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Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. has agreed to take a 50.3 percent stake in a super app managed by Careem, Uber Technologies’ Middle East subsidiary, in a transaction valued at $400 million, e& said in a filing on Monday.

The Super App will be managed by Careem founders Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, said the company, formerly known as Etisalat Group and now called e&.

The ride-hailing business will be separated from the Careem Super App business and will be fully owned by Uber, but will still be available on the Super App.

The deal will be financed from e&’s existing cash balance, and subject to regulatory approvals, customary closing conditions and administrative procedures, e& said in the filing.

Reuters reported last month that talks with e& were at an advanced stage and a deal could be announced soon.

Careem began seeking outside investors last year to help finance its Super App, which offers services outside its core ride-hailing business such as food delivery, bike rentals, digital payments and courier services.

Etisalat rebranded to e& in June last year as the majority state-owned telco company embarked on a new strategy to position itself as a global technology and investment conglomerate.

E& said the transaction fits into its own ambitions to scale up consumer digital offerings and would allow the company to take advantage of the app to boost the growth of its consumer digital services.

Uber and Careem’s co-founders Sheikha, Olsson and Abdullah Elyas have the remaining stakes in the super app, a Careem spokesperson said.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2284326/business-economy

Petrofac, a leading provider of services to the global energy industry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Oman Hydrogen Centre (OHC) to collaborate in building capabilities for Oman’s renewable energy sector, the company announced on Wednesday.

The agreement aims to strengthen the sector, particularly in green hydrogen.

The partnership “will bring considerable benefits to the efficient implementation of green hydrogen projects and help accelerate the Sultanate’s energy transition,” the statement said.

Oman reveals plan to become global hydrogen player

Additionally, the collaboration will help in the development of Omani talent.

Petrofac recently completed front-end engineering design (FEED), for green hydrogen production facilities followed by studies for small-scale industrial globally.

The building company will provide technical expertise, design experience, project management and execution, and building capacity through knowledge transfer, the statement said.

“Green hydrogen provides an opportunity to help accelerate the energy transition in Oman through the decarbonisation of many parts of our industries,” Petrofac Oman’s country manager Dr Khalid Al Jahwari said.

Al Jahwari said the partnership with OHC “is designed to meet the needs of new complex energy assets,” adding it will focus on engineering excellence and a skilled workforce.

“With our combined knowledge, experience and capabilities, we are here to support this transition,” he said.

In June this year, the Sultanate’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals was in the process of appointing a think tank to promote Oman as a hub for production and export of green hydrogen.

Oman aims to be at the forefront of green hydrogen production, especially as key resources such as solar and wind energy and adequate lands will play a pivotal role in achieving this target.

The government also aims to attract foreign direct investments in the green hydrogen sector, as “there is a good demand for investments,” according to Ministry of Energy and Minerals’ director-general of renewable energy and hydrogen, Abdulaziz Said Al Shedhani.

“Remarkable efforts from governmental units, industries, and scientists take place towards accelerating the energy transition and green economy,” Oman Hydrogen Centre’s director Dr. Sausan Al Riyami said, adding “this will enable the building of our Omani talents in energy sector.”

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/energy/petrofac-oman-hydrogen-to-collaborate-to-strengthen-renewable-energy-sector

Network failures across Lebanon still loom as employees of state-owned internet provider Ogero continue their strike after negotiations hit a dead-end.

The strike started on Tuesday, with Ogero employees demanding for higher salaries amid an economic meltdown.

A three-and-a-half-hour long meeting was conducted between the disgruntled workers and Lebanon’s communications minister Johnny Corm, but no resolution was met.

Business across Lebanon have reported internet and power outages on Friday, according to local reports. Network services were only intermittently available in Tripoli, with electricity generators operating for about 12 hours a day.

