WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2014 BUSINESS News Egypt meeting with commodities firms on hub project: Minister CAIRO: Egypt’s supplies minister has begun holding meetings with international commodities trading companies with whom he wants the government to partner in an ambitious plan to transform the country into a global trading hub. The plan, one of a number of mega-projects announced by the government, aims to turn Egypt into a centre for processing and reexporting millions of tons of wheat, soybeans, sugar and other commodities via a new port and also envisages the creation of the region’s first commodities mercantile exchange. Minister Khaled Hanafi told Reuters yesterday he had been approached by “very big companies and traders”, including those in the grain storage business, to consider proposals which the government says will boost the economy and create jobs. “We are now in the phase of formulating the strategic alliance”, said Hanafi. He did not say who he was meeting with but said the multibillion-dollar project would be completed within two years as envisaged by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Hanafi spoke after traders from commodities firms he wants on board told Reuters last week they were not yet convinced the government had thought through the details of the project before unveiling it. Asked to respond to the criticism that Egypt should focus first on solving problems in storing its own local wheat and imported grain, Hanafi said the mega-project had longer-term objectives. “We are focusing today on a totally different type and quality of storage than what ever existed before ... a modern supply chain and logistics system and using state-of-the-art technology instead of the primitive system for storage that has long existed here”, he said. Industry experts put the amount of grain Egypt loses annually due to inadequate storage at up to 30 percent. The United Arab Emirates, a key backer of Egypt since Sisi ousted Islamist President Mohammad Morsi last year, has seized on the issue. It pledged last year to build 25 wheat silos with a total storage capacity of 1.5 million tons. Speaking to Reuters at an event for a visiting delegation of top US companies, Hanafi said he had been meeting with US executives about “different systems for state-of-the-art storage”. He declined to name the companies since they were competing for contracts. —Reuters i n Kuwait crude price up 66 cents to $77.24pd KUWAIT: Price of Kuwait crude oil per barrel went up 66 cents to $77.24pb Monday compared to $76.58 last Friday, said Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. The slight rise in oil prices came in the wake of forecasts that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would cut oil output. In New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), American crude settled at $78pb. Kuwait has meanwhile set the official selling price (OSP) for its crude oil sales to Asian buyers for December to $2.10 a barrel below the average of Oman/Dubai quotes, up 95 cents from the previous month, a trade source said yesterday. Kuwait set its OSP at $3.05 per barrel below the Oman/Dubai average for November loading. The price rise was in line with Saudi Arabia’s Arab Medium grade. TOKYO: A businessman passes before a share prices board in Tokyo yesterday. Japan’s share prices rose 343.58 points to close at 17,124.11 points at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, thanks to a weaker yen and following another record close for the Dow and S&P 500 on Wall Street. —AFP Dubai plans $689m IPO as it steps up tourism push Dubai Parks and Resorts in $2.9bn project DUBAI: A Dubai company plans to launch a $689 million initial public offer of shares this month as it builds a $2.9 billion amusement park complex which is key to the emirate’s drive to expand as an international tourist destination. Dubai Parks and Resorts, part of the governmentowned Meraas investment group, said yesterday it would sell 2.53 billion shares or 40 percent of its outstanding shares between Nov. 17 and Nov 30, at a price of 1 dirham each. The company has started work on three linked theme parks that it says will help Dubai meet its target to double annual tourist numbers to 20 million in 2020 from 10 million in 2012, and treble tourism income over that period. The 16 million square foot (1.5 million square metre) proj- ect on the outskirts of Dubai is to feature three theme parks: Motiongate, based on films made by DreamWorks Animation and Sony Pictures, LEGOLAND Dubai, and Bollywood Parks. Hotel, shopping and other entertainment facilities are also planned, with completion scheduled by Sept 30, 2016. Meraas estimates the project will cost a total of about 10.5 billion dirhams, funded through 4.2 billion dirhams of debt arranged by Goldman Sachs, and 6.3 billion dirhams of equity. The equity will include the IPO proceeds, plus 2 billion dirhams in cash and 1.78 billion dirhams in land and previous expenses funded by Meraas. The Dubai Parks IPO marks a revival of equity offers in the United Arab Emirates; they dried up as the global financial crisis erupted five years ago, but are now being buoyed by a strong rebound in the UAE economy and markets. Several offers have occurred this year and drawn heavy investor demand, including the $1.6 billion IPO of Emaar Malls