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European Union and Qatar finally signed a Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement (CATA)
29 Mar 2019 Written by Admin AdminThe European Commission and the State of Qatar initialed today an aviation agreement, the first such agreement between the EU and a partner from the Gulf region.
The agreement will upgrade the rules and standards for flights between Qatar and the EU, and will set a new global benchmark by committing to strong, fair competition mechanisms, and including provisions not normally covered by bilateral air transport agreements, such as social or environmental matters.
Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: “We delivered! Qatar was the first partner with whom we launched negotiations following our adoption of the Aviation Strategy for Europe – now it is also the first one to cross the finish line! More than that – the agreement sets out ambitious standards for fair competition, transparency or social issues. It will provide a level playing field and raise the bar globally for air transport agreements. This is a major upgrade compared to the existing framework, and our joint contribution to making aviation more sustainable!”
Going far beyond traffic rights, the EU-Qatar agreement will provide a single set of rules, high standards and a platform for future cooperation on a wide range of aviation issues, such as safety, security or air traffic management. The agreement also commits both parties to improve social and labour policies – an achievement which existing agreements between Qatar and individual EU Member States have not provided so far.
In particular, the agreement includes the following elements:
- A gradual market opening over a period of five years to those EU Member States which have not yet fully liberalized direct connections for passengers: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
- Provisions on fair competition with strong enforcement mechanisms to avoid distortions of competition and abuses negatively affecting the operations of EU airlines in the EU or in third countries.
- Transparency provisions in line with international reporting and accounting standards to ensure obligations are fully respected.
- Provisions on social matters committing the Parties to improve social and labour policies.
- A forum for meetings addressing all issues, and any potential differences at an early stage, plus mechanisms to quickly resolve any disputes.
- Provisions facilitating business transactions, including the removal of existing obligations for EU airlines to work through a local sponsor.
The agreement will benefit all stakeholders by improving connectivity through a fair and transparent competitive environment, and create strong foundations for a long-term aviation relationship.
According to an independent economic study undertaken on behalf of the Commission, the agreement, with its robust fair competition provisions, could generate economic benefits of nearly €3 billion over the period 2019-2025 and create around 2000 new jobs by 2025.
The European Commission negotiated the agreement on behalf of the European Member States as part of its Aviation Strategy for Europe – a milestone initiative to give a new boost to European aviation and provide business opportunities. The negotiations were successfully concluded on 5 February 2019.
Next steps
Following today’s initialling, both parties will prepare the signature of the agreement following their respective internal procedures. The agreement will enter into force once both internal procedures will be finalised.
Background
Qatar is a close aviation partner for the European Union, with more than 7 million passengers travelling between the EU and Qatar per year under the existing 27 bilateral air transport agreements with EU Member States. While direct flights between most EU Member States and Qatar have already been liberalised by those bilateral agreements, none of them include provisions on fair competition and other elements, such as social issues, that the Commission considers essential elements of a modern aviation agreement.
In 2016, the European Commission therefore obtained authorisation from the Council to negotiate an EU-level aviation agreement with Qatar. Since September 2016, the negotiators have met for five formal rounds of negotiations, in the presence of observers from EU Member States and stakeholders.
This agreement is part of the EU’s concerted efforts to ensure open, fair competition and high standards for global aviation, in line with the ambitious external agenda put forward with the Aviation Strategy for Europe. Parallel negotiations with ASEAN are at an advanced stage, and negotiations are also ongoing with Turkey. The Commission also has a negotiating mandate for aviation agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Oman. EU negotiations with Ukraine, Armenia and Tunisia have been finalised and the agreements are pending signature.
source: Eturbonewsturbonews
Fitch Ratings upgraded Egypt's rating to B+ with a "stable outlook" against the previous rating B, and announced that the continued healthy performance of Egypt's external financing would depend on the flexibility of the local currency. Indicating that the Egyptian pound has not experienced a strong instability since the strong reduction in 2016.
The Egyptian central bank allowed earlier, a flexible exchange rate for the pound in November 2016, which contributed to the loss of the local currency more than half of its value against the dollar.
Fitch considered that the local currency was weak, but moderate, during the period when the foreign investment in securities took place between mid-April and the end of December, with the pound falling 1.7 percent against the dollar.
