Sheikh Mohammed launches ‘Operation 300bn’ strategy to foster UAE industrial sector, New York gobbles up SPAC listings from UAE, Covid Vaccine Passports: The Golden Ticket for International Travel.
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 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.“
Your Instant Coffee May Soon Be at Risk From Suez Blockage – Bloomberg
“The vessel blocking passage in one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints isn’t just curbing shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, but also containers of robusta coffee. “All of the beans Europe imports from East Africa and Asia flow through the Suez.”
“The massive container ship Ever Given became jammed in the key trade route on Tuesday, blocking passage for ships hauling almost $10 billion of goods through the Egyptian waterway.”
“Dislodging the 200,000-ton vessel could take days or even weeks.”
“About 12% of global trade goes through the Suez.”
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New York gobbles up SPAC listings from UAE.
“After a strong run of acquisitions in the US, SPACs are looking at emerging markets, with a focus on Asia. But there are potential targets in the Middle East and the UAE in particular.”
“SPACs are speaking to us about companies here they’d like to merge with to go public,” said Fawad Tariq-Khan, head of investment banking at Dubai-based SHUAA Capital.”
“The UAE’s equity markets have not seen sizeable IPOs over the past few years”
“Companies have for many years deserted their home markets for listings in London, which offers deeper liquidity and a path to join the benchmark FTSE indexes.“
“The UAE recently introduced a raft of reforms, such as a cut in trading fees, aimed at making its equity markets more attractive.”
“Abu Dhabi-headquartered Anghami, the Middle East’s rival to Spotify, recently announced it was merging with a SPAC.”
“Trading volumes have declined substantially on local bourses from highs seen in 2014. Total traded value in the UAE has slumped by 74 percent since 2014 to 127.5 billion dirhams ($34.7 billion) last year.”
Ultra-Rare Metal Iridium Is Doing Much Better Than Bitcoin This Year – Bloomberg
“Iridium, one of the rarest precious metals and mined as a byproduct of platinum and palladium, has surged 131% since the start of January, far beating Bitcoin’s 85% gain.”
“Iridium isn’t traded on a bourse or through exchange-traded funds, retail buyers are limited to ingots from a handful of dealers and the few major investors dealing in it go straight to producers.”
“Iridium, which is also used in spark plugs, has climbed to $6,000 an ounce, according to Johnson Matthey Plc data. That makes it more than three times more expensive than gold.”
Africa News: Mozambique LNG Projects From Total (FP), Exxon (XOM) at Stake – Bloomberg
“Total SE halted work on its $20 billion project in the conflict-hit northern Cabo Delgado province at the start of the year.”
“Exxon Mobil Corp. delayed its adjacent project again this month.”
“Yields on Mozambique’s $900 million of Eurobonds have risen almost 100 basis points this year as project delays increase the risk that the government will struggle to meet its obligations when interest payments on the notes jump to 9% in 2024.”
“Mozambique is currently in talks with the International Monetary Fund that the government says could lead to a funded program. That would help the country service external loans, including the Eurobonds.”
““A bad situation in Mozambique will be a boon for rival exporters such as Australia, Qatar, and Russia,” Palti-Guzman said.”
Covid Vaccine Passports 2021: The Golden Ticket for International Travel? – Bloomberg
“Greece said it would welcome back visitors starting on May 14, as long as they’ve had a vaccination, recovered from the novel coronavirus, or tested negative before flying out.”
“Airlines have supported a number of tech solutions to verify passengers’ Covid vaccination or testing results, such as the IATA Travel Pass app, the AOKpass from French travel-security company International SOS, and the CommonPass, which is being developed by a Swiss nonprofit and the World Economic Forum.”
“Vaccine passports would initially open up travel to a cohort of the elderly and middle-aged that have been prioritized for inoculation, leaving younger people in effective travel curfew while their parents and grandparents jet off to warmer climes”
“On March 17 the EU gave the go-ahead to its own passport, a “Digital Green Certificate,” but some key questions persist, including when the passport will be available.”
Paris to Get its First Tech SPAC With 360 Disruptech Listing – Bloomberg
“Paris is set to get its first blank-check company for technology investments, the latest sign European investors are joining the U.S. investment craze.”
“The newly listed company will look for European technology companies with an equity value of 1 billion euros to 4 billion euros, it said.”
“The special-purpose acquisition company is being formed by venture capital firm 360 Capital Partners.”
“The Netherlands is the continent’s go-to destination, with three SPACs on the Dutch market and another listing imminently. Germany is runner up with three. Paris has one.”