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Agility Public Warehousing Co, a Kuwait-based logistics company operating in more than 100 countries, is stepping up plans to develop so-called warehouse parks across Africa at a cost of about $200 million each.

The company, which has annual revenue of about, $5.5 billion, has set up one at the Ghanaian port city of Tema, about 16 miles east of the capital, Accra, and will open three more, in Abidjan, Maputo and Lagos – the commercial hubs of Ivory Coast, Mozambique and Nigeria respectively – by the end of the second quarter of next year. Addis Ababa, Luanda, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kinshasa may follow.

The idea is to “build it and they will come,” Geoffrey White, Agility’s chief executive officer for Africa, said in an interview in Cape Town last week.

The parks comprise tens of thousands of square meters of warehousing with reliable power, internet and security. Built on the outskirts of major commercial hubs, they offer multinational companies a quick way to set up distribution centres, White said. While there are some similar projects on the continent, none are of Agility’s scale, he said.

Cummins Inc, which makes generators and engines, is one of its initial customers, using the park in Ghana for its West African distribution.

Egypt, Morocco and Algeria are potential sites for parks in North Africa, White said.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/427578-kuwait-warehousing-company-agility-plans-trans-africa-facilities

The Kuwait Capital Market Authority will start next month a public offering of its 50 percent stake in the local stock exchange.

Only Kuwaiti citizens will be eligible to buy the shares, according to a press release on Sunday. The subscription period will run from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1, with the offering price set at 100 fils per share, or one-tenth of a dinar.

The offering is the second and final stage of a privatisation process that started in February, when the markets regulator sold 44 percent of the company to a consortium of domestic and international investors.

Boursa Kuwait will be the second in the Gulf to be publicly traded after Dubai’s.
The consortium that bought the stake earlier this year comprised the Athens Stock Exchange, National Investments Company, First Investment Company and Arzan Financial Group.
After the offering is completed, Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security will retain the remaining 6% in the company.
Kuwait’s main equity index is up about 24% this year, the most within major peers in the region, amid bets of an upgrade from frontier to major emerging-markets gauges.

SOurce:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/equities/427480-kuwaits-apital-market-authority-to-start-stake-sale-of-bourse-to-local-investors

Kuwait-based JustClean has revealed expansion plans for the GCC and further afield.

Established three years ago by Kuwaiti brothers Athbi and Nouri Al-Enezi, JustCean has signed up more than 100 laundry businesses in the UAE since its marketplace app was introduced to the country in 2018.

Athbi Al-Enezi said: “We’re looking to sign up at least ten more laundries in the UAE each month for the rest of the year and into 2020 as we expand our logistics operation in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah.

“We’re going to be doubling the size of our fleet of delivery vans and drivers by the end of the year, and we’re following a similar pattern of growth in Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as well as expanding to markets beyond the GCC.”

Currently operating in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, JustClean will open for business in Jeddah and Riyadh before the end of the year, with entry into other international markets to follow early next year.

Nouri Al-Enezi said: “The company is three businesses in one, namely a marketplace application, a logistics operation as well as a SaaS (software as a service) business. We’re upgrading what is basically a large and underdeveloped sector through the integration of technology into the daily lives of consumers.

“The laundry business in the GCC regionally is currently worth roughly $3 billion, with an annual growth of 9 percent, and it will develop substantially in the next five years. We feel the entire industry will eventually end up online.”

Just a year after its launch the company attracted investment by Faith Capital Holding, the Kuwait-based venture capital fund, whose deputy chairman and CEO, Mohammad Jaffar, was installed as CEO of the start-up.

In February 2019 Faith Capital announced it had closed an $8 million Series A round of financing in the company, enabling its growth across the GCC region, while also expanding the logistics and SaaS (software as a service) arms of the business.

Just a year after its launch the company attracted investment by Faith Capital Holding, the Kuwait-based venture capital fund, whose deputy chairman and CEO, Mohammad Jaffar, was installed as CEO of the start-up.

In February 2019 Faith Capital announced it had closed an $8 million Series A round of financing in the company, enabling its growth across the GCC region, while also expanding the logistics and SaaS arms of the business.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/retail/426955-kuwait-based-justclean-announces-expansion-plans-for-gcc-wider-region

Bahrain has lost its title as the world’s best destination for expats after falling six places in the latest Expat Insider survey.

