UAE Business: UAE launches ambitious new programme for SMEs — www.gdnonline.com
Highlights:
– The UAE has launched the ambitious National Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which has created more than 25 tie-ups with leading institutions in the public and private sectors to support citizen entrepreneurs.
– This further reflects changes in the services provided to citizen entrepreneurs to support them in developing their projects, thereby enabling them to increase their contribution to the country’s economic diversification efforts and growth in line with the goals of the ‘Projects of the 50.’
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Biden Will Have to Work With Saudi Prince MBS, Like It or Not – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– At CERAWeek in Houston, one of the energy industry’s biggest annual gatherings, Scott Sheffield, chief executive officer of Pioneer Natural Resources Co., warned that if Biden can’t convince the prince to pump more oil, crude could trade at a sky-high $150 to $200 a barrel for the next “several years.”
– But as the attempt to connect with the prince on the phone suggests, Biden realizes he can no longer shun the man who controls the world’s biggest oil exporter.
– MBS has previously brushed off appeals from U.S. officials to increase the kingdom’s oil output. For good measure, he has suggested Saudi Arabia might reduce investments in the U.S., which are thought to be in the region of $800 billion.
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Rivian (RIVN) Enthusiasm Turns to Skepticism After $117 Billion Wipeout – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– With investors increasingly concerned about Rivian’s production ramp combined with its inability to combat cost inflation with price increases, we have trimmed our price target to $47 from $115,” Barclays analyst Brian Johnson wrote in a note to clients on March 8.
– The electric-truck manufacturer’s initial public offering in November coincided with heightened investor appetite for all things EV, driving its market valuation to $153 billion.
– Rivian is still considered the best-positioned startup to compete with Tesla Inc. in the rapidly growing EV market.
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SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son Loses $25 Billion in Tech’s Brutal Winter – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– From China’s tech crackdown to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation to the markets, a litany of troubles has beset Son and his conglomerate.
– The stock has tumbled almost 60% in the past year and the loan-to-value chart that Son obsesses over daily just keeps ticking higher, indicating SoftBank’s net debt is getting unwieldy relative to the equity value of its holdings.
– As of December, it had pledged more than half of its stakes in Alibaba, T-Mobile US Inc., Deutsche Telekom AG and its telecom unit SoftBank Corp. Asset-backed financing makes up $54 billion of the conglomerate’s $128 billion in total debt, according to a BI analysis.
– All but three of the 23 stocks backed by the conglomerate that listed in 2021 have fallen below their initial public offering prices.
– Kirk Boodry, an analyst at Redex Research doesn’t rate the shares. “There is some cushion there, despite the poor performance of the portfolio over the last three quarters,” he said.
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Global Food Crisis: Latest News and Analysis With Ukraine-Russia War – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– The United Nations warned that already record global food costs could surge another 22% as war stifles trade and slashes future harvests.
– Hungary, Indonesia and Argentina are among a cluster of countries that have imposed trade barriers on agricultural exports ranging from wheat to cooking oil in an attempt to suppress domestic prices and safeguard local food supplies after Russia’s invasion led to widespread panic about shortages.
– Other global suppliers may take strides to fill stockpile shortfalls. India, for example, has increased wheat shipments in recent years and could boost exports to a record 7 million tons if the conflict drags on. But many nations that could typically offset shortages are themselves facing production problems.
– Ukraine and Russia together account for more than a quarter of the global trade in wheat, as well as a fifth of corn sales.
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UAE billionaire Sajwani to invest $1bln in building data centres — www.zawya.com
Highlights:
– The facilities, to be established through Sajwani’s new data centre business Edgnex, will target major tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon.
– Data consumption has surged in recent times, mainly driven by remote work, online shopping and cloud computing.
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