India remains Dubai's largest trade partner-Foreign Trade-Economy-News-The Economic Times

By accounting for over 14 per cent of Dubai's imports, India was its largest trade partner in the first four months of this year, figures released Sunday show.

"India has the biggest share of the imports of 17.1 billion dirhams, that is 14.8 per cent of Dubai's total imports," said Ahmed Butti, Director General of Dubai Customs.

China came second with 10.1 billion dirhams, followed by the US with 7.8 billion dirhams.

Dubai International Capital appoints Deloitte to evaluate value of Travelodge and Doncasters | Mail Online

Dubai International Capital has appointed accountant Deloitte to review the value of its British assets, including budget hotel chain Travelodge and engineering firm Doncasters, in a move that could lead to a sale of some of its businesses.

The international investment arm of sovereign parent company Dubai Holding has run into major financial difficulties after acquiring assets before the recession.

DIC, which has a stake in amusement parks operator Merlin Entertainments and owns healthcare firm Alliance Medical, has debts of £1.7 billion.

MIDEAST STOCKS-Emaar lifts Dubai; most regional markets up | Energy & Oil | Reuters

Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU: Quote) surged on Sunday, lifting the Dubai index to a two-week high, on improved investor sentiment and hopes for positive second-quarter results.

Saudi stocks rose in line with most other regional bourses, buoyed by higher crude oil prices, as investors shrugged off worries about global economic difficulties.

Emaar, the Arab world's largest-listed property developer, gained 8.6 percent to a three-week high, accounting for nearly a third of stocks changing hands on the Dubai exchange.

Bahrain's Mumtalakat FY loss rises on Gulf Air, Alba-document | Reuters

Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding's full-year net loss in 2009 more than doubled due to higher losses at its portfolio companies Gulf Air [GULF.UL] and Aluminium Bahrain [ALNUB.UL], a document showed.

Mumtalakat, which bundles Bahrain's non-oil state-owned companies, said in an investor presentation reviewed by Reuters that its 2009 net loss was $487.2 million, compared with a loss of $184.3 million in 2008.

It said Gulf Air's full-year loss rose 21 percent to $502.9 million last year, while Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), in which it owns a 77 percent stake, swung to a full-year net loss of $220.7 million, compared with a profit of $781.9 million in 2008.

Tehran Stock Exchange eyes foreign investors, Iran Investment, Economy - Maktoob Business

Iran may be facing growing international isolation but the head of the Islamic state's stock exchange argues planned privatisations and low valuations could create attractive opportunities for foreign investors.

Less than two weeks after the U.N. Security Council imposed a fourth round of punitive measures on Iran over its nuclear programme, senior executives of the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) travelled to Dubai in a bid to lure new capital to the market.

Analysts say Iran needs foreign funds and expertise to help it modernise and expand its oil industry and other sectors, but that Western firms and others are becoming increasingly reluctant to invest there due to the long-running nuclear row.

U.A.E.’s NPCC Plans $400 Million Marine Fleet Expansion - Bloomberg.com

National Petroleum Construction Co., an Abu Dhabi government-controlled oil-services company, plans to invest $400 million in expanding its marine fleet.

Earlier this month it placed an order with Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co. for a heavy-lift pipelay vessel, scheduled for delivery by the third quarter 2012, it said in a statement received by e-mail today.

Kuwait’s Zain Repays $4 Billion in Loans, Al-Qabas Reports - Bloomberg.com

Mobile Telecommunications Co., the Kuwaiti phone company known as Zain, repaid about $4 billion in loans to 50 local and international lenders, Al-Qabas reported, without saying where it got the information.

Zain used proceeds from the sale of its African assets to Bharti Airtel Ltd. to repay the loans, the newspaper said.

QIB invests $343 million in government-issued sukuk | Reuters

Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) (QIB) invested 1.25 billion riyals ($343.6 million) in an Islamic bond, or sukuk, issued by the Qatar central bank on behalf of the government to boost the domestic bond market.

QIB, the Gulf state's second biggest lender by market value, said in a statement issued on Sunday that the investment is governed by an 8-year lease that runs until June 1, 2018.

"The government's participation in this investment initiative will directly enhance the local economy," said Sala Jaidah, chief executive of QIB.

Bourse tie-up gives private equity an exit - The National Newspaper

The pending merger of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and NASDAQ Dubai appears to create a loophole that will allow private equity firms to unlock the value of their investments.

NASDAQ Dubai requires a company to float only 25 per cent to go public on that exchange. The DFM has a 55 per cent flotation threshold for companies to be listed there.

After NASDAQ’s merger with the DFM, NASDAQ-listed companies that went public with a 25 per cent flotation would be able to trade on the DFM without meeting its higher flotation requirement. The merger allows companies to have the best of both worlds – a lower flotation and access to greater liquidity.

Liquidation order for Tabarak - The National Newspaper

Tabarak Partners, a Sharia-compliant finance company in the middle of a dispute involving its founding partners, has been wound up by a judge in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts.

Sir John Chadwick on Monday ordered the company’s liquidation after the partners were unable to reach an agreement. Tabarak will be the first Islamic advisory company in the free zone to be wound up by the courts and represents the fourth insolvency case in the DIFC Courts.

Sir John had previously ordered that the parties allow the business to continue operating while Khuram Hussain attempted to buy out the other partners’ stakes. Mr Hussain, who is also the senior executive officer, had filed a case in which he asserted that the partners were not allowing the business to operate because of a dispute over its performance.

Saudi Shares Retreat, Erasing Earlier Gain to One-Month High - BusinessWeek

Saudi Arabian stocks declined, erasing an earlier gain to a one-month high, even as some investors expect petrochemical companies and banks to post encouraging second-quarter results.

The Saudi Tadawul All Share Index closed less than 0.1 percent lower at 6,345.67 in Riyadh.

“No doubt there was intraday volatility which had been observed before and some investors preferred to take some profits out,” said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh. “The market is still looking forward with optimism to the second-quarter results, especially for petrochemicals, as oil prices have been settling above $75 a barrel.”

Dubai Economic Forum to open in Seoul on Monday

A high-powered Dubai economic mission led by Ahmad Dhaen Al Qamzi, Director General of the Department of Finance - Government of Dubai, arrives in Seoul on Sunday to participate in the Dubai Economic Forum scheduled for June 21,2010 at InterContinental Hotel in downtown Seoul.

Members of the delegation include Fahad Al Gergawi (CEO, the Foreign Investment Office), Abdul Baset Al Janahi (CEO, Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development), Mohammed Shael Al Saadi (CEO, Business Registration Division),Saed Mohamed Al Awadi (CEO, Dubai Export Development Corporation) and Laila Suhail (CEO, Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, Moon-ryeon Choi, a spokesman for Index Holding Korea said.

More than 70 Korean businessmen from 48 local business associations and companies reflecting a wide spectrum of Korean industries will join the forum to get the latest information about investment climate in Dubai as well as Dubai's new policy guidelines for Korean companies.