ByADMIN
Sunday, 11 December 2016
Published inDecember 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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Best Regards,
CRIF Dun & Bradstreet Communications Team

CGI | Issue 47 | December 2016

Country Risk Update – Oman

Despite the improvement of the trading regime, Oman’s non-oil exports experienced a sharp fall in the first half of 2016 compared with the same period the previous year. Non-oil exports slumped by 24.9% to OMR 985.3m, as a result of the fall in global prices for key export products such as chemicals, plastics and rubber, and base metals, which declined by 29%, 50%, and 35% respectively. However, demand in Oman’s key export markets has also slowed. The government is targeting high-end tourism as an area for growth. The government hopes that significant infrastructure improvements will help boost exports in the near future. The ports of Sohar and Salalah are emerging as regionally competitive infrastructure facilities, soon to be joined by Al Duqm. The government is targeting high-end tourism as an area for growth as well.

Business, Finance and Commodity News

GCC and UK announce strategic partnership

The Gulf Cooperation Council states and the United Kingdom announced a new strategic partnership with the aim of building closer relations in several areas.

The agreement, which formed part of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s visit to this week’s GCC Summit, will focus on politics, defence, security and trade and developing closer ties with a particular emphasis on regional threats.

Abu Dhabi’s NBAD secures $2bn loan ahead of FGB merger

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has secured a $2 billion loan. The bank aimed to complete the loan, for refinancing existing bilateral debt and provide new funding, by the second week of December. The merger will create one of the largest banks by assets in the Middle East and Africa when completed in the first quarter of 2017.

Expats in Kuwait now allowed to manage more than one company

Expats in Kuwait are now allowed to be hired as managers in more than one company, a decision by Minister of Social Affairs and Labour and State Minister for Planning and Development.
The move was based on a recommendation by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Previous regulations had only permitted expats to be hired as managers in the same company which sponsored their visas.

More mergers urged for Islamic banks, says Central Bank of Bahrain

Mergers and acquisitions among Islamic banks and insurers need to be increased in order to keep up with the challenging business environment and achieve the best scale of operations, according to Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) governor, Rasheed Al Maraj. The governor also said the banks needed to improve their customer experience as it is a “key factor determining loyalty to the bank.”

Dubai’s Emirates Islamic launches Dhs1.5bn rights issue

Emirates Islamic Bank, the shariah-compliant arm of Dubai’s largest lender, launched its Dhs1.5bn ($408m) rights issue. Shareholders, who hold shares in the bank at the close of business on Tuesday, will be eligible to the subscription which begins on December 14 and ends on December 28, the Dubai-based lender owned by Emirates NBD. Allocation of the new shares will be made on December 29

Commodity Tracker

D&B Article of the Week

Staffmark Supercharges its Quote-to-Cash Cycle with Dun & Bradstreet

Like many large companies, Staffmark had a wealth of customer data but no clear way to turn that data into insight. In particular, the company needed a more global and unified view of its customers to enable rapid closings with the right customers, a more streamlined quote-to-cash cycle, more limited risk exposure and better fraud detection.
Staffmark answered its challenge by leveraging Dun & Bradstreet’s powerful Risk Management Solutions. More specifically, the Business Credit Reports and DNBi platform with add-on modules were instrumental in Staffmark balancing its risk exposure to maintain a healthier cash flow. Now, credit investigation through Dun & Bradstreet is a key part of Staffmark’s sales process. Read More..

CRIF Highlights

The national ‘Future Day’ at CRIF AG
In Switzerland, thousands of children have accompanied their parents to work. This year around 2,300 companies took part at the National Future Day which aims at providing opportunities for career choice.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.

CRIF acquires the operations of Dun and Bradstreet in Egypt
CRIF Gulf, based in UAE, acquired the operations of Dun & Bradstreet in Egypt. The acquisition will strengthen CRIF’s industry-leading position in the field of business and credit information, and risk management solutions in the region. The acquisition is part of CRIF’s global strategy, with increasing investments over recent years, and the commitment to provide greater added-value services and products at worldwide level.

Upcoming Events this Week

DIFF (Dubai International Film Festival) 2016
Dec 7 – Dec 14
Madinat JumeirahDubai Travelers’ Festival 2016
Dec 14 – Dec 17
Mushrif park

Reading Recommendation of the Week

The Big Short

The Big Short” is a group portrait of misfits at the margins of the business. In Wall Street parlance, going short means betting that stocks — or any other financial instrument — will fall. And in 2005 and 2006, shorting the massive, heavily subsidized housing and lending industries required not just fortitude, but a kind of sociopathy.

Release Date:
March 15, 2010