The agency showed a stronger return of the foreign investment in 2019, which helped the Egyptian pound to rise by 3 percent by mid-March. It also predicted that Egypt's external debt service would average about $10 billion in 2019-2020, representing about 12 percent of the country's current external receipts, which is in line with the average of similar obligations in the country under the B classification.
source: Union of Arab Chambers
The Swiss foreign direct investment in Egypt reached $1.6 billion, marking an increase of $400 million during the last two years, according to Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr.
Nasr added that the Swiss investments take place in the fields of industry, energy, pharmaceuticals, financial services and food.
The minister also referred to the cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland in implementing development projects at an amount of CHF 330 million (LE 5.7 billion), and in supporting new projects which focus on economic sustainable growth and creating job opportunities through the cooperation strategy until2020 at CHF 86 million (LE 1.5 billion).
She elaborated that Egypt is not only the gate of Switzerland to Africa but also to the Middle East, expressing Egypt’s aspiration to cooperate with Switzerland in Africa, in light of Egypt's Presidency of the African Union during the current year.
This came during the celebration of 110 years of economic and trade relationships between Egypt and Switzerland, in the presence of Egypt’s minister of investment and Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, who is currently visiting Egypt and Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Paul Garnier.
For his part, Cassis pointed out to the importance of enhancing the economic relations and increasing mutual investments and projects between both countries, affirming that Egypt is the gate of Swiss investments to African markets.
He also referred to the cooperation between both countries in the fields of education, industry and transportation, stressing his country’s keenness on the human element especially in the education field.
Cassis noted that this event comes in conjunction with the celebration of 110 years of Egyptian-Swiss economic relationships.
source: Egypttoday
An affiliated associate of Emirates NBD Group, on Thursday has confirmed its plan to proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Further announcements will be made in due course in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, the company said in a statement.
The UAE-based payments provider intends to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to the premium listing segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority (Official List) and to trading on the LSE's main market for listed securities (Admission).
The company added that the offer will solely be comprised of existing shares to be sold by existing shareholders.
“Immediately following Admission, the Company intends to have a free float of at least 25% of the Company’s issued share capital,” the company highlighted.
The admission is expected to take place in April, Network International added.
Later on, it is expected that the company will be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE UK indices.
The statement added that the price range of the offer and the maximum number of shares to be sold in the offer will be set in due course and contained in the prospectus expected to be published by the company in the coming weeks.
Source: Mubasher
Saudi Aramco’s trading arm plans to open an office in London soon as it expands its international business, sources familiar with the move said.
Aramco Trading Co (ATC) also opened an office in the bunkering hub of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates in December to trade oil products and hired two traders from Trafigura and PetroChina to run operations there, the sources said.
“Last June, a trading office was inaugurated in Singapore, and last December (another) in Fujairah and very soon in London, just like any trading house,” one of the sources said.
Another source said: “They have moved a few trading desks to Singapore and Fujairah. London is surely next.”
A third source said the London office might be inaugurated as early as next week during International Petroleum (IP) Week, an industry event held annually in the British capital.
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Saudi Aramco, the parent company, already has an office in Marylebone, London. The ATC London operations may be located in the same place as the parent company and are likely to start with a handful of crude oil traders, one of the sources said.
ATC did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
The trading sector faces increased rivalry between national oil companies (NOCs), international oil firms and Swiss merchants. NOCs have cheap feedstock and strength in refining, allowing them to compete aggressively with oil majors and especially traders that lack their own production.
ATC aims to boost its trading volumes in crude and refined products to 6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 and the company’s headquarters will remain in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, ATC’s chief executive told Reuters last year.
The CEO, Ibrahim al-Buainain, also said the plan to open an ATC regional office in Europe - either London or Geneva - was set for the first quarter of 2019.
Middle East oil producers are venturing into buying and selling oil to boost their incomes as a sharp drop in crude prices since mid-2014 has forced the industry to become more efficient and commercially focused.
State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co is establishing a new trading operation along with Italy’s Eni and Austria’s OMV.
ATC was set up in 2012 initially to market refined products, base oils and bulk petrochemicals, but has since expanded into crude trading mainly to feed international Aramco joint ventures such as the U.S. Motiva refinery and S-Oil in South Korea.
