KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Rich Exiles Put Dubai in Spotlight

Rich Exiles Put Dubai in Spotlight

Dubai’s position as the financial capital of the Middle East is drawing scrutiny as the U.S. and Europe ratchet up pressure on Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

While the United Arab Emirates has long been an investment destination for wealthy Russians, it’s becoming more appealing as other countries sever relations with Moscow.

Their previously favored locales, including the U.K., Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, have sanctioned Russian banks, seized mansions and impounded super-yachts.​

The flow of Russian money into the UAE through cash transfers and crypto wallets picked up as tension between Russia and Ukraine escalated, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Officials in the UAE must now grapple with a dilemma. They can join the global effort to clamp down on Russian assets at the expense of losing out on money flows that have helped underpin the economy. Or they can try to maintain the confidentiality that traditional havens could no longer sustain, and risk upsetting traditional allies such as the U.S.

Oil giant Saudi Aramco is narrowing the gap with Apple for the title of the world’s most valuable company. Benefiting from crude prices at the highest since 2008, Aramco shares jumped 15% in less than three weeks, giving it a market value of over $2.3 trillion, while Apple shares fell 9%.

The Slant
Amid a growing global oil crisis resulting from sanctions in Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden can’t afford to shun the Saudis, Bobby Ghosh writes for Bloomberg Opinion. There are calls for Biden to make a direct plea to Saudi Arabia’s de factor ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and warnings that if he can’t convince the prince to pump more oil, crude could trade at a sky-high $150 to $200 a barrel for the next “several years.”


Need to Know
World powers and Iran suspended efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear accord, while Qatar’s foreign minister travelled to Moscow for talks aimed at salvaging the talks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards said it carried out a missile strike on an Israeli “strategic center” in Iraq and the Iranian government suspended talks on restoring ties with Saudi Arabia.

The UAE and Israel are lobbying the U.S. to formulate a security strategy for the Middle East should the Iran nuclear deal be revived, with the war in Ukraine and surging oil prices providing leverage to obtain guarantees they failed to secure in 2015.

Saudi Aramco is helping the country strengthen energy ties with China with a pact to build a multi-billion dollar refining and chemicals project. Saudi Arabia is also seeking to buy an unusually large amount of diesel.

Uber’s Mideast subsidiary Careem is said to be looking to raise as much as $500 million from investors, including regional sovereign wealth funds, to help bankroll an expansion into services beyond ride-hailing.

A Saudi Arabian firm is said to be seeking to become the first movie chain to list in the kingdom and has hired the investment banking arm of Banque Saudi Fransi as an adviser. Muvi Cinemas is expected to be valued at as much as $800 million.

UAE’s Peninsula Real Estate is looking to list a vehicle on the London Stock Exchange, while Dubai’s Tecom Group is holding meetings with select investors for a potential listing in Dubai. In Saudi Arabia, Nahdi Medical set its final offer price for its listing at the top end of a range.

Executives from the Saudi Arabia’s Neom megaproject have invited bankers and investors to a meeting in New York as they try to drum up interest in their $500 billion plan to build a high-tech hub from scratch.

Binance Holdings is said to be in talks over a license to operate in Dubai, further bolstering its presence in the Middle East. For Dubai, the move is part of efforts to attract some of the world’s biggest crypto firms.
Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×