UAE Tightens Anti-Money Laundering Laws…

UAE News:

UAE’s PMI eased to 53.7 in July (June: 54.6), the lowest since September 2021 and below its long-run trend (54.4). Input cost inflation in the UAE accelerated to a two-year high (thanks to higher material prices) while job creation slowed to a 6-month low.  Dubai PMI slipped to 52.9 (June: 54.3), the lowest in two-and-a-half years, on lower orders.

UAE’s gross bank assets edged down by 0.2% MoM in May 2024, posting a drop after 26 consecutive months of increases. In YoY terms, it grew by 10.8% YoY to AED 4.287trn. The Central Bank’s total assets grew by 1.5% to a new record-high AED 801.91bn in May. The apex bank also increased its gold reserves: up 19.7% to AED 20.6bn by end-May.

Dubai International Airport reported an 8% YoY rise in passengers to 44.9mn in H1 2024. Traffic from China crossed 1mn passengers, up 80% YoY and 90% compared to 2019 levels. India was the top nation by passenger numbers (6mn), followed by Saudi Arabia (3.7mn), UK (2.9mn) and Pakistan (2.3mn). Further to this, Dubai Airports revised its annual passenger forecast for 2024 upwards to a record 91.8mn passengers from its previous forecast of 91mn (made in May this year).

UAE suspended operations at 32 gold refineries temporarily – these refineries accounted for 5% of the gold sector in the county and were found to be breaching AML regulations.

UAE tightens anti-money laundering laws, forms new committees to fight financial crime.

MENA News:

The Minister overseeing contingency planning for a wider conflict revealed that Lebanon would need USD 100mn monthly for aid in case of a full-scale war with Israel.

Bilateral trade between Oman and China accelerated by 8% YoY to more than USD 15bn while Chinese investment in Oman stands at over USD 6.6bn (76% of it is in the energy & petrochemicals sector), reported Al Roya newspaper.

Visitors into Qatar picked up by 28% YoY to 2.6mn international tourists in H1 2024, according to Qatar Tourism, with GCC visitors accounting for 43% of the total. The highest monthly total was recorded in January (703k visitors) when the AFC Asian Cup was held.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have committed to, along with China, to rollover debt for Pakistan. The rollover amount would be the same as last year, reported Bloomberg. The IMF’s Executive Board is expected to meet end-August to approve the USD 7bn Extended Fund Facility for Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia has updated its investment law, by integrating existing investor rights and freedoms into a unified framework, in a bid to attract more international investors. In addition, the law also provides access to advanced dispute resolution mechanisms via the Saudi Arbitration Center and other affiliated entities.

The number of investment licenses issued by Saudi Arabia increased by 49.6% YoY to 2728 in Q2 2024. MISA’s monthly report highlights that FDI inflows grew by 0.6% YoY in Q1 alongside a 6.1% rise in FDI stock.

Visitors from GCC into Saudi Arabia touched 9mn last year: Bahrain was the top GCC source market (3.4mn) followed by Kuwait (2.3mn), UAE (1.4mn), Qatar (1.1mn) and Oman (455k). Total spending by GCC visitors was upwards of SAR 15bn. In comparison, 27mn international visitors spent SAR 141bn in 2023.

The number of Saudi citizens joining the private sector for the first time doubled in July to more than 34,600 citizens versus June’s total of 16,500. Total employees in the private sector stood at 11.473mn, with number of Saudi citizens at more than 2.342mn.

Saudi Arabia opened the bidding for seven new mining exploration licenses, covering an area of around 1,000 square km: these sites have large deposits of gold, silver, lead and zinc.

Global News:

Global markets had a scare, with markets in selloff mode on worries about US potential recession prospects (given the below expected jobs report the previous week) and amid investors’ unwinding of JPY carry trade positions following the BOJ’s unanticipated rate increase. On Monday, Topix fell 12% in a single trading session (but rebounded with its biggest 1-day gain since 2008 on Tuesday), Nikkei 225 posted its biggest fall in more than 3 decades and VIX saw its biggest one-day rise (170%+) to 65.73. During the week, equities markets posted small gains and MSCI’s global stocks index was almost unchanged for the week. Among regional markets, all ended in the red with only the Abu Dhabi equity index managing to eke out a weekly gain (as poor earnings dragged down Dubai), while Saudi posted a drop of over 3%. Oil prices closed higher (+3% weekly) on fears of a wider Middle East conflict, while gold prices declined to end the week around USD 2,430 an ounce.

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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates

Arabian Business