Group. Emirates Financial Services, Goldman Sachs and HSBC are acting as joint global coordinators for the Dubai Parks IPO, with EFG Hermes and Shuaa Capital also involved. Ten percent of the offer will be allocated to retail investors, 25 percent to wealthy individuals wishing to buy a minimum of 5 million shares each, and 60 percent to institutions ordering at least 10 million shares. The remaining 5 percent is reserved for the UAE government’s Emirates Investment Authority. —Reuters Islamic finance body AAOIFI picks up pace MANAMA: The Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) has issued two new sharia standards, revised three others and said it will review at least five more in coming months. The move appears to signal a more proactive approach by AAOIFI, which is one of the world’s top standardsetting bodies for Islamic finance but has acted only gradually to address some of the industry’s big issues and controversies in recent years. Before its latest announcement, AAOIFI had issued only two of its 88 standards in the last three years, while other Islamic finance organizations have stepped up their activities as the industry expands around the globe. AAOIFI may now be picking up the b r i e f pace after it appointed a new secretary-general in September, Saudi Arabian national Hamed Hassan Merah. After a meeting of its 20-member sharia board last week in Riyadh, AAOIFI said it had issued a standard for arboun (down payments) and another on conditional termination of contracts, following a public hearing held in October. AAOIFI has also revised standards covering the conversion of conventional banks into Islamic ones, debt transfers (hawala) and murabaha - a common sharia-compliant sale contract. In murabaha, an institution agrees to purchase merchandise from a counterparty, who promises to buy it back with an agreed mark-up at a later date. Murabaha contracts can take several forms, some of which may resemble interest-bearing loans, which has attracted criticism from some scholars and regulators. AAOIFI did not publicly reveal details of its new and revised standards, so it was not immediately clear whether the murabaha change was minor or substantial. The organization is also developing a new standard on repurchase agreements, a key liquidity management tool to which most Islamic banks currently have limited access. It will review existing standards for several widely used contracts, including those on ijara, salam, istisna, musharaka and mudaraba. As part of the review, it will seek industry feedback before its next sharia board meeting, to be held next March. AAOIFI will hold its annual conference, organized in partnership with the World Bank, on Nov 17 and 18 this year. Under its previous secretary-general, AAOIFI had said it would look to develop a new framework for disclosing financial data, while possibly revising standards for takaful (Islamic insurance), investment accounts and other products. Established in 1990, AAOIFI issues guidelines that are followed wholly or in part by Islamic financial institutions around the world. AAOIFI standards have been used by or influenced regulation in jurisdictions including Bahrain, the Dubai International Financial Centre, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. —Reuters Abu Dhabi’s Bildco tumbles after Q3 loss DUBAI: Shares in Abu Dhabi-listed National Company for Building Materials (Bildco) tumbled 7.1 percent in early trade yesterday after the company said its net loss widened in the third quarter. Bildco posted a loss of 10.8 million dirhams ($2.9 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 7.7 million dirhams in the same period a year earlier. The firm’s sales fell 58 percent and it also booked provisions for doubtful debts and securities impairments. Mubadala starts production in second Thai oilfield ABU DHABI: Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi state investment fund Mubadala, said yesterday it has started production at a second oilfield in Thailand, which it operates with partners. Output is expected to reach a peak rate of around 15,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) as the wells are completed at the Manora oil field, the company said in a statement, without giving a timeline. Mubadala Petroleum, operates the Manora oil field in the northern Gulf of Thailand in partnership with Tap Energy (Thailand) Pty Ltd and Northern Gulf Petroleum Pte Ltd. Up to 10 production wells and five injection wells are planned in the oil field where the investment is $300 million, the company said. Mubadala also operates the Jasmine oil field which has produced over 50 million barrels of oil so far. Mubadala is also in the process of developing the Nong Yao oil field with first output expected by mid-2015, by which time the company’s oil production in Thailand will have more than doubled from current rates, it said. EFG Hermes posts 57% rise in Q3 profit CAIRO: EFG Hermes, one of the Middle East’s largest investment banks, posted yesterday a 57.4 percent yearon-year increase in third-quarter net profit after minority interests to 100.40 million Egyptian pounds ($14.04 million). The company said profit was boosted by its core investment banking operations, with revenue growth in fees and commissions from its securities brokerage, investment banking, asset management and private equity operations. Net