Abu Dhabi and Kuwait funds to invest in Aramo IPO

News Network
November 27, 2019

Dubai/Abu Dhabi, Nov 27: The sovereign wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Kuwait plan to invest in the initial public offering (IPO) of Saudi Aramco, which is relying mainly on Saudi and Gulf investors to raise up to $25.6 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is weighing an investment of at least $1 billion, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A final decision on the amount requires board approval, one of the sources said.

Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) also plans to invest in the IPO, two of the sources said. The size of the potential deal was not immediately known.

An ADIA spokesman and Aramco declined to comment. KIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State oil giant Aramco has struggled to attract a major cornerstone or anchor investor for its IPO, which could be potentially the world's biggest if it exceeds $25 billion.

Aramco officials have visited Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, which have strong political ties with Riyadh, to discuss participating in the offering.

Aramco had cancelled marketing roadshows for its listing outside the Gulf region due to a lack of interest from foreign institutional investors, many of whom see Aramco's valuation as expensive given concern over political, governance and environment issues.

ADIA and KIA manage a combined total of about $1.3 trillion in assets, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute, making them among the biggest sovereign funds in the world.

Two of the sources said ADIA was considering an investment of at least $1 billion, while two other sources gave a range of between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.

ADIA, estimated to have assets of nearly $700 billion, is chaired by the president of the United Arab Emirates. Its deputy chairman is Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia's crown prince.

Saudi Arabia aims to sell 1.5% of Aramco, valuing the company at between $1.6 trillion and $1.7 trillion - lower than the $2 trillion target initially sought by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has made the offering a pillar of his ambitious drive for economic diversification.

Aramco kicked off the sale process on Nov. 3. Retail subscription hit 27.04 billion riyals ($7.21 billion) on Tuesday, lead manager Samba Capital said.

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News Network
April 20,2020

Sharjah, Apr 20: Air Arabia announced on Monday it will operate new repatriation flights from four cities in India to Sharjah carrying UAE nationals back home.

The special flights will operate from Mumbai and Delhi to Sharjah International Airport on April 20 while special flights will operate from Kochi and Hyderabad to Sharjah International Airport on April 22.

Air Arabia remains committed to bring stranded citizens back home as well as supporting requests to operate repatriation flights and is working closely with UAE authorities in this regard, the airline said.

Air Arabia announced earlier that it’s operating a mix of repatriation flights as well as cargo flights during the month of April to multiple destinations.

Further information about the repatriation and cargo flights is available on the website or can be obtained by contacting the Air Arabia call centre on 06 5580000 or respective travel agent.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Dubai, Mar 23: All inbound, outbound and transit passenger flights to and from the United Arab Emirates – home to one of the world’s busiest hubs – are to be suspended for two weeks.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced that passenger flights to, from and through the country will be suspended from 25 March for a period of two weeks, in order to “curb the spread of the Covid-19”.

Freight and emergency evacuation flights will still be permitted to operate.

The suspension affects major global hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai-based Emirates has already announced that it will suspend most of its passenger flights from 25 March.

“Additional examination and isolation arrangements will be taken later should flights resume, in order to ensure the safety of passengers, air crews and airport personnel and their protection from infection risks,” state the NCEMA and the GCAA.

Dubai International Airport was the third-busiest airport in the world in 2018, handling 89 million passengers.

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Agencies
June 18,2020

Riyadh, Jun 18: Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia will resume tourist activities at the end of Shawwal (June 21) after a hiatus of more than three months due to lockdown measures imposed following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

The minister made the remarks during a television interview after chairing the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism on Wednesday. He said that the current indications are positive and that the Kingdom is ready to launch the summer program, which will be a boost for domestic tourism.

“It was revealed in a research study carried out by the Tourism Authority that 80 percent of Saudi citizens want to take advantage of domestic tourism. We will launch the domestic tourism program for the public after having made necessary coordination with the Ministry of Health and the concerned higher authorities,” he said.

Several Arab tourism ministers and officials of the relevant organizations attended the meeting, which discussed the challenges that the region’s tourism sector is facing due to the pandemic. Al-Khateeb pointed out that the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, headed by Saudi Arabia, held the virtual session in exceptional circumstances to discuss ways to get out of this pandemic and revitalize the tourism sector.

“Saudi Arabia has initiated a package of financial stimulus activities with a total value of more than $61 billion to protect jobs and businesses and reduce the economic burden of the crisis. The domestic tourism sector has benefited from it as one of the important economic sectors, as it covered 60 percent of salaries of Saudi employees in the private sector for a period of three months,” he added.

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