Aramco, the world’s top oil producer and exporter, aims to become the largest integrated energy firm, with plans to expand refining operations and petrochemical output. It pumps around 10 million bpd of crude, of which it exports about 7 million bpd.
The company plans to raise its refining capacity - inside Saudi Arabia and abroad - to 8-10 million bpd, from around 5.4 million bpd now. Aramco is expanding its refining business at home as well as in new markets particularly in Asia. (Writing by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Source: reuters
DP World has bought back British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O Ferries for 322 million pounds ($421 million), more than a decade after it sold it.
DP World acquired the British shipping and logistics company in 2006 but soon sold off some assets, including P&O Ferries to its major shareholder, state holding company Dubai World.
DP World announced on Wednesday it was buying the company, and a spokeswoman later told Reuters it had bought it back from Dubai World.
Dubai World was at the heart of the emirate’s financial crisis at the turn of the decade and was forced to restructure around $25 billion of debt in 2011.
DP World said the P&O Ferries deal was expected to be earnings accretive from the first full year of consolidation and meet its return targets.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of the year, it said.
DP World’s acquisition of P&O Ferries, which includes P&O Ferrymasters, is part of its efforts to expand beyond its core ports business.
One of the world’s largest port operators, DP World bought Danish logistics company Unifeeder Group last year.
P&O Ferries operates more than 30,000 voyages a year in Europe, according to its website.
The ferries operate between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
Last month, the company said it was shifting the registration of its UK vessels to Cyprus ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union, in part to keep its tax arrangements in the bloc.
Last week, DP World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said the indecisiveness of British politicians on the UK’s exit from the European Union was hampering the company’s ability to plan for its UK operations.
DP World operates London Gateway and a container terminal at Southampton port.
Source: reutersreuters
Dubai Tourism remains focused on ensuring that the emirate becomes the most visited city in the world in line with Dubai's Tourism Strategy 2022-25.
Dubai continued to see steady growth in tourist arrivals last year on the back of its traditional markets, led by India, Saudi Arabia and the UK.
Latest data released by Dubai Tourism disclosed that overnight visitors reached 15.92 million in 2018, an increase of 0.8 per cent over the previous year. India topped with over two million visitors followed by 1.6 million from Saudi Arabia and 1.2 million from the United Kingdom.
While the number of visitors from China and Russia increased 12 per cent and 28 per cent to 857,000 and 678,000, respectively. Both the countries were fourth- and fifth-largest markets in terms of visitor arrivals in Dubai last year.
Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of Dubai Tourism, said they remain focused on ensuring that the emirate becomes the most visited city in the world in line with Dubai's Tourism Strategy 2022-25. "Throughout 2018, we developed and deployed a custom-market specific approach to deeper penetrate our target markets," he said.
"Our strategic investments, innovative destination promotion programmes, responsive federal policy reforms, and long-term global partnerships - all backed by the tremendous support of our stakeholders across the government and private sector - continue to yield strong results as we ramp up efforts to increase Dubai's accessibility, visibility and overall appeal, minimise barriers to travel, deliver new standards in global travel experiences, and ultimately drive both first-time and repeat visitation," he added.
Germany, the United States, the Philippines, France and Italy rounded off the top 10 markets.
The number of visitors from the US grew four per cent to 656,000 while the Philippines entered into the top 10 for the first time with 387,000 guests.
Tourists from France jumped 17 per cent to 348,000. Nigeria witnessed the highest growth of 36 per cent, bringing it back into the top 29 with 185,000 Nigerians visiting the emirate last year.
According to Dubai Tourism, tourist arrivals from stronghold markets of Oman and Pakistan declined last year.
Manu Midha, regional head for the Middle East at OYO Hotels and Homes, said the tourism industry in Dubai in 2019 will be largely driven by leisure and trade tourists with India, Saudi Arabia and China driving the numbers again.
"Last year, there were over half-a-million trade visitors alone in addition to millions of leisure visitors. The third promising category would be that of medical tourism as Dubai is home to some world class hospitals. There is a lot of traction from Africa within this category," he said.
"Dubai has so much to offer every kind of traveller, whether it is theme parks or shopping the city has covered it all. Then there are investors who are looking for their second homes in the UAE. This industry will also drive the numbers as investors would like to get a feel of the destination before parking their real estate dollars. The fourth category that will drive the tourism sector would be the world of sports which will go on an overdrive in 2019."
