ByADMIN
Sunday, 01 January 2016
Published inJanuary 2016

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CRIF – Dun & Bradstreet is pleased to bring to you the latest edition of our newsletter ‘CRIF Gulf Insights’ (CGI). CGI will keep you informed about the current trends in the GCC markets and highlight key events in the regional and global economy.

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CRIF Dun & Bradstreet Communications Team

CGI | Issue 50 | January 2017

Country Risk Update – Oman

Oman’s income and wealth are dependent on oil, the proceeds of which are invested heavily in infrastructure. The economy is weakening, although business performance is holding up. Growth will remain slow in the outlook period due to the drop in oil revenues. The government might have to raise greater levels of debt and reduce subsidies in order to ease pressure on the public accounts. The banking sector will function adequately, although liquidity is starting to tighten as deposits slow and government borrowing continues apace. Although the growth rate of household borrowing has been steadily slowing over the last few years, business borrowing has now picked up. In addition, non-bank financials, mainly investment companies, are now borrowing more, with credit growth at 4.4% y/y.

Business, Finance and Commodity News

Haramain train between Mecca and Madinah to begin operations in 2017

The Haramain high speed railway project will begin operations in the next six months, although only some stations will be open initially. The SAR62bn ($16.5bn) project is due to be completed by the end of next year and will provide 35 passenger cars on two-way trips between Mecca and Madinah every half an hour.

UAE petrol prices up over 6% in January

Petrol prices for January 2017 will stand at Dhs1.91 per litre for Super 98 – up 6 per cent from Dhs1.80 in December; Dhs1.80 per litre for Special 95 – up 6.5 per cent from Dhs1.69 last month; and Dhs1.73 per litre for E Plus-91 – an increase of almost 6.8 per cent compared to Dhs1.62 in December. The cost of diesel has also been hiked by 7.18 per cent to Dhs1.94 per litre, from Dhs1.81 in December.

Saudi bank deposits rise to their highest this year in November

Saudi Arabian commercial bank deposits rose to their highest level this year in November, a sign that a liquidity crunch due to low oil prices is easing as the government liquidates foreign assets to pay its bills.
Bank deposits climbed to SAR1.624 trillion ($433bn) from SAR1.610 trillion in October, the fourth straight month-on-month gain, the central bank figures showed.

Dubai’s Shuaa buys 14% of Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital bought 14 per cent of Bahrain’s Khaleeji Commercial Bank on Sunday for KD9.6m ($25m) and said it would use the stake to support the bank’s expansion.The Dubai-listed investment bank purchased the stake from Alimtiaz Investment Group for KD0.065 per share, acquiring 147.1 million shares in a special auction. KHCB is an Islamic retail bank with assets of KD709m

Dubai extends mandatory health insurance deadline

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has confirmed that the deadline for residents in the emirate to have mandatory health insurance has been extended into 2017.
The deadline to fully implement the scheme was fixed at December 31, 2016, but a new deadline is yet to be announced. The new ruling is part of the Dubai Health Insurance Law that came into effect in January 2014.

Commodity Tracker

D&B Article of the Week

How Seeing the Human Face in Supply Chain Data

Is there any topic in business less human-sounding than “big data?” Just about the only person who comes to mind when you hear the phrase is that cheesy, central-casting business guy in the stock photo touching the invisible screen with numbers flying off it.
Yet Moreen Romans has made a career out of seeing real human faces in data and analytics. For more than a decade, Romans has been a leader in developing data-inspired supply chain solutions for Dun & Bradstreet. Yes, those solutions help manufacturers with the mechanics of their job: finding and selecting suppliers with track records of reliability and avoiding costly supply chain disruptions. But Romans and her team have also focused their work on the personal aspects of supply chains – how smart supply management can create better circumstances for individuals involved. How companies can do well by doing good. Read More

CRIF Highlights

CRIF opens a new start-up to offer debt collection solutions in Azerbaijan
CRIF has established CRIF Receivable Management in Baku, Azerbaijan, to offer a complete range of services from phone collection to legal debt collection. The new company will support Azerbaijani business and financial organizations with advanced services for the outsourced management and prevention of unpaid debt: from the initial telephone contact to home visits, to targeted actions such as checking and correcting direct debit data and legal debt collection.

Upcoming Events this Week

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2017
Jan 14 – Dec 21
ADNEC

World Future Energy Summit
Jan 16 – Jan 19
ADNEC

Reading Recommendation of the Week

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable

In keeping with the parable style, Lencioni (The Five Temptations of a CEO) begins by telling the fable of woman who, as CEO of a struggling Silicon Valley firm, took control of a dysfunctional executive committee and helped its members succeed as a team. Story time over, Lencioni offers explicit instructions for overcoming the human behavioral tendencies that he says corrupt teams (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and inattention to results).

Release Date:
January 1, 2002