Egypt’s RiseUp acquires Saudi’s MENAbytes for an undisclosed sum …

UAE News:
UAE PMI fell to 55.1 in July, from June’s 57.7 and lower than Q2’s average of 58.2. Output prices were reduced for the tenth successive month.
Consumer prices in Abu Dhabi fell by 1.1% mom and 1.4% yoy in July – the biggest drop since at least 2015 – after the housing and utilities sub-index dropped 3.6%. Earlier, it was disclosed that UAE inflation fell 1.49% yoy in June (partly due to the impact of VAT last year).
Abu Dhabi, as part of the Ghadan 21 initiative, ordered the disbursement of AED 1.6bn (USD 435mn) via 1000 housing loans.
The FTA will impose and collect taxes on waterpipe tobacco (known in Arabic as ‘Mu’assel’) and electrically heated cigarettes as of November 1, 2019.
About 41.3mn passengers travelled through Dubai International Airport in H1 this year (down 5.6% yoy), in spite of a 45-day closure of one runway that led to a 32% reduction in passenger flights. India retained the top destination country spot, with 5.7mn customers, followed by Saudi Arabia (3.1mn) and UK (2.8mn).
A total of 20,978 residential units were completed in Dubai in H1 this year, according to “Property Finder Trends”. The report identified (as of July 2019) a further 38,000+ residential units within 152 projects that have at least an 85% completion status and hence are scheduled to be completed in 2019.

MENA News:
Egypt-based entrepreneurship summit organiser RiseUp has acquired Saudi-based tech start-up publication MENAbytes for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes the publication’s new data platform trackMENA, which helps users track start-ups, venture capital companies, investments and acquisitions in the MENA region.
Bahrain’s budget deficit narrowed to BHD 404mn (USD 1.07bn) in H1 this year, from a BHD 650mn deficit in the same period a year ago. The finance ministry disclosed that the nation is “well ahead of its projected deficit reduction schedule”.
Egypt is the fifth-largest recipient country for remittances, with last year’s receipts at USD 28.9bn, according to the World Bank. Egypt is preceded by India (USD 78.6bn), China (USD 67.4bn), Mexico (USD 35.7bn) and the Philippines (USD 33.8bn).
Egypt’s oil ministry plans to supply gas to 1.2mn households in the current fiscal year 2019-20.
According to the Egyptian Statistical Authority, Saudi Arabia issued about 515,000 work permits to Egyptian nationals last year – accounting for 49.2% of the total work permits in the Arab countries – while Kuwait followed closely with 230,000.
Profits of the 144 listed companies in Kuwait stood at USD 1.74bn in Q2 this year, with the banking sector accounting for 57.7% of total reported profits.
The size of the labour force in Kuwait is 2.121mn employees as of Q1 this year. The wage differential remains wide, with the average monthly wage of a Kuwaiti citizen at KWD 1497 vs KWD 697 for an expat.
Kafalat loans extended to SMEs in Lebanon slumped by 85.1% to USD 4.3mn in H1, while the total number of guarantees declined to 36 from 223 guarantees in H1 2018.
Saudi Arabia’s PMI fell to 56.6 in July, after posting a 19-month high of 57.9 in June. Though export orders rose at the quickest pace since February 2017, the indicators for output, new orders and future expectations all signalled some loss of momentum vis-à-vis Q2.
Saudi Aramco is ready for an IPO, but the announcement will depend on the “optimum market condition” as perceived by the government, according to a senior VP.

Global News:
After a topsy-turvy week, most equity markets recovered towards the end of the week, on expectations of ECB stimulus: the week saw reactions to a delay in the September 1 US deadline for a 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, a short-lived yield curve inversion, as well as a Eurozone bank share meltdown (to their lowest since 2012 at the peak of the eurozone debt crisis). In the region, a few markets were closed for the Eid holidays while others mostly mirrored global moves. The dollar remained flat while the pound recovered after hitting a 10-year low against the euro on hard Brexit fears. Oil prices edged higher towards the end of the week and the OPEC’s bearish oil demand outlook quelled any gains. Global benchmark spot gold hit a six-year high on Tuesday and ended on the 3rd week of gains.

About Business Exchange Bureau:
Business Exchange Bureau (BXB) is a Professional Marketplace for Business Owners to Buy and Sell Businesses, Investments or Business Assets in the UAE.
The BXB vision is clear - to connect great business minds to great investments.

SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates
Arabian Business