Ammar Kanaan, group general manager of Central Hotels, sees tourist arrival growth trend to continue due to multiple attractions and demand drivers. "At the moment, there is a lot more supply coming into the market in preparation for Expo 2020 Dubai and hence, temporarily, supply is expected to exceed demand. This may put pressure on ADR and RevPAR. While some hotels might compromise on the average room rates to boost occupancy levels, others with stronger room rates will see an impact on the occupancies."
He said this year the summer season will be longer due to the advent of the holy month of Ramadan in May, which could prove challenging for business. "From September onwards, we expect the market to pick up better."
Chris Nader, vice-president at Shaza Hotels, said, Dubai is faring better by creating new demand generators in existing and new destinations.
"There is definitely room for hotels that can offer unique experiences in these new locations. Unfortunately, hotels that have no USPs will continue to suffer and reduce rates in order to maintain some market share, and this will be reflected in their negative RevPAR growth index," said Nader.
According to Dubai Tourism, there were 716 establishments across the emirate with 115,967 rooms, an increase of 8 per cent in terms of new rooms supply last year. Currently, 33 per cent of inventory is controlled by five-star hotels, 26 per cent by four-star properties and one-to-three stars command a 20 per cent share. Hotel apartments constitute 21 per cent of the total inventory.
With average occupancy reaching 76 per cent, occupied room nights were up to 30.13 million, while guests' average length of stay remained unchanged at 3.5 nights.
From a regional perspective, 21 per cent of the visitors came from Western Europe, followed by 18 per cent and 17 per cent from GCC and South Asia, respectively. North Asia and Southeast Asia, meanwhile, accounted for 11 per cent of the total.
Mena arrivals grew 10 per cent and 9 per cent from the CIS and Eastern Europe, respectively.
Source: khaleejtimes
Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhy, Minister of Oil & Gas (MOG), have signed an Interim Upstream agreement that details funding and a work programme for 2019 for the development of gas resources destined for integrated projects to help meet the Sultanate of Oman’s growing need for energy. The other signatories were Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), Oman Oil Company (OOC) and Total.
Today’s upstream agreement covers gas acreage in the northern part of Block 6 located to the west of the existing Saih Rawl gas field that is operated by PDO. The project covers investments in gas exploration and production, in partnership with Total and OOC. The aim is to integrate the Shell and OOC share of the upstream project with the development of a gas-to-liquids plant (GTL) currently under discussion, to be developed and operated by Shell in partnership with OOC.
Chris Breeze, Shell’s country chairman in Oman, said, “Today’s agreement is a significant step forward. We hope that the development of gas resources destined for the integrated projects will play an important role in generating in-country value and diversifying Oman’s economy. This agreement marks a new chapter in Shell’s close partnership with the government of Oman.”
MOG, Shell and partners (OOC and Total) continue to work closely and diligently to finalise definitive agreements which will underpin the long-term success of the energy projects which were first outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in May 2018.
Source: omanobserver
The government of Morocco and Spain have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to construct the third interconnection cable between the two countries.
Similar to the previous two, this third 400-kV link will have a technical capacity of 700 MW. The combined commercial capacity of the three links will amount to 1,500 MW. Spanish grid operator and its Moroccan peer L’Office National de l’Electricite et de l’Eau Potable (ONEE) will be in charge of the study and analysis of the project.
Morocco-Spain power interconnector
The project will require US $169.9m which will be shared 50/50 between the two counties. Ambitious plans to harness North Africa’s solar resource and export the energy to Europe would depend on such trans-continental grid connection.
The interconnection cable project upon completion is estimated to bring f US $140m to the Spanish electricity system gained from tolls and congestion rent since an auction system for the management of the exchange capacity could be implemented.
Energy regulations
The project will also help meet the goal of energy regulations of countries in North Africa to be compatible with European regulations and also the goal for governments and private investors tapped for big bucks.
Commissioning of the project is expected to take place before 2026. Moreover, the two countries have also signed a second collaboration agreement that is aimed at establishing a strategic partnership on energy with objectives focused on the integration of networks and the energy markets, development of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Interconnection between Spain and Morocco represents one of the maximum exponents of the policy of cooperation between Europe and the Southern Mediterranean countries, backed by the European Community. This is the only submarine interconnection between two continents. The first power link was built in the 1996 while the second was an undersea cable which came into service in 2005 and double transit capacity to 1400 MW.