SOurce:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/technology/threat-of-internet-outages-in-lebanon-continue-amid-ogero-strike

Bahrain-based Al Waha Fund of Funds announced on Monday its participation in LionBird III, an $85 million digital health-focused fund, floated by Tel Aviv-based venture capital LionBird.

Al Waha’s partnership with LionBird will also seek to aid Bahraini and GCC startups in navigating the complex US healthcare market and connecting with the right experts and partners, the company said in a statement.

LionBird is a US-focused digital health fund that specialises in seed-stage venture capital.

“We are pleased to be able to partner with LionBird in its latest fund and to help startups in the region access advice on digital health best practices, and support in penetrating the lucrative US healthcare market,” said Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive officer of Mumtalakat and vice chairman of Al Waha Fund.

Al Waha also said it was partnering with LionBird based on the latter’s track record of success helping startups access the burgeoning US healthcare market.

Jonathan Friedman, partner at LionBird, said the partnership with Al Waha Fund will give the venture capital access to innovation and networking opportunities in Bahrain, expanding its exposure in the MENA region.

“We believe we are well-positioned to support startups in Bahrain and the region as they plan their entry into the US market,” Friedman said.

The US currently spends around 17 percent of its GDP on healthcare, around twice as much than most other developed countries. Post-pandemic, the US healthcare market is undergoing significant shifts, which are opening new opportunities for startups.

There is a greater focus on health-tech startups as the sector pivots towards outpatient services and solutions such as telemedicine.

The digital startups in the US are estimated to have raised about $30 billion in 2021 across 729 deals, with investment in the market nearly doubling compared to 2020.

Al Rumaihi said Al Waha was committed to connecting the startup ecosystem in Bahrain and the Gulf with others around the world, providing a supportive environment for tech businesses to thrive.

“There are significant opportunities for the region’s startups in international markets, but the lack of access to capital remains a significant challenge for entrepreneurs,” Al Rumaihi, said.

The partnership between Al Waha Fund and LionBird could also lead to more Israeli companies choosing Bahrain as the location for their Middle East headquarters as they seek to leverage Al Waha Fund’s unique platform of value creation, Al Rumaihi added.

Al Waha Fund, launched in 2018 with a $100 million corpus with the aim of driving greater venture capital investment in the region, has deployed $80 million in 11 venture capital funds to date.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/startup/bahrains-al-waha-to-invest-85mn-in-israel-based-digital-health-focused-fund

New York is on track to advance with 22 green projects, in line with the state’s climate ambitions. In addition, EU countries will use money from the EU recovery fund to expand liquified natural gas capacity. Meanwhile, Moscow is seeing a jump in profits from energy exports in 2022, despite sanctions from the West.

Looking at the bigger picture:

· New York has unveiled a total of 22 renewable energy projects in line with the state’s target to achieve net-zero by 2040, Bloomberg reported, citing Gov. Kathy Hochul. The projects are expected to generate enough power to cater to 620,00 homes in the city for at least 20 years. In addition to this, the projects are also likely to create over 3,000 jobs and spur up to $2.7 billion in private investments.

· EU countries are set to utilize the money coming from the EU recovery fund to bolster liquified natural gas capacity, Reuters reported, citing EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. Originally created to facilitate pots-pandemic economic growth, the EU recovery fund will help EU countries gain dependency from Russian gas imports.

· Qatar has exported less than 35 million tons of liquified natural gas in the period between January and May of 2022, down from 36 million tons in the corresponding period a year ago, Bloomberg reported, citing ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. This is despite the major delivery requests from European countries keen on finding alternative sources to Russian fuels.

· Moscow is anticipating an increase in profits from the export of energy resources in 2022 despite Western sanctions on Russian oil, Reuters reported, citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2096936/business-economy

Gulf nations are interested in buying stakes in a fuel-distribution company owned by the Egyptian army, as well as a power plant co-built by Siemens AG, among their multi-billion-dollar investment pledges, according to Ayman Soliman, the CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE).

