UFC 242 boosts Businesses as Sales increase in Abu Dhabi ...

UAE News:
UAE’s non-oil private sector growth falls: PMI fell to an 8-year low of 51.6 in August (July: 55.1). The output growth rate was at its weakest in just over six years, while employment slipped to 49.9 in August (July: 50.5).
Dubai’s Emirates airline will stay and maintain operations at its Dubai International airport hub for another 10 years, as the completion of the Dubai World Central airport gets pushed back to 2030.
Dubai welcomed more than 1.4 million passengers in the last two weeks of August, according to an official in the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs.
Businesses across Abu Dhabi had a major boost to sales over the weekend as thousands of UFC fans flew into the capital. Supporters from the world over descended on the city for the prize fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and his latest nemesis Dustin Poirier. Many hotels reported being fully booked due to the event, with more than half the 13,000 tickets sold for the fight going to fans from outside the UAE.

MENA News:
Unemployment in Jordan increased to 19.2% in Q2: high youth unemployment continues at 46% and 40% respectively for the 15-19 and 20-24 age groups. Separately, the Social Security Corporation revealed that about 630,000 persons were covered by unemployment insurance and that more than 90,000 subscribers have benefitted from it (since 2011) having been provided over JOD 77 million during periods of unemployment.
The Boursa Kuwait IPO received approval from the CMA: the listing, which is expected to happen in Q4 this year, will see the distribution of the CMA’s 50% stake in the company to citizens.
Kuwait’s airport welcomed 1.7 million passengers in August, up 3% yoy, compared to July’s 1.36 million (+12% yoy).
Lebanon declared a “state of economic emergency” last week, with the PM stating that emergency measures would be taken to speed up economic reforms. S&P warned that the central bank had enough foreign currency reserves to last only for a year, and the reserves’ continued depletion could test the currency peg and also trigger a downgrade to CCC rating.
Nearly 750,000 persons visited Salalah in Oman during the Khareef season this year. About 71.1% were domestic tourists, 7.8% from UAE and 9.8% other GCC nationals.
Remittances from Saudi Arabia declined by 5.86% yoy to SAR 11.46 billion (USD 3.06bn) in July. On a monthly basis, remittances were up by 31.5%.
Saudi Arabia will launch a new tourist visa on September 27– with a fee of SAR 300 (USD 80 or EUR 70) plus SAR 140 for medical insurance – allowing citizens of 51 countries to visit. With a validity of 1 year, the visa can be applied via an electronic platform or visa on arrival.

Global News:
Markets recovered last week, supported by news of the restart of US-China trade negotiations as well as the People’s Bank of China’s latest round of stimulus measure. Among regional markets, Dubai stood out recording the highest daily rise in more than 2 years (on news that Emirates NBD was seeking to raise its foreign ownership limit). Among currencies, the pound hit a 5-week high while among commodities, crude prices gained on the week while gold price lost its safe-haven shine.

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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates
The National