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EFG-Hermes and QInvest: what really happened?
When a big deal falls apart, finger-pointing is rarely far behind.
But in the case of the failed bid by Qatari government-backed QInvest to create a joint venture with Egyptian investment-bank EFG-Hermes, Egypt’s market regulator certainly has a thing or two to learn about tact. Continue reading »
Oil-rich Gulf countries have announced some of the world’s most ambitious renewable energy plans but analysts say the next year marks a big test to show whether these pledges will turn into contracts, writes Camilla Hall.
Both Saudi Arabia, which has announced a $109bn spending drive into solar energy, and Qatar, which aims to use a sustainable energy base to host the World Cup in 2022, have signalled they intend to launch tender contracts for solar energy projects. Continue reading »
Egypt: Qatar loan puts IMF on hold
On the face of it, for a crunch week, Egypt has had a better time than usual.
The IMF is in town for talks on a $4.8bn (or more) loan; March inflation figures showed an improvement. And to top it all, on Wednesday it was announced that Qatar was stumping up another $3bn for the country.
But dig a little more, and there are worrying signs ahead. Continue reading »
Abu Dhabi has launched its first big solar plant, powering 20,000 homes, as the emirate pushes ahead with its renewable energy plans aimed at diversifying the economy and meeting booming electricity demand.
While the emirate is an important oil producer, pumping about 2.65m barrels a day, it, like some of its Gulf neighbours, imports gas to meet the power needs of its swelling population. Renewable energy is now to provide an alternative. Continue reading »
Qtel’s rebranding: calling Dr Dre
It’s not everyday that a conservative Gulf state is accused of copying American rapper and entrepreneur Dr Dre.
But wealthy Qatar is making waves with a branding exercise that has kicked up a social media storm. Continue reading »
Qatar is positioning itself to sell liquefied natural gas to Egypt as it uses its financial firepower to cement its ties with Egypt’s new Islamist leadership in a time of unprecedented economic instability, writes Camilla Hall.
The world’s biggest exporter of LNG signed a joint venture with Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital last Thursday to build a floating LNG storage facility and re-gasification unit to deliver natural gas to Egypt. Continue reading »
Qatar Airways muscles in on Barça
So, Qatar Airways will appear as the main logo on FC Barcelona’s shirts from next year, replacing the Qatar Foundation.
That means Doha’s state-run carrier will go head-to-head with Dubai’s Emirates, which sponsors Arsenal, and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, which sponsors Manchester City, in yet another battle ground for regional aviation supremacy: football sponsorship. Continue reading »
Industries Qatar’s decision last month to increase the amount of shares foreigners can buy in it is raising speculation that more Doha-listed companies will follow the lead of the petrochemicals maker.
The company raised its foreign ownership limit in September to 12.25 per cent from 7.5 per cent, it said in a statement on Sunday, as it released its earnings results. The shares rallied strongly the following day and were the most traded on the Doha stock market. Continue reading »
IFC in the Middle East: short of partners
“Don’t forget, revolutions are expensive”, says Dimitris Tsitsiragos. He should know: his responsibilities as a vice president at the International Finance Corporation include north Africa and the Middle East, not least the countries hit by the Arab Spring.
The IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm, has, in the last five years, boosted its annual commitments to the region by nearly 50 per cent to over $2bn. But, Tsitsiragos says it’s not enough: without more private sector involvement, the region cannot generate the investments required to produce faster economic growth and more jobs. Continue reading »
The Gulf banks, so long somewhat passive players in international markets, are flexing their muscles. As Camilla Hall reports for the FT, European banks’ retreat from far-flung territories, is creating new opportunities – and Qatar National Bank, the state-backed lender of Qatar, is among the institutions on the hunt, with a bid to buy control of Société Générale’s subsidiary in Egypt. Continue reading »
Gulf countries confront bulging waistlines
This Ramadan, Gulf residents received text messages with fasting tips to caution against overeating. The problem of expanding waistlines, however, is far from seasonal.
Kuwait, Qatar, The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain all figure on the list of the world’s top ten most obese nations. Seventy-seven per cent of Kuwaitis are overweight and 34 per cent are obese, putting the tiny country just behind the US, according to the latest research based on UN and World Health Organization data.
But as the obesity epidemic spread across the Persian Gulf, so too has another American phenomenon – the rise of the weight loss cottage industry. Continue reading »
[Chart] EM SWFs: the old world’s newest last resort?
Investors have lost their appetite for IPOs. Banks are unwilling to lend. But for some sovereign wealth funds, there is hardly a crisis at all.
The Qatar Investment Authority recently bought significant stakes in high-profile companies such as Shell and Tiffany’s and is eyeing a 10 per cent stake in mining company Xstrata. The China Investment Corporation recently launched a €5oom SME investment fund in Europe and is looking for opportunities in emerging Europe and Africa. How come emerging market SWFs are so active in an otherwise depressed financial world? Continue reading »
Qatar: reviving a Tunisia refinery plan
Construction of Tunisia’s first-ever privately owned oil refinery will begin later this year with an investment by Qatar, which has been busy buying up properties in north African states emerging from a year of political tumult.
The state-owned Qatar Petroleum Company agreed years ago to build the refinery, just outside of Tunisia’s industrial port city of Sfax. But the deal was only set to be finalised on Sunday, according to Kuwait’s official news agency. Continue reading »
Barclays goes to Doha
It’s one small step for Barclays but one giant leap for Qatar’s financial centre. The UK bank will be the first to base a sizeable asset management operation in Doha’s financial zone, thanks in part to a $250m investment from Qatar.
The Qatar Financial Centre, facing off against regional competitors in Dubai and Bahrain, has long said it hopes to build a niche specialty as an asset management hub. While some local and regional firms, as well as international banks, have become licensed asset managers within the QFC, this week’s deal will make Barclays the most significant international operation in the centre. Continue reading »
Qatar buys into Libyan bank
Qatar’s top bank has purchased a major stake in one of Libya’s leading privately held financial institutions. The deal strengthens the commercial ties between two countries already bound together politically in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Following months of negotiations, Qatar National Bank, the energy-rich Arabian Peninsula kingdom’s largest financial institution, paid an undisclosed sum for a 49 per cent stake in the Bank of Commerce and Development. Continue reading »
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