After topping the InterNations list in 2018 and 2017, Bahrain fell to seventh out of 64 countries analysed, as concerns over working hours and job security weighed.

Kuwait was named the worst country in the survey while Oman ranked 32nd and the UAE 40th.

Bahrain slumped 17 places to 18th in the Working Abroad Index while remaining in the top 10 countries for career prospects and job satisfaction.

Expat parents are also slightly less happy, ranking Bahrain 13th out of 36 countries in the Family Life Index while expats still have no issues with settling into the country and find it easy to make friends without speaking the local language.

With the exception of 2017, when it ranked second to last, Kuwait has consistently been ranked by InterNations as the worst country for expats.

More than half the respondents (51 percent) said they do not feel at home in the local culture and 63 percent claim that making local friends is hard. What is more, the country is said to offer a low quality of life (63rd), with a majority of expats unhappy with the available leisure activities.

For Oman, expats ranked the country first for Safety and Security while it also topped the list for Friendliness, with 87 percent saying locals were welcoming.

However, Oman only comes in a mediocre 35th place out of 64 in terms of quality of life while only 42 percent are satisfied with both their career prospects and their job security and expats
raising children in Oman are particularly unhappy with the availability of leisure activities for kids.

Oman has also fallen 17 places in the Personal Finance Index with less than three in five expats still rating their financial situation positively.

The UAE was ranked one of the world’s worst countries for personal finance (61st), according to expats, 25 percent of whom said they are unhappy with their financial situation while 34 percent feel that their disposable household income is not enough to cover all living expenses.

Expats parents said they also struggle with the high costs in the UAE but the UAE is considered a very safe country for expats and their children, ranking 6th globally.

Taiwan, Vietnam and Portugal were ranked the top three expat destinations in the world.

InterNations, the world’s largest expat community with 3.6 million members, received more than 20,000 respondents for the survey which offers in-depth information about expats’ satisfaction with the quality of life, ease of settling in, working life, personal finance, cost of living, and family life in their respective country of residence.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/427326-bahrain-loses-title-of-worlds-best-destination-for-expats

It is no secret shopping centers play an important role in the development of the retail sector, hence the economy of a country. This certainly applies to a developing country like Turkey as well. The number of shopping centers which have gradually turned into living spaces in this country have exceeded 400 and is expected to reach 500 by 2023.

Shopping malls which are a part of our lives are not just for shopping anymore, but they also offer such opportunities as socializing, entertainment etc. Turkey met with the first shopping center in the country in 1988 when the glorious GALLERIA Mall at ATAKÖY opened and became a center of attraction not only for the vicinity but for all of Istanbul. After the opening of Galleria, the number of shopping center projects in Turkey increased rapidly. In fact there are many still under construction.

Experts note that the increasing momentum in shopping center investments led to enlargement of retail sector while diversifying shopping malls, at the same time. For example, until a few years ago, talking about a shopping center one would picture stores, food areas and cinemas in a large indoor area. However, today there are other types of malls such as the VIAPORT at KURTKOY (where Sabiha Gökçen Airport is located) built on an open area offering street shopping concept with shops along streets and ZORLU Center at LEVENT, Istanbul offering residence, culture, art and shopping alternatives in specific.

There is no doubt this diversity is continuing to increase with new projects. While the number of shopping centers in our country was 43 and the leasable area was 3.7 million square meters 10 years ago, today these figures have gone up to 426 malls and 12.2 million square meters. On the other hand it goes without saying that Shopping Mall investments have attracted a significant amount of foreign investment to Turkey.

Based on official data, US$ 14 billion of the US$ 150 billion foreign direct investment that has come to Turkey recently has to do with investments for shopping centers in this country.

Istanbul stands out in the number of shopping malls but most provinces in the country have at least one shopping mall, except for 20 provinces with no shopping malls yet. These provinces are Adiyaman, Agri, Amasya, Ardahan, Bartm, Bayburt, Bingol, Burdur, Gumushane, Hakkari, Igdir, Kars, Kirsehir, Kilis, Mus, Nigde, Rize, Sinop, Sirnak and Tunceli.

