Sunday 2 April 2017

Merger of three Qatari banks to take six months: executive | Reuters

Merger of three Qatari banks to take six months: executive | Reuters:

"The merger of Qatari banks Masraf Al Rayan MARK.QA, Barwa Bank [IPO-BABK.QA] and International Bank of Qatar will take six months to complete, Masraf Al Rayan's chairman Hussain Ali al-Abdulla said on Sunday. In December Reuters reported that the trio had begun merger talks which, if successful, would create the Gulf state's second-largest bank. Banks in the Gulf have previously been reluctant to link up but are facing challenging conditions due to the impact of lower oil prices on the region's economies."



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Iraq has pledged to fully comply with oil cut deal, OPEC chief says | Reuters

Iraq has pledged to fully comply with oil cut deal, OPEC chief says | Reuters:

"Iraq has assured OPEC it will fully comply with an agreement to cut oil supply in order to bolster crude prices, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said on Sunday in Baghdad.

Iraq's compliance stands now at 98 percent, the nation's oil minister Jabar al-Luaibi told reporters, after addressing a conference in the Iraqi capital, also attended by Barkindo.

Compliance with the deal agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers at the end of last year to cut supply is "encouraging," Barkindo told the forum."



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MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf starts Q2 on weak note, newly merged Abu Dhabi bank outperforms | Reuters

MIDEAST STOCKS-Gulf starts Q2 on weak note, newly merged Abu Dhabi bank outperforms | Reuters:

"Stock markets in the Gulf moved sideways in thin volumes on Sunday, while shares of the newly-formed lender in Abu Dhabi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, outperformed a day after the legal completion of the merger. Shares of First Abu Dhabi Bank - the new name of the newly merged National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank - rose 1.5 percent. Shares of First Gulf Bank have been delisted. Shares of Abu Dhabi National Energy (TAQA) soared by the daily limit. A Dubai-based asset manager said turnover of a little under 8 million dirhams ($2.2 million) paled in comparison to the 36 million dirhams turnover from First Abu Dhabi Bank, and suggested only a few investors drove the stock limit up."



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Newly merged First Abu Dhabi Bank's shares rise in debut trade | Reuters

Newly merged First Abu Dhabi Bank's shares rise in debut trade | Reuters:

 "First Abu Dhabi Bank's NBAD.AD shares rose on Sunday on the first day of trading after the completion of a merger of the emirate's two largest banks.

The merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank to create one of the largest banks in the Middle East and Africa was first announced in June last year.

It will have shareholders' equity of 98 billion dirhams ($26.7 billion) and a market capitalization of around 111 billion dirhams, Abdulhamid Saeed, group chief executive of the new bank said."



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Refunde scheme a must for tourists as UAE implements VAT | The National

Refunde scheme a must for tourists as UAE implements VAT | The National:

"Easy recovery of VAT for tourists is required to ensure they continue to come and spend. A tourist refund scheme is provided for in the GCC agreement and is being considered by the UAE, said David Stevens of accountancy firm E Y. He said such a scheme would encourage tourist spending."



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REFILE-MIDEAST STOCKS-Newly merged Abu Dhabi bank rise amid thin Gulf trade | Reuters

REFILE-MIDEAST STOCKS-Newly merged Abu Dhabi bank rise amid thin Gulf trade | Reuters:

"Stock markets in the Gulf moved sideways in thin volumes early on Sunday, while shares of the newly formed lender in Abu Dhabi, First Abu Dhabi Bank, outperformed a day after the legal completion of the merger. Dubai's index was down 0.2 percent in thin trade with the majority of trade focused on second the third tier stocks. GFH Financial Group was down 1.2 percent. But number of advancing shares outnumbered declining ones 14 to 11. Islamic Arab Insurance was up 3.6 percent."



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What’s bad for Venezuela could be good for the oil market | The National

What’s bad for Venezuela could be good for the oil market | The National:

"In Venezuela, baking pastries can be a crime:222 wheat is meant to be reserved for cheap bread. In a slightly different recipe, the country’s oil exports are imperilled by its inability to pay for light oil to blend with its cheap heavy crude. Disaster has been cooking in Caracas for some time, in what might be the oil market’s next upset. The country’s economy has been in slow collapse for several years, accelerated by the fall in oil prices. The IMF estimates inflation this year at 1,660 per cent, and Venezuelans are suffering shortages of food and basic medicines. Oil service companies such as Schlumberger are cutting back activities because they are not being paid."



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NBAD-FGB merger becomes effective | GulfNews.com

NBAD-FGB merger becomes effective | GulfNews.com:

"National Bank of Abu Dhabi PJSC (NBAD) announced on Sunday that its merger with First Gulf Bank PJSC (FGB) has become effective on the close of trading on 30 March 2017 (the Effective Date) following the publication of the merger Certificate issued by the Securities and Commodities Authority.
The market regulator has approved the increase in the share capital of NBAD and the amendments to its Articles of Association, the dissolution of FGB and the transfer of its rights and assets and liabilities to NBAD.
New NBAD ordinary shares of 5,643,000,000 have been issued to those shareholders of FGB who appeared on the share register of FGB immediately before the Effective Date. The new number of outstanding NBAD ordinary shares following the capital increase is 10,897,545,318."



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Giuliani sought to end prosecution of Turk in Iran sanctions case | Reuters

Giuliani sought to end prosecution of Turk in Iran sanctions case | Reuters:

"Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani went to Turkey to meet with the country's president and sought meetings with U.S. government officials in an attempt to end U.S. prosecution of a wealthy Turkish gold trader charged with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, Manhattan federal prosecutors said.

The moves were disclosed in a letter on Friday to U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who is overseeing the case in which the trader, Reza Zarrab, is accused of conspiring with others to conduct illegal transactions through U.S. banks on behalf of Iran's government and other Iranian entities.

The new disclosures highlight the politically charged nature of a case that expanded in scope earlier this week with the arrest in New York of an executive at a Turkish state-owned bank charged with conspiring with Zarrab to evade sanctions."



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Abu Dhabi’s Plowing Ahead With These 10 Mega Projects During an Oil Slump - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s Plowing Ahead With These 10 Mega Projects During an Oil Slump - Bloomberg:

"Abu Dhabi, which sits on about 6 percent of the world’s oil reserves, has pushed ahead with a construction program that began before crude prices slumped in 2014. From a branch of Paris's Louvre museum, a new airport terminal and a nuclear power plant, here are the 10 biggest projects underway in the sheikdom. With a combined value of 134 billion dirhams ($37 billion), they're expected to be completed by 2020, according to a list provided by the government this month in response to questions from Bloomberg.  For more about how the oil slump has impacted Abu Dhabi's spending, click here."



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