Search results

The grace period for illegal workers ended on 3 November and, within days, thousands of migrant workers violating labour and immigration laws had been rounded up. The government announced earlier this year that it would crack down on expatriate workers whose papers were not in order, as part of attempts to tighten the labour market and get more nationals into jobs. Thousands were deported and, in early April, following an international outcry (particularly from Yemen, which relies heavily on remittances from workers abroad), King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz announced there would be a grace period to get paperwork in order, which was initially for three months and later extended.

Another of the string of cases related to bribery at Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) wrapped up on 9 January, when Alcoa World Alumina LLC agreed to plead guilty and pay $223m in criminal fines and forfeiture for having violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as $161m to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).The case, brought by the Department of Justice (DoJ), follows investigations begun in 2008 into allegations that, to secure contracts, Alcoa paid millions of dollars of bribes through an international middleman in London to officials at Alba.

Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (Sama, central bank) on 15 March surprised markets by raising its policy rates by 25 basis points with immediate effect, bringing the benchmark repo rate (the price at which Sama lends to commercial banks) to 2.25% and the reverse repo rate to 1.75%. It marked a change from Sama’s usual approach of waiting for the US Federal Reserve to adjust its interest rates first before following suit.

The charismatic founder of collapsing Dubai International Financial Centre-domiciled Abraaj, Arif Naqvi, has been remanded in custody in London on a US extradition warrant. Also arrested are the private equity firm’s former managing partners Mustafa Abdel Wadood (detained in New York) and Sev Vettivetpillai (remanded in London). The indictment named two other executives, Waqar Siddique and ex-chief financial officer Ashish Dave. They are accused of publishing misleading information on Abraaj funds’ performance and (inflated) values. They also allegedly benefitted from ‘misappropriations’. It has been widely reported that the group’s running costs hadn’t been met by revenues for many years.

When Mohammed Bin Abdulmalik Al Al-Sheikh was appointed chairman of the Capital Market Authority (CMA)’s board of governors in February, it came as something of a surprise. Just a few months earlier, in September 2012, he had taken up a job in Washington DC as an executive director of the World Bank, where he was expected to stay for a few years at least. Instead, he was back in Riyadh, and in charge of the stock market regulator.


Stuart Pearce, Qatar Financial Centre’s chief executive since 2005, has stepped down and been replaced by acting chief

Iran is scrutinising its relationship with Asian customers as it struggles to generate hard currency, prevent economic collapse and head off competition from Iraq.

Limited investment options have exposed takaful operators to the global economic downturn. But many providers are optimistic, seeing huge potential in a still largely untapped global market.

Risk perceptions and, consequently, trade financing margins have changed markedly during 2011, the most volatile year in recent Middle East history, according to trade finance market participants.

The scene was set on 4 April when the London Court of International Arbitration ordered the Djibouti government to pay at least $533m in compensation for breaching the exclusive rights of Doraleh Container Terminal SA (DCT) to operate container handling services in the east African entrepôt. It seems to be a classic commercial litigation battle. In 2006, DCT had signed a 30-year concession to be Djibouti’s exclusive container terminal operator. The company is 33% owned by DP World and 66% by state-owned Port de Djibouti, but it is DP World which has effective control.

The first shipment of goods from India to Afghanistan to pass through Chabahar arrived on 1 November. The consignment of wheat represents an important ‘proof of concept’ for the huge investments being made in the southern Iranian port, which forms part of a trade route which will enable India to reach markets in Afghanistan and elsewhere in central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.

Australia’s struggling Qantas Airways has agreed a 10-year alliance with Dubai’s Emirates to help shore up its loss-making international business. On 28 August, Qantas announced a loss of A$244m ($251m) for the year.

Around the world, battles continue surrounding the Ahmed Hamad Algosaibi & Brothers company (Ahab) and subsidiaries’ default, which dates back to the 2009 crash that the family blames on Maan Al-Sanea. The Algosaibis argue that some $9bn is in play; banks suing Ahab reportedly have some $5.9bn in outstanding claims, of which one-third is held by Saudi banks, and most of the rest by international banks (those with big exposures include BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered). ‘Vulture’ and other funds have purchased paper in secondary market deals, which could further complicate an eventual settlement, which will surely involve creditors taking a substantial ‘haircut’ on their debts.

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)’s main investment arm, the Kuwait Investment Office, now manages more than $120bn globally, compared with just $27bn ten years ago. KIA managing director Bader Mohammed Al-Saad was recently quoted by Reuters as saying the sovereign wealth fund had more than doubled its investment in the UK. “The KIA has invested more than $24bn in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. Ten years ago, it was $9bn,” he told an investor lunch in London.

UK-based engineering software firm Aveva said on 14 January that it had opened its second office in the Middle East, in Al-Khobar, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The Cambridge-based company established its first office in the region in Dubai in 2004; while it has had a foothold in Al-Khobar, a spokeswoman said the new office represented its first formal base in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia plans to increase its electricity generating capacity to 120GW by 2032, to meet the kingdom’s rapidly growing demand.