US Presidential Election 2024: Markets in Suspense as Latest Odds give Trump a 4% edge over Harris…
The US election betting odds posting a significant 4 percent jump in favour of Donald Trump at 51 percent, over 47 percent for Kamala Harris, in the week ended on Monday, September 2, over the previous week.
UAE News:
The toll operator Salik disclosed that the two new road toll gates in Dubai, to be operational by the end of November 2024, have been valued at AED 2.7bn. Salik will repay the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) the total valuation amount over six years – AED 455.7mn annually (in two equal instalments), starting from the end of November. The Dubai-listed Salik had posted a 2% YoY decline in profits to AED 268mn in Q2 despite an increase in revenues (3% to AED 533mn).
Talabat, the food-ordering app in the UAE and subsidiary of German firm Delivery Hero, is planning to list on the Dubai stock exchange in Q4 2024. The firm reported top-line growth with a 28% YoY increase in gross merchandise volume during the first half of 2024.
Further to UAE’s record-high foreign trade performance in H1, Jebel Ali Port reported handling 7.3mn TEUs in July, up 3.9% YoY, the highest container volume since 2015.
UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) processed 2.7mn tax refund requests from tourists in H1 2024, up from 2.55mn requests in H1 2023. About 15k transactions were processed daily, up by 5.62% YoY.
UAE’s retail conglomerate MAF posted a 11% YoY decline in revenues in H1 (to AED 11.6bn), leading to a 6% drop in net profit. The firm has 467 Carrefour stores across 14 MENA & CIS countries. However, the digital side of its retail business turned positive for the first time, posting a 109% YoY surge in revenues to AED 1.3bn.
The number of Emirati women entrepreneurs in Ajman stood at 2,949 in H1 2024, according to a report by the Department of Economic Development. Emirati businesswomen accounted for 5% of the total businesswomen in Ajman.
DMCC disclosed, during a MoU signing with the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, that the free zone was home to 23 companies from Colombia and over 150 firms from South America. The DMCC roadshow to Colombia, focused on coffee, precious stones and technology, and followed the latter’s recent CEPA signing with the UAE.
MENA News:
Bahrain will introduce a new domestic minimum top-up tax on MNCs starting from the 1st of January: this will see large MNCs, with global revenue exceeding EUR 750mn in 2 of the last 4 fiscal years, pay a minimum 15% tax on profits generated in the country. This is in line with the OECD Global Anti-Base Erosion Model Rules (Pillar II).
A new oil deposit has been discovered in Egypt’s Western Desert: according to the Minister of petroleum and mineral resource “early tests have yielded an impressive 7,165 barrels of oil per day, alongside 23mn cubic feet of natural gas” – which could boost energy production.
Egypt’s General Authority for Tourism Development unveiled 84 investment opportunities in the country which could add more than 48k hotel rooms to the hospitality sector. The primary focus is the untapped potential in the North Coast, in addition to creating a series of artificial lakes south of the coastal road.
Multiple renewable energy projects are underway in Egypt, expected to generate 3,450MW of wind energy and 3,700MW of solar power. The electricity and renewable energy Minister also revealed that discussions are underway to integrate battery storage systems totalling 2,840 MWh into the ongoing projects.
Iraq is planning to offer 10 gas exploration blocks to US companies, reported Reuters. This follows recent agreements to develop 13 oil and gas blocks to support domestic production.
Qatar signed a 15-year deal to supply Kuwait with 3mn tons LNG per annum, with deliveries starting from January 2025. This is the second deal with Kuwait since 2020.
International air cargo demand in the Middle East carriers surged by 14.7% YoY in July, according to IATA: the Middle-Europe route surged by 32.3%, the most across all other major trade lanes, also continuing to post the double-digit growth (starting Sep 2023). The Middle East-Asia route was also among the fastest growing (+15.9%). Middle Eastern airlines grew their international revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs) by 5.8% YoY in July (though lower than the industry average of 10.1%).
Credit card loans in Saudi Arabia surged by 21% YoY to SAR 30.04bn in Q2 2024, the highest uptick in a year, according to SAMA. These loans exclude real estate financing, finance leasing and margin lending.
The number of industrial establishments in Saudi Arabia increased to 11,549 in 2023, up 60% from 7206 in 2016, with Riyadh accounting for close to 40% of the facilities. The National Industrial Strategy, which focuses on 12 industrial sub sectors, aims to raise this to 36k by 2035.
Venture capital investments in Saudi e-commerce startups touched SAR 1.6bn (USD 426.7mn) in 2023, according to a report from Monsha’at. E-commerce users surged by 42% between 2019 and 2024 and it is projected to reach 34.5mn by 2025.
Fintech startups in Saudi Arabia totalled 224 active firms as of Q2 2024, employing over 7000 persons, according to Monsha’at’s latest SME Monitor report. About USD 412mn in capital was deployed to Saudi startups across 63 deals in H1 2024.
A report by the National Cybersecurity Authority revealed that cybersecurity sector’s contribution to Saudi Arabia’s GDP touched SAR 15.6bn in 2023. The number of providers of cybersecurity products, solutions & services registered with NCA stood at 353.
Global News:
Equities markets had a good week– Stoxx touched a record intraday high and DJIA closed on a record high – and major markets posted monthly gains in August (despite the early-August selloff). Regional markets mostly posted weekly gains as expectations of a Fed cut strengthened; Abu Dhabi’s index ended the week with a loss but saw a rebound on Friday after consecutive sessions of losses. The dollar gained last week, rising 1.2% versus the JPY (the most since mid-June) while the euro fell by 1.3% during the week but posted a monthly gain of 2.1% (the best since November 2023). Oil slipped on news that OPEC+ is likely to go ahead with a planned output hike from October, while gold price fell by 1% on Friday (though it is up 2% in August).
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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates