June Fourth Week Newsletter of World and GCC Business News
Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Mulls Buying Stake in Egypt’s Medinet Nasr - Bloomberg
– Aldar, which primarily operates in Abu Dhabi, has been looking to expand abroad as it faces limited growth prospects in its home market, the United Arab Emirates. The developer is seeking to deploy 5.6 billion dirhams ($1.5 billion) on acquisitions this year.
– The Egyptian government owns a 15% stake in Medinet Nasr. Hisham Tawfik, Egypt’s public enterprise minister, said Aldar has shown interest in the Cairo-based developer, but an offer has yet to materialize.
UAE Set to Attract Biggest Share of Millionaires as Rich Russians Flee Sanctions - Bloomberg
– The London-based investment migration consultancy projects the UAE will attract a net inflow of 4,000 millionaires, the most of any country globally.
– Affluent Russians seeking to escape the impact of the devastating Western sanctions on their country have started to move to the UAE and Israel in large numbers,” Henley said in the report published on Monday.
– The country’s success in attracting tourism and trade through visa waivers has propelled the UAE up to the No. 15 position on the Henley Passport Index from No. 64 a decade ago.
UAE Ramps Up Extradition Pacts in Bid to Fight Dirty Money - Bloomberg
– The UAE has 37 mutual legal assistance and extradition accords in place, including pacts with the UK, France, Italy, India and China, a spokesperson at the Executive Office of AML/CFT, the UAE government body responsible for tackling illicit finance issues, said in an email to Bloomberg News.
– The FATF has said it wants the UAE to implement an action plan to demonstrate “a sustained increase” in effective prosecutions of different types of money laundering cases.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Meet the Three Gupta Brothers, Symbols of South African Corruption - Bloomberg
– They fled South Africa for Dubai in early 2018 after the ruling party forced Zuma to quit and were charged with graft later that year. In June 2022, two of the Gupta brothers were arrested in Dubai to face possible extradition and trial in South Africa.
– Dubai police said they detained Rajesh and Atul Gupta “in connection with money laundering and other criminal charges in South Africa.
– President Cyril Ramaphosa said in 2019 that at least $32 billion may have been stolen during his predecessor’s tenure and the actual figure could be more than double that amount.
Oman Wealth Fund Considers IPOs of State Energy Firm OQ’s Units - Bloomberg
– The share sales are part of Oman Investment Authority’s plan to exit state assets in a bid to bolster the country’s coffers and expand its stock exchange, according to its statement on Twitter. It plans a full and partial exit of a number of Omran hotels and resorts and two Asyad projects.
– Muscat Stock Exchange’s Chief Executive Officer Haitham Al-Salmi said that Oman is planning to list 35 state-owned enterprises over the next five years, with one or two oil companies to potentially list this year.
Macron Proposes Worker Dividends as Inflation Grips France - Bloomberg
– A company would be required to pay employees every time its shareholders got a payout. It could be done in several ways, including the tax-free bonuses Macron introduced in 2019 and the original profit-sharing formulas first developed by de Gaulle.
– “It’s a question of rebuilding the social contract between labor and capital,” Macron said.
– The potential benefits, Lanxade says, range from increased productivity and higher worker motivation to better relationships between staff and management.