NL/06.11.2017 (26)

BySTRIDEWEBSTUDIO
Monday, 06 November 2017
Published inNovember 2017

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NOV 2017 ISSUE

CGI. 94

Country Risk Update – UAE

The UAE will continue to strengthen its position as a regional safe haven and business hub. AThe UAE will continue to strengthen its position as a regional safe haven and business hub. Access to global markets from Dubai will be among the best in the world. The forward-looking Emirates NBD UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for August highlights that the non-oil private sector continues to gain momentum.The index was at its highest level for 30 months and above the long-term average. ccess to global markets from Dubai will be among the best in the world.

Market Overview

Trump pitches New York stock exchange for Saudi Aramco IPO listing
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly appealed on 4 Nov 2017,Saturday for Saudi Arabia to list national oil company Saudi Aramco’s shares in New York, intervening in a battle among the world’s top stock exchanges.“Would very much appreciate Saudi Arabia doing their IPO of Aramco with the New York Stock Exchange,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Important to the United States!” But by describing the listing as a priority for Washington, he could help sway the Saudis’ decision.The Saudi government, is seeking to raise money as low oil prices strain its finances, it also plans to sell about 5 per cent of Aramco next year in a sale, officials say could raise about $100bn, making it the world’s largest initial public offer ever.

Oil rally could continue into 2018 if OPEC extends output deal
Oil will likely rally into 2018 with periods of volatility as an anticipated extension of OPEC-led output restrictions offsets higher US production, a Reuters poll showed last week.Analysts raised their crude price projections, the survey showed, as expectations of an output cut extension were buoyed by comments from officials in Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.“Rumours of extension, expansion or erosion (of the OPEC supply deal) could all impact prices and markets will be closely watching any statements from the upcoming meeting,” said Ashley Petersen of Stratas Advisors.

Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC expected to sign $6bn loan this week
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC), the United Arab Emirates oil giant, is expected to sign by the end of this week a $6bn loan which has received commitments from a group of 13 banks, sources close to the situation said on 5 November 2017,Sunday. ADNOC, which manages almost all of the proven oil reserves in the UAE, is raising the financing as part of an overhaul of its capital structure which involves, among other things, additional debt raising exercises and the initial public offering of minority stakes in some of its units.The club loan has been largely oversubscribed, having attracted commitments of $750m each from a group of 13 banks. Commitments will be scaled down to reach the targeted size of $6bn size, said the sources.

Bahrain asks Gulf allies for financial aid – report
The Gulf island kingdom of Bahrain has asked its allies for financial assistance to prevent a devaluation of its currency, according to reports.Bloomberg cited sources as saying the country had requested funds from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to replenish its foreign exchange reserves. A different source said Kuwait had also been asked.In return for the money, the countries have initially asked Bahrain to do more to bring its finances under control. The talks are at an early stage, according to the publication.Bahrain has been among the hardest hit countries in the Gulf Cooperation council by the drop in oil prices, which has raised questions over the sustainability of dollar-pegged currencies in the region.

UAE’s tax authority urges firms to register for VAT ahead of deadline
The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has invited all businesses in the country to register for value-added tax (VAT) before January 1, 2018, following the completion of first phase of registration.The VAT registration procedure is free of charge and can be completed online via the e-services portal on the FTA website.To register, businesses must provide the following information: Applicant details, including entity and activity details, trade licences and manager’s details. Contact information is also required, as well as the documents of the authorised signatory, including scanned copies of their Emirates ID and passport.

Emaar Development expects to raise up to $1.5bn in Dubai IPO
Emaar Development, a unit of Dubai property firm Emaar Properties, has set an indicative price range for its initial public offering, which would value the deal at Dhs5.52bn ($1.5bn) at the top end of the range.This is the first major listing in Dubai since late 2014 when Emaar Malls raised about $1.6bn. Emaar Development has set a price range of Dhs5.7 and Dhs6.9 per share, according to a company statement, which would value the newly listed company at Dhs27.6bn at the top end of the price range.This means a 14.5 per cent premium to its net asset value of Dhs24.1bn ($6.56bn), which Reuters reported on Oct. 2, as of September estimated by JLL.

Saudi minister calls for more work to end oil glut
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid Al Falih said on 4 Novemember 2017,Saturday that more work was needed to reduce global oil inventories.”There is a general satisfaction with the strategy of 24 countries that signed a declaration of cooperation,” he said after a meeting attended by his Russian, Uzbek and Kazakh counterparts.Russia and Saudi Arabia are leading a deal between Opec and non-Opec producers to cut global oil production, with the aim of propping up oil prices.”Everybody recognises that (the) job is not done yet by any means, we still have significant amount of work to do to bring inventories down. Mission is not yet complete, more needs to be done,” he added.He said members of the global pact he had spoken with have expressed the same views.

VAT to increase costs for Gulf real estate investors, says CFA survey
The cost of real estate investment in the region is likely to climb on the back of VAT introduced across the Gulf from next year, a survey of local investment professionals found.With VAT set to be applied on the first sale of properties, 87 percent of investment professionals said that some or all of the additional expenses incurred by real estate firms will be passed on to investors.The survey assessed the views of investment experts certified by the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) society members in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait.A further 54 percent of the 140 CFA society members surveyed online between September and October believed that retail investors will be hardest hit by the new taxes introduced in Jan. 2018.

Commodity Tracker
Commodity	30 Oct	6 Nov	Chg.%
Brent	60.48	62.45	3.26
WTI	53.95	55.87	3.56
Natural Gas	2.96	3.05	3.04
Gold	1271.2	1270.2	-0.08

Business Events this week In UAE

Dubai Forum for Government Best Practices 2017

07 November – 08 November 2017
Sheikh Rashid Hall, Dubai
World Trade Centre

Business Updates

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CRIF GULF DWC LLC
Level 15, ’48 Burj Gate’, Downtown Burj, Shaikh Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Tel. +971 4 406 9900
www,crif.ae / www.dnbuae.com

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CRIF GULF DWC LLC · 48 BURJ GATE, DOWNTOWN BURJ AREA, SHEIKH ZAYED ROAD · Dubai · United Arab Emirates

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