NL/23.10.2017 (29)

BySTRIDEWEBSTUDIO
Monday, 23 October 2017
Published inOctober 2017

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OCT 2017 ISSUE

CGI. 92

Country Risk Update – Kuwait

Business opportunities should increase as the government targets a more diverse economy with its national development plan. A pending resolution of the Divided Zone dispute with Saudi Arabia will boost oil production capacity.We have downgraded the rating outlook for Kuwait from improving to stable as a result of increased political tensions in the region. Kuwait’s position in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016-17 fell by four places, to 38th out of 138 countries, and to fourth in the Gulf.

Market Overview

SAMA will raise interest rates to protect riyal’s peg to the dollar, says research
In an effort to protect the riyal’s peg to the US dollar over the coming years, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) will hike interest rates in line with the US Federal Reserve, according to a new outlook report by BMI Research.The report predicts that price pressures, driven by fiscal consolidation measures, will increase in 18, but the tightening cycle will do little to mitigate these pressures, as demand-pull inflation will remain subdued. Although the tightening cycles will also weigh on credit demand, BMI maintains its views that the liquidity squeeze is “largely over.”

UAE’s Masdar says financing secured for giant wind farm in Serbia
Financing for one of the largest wind power projects in mainland Europe, part-owned by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, has been agreed. Due for completion in the first half of 2019, the EUR300 million ($352 million) 158 megawatt (MW) capacity Cibuk 1 wind farm will be the largest utility-scale commercial wind project in Serbia and the western Balkans.Vetroelektrane Balkana (WEBG), the project company behind Cibuk 1, is wholly owned by Tesla Wind, a 60:40 joint venture between Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company and Cibuk Wind Holding.

Investcorp acquires Kee Safety for $370m
Bahrain investment firm Investcorp said on 18 Oct 2017 Wednesday it agreed to acquire UK-based Kee Safety Ltd., a global provider of fall protection solutions and products associated with working at height, for £280 million ($370 million).“Kee Safety has grown at an impressive rate across international markets whilst maintaining excellent standards in the quality and reliability of its product range,” said Mohammed Al-Shroogi, co-CEO at Investcorp in a statement.““We look forward to working in partnership with the current management team as Kee Safety continues to increase its penetration into existing and new markets,” he added.

UAE’s Mubadala launches US-based venture capital arm
Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi-based investment company, on 18 Oct 2017 Wednesday announced it is launching a venture capital arm of its business.The dedicated ventures investment team will be based in San Francisco, the first Mubadala office in the United States, it said in a statement.The team will initially oversee three main business areas including Mubadala Ventures Fund I, a $400 million early growth venture capital fund with two main investors, Mubadala and SoftBank.It will also run a $200 million Fund of Funds that will invest in both established and emerging fund managers. Under this program, Mubadala intends to invest $50-70 million per year in US and European-based venture capital funds.

Abu Dhabi Fund allocates $50m for Maldives Airport upgrade
Development aid agency Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) said on 18 Oct 2017, Wednesday it extended a $50 million (AED183.65 million) concessionary loan to the Maldivian government to develop the Velana International Airport in Malé.“Our loan aims to promote socio-economic development in the Maldives through upgrading the airport’s facilities and expanding its operating capacity to 26 aircrafts in order to cope with the steady growth of the tourism sector,” said Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD.

Saudi fund launches $510m energy efficiency unit
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the establishment of a new energy service company, Super Esco, designed to increase energy efficiency across government and public buildings.A Royal decree has been issued requiring all government entities to contract Super Esco on an exclusive basis in order to improve energy savings across public buildings and facilities.Super Esco has been established with a capitalisation of SR1.9 billion ($510 million), a statement said.It added that the company will fund and manage the retrofit of government and public buildings, which represent over 70 percent of overall projects in the sector.

Funding for DEWA’s Dh100bn green investment vehicle finalised
The head of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has said that it has finalised funding for its Dh100 billion ($27 billion) green investment fund, ahead of next week’s World Green Economy Summit (WGES) in Dubai.He added that the fund’s headline investors, and the amount so far raised, would be announced on the first day of WGES.The amount we will start the fund with will be announced … during the first day of the WGES,” said Saeed Al Tayer, CEO and MD of Dewa, adding: “We have finalised [deals] with some funds, both locally and externally.

Saudi wealth fund widens economic role with mortgage company
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is setting up a mortgage refinancing company as it deepens the role it plays in the Arab world’s biggest economy.Saudi Real Estate Refinance aims to refinance 75 billion riyals (Dh73.4 billion, $20 billion) in mortgages in five years and more than double that by 2026, the Public Investment Fund said in an emailed statement. The company plans to acquire mortgage portfolios, issue mortgage-backed securities and offer direct and indirect refinancing as it seeks to boost home ownership, it said.The new company is designed to stimulate housing sector development in the kingdom by injecting liquidity into the real estate market,” the statement said.

Commodity Tracker
Commodity	16 Oct	23 Oct	Chg.%
Brent	57.81	57.90	0.16
WTI	51.88	52.10	0.42
Natural Gas	2.96	2.95	-0.34
Gold	1306.4	1278.00	-2.17

Business Events this week In UAE

WETEX 2017

23 October – 25 October 2017

Za’abeel Hall 1-8, Dubai World Trade Centre

Business Updates

Construction & Contracting Industry Insider

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