Trading on Dubai’s main stock exchange suspended because of a system malfunction

Trading on Dubai’s main stock exchange suspended because of a system malfunction

 

[caption id="attachment_12236" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Trading of instruments on Dubai's main stock exchange has been suspended because of a system malfunction. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Trading of instruments on Dubai's main stock exchange, Dubai Financial Market, has been suspended on Tuesday because of a system malfunction, a bourse spokesman told Reuters.

 

The problem is under investigation and there is no time frame for it to be resolved, he said, adding that the market would be updated on further developments.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

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

 

Dubai’s Arabtec Holding says will set up five new subsidiaries

Dubai’s Arabtec Holding says will set up five new subsidiaries

 

[caption id="attachment_12163" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Dubai-based builder Arabtec Holding said on Sunday it would set up five new subsidiaries as it expands into new markets. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai-based builder Arabtec Holding said on Sunday it would set up five new subsidiaries as it expands into new markets and infrastructure projects.

 

Two of the units will focus on infrastructure projects inside and outside the United Arab Emirates, one will focus on water and energy project and one will concentrate on the Egyptian market, it said in a bourse statement.

 

Arabtec will also set up an investment firm, Arabtec Capital, to provide global financial services.

 

The news comes as Dubai construction firm Arabtec clinched a $6.1 billion contract in early February, its biggest ever by value, as its relationship with Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar, a key shareholder, promised to make the firm one of the region’s top builders.

 

Arabtec said it had signed a memorandum of understanding to build 37 mixed-use, residential and hotel towers for Aabar in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

 

The announcement pushed up stock markets, especially cement shares, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai because it was a fresh sign that their real estate markets are recovering strongly after prices halved during the global financial crisis.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 9 Sunday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Mall developer MAF to invest $816 mn in Dubai

Mall developer MAF to invest $816 mn in Dubai

 

[caption id="attachment_12050" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Majid al Futtaim, the developer of Dubai mall, is set to invest $816m to expand its business over the next five years. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai mall developer Majid Al Futtaim said it will invest another 3 billion dirhams ($816.7 mn) over the next 5 years to expand its business in the emirate, after posting a 10 percent increase in its 2013 revenue.

 

Unlisted MAF, which holds the Carrefour franchise in the Middle East, said on Monday that revenue last year was $6.2 billion.

 

Its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization (EBIDTA) from recurring operations grew by 12 percent year-on-year to reach $898m, the company said, without providing full-year net profit figure.

 

MAF has plans to invest over $816 million on extending its Dubai businesses over the next five years, which includes two new hotel developments, renovating two existing hotels and redeveloping its flagship Mall of the Emirates.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 27 Monday January 2014 The Roman)

 

Dubai’s Arabtec wins $6.1bn Aabar contract

Dubai’s Arabtec wins $6.1bn Aabar contract

 

[caption id="attachment_12045" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Arabtec said the deal was one of the largest ever in the region’s real estate sector and Arabtec’s biggest by value. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai-based construction firm Arabtec said it would build 37 major buildings worth 22.44 billion dirhams ($6.1 billion) for Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in a fresh sign of the dramatic recovery of local estate markets.

 

Confirming a Reuters story on Saturday, Arabtec said the deal was one of the largest ever in the region’s real estate sector and Arabtec’s biggest by value.

 

In a bourse statement on Sunday, Arabtec also quoted Aabar Properties chairman Khadem Al Qubaisi as saying Aabar would in future assign all construction work in its $20 billion real estate portfolio around the world to Arabtec.

 

That portfolio includes projects in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Morocco, Jordan, Serbia and other countries.

 

Aabar, which also owns stakes in companies such as commodities trader Glencore (GLEN.L) and Italian bank UniCredit (CRDI.MI), holds about 22 percent of Arabtec.

 

Arabtec said it would start work this year on the new buildings, which would be mixed-use, residential and hotel towers, and that all the projects would be completed by 2020.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 2 Sunday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Dubai’s DP World says consolidated volumes slip 3.8 percent in 2013

Dubai’s DP World says consolidated volumes slip 3.8 percent in 2013

 

[caption id="attachment_11863" align="alignnone" width="400"] (The world’s third biggest port operator said its consolidated container volumes dropped 3.8 percent in 2013. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Dubai's DP World, the world's third biggest port operator, said on Wednesday its consolidated container volumes slipped 3.8 percent in 2013, but rose 0.7 percent on a gross like-for-like basis.

 

DP World, one of the more profitable assets of Dubai World, said terminals controlled by the company handled 26 million TEU - or twenty-foot equivalent container units - during the year.

 

This compares to 27.1 million TEU in the year-earlier period.

 

But gross volumes - which include more terminals - rose slightly in like-for-like terms, DP World said.

 

The port operator has been selling assets globally, exiting markets where it does not have a significant presence and seeking to redeploy funds in fast-growing markets.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

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

 

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)

Dubai financial center posts double-digit growth for 2013

Dubai financial center posts double-digit growth for 2013

 

[caption id="attachment_11778" align="alignnone" width="400"] (The Dubai International Financial Center said it grew at double-digit rates last year, due to attracting more tenants from Asia and emerging markets. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

The Dubai International Financial Center, the top banking hub in the Middle East, said it grew at double-digit rates last year as it attracted more tenants from Asia and other emerging markets.

 

The number of active registered companies operating within the DIFC rose 14 percent to 1,039, while their combined workforce expanded 11 percent to 15,600, it said on Tuesday.

 

Jeffrey Singer, chief executive of the DIFC Authority, which manages the financial free zone, said the DIFC would focus this year on developing new areas such as Islamic finance, family-owned businesses and commercial links with Africa.

 

Occupancy rates in core office buildings owned or managed by the DIFC are now close to 100 percent, so more office space is being made available in other buildings that could accommodate as many as 15,000 more workers, the DIFC said.

 

(Reuters, Dubai)

 

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

 

Abu Dhabi, Dubai reveal 2014 economic growth forecasts

Abu Dhabi, Dubai reveal 2014 economic growth forecasts



[caption id="attachment_11726" align="alignnone" width="400"] (The UAE capital Abu Dhabi expects GDP growth of 6.7 percent this year. (File photo: Shutterstock))[/caption]



Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the largest economies of the United Arab Emirates, today released growth forecasts for 2014, Reuters reported.



The UAE capital Abu Dhabi sees gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.7 percent this year, according to Shorooq al-Zaabi, head of development indicators at the Department of Economic Development.



The emirate posted real GDP growth of 7.4 percent in 2013, up from 5.6 percent in 2012, Reuters reported.

Zaabi added that Abu Dhabi’s oil production would rise steadily to 3.114 million barrels per day (BPD) in 2017 from 2.907 million BPD in 2015.



But it expects oil prices to fall moderately, to $95 a barrel in 2017 from $109 last year.



Dubai expects its economy to grow by an inflation-adjusted 4.7 percent this year, accelerating to over 5 percent in 2015, according to a Department of Economic Development official quoted by Reuters.



Dubai’s economy reportedly expanded by 4.9 percent in the first half of 2013.



(With Reuters)



(By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News, Dubai)



(Al Arabiya News, 3 Monday February 2014 The Roman)