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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.”
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