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Dubai’s Emirates airline set a new record on the first day of the Dubai Airshow with the announcement it was placing orders worth an estimated $99bn. Emirates will purchase 250 Boeing 777Xs (comprising 35 Boeing 777-8Xs and 115 Boeing 777-9Xs), plus 50 purchase rights, an order valued at $76bn – making it the single largest aircraft order by value in the history of US commercial aviation. In a separate deal worth $23bn, Emirates, which is chaired by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum (uncle of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum), ordered 50 Airbus A380 aircraft.

Jeddah-based Saudi Business Machines (SBM) in mid-October filed a case against Illinois-incorporated V3 Data Matrix alleging breach of contract, conversion and unjust enrichment based on V3 Data’s “deceitful scheme of submitting false invoices for payment of goods which it never delivered to SBM”. SBM claims that V3 Data worked with a former SBM employee (the father of V3 Data’s president) to steal some $1.3m from the company. The case was launched on 15 October in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. SBM, represented by Dentons law firm, is a leading IT service company in Saudi Arabia, where it is the representative for IBM.

The largest energy investor in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sharjah-based Dana Gas, has begun arbitration proceedings against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) at the London Court of International Arbitration. Dana and its partners in Iraq say they want to “clarify certain contractual rights”, and recoup more than $1bn in unpaid receivables. The KRG says there are no outstanding receivables and that, in fact, Dana and its affiliates owe Erbil money. Dana’s KRG interests are held via a 40% share of Pearl Petroleum, which is co-owned by Dana’s main shareholder, Crescent Petroleum (40%), OMV Upstream International (10%) and MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas (10%).


The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), which is intended to prevent tax evasion by Americans living abroad, will be applied to all financial institutions operating in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region from July 2014, obliging banks to provide details and personal data on the accounts of all US citizens, Green Card holders and entities controlled by US citizens as signatory authorities. Some smaller institutions have already seen it as a burden too many, and have started to refuse business from potential Fatca targets.

The European Union (EU)’s general court has annulled sanctions on seven Iranian companies and one individual. The court in Luxembourg ruled there was insufficient evidence to justify sanctions on several companies – Post Bank Iran, Iran Insurance Company, Good Luck Shipping, and the Export Development Bank of Iran – and that the EU had erred in its assessments of Persia International Bank, the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company and Naser Bateni, managing director of Hamburg-based Hanseatic Trade, Trust & Shipping. Bank Refah Kargaran’s appeal was also upheld on the basis that the EU’s claim it had taken over operations from a previously sanctioned bank, Bank Melli, lacked detail.

On 10 September, in a London courtroom packed with Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) investors, Mr Justice Christopher Clarke comprehensively ruled in favour of GKP in its legal battle with former partner Excalibur Ventures. Excalibur had claimed it was owed a 30% stake in GKP’s huge Shaikan field, which could have been worth about $1.6bn according to some estimates. While most spectators expected a ruling in GKP’s favour, its unequivocal nature was a surprise. As Justice Clarke read out each part of his 13-point judgement to more than 100 investors who had filed in for the verdict (many of them unable to find seats), the buzz of excitement grew.

GSN provides a round up of developments in three court cases: Sheikh Meshaal Jarrah Al-Sabah v UBS AG, Sharab v HRH Al-Saud, Habtoor Leighton Group v Al Faisal Holding

Princess Latifa, a daughter of the late King Saud, has bought an 18,800m2 estate in Switzerland from the wealthy Nordmann business family behind the Lacoste clothing brand. The sale price has not been disclosed but is said to be the second highest on record for the country (the daughter of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Dinara Kulibayeva, holds the current record).

The current ruler of Oman, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said, comes from the Al-Busaidi dynasty, which was founded in 1750 when Ahmed Al-Busaidi succeeded in expelling the Persian forces from the Omani coast, and proclaimed himself imam. In 1806, his grandson Said Bin Sultan came to power, and gave his name to the current ruling family. The Al-Said is one of the smallest ruling families in the Gulf. Under the Basic Law of 1996, only the descendants of Turki Bin Said (r. 1871-88, Qaboos’ great-great-grandfather) can be named sultan.

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.

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.

Prince Turki Bin Abdelrahman’s Modern Healthcare Solutions Company – part of his Modern Group/Modern Industrial Development Holding Group – has signed a deal with the Malaysian state-owned Pharmaniagia Behard. The companies will work together on the design, establishment and operation of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing complexes at a cost of some SR600m ($160m).

British court documents regarding a business dispute between a Jordanian businessman and Saudi princes Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz and his son Abdelaziz have finally been released, exposing a string of sensational allegations that each side vehemently denies. Prince Mishaal and his son had tried to keep the papers secret, arguing that they were entitled to sovereign immunity. But the Court of Appeal dismissed the claim, and released them on 16 May.

The relationship between Kuwait and Iraq has been buoyed by a number of political and economic developments across a number of sectors, including: telecoms, energy, real estate, retail, banking, aviation and eduction

Abu Dhabi's ruling Al-Nahyan dominated the federal government until early 2006, when Dubai's charismatic ruler, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR), was named federal vice president and prime minister. Dubai has become known as much for its debt crisis as for its showy and record-breaking architecture. From 2006, it played an increasing role in federal affairs, but its debt crisis resulted in power shifting back towards Abu Dhabi, which aspires to a more closely bound federation than its neighbour.