Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala invests Dh1.3b in Singapore-based Princeton Digital | Business – Gulf News
Highlights:
– Data-center operator Princeton Digital Group has pulled in over Dh1.3 billion investment from Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala.
– The investment will further accelerate the UAE’s presence in key international markets.
– This comes just weeks after Mubadala led a $500 million funding round with an investment of $350 million.
– Princeton Digital invests in, develops and operates data-centre infrastructure in countries including China, Singapore, Japan, India and Indonesia, according to its website.
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UAE’s SHUAA Capital introduces $100mn SPAC on NASDAQ – GCC Business News — www.gccbusinessnews.com
Highlights:
– The $100 million Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) will be listed on the NASDAQ Global Marketplace and begin trading under the ticker symbol ‘SHUAU’.
– The company will focus on identifying and merging technology-based/enabled financial services businesses in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT).
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UAE’s Gulf Capital accelerates investment pace in Egypt and Africa — gulfbusiness.com
Highlights:
– According to the latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Egyptian economy will become the second-largest Arab and African economy during 2022.
– The IMF projects a robust average annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent for the Egyptian economy over the next five years, the best in the country’s economic history over the last 25 years
– Gulf Capital’s most recent investment was in fintech payment solutions provider, Geidea, and health tech company, Vezeeta.
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Russian Oil Shock: How Do You Replace Millions of Barrels a Day? – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Oil traders believe exports are likely to suffer a notable drop by late next week. They all suggest that at least 2 million barrels a day of Russian oil exports (crude and refined products) are at risk or about 25% of the total.
– The International Energy Agency on Tuesday agreed to release 60 million barrels from its members’ strategic petroleum reserves, but that’s not close enough to cover the potential drop in Russian oil exports.
– The U.S., Japan and Europe should use diplomatic pressure to convince Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to immediately increase production well above their OPEC+ current quotas.
– Finally, a nuclear deal with Iran would help to alleviate the crisis, guaranteeing the return of perhaps 500,000 barrels a day.
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Whether They Back War or Not, Russian Billionaires Hit by EU – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The restrictions imposed Monday are some of the most sweeping yet on Russia’s super-wealthy, freezing assets and putting in place travel bans and trading curbs
– The U.K. last week banned all private Russian aircraft from the nation’s airspace and has instructed ports to block any vessels they believe are owned, controlled, chartered or operated by any person connected with Russia, or by sanctioned individuals.
– Historically neutral Switzerland said on Monday it’s adopting EU sanctions on Russia, including asset freezes.
– On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that EU ambassadors had agreed to exclude seven Russian banks from SWIFT, while sparing the nation’s biggest lender Sberbank PJSC and a bank part-owned by Russian gas giant Gazprom PJSC.
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How the Russia-Ukraine War Will Impact US Dollar Dominance, FX Rates – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– With Russia losing access to its foreign currency reserves, a message has been sent to all countries that they can’t count on these money stashes to actually be theirs in the event of tension.
– The global head of short-term interest rate strategy at Credit Suisse AG Pozsar argues that this recognition may encourage central banks to diversify away from the dollar, or try to re-anchor their currencies to assets that are less susceptible to influence from the U.S. or European governments.
– As of January, Russia held over $120 billion worth of gold, more than its actual dollar-denominated holdings. Now, given the loss of access to its dollars and euros, gold is effectively it’s primary holding. And Pozsar sees potential for the ruble to become de facto, or literally, backed by gold.
– Cameron Crise, a macro strategist for Bloomberg. “It’s not clear that anyone other than the United States has both the ability and the will to ‘manufacture’ safe assets and sell them to foreigners as the bedrock of a global financial system.”
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To Punish Putin for Russia’s War in Ukraine, the World Weaponized Finance – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– They have been trying to ‘bulletproof’ their economy from sanctions since 2014,” says Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance in Washington.
– Russian officials also were forced to put stringent controls in place to deter capital flight and stem a bank run that drained some $14 billion in deposits in a single day. Measures included freezing the assets of all nonresident investors, making it impossible for them to liquidate their holdings, and a ban on converting rubles into other currencies.
– The U.S. and Europe also moved to disconnect several major Russian banks from SWIFT, the global messaging system used to facilitate payments between financial institutions.
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