“Several international investors, including Gulf sovereign wealth funds, have showed interest in Wataniya and the Siemens-built power plant,” Ayman Soliman told Bloomberg.

The sales are planned for 2022 through either an initial public offering, a partnership with a strategic investor, or a combination of both.

“I see that we should secure a strategic investor ahead of the IPO,” Soliman said. “The IPO could be achieved through a private placement to sovereign wealth funds.”

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Qatar Investment Authority, and ADQ have all “expressed interest in supporting and accelerating Egypt’s IPO programme,” Soliman said.

Oil-rich Gulf countries are looking to bolster Egypt’s economy as the major food importer has been hit hard by record grain prices fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its economy.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar vie for stake in Egypt power plant, fuel distribution firm after investment pledges: report
Oil-rich Gulf countries are looking to bolster Egypt’s economy as the major food importer has been hit hard by record grain prices fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its economy

UAE Egypt Investment
Gulf nations are interested in buying stakes in a fuel-distribution company owned by the Egyptian army, as well as a power plant co-built by Siemens AG, among their multi-billion-dollar investment pledges, according to Ayman Soliman, the CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE).

“Several international investors, including Gulf sovereign wealth funds, have showed interest in Wataniya and the Siemens-built power plant,” Ayman Soliman told Bloomberg.

The sales are planned for 2022 through either an initial public offering, a partnership with a strategic investor, or a combination of both.

“I see that we should secure a strategic investor ahead of the IPO,” Soliman said. “The IPO could be achieved through a private placement to sovereign wealth funds.”

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Qatar Investment Authority, and ADQ have all “expressed interest in supporting and accelerating Egypt’s IPO programme,” Soliman said.

Oil-rich Gulf countries are looking to bolster Egypt’s economy as the major food importer has been hit hard by record grain prices fueled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to shore up its economy.

Saudi Arabia pledged $15 billion to support Egypt, making it the latest Gulf state after the UAE and Qatar to back an economy that’s under increasing pressure from Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Qatar is putting up $5 billion for deals in the most Arab populous nation, while Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ made a roughly $2 billion deal to buy Egyptian state-owned stakes in publicly-listed companies.

Egypt first announced plans to sell one of three power plants co-built by Siemens AG around three years ago, and multiple international investors expressed interest in the assets.

In 2020, it targeted selling a stake in Wataniya Petroleum as the first salvo in plans to offer as much as full ownership in up to 10 companies held by Egypt’s National Service Products Organization, which is affiliated with the Defense Ministry.

Ministers are due this week to discuss which state-owned companies will be offered on the Egyptian stock market in 2022, Planning Minister Hala Elsaid said March 31.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/energy/saudi-arabia-qatar-uae-vie-for-stake-in-egypt-power-plant-fuel-distribution-firm-after-investment-pledges-report

Those in charge of Arab financial institutions should review their work strategies and directions in light of the global changes and the region’s requirements by considering the priorities and needs of the citizens, Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan said on Thursday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the annual joint meetings of the Arab financial institutions in Jeddah, Al-Jadaan said many Arab countries have begun to recover from the effects of the pandemic and return to growth paths.

Citing Arab Monetary Fund estimates, he added that the Arab economies are expected to see a growth rate rising in 2022 to about 5 percent, compared with 2.9 percent in 2021.

“The growth will be driven by the relative improvement in global demand levels, high growth rates in the oil and gas sectors, and the continued adoption of stimulus packages by Arab governments to support economic recovery,” he said.

The Kingdom has overcome the effects of the pandemic by supporting economic activity, which was estimated to be about 13.9 percent of GDP, Al-Jadaan said.

He noted that the achievements in information technology and digital transformation that the Kingdom started in 2016 within the Vision 2030 blueprint helped contain the pandemic and quickly return to normal life.

The minister said that Saudi Arabia has also presented qualitative initiatives of interest to the region and the world to face climate changes, most notably the Saudi Green, the Middle East Green Initiatives, and the circular carbon economy framework.