operating profits from the investment bank were up 487 percent year-on-year to 85 million pounds, while fee and commission revenues rose 52 percent to 211 million pounds. The firm also said net profit before minority rights reached 144.4 million pounds, up 24.3 percent on the same period last year. In addition to investment banking, EFG Hermes offers brokerage, asset management and private equity units and operates in eight countries across the Middle East. Aabar lifts Arabtec stake to 34.9% DUBAI: Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments raised its stake in Dubai-listed construction firm Arabtec to 34.93 percent from 18.94 percent with an off-market trade yesterday, the bourse said in a statement. The trade, which made Aabar the biggest shareholder in Arabtec, was done at a price of 5 dirhams per share, compared to the stock’s closing market price of 4.26 dirhams. Aabar bought the shares from former Arabtec chief executive Hasan Ismaik, who abruptly resigned in June after differences of opinion with Aabar. The stake held by Ismaik and companies related to him has now dropped to 11.8 percent, the bourse said. The sale appears to reduce a major source of uncertainty for Arabtec, one of the region’s biggest construction firms, which is involved in projects including a $40 billion plan to build one million homes in Egypt. EXCHANGE RATES Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal transfer Irani Riyal cash Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham ASIAN COUNTRIES 2.526 4.743 2.847 2.221 2.963 226.560 37.581 3.759 6.467 8.870 59.250 117.500 GCC COUNTRIES 77.724 80.074 757.340 774.150 79.376 ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 40.762 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 40.663 Yemen Riyal/for 1000 1.360 Tunisian Dinar 159.910 Jordanian Dinar 411.340 Lebanese Lira/for 1000 1.955 Syrian Lira 2.077 Morocco Dirham 33.297 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 291.350 Euro 364.770 Sterling Pound 464.120 Canadian dollar 258.290 Turkish lira 128.800 Swiss Franc 303.020 Australian Dollar 252.310 US Dollar Buying 290.150 20 gram 10 gram 5 gram GOLD 229.000 117.500 59.250 UAE Exchange Centre WLL COUNTRY Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc Euro US Dollar Sterling Pound Japanese Yen Bangladesh Taka Indian Rupee Sri Lankan Rupee Nepali Rupee Pakistani Rupee UAE Dirhams Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Jordanian Dinar Omani Riyal Qatari Riyal Saudi Riyal SELL DRAFT 230.05 259.94 305.68 365.25 291.70 464.62 2.57 3.761 4.742 2.222 2.965 2.877 79.27 774.24 40.68 414.00 756.51 80.33 77.71 SELL CASH 227.05 260.94 303.68 366.25 294.70 467.62 2.59 4.031 5.042 2.657 3.500 2.790 79.73 776.31 41.28 419.65 763.81 80.88 78.11 2.765 3.905 88.300 47.950 9.980 130.750 Sierra Leone Singapore Dollar South African Rand Sri Lankan Rupee Taiwan Thai Baht 0.000064 0.223011 0.019914 0.001912 0.009414 0.008559 0.000070 0.229011 0.028414 0.002492 0.009594 0.009109 Bahrain Exchange Company Bahraini Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Riyal Iraqi Dinar Jordanian Dinar Kuwaiti Dinar Lebanese Pound Moroccan Dirhams Nigerian Naira Omani Riyal Qatar Riyal Saudi Riyal Syrian Pound Tunisian Dinar Turkish Lira UAE Dirhams Yemeni Riyal Arab 0.766353 0.038632 0.000081 0.000188 0.406851 1.000000 0.000144 0.023794 0.001179 0.750729 0.079316 0.077057 0.001727 0.155580 0.130217 0.078342 0.001315 0.774353 0.041732 0.000082 0.000248 0.414351 1.000000 0.000244 0.047794 0.001814 0.756409 0.080529 0.077757 0.001947 0.163580 0.137217 0.079491 0.001395 Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees Malaysian Ringgit Chinese Yuan Renminbi Thai Bhat Turkish Lira COUNTRY Belgian Franc British Pound Czech Korune Danish Krone Euro Norwegian Krone Romanian Leu Slovakia Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Turkish Lira Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupees Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Cyprus pound Japanese Yen Selling Rate 291.150 259.205 466.000 366.615 302.465 774.160 79.165 80.770 77.815 410.810 40.623 2.222 4.740 2.828 3.756 6.472 714.395 3.560 Australian Dollar New Zealand Dollar America Canadian Dollar US Dollars US Dollars Mint Bangladesh Taka Chinese Yuan Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Indonesian Rupiah Japanese Yen Kenyan Shilling Korean Won Malaysian Ringgit Nepalese Rupee Pakistan Rupee Philippine Peso SELL CASH 0.007585 0.457005 0.005086 0.044737 0.358313 0.038713 0.083568 0.008494 0.035269 0.295661 0.130217 SELLDRAFT 0.008585 0.466005 0.017066 0.049737 0.366313 0.043913 0.083568 0.018494 0.040289 0.305861 0.137217 Australasia 0.243703 0.220271 0.255203 0.229771 0.252099 0.287250 0.287750 0.260599 0.291950 0.291950 Asia 0.003351 0.046031 0.035479 0.004481 0.000020 0.002464 0.003323 0.000257 0.084748 0.002977 0.002749 0.006383 0.003951 0.049531 0.038229 0.004882 0.000026 0.002644 0.003323 0.000272 0.090748 0.003147 0.003029 0.006663 Al Mulla Exchange Currency US Dollar Euro Pound Sterlng Canadian Dollar Indian Rupee Egyptian Pound Sri Lankan Rupee Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso Pakistan Rupee Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham Saudi Riyal *Rates are subject to change Transfer Rate (Per 1000) 290.300 365.200 464.000 255.700 4.740 40.615 2.217 3.750 6.472 2.825 773.550 79.100 77.600