RSSJazeera-Arabia Archives
May 08, 2008
Like the 70s but w localisation
Alberto Verme, Citigroup’s London-based co-head of global investment banking, is expected to announce on Thursday that he is moving from London to Dubai.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 23, 2007
Elmer Fudd
I would observe that my hotel room is very, very big - clearly made for the Saudi visitors - and to date the only interesting thing on my mind is being startled in seeing a picture of Elmer himself, head of Hizbullah (Lebanon) and the fronting display of a cell phone shop in es-Seef area. That was unexpected (of course plenty of Shia around, but odd choice in my mind for the front display of a cell phone shop.....).
Posted by The Lounsbury at 05:04 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
March 13, 2007
Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai
An interesting article, or rather an article on an interesting development that is difficult to assess. From the FT, entitled Risky Locations, on Halliburton's queer decision to move its CEO to Dubai.
I am, to be frank, puzzled. Comment below.
Continue reading "Go East Old Man, Go East: Halliburton to Dubai"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:35 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 28, 2006
Venture Bank & MENA VC investment
Starting a new category of commentary that might hive off one day, I thought I would share this odd bit of news from the Khalij Times on Bahrain's queer new entity the Venture Capital Bank [an oxymoron really, but what can I say, Machreqi Arab usage in English is usually painful], (well if one can call things published in the Gulf newspapers 'news' in any meaningful sense, perhaps regurgitated PR...Reg-PeR. My new jargon, Reg-PeR news).
Taking the essentials,
DUBAI — Bahrain-based Venture Capital Bank (VC Bank) has announced the first closing of its recently launched $250 million MENA Small & Medium Enterprises Fund, the first Shaiah-compliant fund dedicated to small and medium enterprises in the Middle East and North Africa region.Co-managed by VC Bank and its technical partner, the US private equity firm Global Emerging Markets (GEM), the fund has raised more than the targeted amount for first closing of $75 million. Out of the total amount raised, almost 20 per cent has been committed by investors from USA.
I personally doubt the Fund will actually invest outside Gulf plus Egypt plus Jordan, knowing how the Gulf based funds generally work. Announced first closing at 75 million USD. Interesting part is they claim to have raised 20% from US investors.
Which US investors, well I am sure that is not disclosable.
Continue reading "Venture Bank & MENA VC investment"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 11:49 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 05, 2006
Flocking to Sukuk... well, maybe
The Financial Times has a moderately interesting article on the supposed flocking of Western investors to the sukuk market.
I am skeptical that the end buyers are in fact 'Western' but I was amused by the framing at the opening, with its perhaps unintentional, but certainly very clever accuracy as to reality, if adopting the double-language of the Islamist take:
Continue reading "Flocking to Sukuk... well, maybe"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 11, 2006
Imaging
I am not sure what to think of this particular arty, on Shiekha Lubna of the UAE, but however much it has the air of pimping for one of the elite's egos, on the other hand it useful for Americans to see even in the Gulf it is not all Saudiyah.
I am tempted to comment on one of her corporate ventures mentioned since I had some contact as an investor in a competitor, but I think when it comes down to it I don't trust my information enough. Regardless, I shall suggest that the survival of a certain company was not market based. But this aside, an interesting profile and leaving aside the self-serving spin that one has to expect from such articles or profiles regardless of their subject (MENA or Euro or whatever) it's a side of the region Americans need to see more of (in fits of optimism I hope that one day when I read American internet whanking about MENA I might see something that looks less like a distorted fun house mirror based off of some queer mix of Palestine and Saudiyah - although of course Arab media can oft leave one with the impression that only Cairo, Jerusalem and Riyadh and Mecca exist in the Arab world).
Posted by The Lounsbury at 01:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 04, 2006
Dubai, the Attraction
A quick note to draw attention to a recent arty by Roula Khalaf of FT on Dubai and the why behind its success to date: Dubai cultivates oasis of calm where Arab business life can flourish
The main thrust of the article is to highlight some of the why behind Dubai's success to date, beyond just stupid amounts of capital. Although that is a clear major condition, it is not a sufficient one as the other petro-giants of the region never managed to achieve Dubai's success (even if we mitigate our appreciation of the success by noting a definately unsustainable aspect doped by too much liquidity chasing too few quality assets).