Retail sector representatives state that shopping malls have been among the most important factors in the growth of retail in recent years. Taking part in newly opened shopping centers is important for many retailers. In fact, the easiest way to meet consumers in our country, where the number of brand streets is limited to İstiklal and Bağdat Streets, passes through shopping malls.

Then again there are also other very popular malls such as CARREFOUR Shopping Center (Göztepe, Istanbul), Nautilus Tepe Mall (Kadıköy), Mall of Istanbul and many more …

Experts comment luxury consumption is increasing in the world of and as long as entrepreneurs pay special attention to factors such as occupancy and profitability in line with customer needs when building a mall, there would not be a serious problem for such facilities.

On the other hand, malls in the country had a major issue for a long time; rents were paid in US dollars which was not very favorable for business owners. This situation, which retailers have been complaining about for years, has ended with a decree issued by President Erdoğan. Thus, rents in shopping malls are now paid in TL.

Source:http://businessturkeytoday.com/consumption-in-turkey-skyrockets-with-over-400-shopping-centers-across-the-country.html

Centers to provide information, technology, consulting services to both Turkish and Syrian investors.

Three new technology innovation centers are to be opened in western and southern Turkey to support the country’s high-tech production, an official said Thursday.”We plan to activate these centers by the end of 2020,” Kadir Aydin, general manager of the Cukurova Technology Zone in the southern Adana province, told Anadolu Agency. Both Turkish and Syrian investors will be able to benefit from the information, technology and consulting services of these centers, which will be funded by the EU.

The Industry and Technology Ministry aims to raise the number of research and development centers across Turkey, Aydin said, adding that the latest centers to be opened in Izmir, Adana and Mersin would be “pilot projects” that were of “great importance” for the ministry.Entrepreneurs with innovative ideas will be able to use or employ the centers’ facilities, as will factories that require a certain tool be developed.

Companies may also demand new products or technologies for their own use from the centers, Aydin said.As part of Turkey’s national technology initiative, such centers, including technoparks, play important role in increasing technology and innovation capabilities.Numbering only two in 2001, the amount of technoparks shot up to 84 across 56 provinces, according to the data compiled by Anadolu Agency.Technoparks gather entrepreneurs, researchers and academics to support the country’s high-tech production.

Source:http://turkishindustry.com/industry-news/3-new-tech-centers-to-open-across-west–south-turkey

Boyko Borissov speaks in Varna in front of the participants at the 12th Summer University of GERB Youth Structure.Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said on Sunday that a gas pipeline contract from Turkey through Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Austria is expected to be signed on September 5th.

He said at the 12th Summer University of GERB Youth Organization that he is currently working on this very important energy project that will ensure diversification of supplies.Together with the gas interconnector, Greece will achieve 100 percent diversification, Borissov said.

The Prime Minister also commented on the Belene NPP project, saying that many countries are gathering in it, and there are many proposals. It is important because after 10-15 years, when the 5th and 6th units of Kozloduy NPP are closed, we will have to have replacement capacity, he explained.

Borissov also commented on major and important infrastructure projects for Varna, saying he would provide additional funding for them.He stated that GERB’s candidate for mayor of Dobrich is Nadezhda Petkova – a specialist in European projects, who attended the forum.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has confirmed that the draft budget for next year envisages a 10% increase in income.”Since we already consider the budget, with 10% guaranteed, we will raise revenue next year in all sectors.

Source:http://turkishindustry.com/industry-news/a-gas-pipeline-contract-from-turkey-through-bulgaria-to-serbia-is-expected-to-be-signed-on-september-5

A Dubai-based start-up plans to launch electric motorcycles next month that could save delivery drivers almost $7,000 a year.

Adam Ridgway, CEO of One Moto, who describes the company as “to electric motorcycles what Tesla is to cars”, revealed the electric scooters – the Electa (AED16,450/$4,479) and Byka (AED14,950/$4,000) – will be available from September 1.

The Electa is a modern take on the classic Vespa scooter, according to Ridgway, who also told Arabian Business the Byka – which has been designed to cater for the delivery market – will be a “game changer”.

“We truly believe that with the right support, belief and a little luck we will be able to completely eradicate the need for petrol delivery bikes in the UAE within three years, and across the MENA/APAC in five years,” said Ridgway.