To reduce carbon emissions and support the stability of economic growth, Al-Jadaan called on Arab financial institutions to benefit from the environmental initiatives that the leaders approved during the 2020 G20 Riyadh Summit.

A Council of Arab Finance Ministers meeting was also held on the sidelines of the event to discuss financial and economic issues and coordinate Arab countries’ positions with international financial organizations, led by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2059376

The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) raised OMR177 million by way of allotting treasury bills on Wednesday.

The treasury bills are for a maturity period of 91 days, from February 23 until May 25, 2022.

The average accepted price reached OMR99.822 for every OMR100, and the minimum accepted price arrived at OMR99.820 per OMR100. The average discount rate and the average yield reached 0.71461 per cent and 0.71589 per cent, respectively.

Treasury bills are short-term highly secured financial instruments issued by the Ministry of Finance, and they provide licensed commercial banks the opportunity to invest their surplus funds. The Central Bank of Oman acts as the Issue Manager and provides the added advantage of ready liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo).

The interest rate on the Repo operations with CBO is 0.5 per cent while the discount rate on the Treasury Bills Discounting Facility with CBO is 0.75 per cent.

Furthermore, treasury bills promote the local money market by creating a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. Additionally, the government may also resort to this instrument whenever felt necessary for financing its recurrent expenditures.

Source:https://timesofoman.com/article/113641-cbo-issues-treasury-bills-worth-omr177mn

Mannai Corp. said its board approved the sale of French information technology services provider Inetum SA, paving the way for a disposal that could fetch upward of $2 billion.

Mannai didn’t identify the potential buyer or how much it expects to receive from the sale. The deal is subject to entering definitive transaction documentation and approvals, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Shares in the company rose 1.6 percent at 9:30 a.m. in Doha, valuing Mannai at $683 million. The stock has gained about 84 percent over the past year, outpacing a 16 percent increase in the benchmark index.

The Qatari trading company has been working with advisers to help gauge interest in Inetum, Bloomberg reported last year. The company could fetch about $2.4 billion and attract private equity firms as well as other technology companies, the people said at the time.

Inetum offers systems integration, technology consulting, application engineering, outsourcing and software development services and is a top player in several European markets. The Paris-based company has nearly 27,000 employees in 26 countries and generated 1.97 billion euros of revenue last year, according to its website.

Mannai acquired 51 percent of the company, known at the time as GFI Informatique, in 2016. It later bought out remaining shareholders and delisted the company from the Paris bourse.

Source:https://www.arabianbusiness.com/industries/technology/mannai-weighs-inetum-sale-in-deal-that-may-fetch-over-2-billion

Saudi Arabia plans to convert its airport operators into holding companies and transfer them to its powerful sovereign wealth fund with a view to eventual privatisation for some, the head of Saudi Arabia General Authority of Civil Aviation said on Monday.

Abdulaziz al-Duailej told the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Abha International Airport is being put on “the privatisation path” and is going through final technical and economic studies.

Airports in Taif and Qassim are also proposed for privatisation, he said, adding that requests to invest in the kingdom’s aviation sector are being studied.

The kingdom’s 22 airports will be set up as airport holding companies, which will oversee construction, operation and management. They will then be transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to “put on the market at a later time”, the newspaper reported.

The PIF is at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plans to transform the economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

Investments in the Saudi aviation sector, including in airports, freight, catering, maintenance and ground services, will be offered to local and foreign investors, Duailej told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Saudi Arabia aims to serve 330 million air passengers by 2030, more than triple the 100 million in 2019, he said.

The oil-rich kingdom’s aviation strategy includes expansion of existing airports and a focus on two large airports in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as plans to set up a new national carrier.

Source:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/saudi-arabia/saudi-arabia-plans-airport-takeovers-and-privatisations-reports/articleshow/88391759.cms