Despite my own critical attitude towards Dubai - much is clearly illusion and can not survive, there are also clear lessons with respect to the ability of the Arab/MENA region entreprenurial classes actually being able to flourish when a moderately liberal (quite liberal for the off-shore aspects) business environment is established. I do note that some of - indeed in some ways much of Dubai's liberalism is rather Potemkin liberalism insofar as it is all of a very temporary, Enlightened Despot Suffrage quality. That being said, if one takes Dubai with a grain of salt, it does illustrate via its off-shore business services sector the degree to which Arabo-Muslim entrepreneurship is seeking a place to flourish away from the dead hand of the state, and the degree to which even in the temporary, Prince-dependent liberalism of Dubai seems vastly attractive in a world where the West is growing stupidly more hostile to Arabo-Islamic money.
Continue reading "Dubai, the Attraction"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:38 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 14, 2006
UAE shifting reserves to Euro
A quick note drawing attention to this story by Roula Khalaf in the FT, which is likely to be lost: UAE shifts 10% of its reserves into euros.
Continue reading "UAE shifting reserves to Euro"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 10:48 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
May 30, 2006
Dubai - Architecture: "Sprawling" "Soulless" (And....?)
Likely to provoke howls of protest from the paid flacks of Dubai and most residents, FT has an amusing commentary entitled Sprawling, soulless Dubai is an architectural flop by a somewhat prissy architect unimpressed with Dubai.
I have to say as he opens with a comparison with Las Vegas I was not particularly taken with the criticism, but who (besides Dubai's endless PR promoters and the utterly useless lapdog press) can argue that Dubai's architectural develoment is 'coherent'? Especially the utterly weird skyscraper row.....
Posted by The Lounsbury at 02:55 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
May 27, 2006
Whanking Ignorance on Dubai
In writing a little bit on some idiotic whanking about "progressive" economics and conservative Islamists, I reminded myself to return to something I spotted via GrapeShisha
A truly stupid article on Dubai which only deserves comment on these excerpts
Dubai sounds like a fake country. Or an exotic place only vacationing al-Qaida cellmates and CIA spooks know how to find. ..... Dubai's connections to al-Qaida terrorism apparently were accidental, not government-countenanced. But Islam is the state religion ..... So beneath the glitz and gleaming skyline Dubai is a theocratic Islamic state that no American would want to be a citizen of for more than an hour. But it's spectacular proof that the Middle East is not monolithically backward, hopeless or anti-Western. And it shows that relatively good things can evolve in the Muslim world without the United States having to use force to create them.
I honestly am impressed the author could pack quite so many stereotypes, just plain idiotic mischaracterisations (hint having a state religion does not a theocracy make you semi literate git, else England would be a theocracy (and in terms of enforcing 'uniformity would not have been far off Dubai if one rewinds not so far, but no one would think of writing seriously that Elisabeth I was a 'theocrat' ).
I honestly wonder at the literacy and rationality of American commentators on Islam, the Islamic world and... well just the outside bloody world in general. Theocracy....
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:09 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
May 16, 2006
Possible Asset Bubbles in Gulf, Moody's explores the art of understatement [Updated]
The ratings agency, Moody's is issuing a report today that warns of "possible" asset bubbles in the Gulf, as reported in The Financial Times. Possible.
Well, to be fair to Moody's, given their position, they can't say definative things.
Rather, they're issuing a useful but likely to be ignored (in the region) warning. It does come at a bad moment generally with today's "flight from risk" with all signs of a bit of old fashioned emerging markets contagion rearing its ugly head.
I have always been of the opinion head-long flight from risk is idiocy, but on the other hand it's sensible if you've placements in places not well-known.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 15, 2006
Saudi index soars after removal of regulator
There's a title you just do not read every day in finance.
Regulator. Removal. Index. Soars.
No, just a string of words that do not typically strike one as going together.
It's the very really. Soars. No, indices just don't typically soar on such news.
