Spinneys is planning an IPO in Q2 2024 …
The company has 65 outlets in the UAE and operates 7 stores in Oman.
UAE News:
Dubai’s public debt will decline by AED 29bn (USD 7.9bn) by end of 2023, according to WAM, citing data from the Public Debt Management Office. This includes a “partial settlement” of a combined AED 20bn loan from Abu Dhabi and the central bank as well as bilateral and syndicated loans and the redemption of Sukuk.
The Crown Prince of Dubai approved a set of new transformative projects as part of the third phase of the Dubai 10X initiative: this includes projects in transportation, aviation, urban planning and healthcare.
UAE and the Egypt central bank entered a bilateral swap deal in local currencies with a nominal amount of up to AED 5bn (USD 1.36bn).
Abu Dhabi is investing AED 10bn (USD 2.7bn) to more than double the size of its manufacturing sector to AED 172bn, create 13,600 skilled jobs and raise non-oil exports to AED 178.8bn by 2031.
The UAE-Thailand CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) (currently in negotiations) is expected to contribute about USD 250mn to bilateral trade and at least USD 300mn to the latter’s GDP, according to the ambassador of Thailand to the UAE.
UAE-based supermarket franchise Spinneys is planning an IPO in Q2 2024: the company has 65 outlets in the UAE and operates 7 stores in Oman.
India permitted the export of 75,000 tonnes of non-Basmati white rice to the UAE via the National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). The government has allowed non-basmati rice exports to Bhutan, Mauritius and Singapore through the NCEL.
Abu Dhabi’s IHC is planning to sell its stake in 2 of the Adani Group companies – Adani Green Energy & Adani Energy Solutions – as part of its “portfolio rebalancing strategy”.
ADNOC and Taqa secured financing for a USD 2.2bn project to provide sustainable water supply to ADNOC’s onshore operations. The project will include a centralised seawater treatment facility along with a transportation and distribution network.
Regional News:
Crude oil exports from Kuwait to Japan fell by 51.2% YoY to 4.68mn barrels (or 151k barrels per day) in August. The nation is Japan’s 3rd biggest oil provider (behind UAE and Saudi Arabia at 1.15mn bpd and 899k bpd respectively).
Kuwait’s exports to the EU stood at EUR 3.5bn and imports were EUR 5.5bn last year. In the January-July 2023 period, exports to the EU from Kuwait jumped to EUR 3.16bn: mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials formed the bulk of exports to the EU.
Inflation in Lebanon jumped to 230% YoY in August (and up 1% MoM), staying above 100% for the 38th month in a row. Prices were driven up by food (274% YoY), housing & utilities (233%), healthcare (235%) and transport (231%). As cash dollarisation increases, LBP will depreciate further, thereby keeping inflation high.
Oman’s GDP grew by 2.1% YoY in H1 2023, supported by non-oil sector activity (2.1%) alongside the oil sector (1.4%). The Minister of Economy also revealed that the size of public debt declined to about 37% of GDP.
The Minister of Heritage and Tourism stated that tourism sector revenues in Oman touched OMR 1.9bn (USD 4.9bn) in 2022. Furthermore, he revealed that the sector’s contribution to GDP will rise to 2.75% in the next 2 years (from 2.4% at end-2022).
Both Fitch and S&P upgraded Oman’s credit rating. Fitch raised the rating to BB+ on improved finances (i.e. decline in debt-to-GDP and rationalised spending patterns). S&P raised Oman’s credit rating to BB+ with a stable outlook, also stating that further upgrades were possible if the external debt could be reduced.
Qatar reported a balance of payments surplus of SAR 7.9bn (USD 2.17bn) in Q2 2023, according to the central bank, thanks to surpluses in its goods (QAR 59.6bn) and services (QAR 31.3bn) accounts.
Private sector exports from Qatar fell by 9% YoY to QAR 15.2bn (USD 4.17bn) in H1 2023 and 31.5% YoY to QAR 6.1bn in Q2, according to data from the Qatar Chamber.
QatarEnergy’s deal with South Korea’s Hyundai, valued at QAR 14.2bn (USD 3.9bn), sees the construction of 17 LNG carriers in the second phase of the former’s fleet expansion program. In the first phase, 60 carriers were constructed in Korean and Chinese shipyards.
The Gulf Cooperation Council disclosed that it had “initialized” a free trade agreement with Pakistan, with the GCC Secretary General and Pakistan’s trade ministers as signatories.
At the Future Hospitality Summit, the UAE Minister of Economy stated that the single visa system across the GCC (similar to the Schengen visa) could be introduced “very soon”, allowing for greater mobility and boosting tourism. Bahrain’s Minister of Tourism revealed that talks have been underway. As of now only GCC citizens enjoy visa-free travel within the GCC with expat residents needing a visa for travel.
The hotel supply index in the GCC surged in the past 4 years, according to a senior STR official: Doha at 54%, Dubai at 27% and Riyadh at 20%. Furthermore, Makkah is the city with the largest pipeline globally (25k keys), followed by London and Dubai as third (23,500 keys).
India’s oil imports from Iraq grew by 17% YoY to 1.1mn barrels per day in Sep while imports from Saudi Arabia fell to 676k bpd (-10% mom), according to LSEG data.
Global News:
Major equity markets ended in the red for the last week of September: threats of a partial Federal shutdown in the US, the auto workers strike and indicators of a weakening economy affected sentiment in the US, while Europe’s drop in inflation only provided an early boost before its impact waned, with Europe teetering into recession. The MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) equities index fell 4.3% in the month of September (the most in a year) and posted the first quarterly drop in a year (-6.6%). Regional markets were mostly down on expectations of higher interest rates for longer, given their dollar peg; Saudi Tadawul posted its biggest gain in nearly four months on Wednesday before receding the next day. The dollar gained for the 11th week in a row, also posting its biggest quarterly gain in a year; the yen is still trading close to the 150-mark (one that could result in authorities’ intervention). Oil prices touched a new 10-month high last week, while for the quarter it was up by around 30%. Gold prices declined compared to a week ago and in monthly and quarterly terms.
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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates