February, 2018

• 17 February

  Banks told they are lagging on response to climate risks

  

  Bloomberg Fewer than half the world’s biggest banks are doing enough to forestall climate change that poses risks to their markets and economies. Most lenders still aren’t producing firm targets for low-carbon financial products that will aid efforts to keep temperatures from rising, according to a survey of 59 banks conducted by Boston Common Asset Management LLC. Even the strongest …

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• 14 February

  UAE offers $500 million for Iraq reconstruction efforts

  KUWAIT / WAM Dr Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, announced the UAE’s offer to provide deve- lopment aid worth $500 million, to assist international efforts to reconstruct Iraq. During his speech as head of the UAE delegation at the ‘Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq,’ he explained that the support includes $250 million …

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• 14 February

  Damac profit hits AED2.8bn

  

  DUBAI / WAM Dubai’s Damac Properties reported a total revenue of AED7.5 billion, a 4 percent increase over last year and net profit of AED2.8 billion, according to the company’s financial results for year ended 2017. Damac also announced that it has delivered 20,236 units as of December 31, 2017, marking a milestone for the company and the industry as …

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• 14 February

  Emaar Properties’ operating profit up 16%

  Dubai / WAM Emaar Properties recorded a net operating profit of AED 5.704 billion during full-year (January to December) 2017, a growth of 16 percent over the FY 2016 net operating profit of AED 4.917 billion. Total revenue for FY 2017 increased by 21 percent to AED18.812 billion, over FY 2016 revenue of AED 15.540 billion. In 2017, Emaar successfully …

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• 14 February

  Russia eyes multi-million-dollar Saudi deals, Aramco IPO

  

  RIYADH / Reuters Russia is seeking to finalise multi-million-dollar investment deals with Saudi Arabia in the next three months including partnerships with state oil giant Aramco, Russia’s top state investment officer said on Wednesday. Russian banks and a Russian-Chinese investment fund are also keen to take part in Aramco’s initial public offering (IPO), the head of the Russian Direct Investment …

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• 14 February

  Oil market says rout may not be over

  

  LONDON / Reuters As OPEC watches a near 15 percent drop in the oil price in three weeks, important indicators in the physical crude market are flashing signals that the decline might be far from over. The warnings come not from the heavily traded futures market, but from less transparent trading activity in crude oil and products markets, where key …

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• 14 February

  Clariant plans SABIC update by July

  ZURICH / Reuters Clariant Chief Executive Hariolf Kottmann told investors he would update them on the Swiss speciality chemicals maker’s tie-up with new shareholder Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) by July as he seeks a recovery from a turbulent 2017. Full-year net profit in 2017 rose 9.5 percent, short of analyst estimates, as the group was hit by one-time costs …

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• 14 February

  Saudi to restrain oil exports in March

  

  RIYADH / Reuters Saudi Arabia will restrain its oil exports in March despite lower domestic need for crude as OPEC’s leader is pushing to eliminate fully the global oil glut and combat worries about a new cycle of oil price weakness. The kingdom will keep its crude exports below 7 million barrels per day (bpd) in March, despite a maintenance …

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• 14 February

  US stocks climb as dollar slumps

  

  Bloomberg US stocks advanced while the dollar fell and Treasuries rose as financial markets looked ahead to Wednesday’s inflation report. The S&P 500 Index climbed for a third day, its longest winning streak since mid-January, amid a rally in financial shares and food retailers. Assets seen as safe havens gained as last week’s surge in volatility continued to weigh on …

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• 14 February

  Few positives for Gulf as GFH cuts dividend

  

  DUBAI / Reuters Gulf stock markets appear to have few fresh positives on Wednesday and may consolidate in sluggish trade, with Dubai dampened by earnings and dividend news from several companies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is up 0.7 percent but trading is tentative ahead of US inflation news later in the day, while Brent oil is …

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