But we are talking here about KSA and it's strange little fantasy world of hydrocarbon income fueled pretend economics.
However, before moving along, I would draw attention to a fine book I am perusing The (Mis)Behaviour of Markets : A Fractal View of Risk, Ruin and Reward , very much worth consideration.
Continue reading "Saudi index soars after removal of regulator"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:00 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack
April 27, 2006
Emirates, an interesting arty
This is outside my normal range, so to speak, but I draw attention to this interesting arty in The Washington Post on the life in the Emirates, in the backwoods so to speak, In U.A.E., Tradition Yields to Times, Oil Wealth and the Comforts of Modernity Transform Life in a Desert Emirate.
Anthony Shahid again - I draw particular attention to the traditional "face veil" of the Emirati woman.
I still recall the first time I saw one of those, on a fab princess gliding along in a hip hugging abaya. One of the many lessons about how poorly image of the Middle East matches the complicated reality.
But more seriously, there are interesting reflexions on change in the Emirates via the hicks.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:00 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
February 20, 2006
Ports & Soft Bigotry: A Commentary I Wish I Had Written
Pity I have real work to shoe horn into my moments of lucidity (stupid pain meds), as I would have loved to have written this comment (ex some of the US domestic politics).
I like it so much, a bit of a commentary on the comment Playing The Muslim Card: Dubai Ports World at the blog Dennis the Peasant, a reference which pleases me immensely having had the online signature referring to cheese makers.
Continue reading "Ports & Soft Bigotry: A Commentary I Wish I Had Written"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 03:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 24, 2005
Al Jazeerah & Bombing, Odd Backdrafts
I've noted some odd backdrafts from the UK threat to papers publishing detials, etc. of the (frankly silly) Al Jazeerah Bombing threat from Bush. That is to say, suddenly the story is being talked about and considered seriously around here.
Foolish move by UK, unless the transcript is truly horrifying (which I suppose one can not exclude, given the dimwittedness of Ibn Bush), it would have been far better to merely let it out.
Posted by The Lounsbury at 08:32 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 26, 2005
Gulf Finance, Booms & Inefficiencies
Our friend and sometime contributor Waterboy draws attention to something obvious to all involved, and yet an item that remains out of control: overliquidity in the Gulf region and the consquent mad asset price boom in the Gulf. His observation is spot on, that there is
there's too much cash chasing too few investment opportunities in the region; too little oversight, regulation or transparency; too much exuberance - bear in mind, as Japanese bank Nomura pointed out, that Saudi Telecom's market capitalisation of US$74bn is worth more than BT (US$35bn), AT&T
(US$15bn), SK Telecom (US$15bn), and Telekom SA (US$9bn) combined - and far too many unsophisticated investors who think that having the names of a couple of ruling family members in the IPO prospectus is a valid alternative to a business plan - or, for that matter, an existing business.
No doubt about this at all. Some conversations I had over the past week painfully illustrated that. This aside, a key point of disequilibrium is the degree to which despite the asset valuations in the Gulf being absolutely looney to the point of surreal, the money is not flowing within the region to a reasonable degree.
Continue reading "Gulf Finance, Booms & Inefficiencies"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 04:59 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
August 22, 2005
On MENA Business & Rescued Excel Sheets, a Sneak Peak
Being impossibly pleased with myself for having found a way to rescue the data which my untrustworthy Excel whacked this weekend, I thought I would share the product of that work (well a sample) and a quick note on something I intend to expand upon.
[Update, hmmm, I obviously don't know what I am doing with the image taggery, but if one reads discussion below one sees the image better/ Fixed -E]
Continue reading "On MENA Business & Rescued Excel Sheets, a Sneak Peak"
Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
August 11, 2005
Market Madness or Brilliance? US Gov Private Equity for MENA Announced (cross from Aqoul main)
At the risk of descending into flackery or something approaching it, I thought a brief comment here might be fun.
OPIC BOARD APPROVES $75 MILLION FOR MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA FUN
Certainly this plays into my personal interests. (and in this cross post I indulge in them)
Posted by The Lounsbury at 06:22 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