He is confident that the cost of a delivery rider could be slashed by up to AED25,000 ($6,800) in the first year when taking into account petrol charges and maintenance – there are also no Salik charges or registration fees as part of government incentives.

UAE designed

Designed in the UAE, the electric motorcycles have a high-capacity range of 120-150kms per charge and high-power output for a quick acceleration and speed of 86km/h.

The vehicle plugs into a standard three-pin socket and the battery gives a life of between 90km and 150km. The full charging takes between four and six hours and 80 percent charge in one hour.

“The most convenient way to owning a One Moto scooter is having multiple battery packs, one for home, one for the office and one in the bike – we swap them with our colleagues and friends, so we always have full batteries,” said Ridgway, who aims to put 50,000 commuters on the road by 2022.

“If your friends also buy a One Moto scooter they’ll also have batteries, so swap and share. You don’t need a specialised charging point, which is a bonus for scooter riders (as cars need a charging station), so if you live in town and city centres apartment blocks – just plug it in to your home/office electricity supply.”

Expansion plans
The vehicles, which will be sold online, are also environmentally friendly.

Ridgway, who revealed plans to expand into Saudi, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and South Africa, said: “Motorcycles use less fuel than cars, however, better fuel economy doesn’t always result in fewer emissions. Most motorcycles create more air pollution and smog than cars. Bikes produce less carbon dioxide, but they release more carbon monoxide.

“In total there are around 12,000 bikes in the UAE. When you start looking at the carbon emissions, behind aircrafts, petrol-powered motorcycles are the worst. It’s shocking. There’s a huge market out there.”

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/transport/426776-dubai-firm-to-launch-cost-saving-electric-motorcycles-in-the-uae

Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) apartments offer the best gross rental returns in Dubai at 9.5 percent, according to the latest Property Finder Trends report.

The average rental yield in global property hotspots such as London (2.7 percent), Hong Kong (2.4 percent), New York (2.9 percent) and Singapore (2.5 percent) hover in the low single digits while Dubai properties consistently offer over 7 percent gross returns on average.

Rental yields, one of the most important considerations for mid to long-term investors, is the rental income (the money a tenant pays to the landlord) divided by the purchase price of the property.

In the first half of the year, DSO proved the most lucrative, while new communities such as Meydan and Damac Hills offered gross rental yields of 9.3 percent and 8.9 percent respectively.

Investor favourites such as International City (8.4 percent), Dubai Sports City (8.4 percent), International Media Production City and Arjan (both at 7.6 percent) continued to offer good returns for buyers.

Among villa and townhouse communities in Dubai, Town Square offered the highest gross returns at 7.8 percent in H1 2019, the ‘Trends’ report added. This was followed by The Springs (6.6 percent), Reem – Mira (6.4 percent), Mudon (6.3 percent) and Jumeirah Village Circle (6.2 percent).

Luxury villa communities such as Palm Jumeirah Signature Villas, Palm Jumeirah Garden Homes, Emirates Hills, Jumeirah Islands and Mohammed Bin Rashid City offer smaller yields ranging between 2 to 4 percent.

“Despite a sustained contraction in prices, Dubai still holds its own as an investment hotspot with attractive yields and new legislative initiatives to further entice investors and companies,” said Lynnette Abad, director of data and research, Property Finder.

The affordable community of Al Reef leads in terms of offering Abu Dhabi’s gross rental yields for both apartments and villas/townhouses at 8.5 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively.

Apartments in Al Ghadeer (8.3 percent) and Al Raha Beach (7.2 percent) also find favour with investors while villas and townhouses in Al Raha Gardens (5.7 percent) and Golf Gardens (5.5 percent) are also popular with those looking to make a rental income.

Apartments in Ajman’s Emirates City provided the UAE’s best gross rental yield at 11 percent. Al Hamra Village in Ras Al Khaimah (9 percent) and Ajman Downtown (8 percent) also provided apartment buyers with robust rental returns.

Meanwhile, villas in Ajman’s Al Mwaihat (6 percent), Al Hamra Village in RAK (5.2 percent) and Al Zahraa in Ajman (4.9 percent) rounded up the top three list of best gross returns.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/property/426609-revealed-areas-in-dubai-offering-the-best-rental-yield