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RIYADH: Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council are keen to see the group achieve “the highest levels of economic integration,” said Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan.
He was speaking at the 117th Meeting of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee in Riyadh on Monday.
Al-Jadaan stressed the importance of establishing a Gulf common market for the benefit of the GCC citizens.
He said the economies of the GCC countries are not immune from the effects of the economic crises the world is going through but they tackle such issues by adopting a proactive approach.
“Yes, we are benefiting from higher oil prices, but the strong growth we are seeing is primarily driven by the reforms we have implemented,” he said.
The Saudi finance minister said the global economy is facing major headwinds, while the effects of the epidemic remain, supply chain issues persist, energy and food markets are in turmoil, with inflation rising to its highest levels in several years.
He stressed the need for tightening monetary and financial conditions.
Saudi Arabia is expecting its budget surplus in 2022 to hit SR90 billion ($24 billion), and another SR9 billion next year, the Ministry of Finance announced last week.
Looking at the full year 2022 projections, the real gross domestic product is expected to grow by 8 percent, while the inflation in 2022 may record about 2.6 percent.
DUBAI: A “Global Alliance on Green Economy” was launched at the 8th World Green Economy Summit, which concluded in Dubai.
The summit was held under the theme “Climate action leadership through collaboration: The roadmap to net-zero.” A large number of ministers, experts, decision-makers, officials, representatives of institutions, and the academic community from around the world took part in the summit.
The alliance aims to build a coalition of countries, prioritizing a green economy in the context of climate action and sustainable development, to enhance the capacity of developing countries, provide support for their green economy transition projects and exchange knowledge on implementation.
“If we want to fast-track our transition to a green economy, we must all work together, and to do so, we need one platform with one common objective. The UAE Global Alliance on Green Economy seeks to provide such a platform,” said Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE minister of climate change and environment.
Bet on tech
The UAE, which already boasts the world’s tallest skyscraper and has launched a bold Mars mission, now hopes to become a pioneer in the depths of the metaverse.
In a project launched at Dubai’s gleaming Museum of the Future, it announced that the UAE’s Economy Ministry was setting up shop inside the immersive virtual world that is now taking shape.
If we want to fast-track our transition to a green economy, we must all work together.
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE minister of climate change and environment
Those who don their virtual reality goggles or use other means to venture within will find a ministry open for business with companies and even ready to sign bilateral agreements with foreign governments, officials said.
The metaverse is an online world where users will eventually be able to game, work and study, its proponents say — although it is still in a “test” phase, the UAE’s economy minister conceded.
Abdulla bin Touq Al-Marri was speaking at the inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly, held at the museum whose innovative ring shape decorated with Arabic calligraphy flanks the city’s main thoroughfare.
Representatives of tech giants mingled with entrepreneurs and developers exploring the potential of the metaverse, a network of digital spaces intended as an extension of the physical world.
DFM adopts new methodology
Dubai Financial Market said on Monday it planned to adopt a new methodology for its main equities indices, which will come into effect in the fourth quarter, according to Reuters.
The Dubai bourse’s general index, Shariah index and sector indices, will be calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices, it said in a statement.
A key improvement among the changes is a limit on the weighting of a listed company to 10 percent from 20 percent, which should result in a larger representation of companies on the DFM’s benchmarks, it said.
The Dubai bourse said the index calculation will be based on actual free float adjusted market capitalization, and that the indices will be rebalanced on a quarterly basis, from semi-annually currently.
The bourse plans to align its sectors with an industry classification standard which is followed by institutional clients, it said.
DFM will have seven sectors: Financials, industrials, real estate, utilities, communication services, materials and consumer staples.
The bourse has invited market participants for consultations on the index methodology ahead of possible changes, with the revised indexes to be launched in Q4, it said.
CAIRO: Egypt weakened its currency on Monday by the most in more than four months, with the Egyptian pound falling by more than 0.10 pounds to the dollar, according to Refinitiv data.
The pound was trading at 19.62 to the dollar at 1337 GMT, down from 19.49 at the open.
Foreign currency has dried up in Egypt over the last six months, forcing banks and importers to scramble to find dollars to pay for imports and putting pressure on the central bank to let its value weaken.
Dollars have disappeared in part because of the higher cost of imported commodities, a drop in Russian and Ukrainian tourists and a flight of dollars from Egyptian treasury markets.
The last time the central bank allowed the currency to weaken so quickly was from May 22 to May 25, when it fell by 0.34 pounds against the dollar in three days.
The pound weakened to a record low on Dec. 21, 2016, when it traded at 19.80 pounds per dollar during intraday trade, according to Refinitiv. But in subsequent years it rebounded.
Egypt since March has been negotiating a financial support package from the IMF, which has long been urging it to allow greater exchange rate variability.
RIYADH: Oil prices jumped $3 a barrel on Monday as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, considered reducing output by more than 1 million barrels per day to buttress prices with what would be its biggest cut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent crude futures for December delivery rose $2.99 to $88.13 a barrel, a 3.5 percent gain, by 12:50 p.m. ET (1650 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.33, or 4.2 percent, to $82.82 a barrel.
Citing OPEC+ sources, Reuters reported that the organization is planning an output cut of more than 1 million bpd ahead of its meeting in Vienna on Oct.05 to decide on the next phase of the production policy.
It should be also noted that the upcoming meeting on Wednesday will be the first in-person meeting of OPEC ministers since 2020, which clearly indicates its significance.
