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Bloomberg Gulf borrowers raised more than $100 billion in bond placements this year, a record amount that marked a shift from the more private funding route offered by loans. Saudi Aramco was the biggest issuer, while Egypt, Oman and Saudi Arabia also tapped international bond markets. Syndicated loans dropped 39% this year as sovereigns and companies sold notes in dollars …

Bloomberg The Hinduja Group is preparing a bid to buy grounded carrier Jet Airways India Ltd., according to people familiar with the matter. The UK-based group, run by brothers Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, plans to submit an expression of interest by the January 15 deadline, signaling its intent to make a formal offer. Hinduja is seeking a partner to …

ABU DHABI / WAM The UAE has strongly condemned the terror attack by a car bomb on a security checkpoint in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, which resulted in death of numerous innocent civilians and the wounding of others. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation stressed that UAE strongly condemns these criminal acts and fully rejects all forms of violence, …

Bloomberg The transitional government in Sudan is planning a set of economic and political reforms, including removing fuel subsidies gradually in 2020, Reuters reported, citing Finance Minster Ibrahim Elbadawi. The subsidies for wheat and cooking gas would be retained to help the poor, he told reporters, Reuters said. Subsidies are a major burden on the government’s finances, which have been …

Bloomberg Oil posted the longest run of weekly gains since April as prices followed equities higher and a government report showed US crude inventories falling to the lowest in two months. Futures in New York were little changed, clinging to a three-month high. The Energy Information Administration reported that oil inventories fell 5.47 million barrels while supplies at the key …

Bloomberg Iraq, Opec’s second-biggest producer, halted output from a southern oil field as protesters walked close to installations. Other southern fields will make up the amount from the shutdown, which won’t affect the country’s output. The halt is temporary until the Nasiriya field, which produces 80,000 to 85,000 barrels a day, is clear of protesters. The closure was a precautionary …

Bloomberg Oil settled above $61 a barrel amid light volume as US President Donald Trump said a preliminary trade deal with China is “done” and ahead of government data expected to show another crude stockpile decline. Futures rose 1% in New York to close at a three-day high. Trump suggested that the US and China will sign a trade agreement …

Bloomberg China’s imports of US soybeans rose to the highest in 20 months in November after more American cargoes cleared customs ahead of the signing of a partial trade deal in January. China’s inbound shipments from the US surged to 2.6 million tons, the highest since March 2018, and up from about 1.1 million tons in October. China imported almost …

Bloomberg Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed to resume oil production in a shared border region more than four years after halting output. Their agreement allows for “the resumption of oil production from the joint fields,” the Saudi energy ministry said on Twitter. The oil fields in the so-called neutral zone can produce as much as 500,000 barrels a day — …

DUBAI / WAM Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), awarded contracts valued at AED1.130 billion to various companies in 2019, as part of the development of district cooling infrastructure in Dubai. The contracts included engineering consultancy; plant and other constructions, design and operation of cooling plants; expansion of district cooling pipe network; development of new networks to serve the latest …