus on promoting existing industries and enhance their contributions to the GDP while focusing on developing a new industrial ecosystem, primarily high-tech industries and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) ventures.“ Read more. UAE to permit 100% foreign business ownership from June 1 “The UAE announced in November that foreign nationals would be allowed to own 100 per cent of commercial companies within the country, eliminating the need for a UAE national to hold the majority share.” “The legislation, which will enable investors and business in ’10 new sectors of strategic importance to come under the purview of the law, is in its final stages of formation.” Read more. Abu Dhabi approves $12.3bn worth capital projects in the Emirate – GCC Business News “Abu Dhabi’s local executive authority Abu Dhabi Executive Council has endorsed a framework between Abu Dhabi Government and Aldar Properties, a real estate development, management, and investment company, to develop $12.3 billion (AED45 billion) worth of capital projects in the Emirate.” “The framework involves Aldar taking over the development and management of approximately $8 billion (AED 30 billion) worth of government capital projects, such as Riyadh City, Baniyas North, and developments in the Al Ain and Al Dhafra regions.” Read more. UAE’s MoF launches the final phase of accrual accounting system – GCC Business News “The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) has launched the third and final phase for government entities to switch to an accrual accounting system, which provides an improved infrastructure that would enhance the country’s position in global competitiveness indexes.” “The third phase will cover major entities in the federal government.” Read more. Public Private Partnership (PPP) Qatar’s PPP Law will open up opportunities in various sectors; Report – GCC Business News – The country has opened new paths or investments with the creation of institutional bodies like Qatar Financial Center, Qatar Free Zones Authority and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) along with the amendment of its laws surrounding foreign ownership. – The report titled ‘Qatar Economy Watch’ states that the public sector procurement initiatives will contribute to private sector development including Qatar Petroleum’s flagship Tawteen localization program. Read more. Dubai DoF reveals $6.8bn worth PPP projects to make the emirate an economic hub – GCC Business News – The portfolio includes more than 30 significant projects in the infrastructure, public transportation and urban development sectors. – The Dubai International PPP Conference represents a key initiative for generating new public-private partnerships which will help accelerate Dubai’s journey to the future. The event promotes innovative financing methods for partnership projects among local and international investors. Read more. Infrastructure Fledgling UAE rail network step towards bridging the Gulf – France 24 – Hammadi is the first Emirati to become a train driver – in a country that already has a space programme and two of the world’s biggest airlines, but is only now developing a rail network to connect all seven of its emirates. – When completed, Etihad Rail will operate 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) of track connecting all of the emirates – from Ghweifat in the western region of Abu Dhabi to the emirate of Fujairah on the eastern coast – and link with neighbouring Saudi Arabia. – The long-term plan is to be part of a wider railway network that would connect all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar as well as the UAE and Saudi Arabia. – Freight is currently the line’s main focus but as it is extended through the mountains between the emirates of Dubai and Fujairah, the line is also set to offer passenger services that will run at speeds of up to 200 kph (125 mph). – Etihad Rail says that one full freight train can replace 300 trucks, and cut CO2 emissions by 70-80 percent. Read more. NEOM and The Line: a Saudi blueprint for the global future of urban living | Arab News There will be no roads or cars in The
January 2022 First Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #40
Saudis Are Right To Warn of a Worrisome Collapse in Oil Supply – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman has warned that worldwide oil production could fall by 30 million barrels a day by the end of the decade because there is not enough being spent on the exploration for and development of new resources. That implies the production of less than 70 million barrels a day. – This serves as a recognition of two things: First, the world’s need for affordable oil isn’t going to disappear anytime soon; and second, despite its oil reserves, Saudi Arabia can’t supply it all by itself. – Have potential investors been so bullied, or so scared, by environmental campaigners that they are unwilling to sink capital in new oil production? Read more. Abu Dhabi Investment Partners With Greystar to Build Rental Homes Around London – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The U.K.’s purpose-built rental housing market is attracting greater investor interest as a sustained lack of housing supply in the country makes renting more attractive. – Demographic trends and a severe structural undersupply of housing is driving demand for high-quality rental homes in the U.K.,” said Mark Allnutt, Greystar’s senior managing director in Europe. Read more. Living at AlJurf Find Out More About Living at AlJurf AlJurf Gardens harnesses nature’s raw beauty and combines it with refined heritage-inspired architecture and contemporary design to present a sanctuary of wellness and calm. Throughout the villa spaces, the refined and controlled raw beauty of nature is repeated in different scales, to showcase its exquisiteness across every typology of homes, gardens and courtyards. Learn more. Indian Bankers Book Bumper Fees From Record $18 Billion in IPOs – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The wave of listings in India has tracked the wider trend in Asia, where companies have raised about $181 billion this year, an unprecedented level. – Kotak Mahindra’s Venkataraman expects 2022 will see a similar amount of fundraising or a little more. But risks such as the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, rising inflation and interest-rate increases could damp the sentiment in the market. Read more. Dutch Urban Farming Startup Infarm Gets Backing From Qatar Wealth Fund – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – Infarm said it has raised more than $500 million — ranking it among the best-funded vertical farming companies — and has a valuation of more than $1 billion. – We see vertical farming as a way to enhance food security in every part of the world,” Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, chief executive officer of QIA, which has assets estimated at roughly $360 billion, said in a statement. Read more. Binance Gets Its First Gulf Crypto Regulatory Nod in Bahrain – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – If successful, this would mark the first regulatory approval for a Binance entity within the Middle East or North Africa. – Rain Financial Inc. became the first licensed crypto-asset platform in the region when it secured approval from the kingdom’s central bank to operate in 2019. Earlier this year, Bahrain’s monetary authority granted another license to Manama-based CoinMENA. Read more. ESG: will profits become an endangered species? Highlights: – Saving the planet endangers profits for Big Oil. Royal Dutch Shell says oil production peaked in 2019. Shell, BP and America’s Exxon have written off tens of billions of dollars on stranded, uneconomic assets. Future profits require investments in new technology to bear fruit. – Saudi Aramco, one of the world’s most profitable companies, continues to stake its future — and $39bn of forecasted annual capital expenditure — on oil. But its ebitda margins are steadily contracting, from 70 per cent in 2016 to 58 per cent in pre-pandemic 2019. Read more.
Happy New Year 2022
In the New Year, never forget to thank your past years because they enabled you to reach today! Without the stairs of the past, you cannot arrive at the future! ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan
December Fourth Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business and Finance News – Issue #38
Frankly Speaking: Groundwork being laid for Gulf economic union by 2025, says GCC chief Nayef Al-Hajraf | Arab News — www.arabnews.com Highlights: – Nayef Al-Hajjraf, who took over the organization’s top job in 2020, said that the verdict of last week’s GCC summit was conclusive. “The directions or the decisions made by the supreme council are very clear — it has been set as a deadline 2025. There is a lot of work ongoing. We are working on the customs union, we are working on the common market, and also lifting the barriers that might be in between.” – He added: “I know 2025 is around the corner. There is a lot of work that needs to be done for the next four years. We have to emphasize that we are not starting from scratch, there is huge work that we conducted and completed actually over the last 20 years since the custom union was announced in 2003.” – He also talked of the possibility of further political integration in the GCC, the need for a unified rate of value-added tax across the organization, the desirability of a special “business visa” to aid commerce, and the GCC’s commitment to mutual defense security. Read more. Giant Rave in Saudi Desert Pushes Kingdom’s Changing Boundaries – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The electronic music festival in Saudi Arabia this weekend highlighted the changes catapulting through the conservative kingdom under its controversial crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. – At a recent international film festival in Jeddah, women strutted the red carpet in sleeveless gowns and an openly queer man, Adam Ali, won best actor. – The scenes at the music festival were the most extreme of any yet. Women flaunted their style, wearing everything from skintight pants to full-length robes and face veils. Inebriated men stumbled through crowds perfumed with the distinct scent of marijuana, alongside a limited but notable display of local queer culture. Read more. Living at AlJurf Find Out More About Living at AlJurf AlJurf Gardens harnesses nature’s raw beauty and combines it with refined heritage-inspired architecture and contemporary design to present a sanctuary of wellness and calm. Throughout the villa spaces, the refined and controlled raw beauty of nature is repeated in different scales, to showcase its exquisiteness across every typology of homes, gardens and courtyards. Learn more. Web3’s messy vision of a tech future Highlights: – Each iteration of the web has rested on new technical capabilities. With the first version, it was the ability to browse between static web pages. With Web 2.0, the web became a more interactive, real-time medium and users themselves became the content. – What of Web3’s supposed shift to a more decentralised online world? – Its core innovation rests on the distributed consensus made possible by blockchains — the ability to reach binding agreements with complete strangers, without needing to rely on any intermediary or central authority. – It seems to present an easy answer to the power of Big Tech: You, too, can take back control of your data and your online life, while also getting a chance to share in Big Tech’s insane profits. – Web3’s promise — of leaving everything to rules baked into the software, assured by supposedly bulletproof cryptography — leave ordinary people feeling any more confident their interests are being looked after? Read more. Jack Dorsey Stirs Uproar by Dismissing Web3 as a Venture Capitalists’ Plaything — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – You don’t own ‘web3’,” tweeted Dorsey. “The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives.” – Tesla Inc. chief Elon Musk got in on the discussion by asking if anyone has seen Web3, to which Dorsey replied “it’s somewhere between a and z,” hinting that it’s held under the control of the VC firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, commonly contracted to a16z. Read more. Biden’s Promise of More Equal U.S. Takes Hit With Spending Plan – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com Highlights: – The “Build Back Better” bill is now effectively on ice after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia — whose vote is essential to the bill’s passage — said he wouldn’t support it. – Biden’s Build Back Better plan would increase the after-tax income of the bottom quintile by about 15% in 2022, the most among income groups and largely the result of the boosted child tax credit. – The child tax credit expansion would reduce child poverty by about 40%, which would disproportionately help Black and Latino households. Read more. Billionaire businessman targets UK listing for ‘caviar of iron ore’ project Highlights: – The steel industry is searching for ways to reduce carbon emissions and demand for high-quality iron ore, which can improve blast furnace productivity and is suited to new hydrogen-based technologies, is expected to grow over the next couple of decades. – We like to call it [the] beluga caviar of iron ore because the grade is so high and the impurities are so low,” said Friedland, who has discovered some of the world’s biggest mineral deposits. “It takes a lot less energy to mine it and a lot less global warming gasses are generated when converting it into high-quality steel.” Read more.