If the meeting agrees to the output cut, it will be the organization’s second consecutive monthly cut after reducing output by 100,000 bpd last month.
“If OPEC+ does decide to cut output in the near term, the resultant increase in OPEC+ spare capacity will likely put more downward pressure on long-dated prices,” energy consultancy FGE said in a note, as reported by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, on Sept. 28 had cut its 2023 oil price forecast due to expectations of weaker demand and a stronger US dollar.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs now see Brent crude averaging $100 a barrel from October to December and $108 a barrel in 2023, down from the previous prediction of $125 for both time periods.
Post the Ukraine conflict, oil prices had rallied to over $120 a barrel, as the western allies led by the US and EU weaned themselves from Russian oil imports.
Oil prices, however, have been tumbling since July, as the pandemic lockdown in China negatively impacted the demand, along with a surging US dollar weighed on global financial markets.
Goldman Sachs said a production cut under consideration by OPEC+ was justified by the sharp decline in oil prices from recent highs and supported its bullish view.
“We reiterate both our bullish oil view as well as our preference for long crude timespread positions into year-end,” the bank’s commodities research division wrote in note on Monday.
Despite one of the tightest markets in recorded history, Goldman said the cut could be justified by the 40 percent decline in prices from their June peak and enabled by the lack of supply elasticity, given slowing shale activity and exhausted spare capacity.
“The collapse in investor participation, driving liquidity and prices lower, is also a likely strong catalyst for such a cut, as it would increase the carry in oil and start to claw back investors who have instead turned to USD cash allocation following the aggressive Fed hikes.”
RIYADH: The offshore arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. has received a commercial bid from a Saipem-led team on its $1 billion Umm Sheriff Gas Cap condensate development project, reported MEED.
ADNOC Offshore has single-sourced bids from the Italian-based consortium — which also includes China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Co.— to speed up the highly delayed engineering, procurement, and construction phase.
Egypt to begin work on a new gas project
Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla has announced the approval of a project to connect the Raven offshore gas field to the El-Amriya onshore processing plant, reported MEED.
The project will include many different phases, and act as a link between the Raven field and the butane extraction plant, which is operated by the Egyptian Natural Gas Co.
After its completion, the butane plant will receive 100 million cubic feet a day of gas from the Raven field — reaching its maximum capacity, according to Gasco Chairman Yasser Salah El-Din.
Oman requesting bids on development of new port
Oman has requested bids for the development and operations of its Dhalkut Port in the Southern Dhofar Governorate as part of plans to grow its maritime trade, according to Zawya.
The project will be tendered under a “develop, manage and operate” contract, where both local and foreign firms will be given a chance to bid.
The deadline for the project bids is Oct. 16.
“Bids must be submitted by local and international companies which have experience in port operation and management,” the statement said.
DUBAI: Dubai Multi Commodities Center has been named the Global Free Zone of the Year 2022 by the Financial Times specialist editorial team and independent judges.
It is the eighth consecutive year that the Financial Times fDi Magazine has recognized Dubai’s authority on commodities trade and enterprise, the statement added.
Award winners are selected based on a comprehensive set of criteria and a review of the free zones’ ecosystems.
Criteria used in making judgments this year included the effectiveness of each free zone’s ecosystems, business and marketing strategies, infrastructure improvements, and COVID-19 response, the statement said.
This year, the DMCC won several awards, including Large Tenant Free Zone of the Year — Global; Large Tenant Free Zone of the Year — Middle East; Middle East Free Zone of the Year; Middle East SME Free Zone of the Year; Global Excellence Award for Environmental, Social, and Governance Practices; and Global Excellence Award for Infrastructure Development.
Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC Ahmed Bin Sulayem said: “Since DMCC was established in 2002, we have had two core goals – create a global gateway for trade, and comprehensively enhance the ease of doing business for our member companies.”
SAFEEN Feeders and Invictus Investment sign strategic agreement
A major contract has been signed between AD Ports Group’s SAFEEN Feeders and Invictus Investment to launch an international dry bulk shipping service, according to a statement.
The two companies will purchase ships through Special Purpose Vehicles — 85 percent owned by SAFEEN Feeders and 15 percent by Invictus Investment.
To operate the service, SAFEEN Feeders and Invictus Investment will form a joint venture.
Invictus Investment will own 49 percent of the joint venture and SAFEEN Feeders will own 51 percent.
The two companies are expected to invest approximately 463 million dirhams in the vessels.
From September 2022 through June 2023, five ships will be deployed of varying sizes, with additional vessels planned for the future.
This joint venture will serve as the carrier for Invictus’ dry-bulk trading business, which ships more than three million tons of commodities annually, primarily wheat and complementary grains. This business will occupy the majority of the ships’ capacity.
The agreement will also extend its commercial bulk shipping services to other companies worldwide, initially focusing on the Red Sea and Pacific corridors, the Indian subcontinent, and the Black Sea region, but with the ability to ship to anywhere in the world within international navigating limits.
Due to Invictus’ large existing trading volumes, the program is expected to generate strong returns on investment for Invictus Investment, the statement said.
Shuaa Capital
Shuaa Capital has announced that its Kuwait-based subsidiary Amwal International Investment Co. has agreed to sell 51 percent of its stake in NCM Investment for 200 million dirhams ($54.4 million), according to a statement.
Shuaa Capital, a Dubai Financial Market-listed company, said in a regulatory filing that it expects the sale to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.