Etihad in 'final' assessment for Alitalia buy

Etihad in 'final' assessment for Alitalia buy

 

Abu Dhabi (AFP)

 

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said Sunday it has entered the final stage of an assessment whether to purchase a stake in Italy's debt-laden airline Alitalia.

 

The two carriers "have entered the final phase of a due diligence process about a possible investment by Etihad Airways in Alitalia," confirmed James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad Airways, and Gabriele Del Torchio, his Alitalia counterpart, according to a statement by Etihad.

 

The two companies and their advisors will determine during the next 30 days "how a common strategy can be developed which meets the objectives of both parties," said the statement.

 

"Any issues that may prevent the establishment of an appropriate business plan will have to be resolved to ensure the plan can be implemented to move Alitalia to sustainable profitability," it added.

 

Reports have suggested that Etihad is preparing a big investment in Alitalia, which is in debt to the tune of 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion).

 

In October, shareholders gave unanimous approval for a capital increase of up to 300 million euros to save Alitalia from bankruptcy.

 

The carrier is looking for a foreign partner to rescue it.

 

Etihad is expanding rapidly and has bought minor shares in several smaller carriers around the world as it competes with larger Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways.

 

Etihad owns 29 percent of Air Berlin, 40 percent of Air Seychelles, 19.9 percent of Virgin Australia and three percent of Aer Lingus.

 

In November, India's Jet Airways said it had completed the sale of a 24-percent stake to Etihad after obtaining regulatory approvals.

 

Etihad also announced in mid-November that it was acquiring 33.3 percent of Swiss carrier Darwin Airline, which it plans to rebrand as Etihad Regional.

 

That acquisition is awaiting regulatory approval.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 2 Sunday February 2014 The Roman)

Morocco says investors lining up for $9 bn solar project

Morocco says investors lining up for $9 bn solar project

 

[caption id="attachment_11790" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Workers build a thermo-solar power plant in Beni Mathar 20 Thursday August 2009 The Roman. (Reuters))[/caption]

 

Morocco has recruited foreign investors to fund $9 billion solar power project, even though some European lenders have balked due to the location of some planned plants in the disputed Western Sahara, its foreign minister said.

 

Lending sources at German state-owned banks and at multi-lateral lenders such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Union have told Reuters they would not finance projects based in Western Sahara.

 

“That is their problem. We have no financing problems. We have several (investors); there are Japan, Gulf countries,” Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar told Reuters on Tuesday in an interview in Madrid, where he was meeting with Spanish business leaders.

 

He declined to give details on the financing contracts with specific parties.

 

Morocco, a net energy importer, wants to develop renewable power to reach 20 percent of its energy supply in 10 years, up from 8 percent now, Mezouar said.

 

The solar project involves five plants, two of them planned in Western Sahara, that would produce a total of 2,000 Mega Watts.

 

Morocco has controlled most of the sparsely populated Western Sahara, former Spanish colony, since 1975.

 

European investor sources told Reuters earlier this year they did not want to support any project in Western Sahara, because it would mean abandoning a neutral position over the conflict.

 

The solar project is focussed on building the first of the five plants.

 

“The other four plants will also happen. The goal is to achieve 2,000 Mega Watts, and we will continue with our plan. The Western Sahara issue has nothing to do with it. The financing is not conditioned on whether plants are in Sahara or not,” the minister said.

 

“Western Sahara needs renewable energy, and the investment will be made. If some people don't want to come, others will.”

 

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power International won the $1 billion contract for the first solar plant, which is scheduled to start operating next year in Ouarzazate with a capacity of 160 Mega Watts.

 

It awarded the construction to a consortium of three Spanish companies - Sener, Acciona and TSK.

 

Hundreds of Spanish companies do business in Morocco, and more than half of Spain's entire investment in Africa is in Morocco, according to Moroccan figures.

 

Overall, Morocco aims for 15 to 20 percent growth in foreign direct investment a year in the economy, up from 13 percent last year, Mezouar said.

 

Mezouar said that Morocco, which has been more stable than most of its neighbours during the so-called Arab spring in recent years, offers yet more potential for Spanish investors as a base for textile and automotive manufacturing and as a springboard for trade to the rest of Africa.

 

(Fiona Ortiz, Reuters - Madrid)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Saudi Arabia to launch $9.5 bn mining industrial city

Saudi Arabia to launch $9.5 bn mining industrial city

 

[caption id="attachment_11784" align="alignnone" width="630"] (The new industrial project would focus on mining, a sector which started “contributing to the national economy,” Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Saudi Arabia signed contracts worth 36 billion Saudi riyals ($9.5 billion) for the establishment of a new mineral industrial city in Waad al-Shamal.

 

The kingdom’s mining company, Maaden, also signed a number of deals worth $3.6 billion for the establishment of five new plants in the new city.

 

The new industrial city will focus on mining, a “promising sector that started contributing to the national economy,” Dr. Ibrahim al-Assaf, Saudi finance minister, told Al Arabiya News Channel.

 

The project will bring larger diversity to the country's exports and increase economic growth to the kingdom and the region, according to officials’ remarks during the launch.

 

According to the minister, the project is important on a domestic level, but also more important on a regional scale, “in terms of [providing] employment, and finding services to support the mining sector.”

 

The Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the national Saudi Railway Company (SAR), the Industrial Development Fund, and Sanabil Investment Company were among the parties involved in the development of the new industrial city.

 

“The Ministry of Finance [participated] directly through financing the infrastructure of the project, and through institutes associated with it, such as the Public Investment Fund, which participated directly to the investment of the project, or indirectly through providing loans for projects to be established within the city,” Assaf explained to Al Arabiya News Channel.

 

Ministers of petroleum, electricity and economy were among the officials that attended the ceremony.

 

Maaden, the Gulf’s largest miner, recently announced expanding its aluminum exports after signing several contracts to supply Asian markets during 2014, reported the Saudi Gazette in January.

 

The company reported a net loss of $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, mainly due to low prices for its petrochemical products, Reuters reported.

 

(Staff writer, Al Arabiya News)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 5 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Italian Prime Minister says Kuwait to invest $676 million in Italy

Italian Prime Minister says Kuwait to invest $676 million in Italy

 

[caption id="attachment_11772" align="alignnone" width="566"] (Kuwait will invest $676m in Italian companies, said Prime Minister Enrico Letta. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund will invest 500 million euros ($676 million) in Italian companies in coordination with Italy’s own strategic investment fund, Prime Minister Enrico Letta said on Tuesday.

 

The deal follows similar agreements with Qatar’s investment fund last year to invest in Italian companies operating in the fashion, food and tourism sectors and a separate deal with the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

 

Kuwait and Italy will create a company with capital of 2.5 billion euros, of which 80 percent will come from Italy’s strategic investment fund, the FSI, and the remainder from the Kuwait Investment Authority.

 

“This is an extraordinarily important development, it’s an injection of confidence in our country,” Italy’s Letta said at a news conference in Kuwait during a visit to the Gulf states to attract interest in Italy as an investment destination.

 

(Reuters, Kuwait)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 4 Tuesday February 2014 The Roman)