Source:constructionreview
In the embrace of new technology, every step counts in Egypt’s digital transformation, according to Jacques-Emmanuel Blanchet CEO, HSBC Egypt.
Egypt’s banking architecture is getting a digital upgrade. Efficiency and personalisation are at the top of the list of preferences as one of the world’s oldest civilisations undergoes a very modern disruption.
Progress and change
Two of Egypt’s national goals, to modernise its economy and to support a rapidly growing population, are being carried out within a positive economic outlook. The GDP in the fiscal year 2018 is expected to rise by 5.8%. Egypt’s proactive attitude is driving digital growth in the country’s banking sector and is filtering down to the consumer too. This is largely down to the government, the Central Bank of Egypt(CBE) with the support of the local banking community.
A progressive tone from the top is matched by an enthusiastic response from the banks and the public. This banking ‘marriage’ is bearing fruit.
Seamless customer experience
From the top down, the National Payments Council is putting in a general framework to shift to a less cash-based society, and to create a national system of payment and cards. Meanwhile, the CBE is investing heavily in developing a ‘seamless’ customer experience that is more efficient and easy to use.
Both aim to safeguard the value of human interaction i.e. intensifying the level of trust and loyalty in the customer-bank relationship. The country’s approach includes the promotion of innovative technologies in the design and delivery of financial services. This includes the review of digital banking regulations, and the launch of a fund for innovation and talent investments worth EGP 1bn ($558m).
Digital maturation
From the bottom up, Egypt’s banking community – banks and customers alike – is keen to embrace change. Nearly all respondents, 90.57%, to an HSBC digital survey carried out in Cairo, expect ‘the internet of things’ (the trend towards more devices being online) to have a major impact on their existing business model. Leveraging this appetite for digital maturation is key.
The same applies to tailoring services for different socioeconomic and digitally-able customers. Clear communication to improve understanding within the banking community is vital to build trust and adopt digital banking tools. Patience is also essential, as it will take time to shift the national psyche towards digital banking.
It’s about family
Egypt’s tightknit family and social network must be addressed in banks’ marketing and communication programmes as ‘word-of-mouth’ recommendations carry significant weight when it comes to building reputations and communicating change. The influence of informal knowledge sharing in Egypt will only heighten as the world’s most populated Arab nation gets busier. The United Nations (UN) expects Egypt’s 97 million population today to rise to 120 million by 2030 – a 23% growth in less than 12 years.
As one of the largest multinational banks in Egypt, and with a presence since 1982, HSBC’s unwavering dedication to build its digital knowledge will continue. The bank has been a leading and respected voice on digital advancements for over three decades. Plans to spend $15bn-$17bn on technology, worldwide, up to 2020 are underway, in addition to $6bn in recent years. Such efforts will undoubtedly enhance Egypt’s digital journey, be it through talent creation, research and development, or tech deployment.
Digital toolbox
There are many new digital methods that Egypt’s banking community can use. These include the next generation virtual accounts, enhanced liquidity management, and more streamlined mobile collections and payments. HSBC is always working on how to design and deploy new technologies, including machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), biometrics and blockchain.
HSBC completed its inaugural blockchain transaction for trade finance this year. This is highly relevant for a growing banking community as each transactional step is entirely transparent and accountable. It is also attractive for Egypt’s growing trade finance market as the country’s gas exports, for example, are likely to rise significantly.
More than half, or 56.6%, of survey respondents to our digital research agreed that international trade has become more difficult over the last three years. This means that making cross-border trade easier by using digital tools is even more critical to sustain Egypt’s global competitiveness.
Challenges to overcome
As with any market in development, some areas need more attention. These include improving cybersecurity, legal frameworks, and scalability. Therein lies the value of collaboration and knowledge sharing, something that HSBC is able to facilitate.
To take an example – globally, banks’ ties with Fintechs are thriving. HSBC’s data showed that approximately $31bn was invested in Fintechs around the world last year. Collaboration agreements and sandbox environments, both promoted by regulators, can help test the relevance of new technologies in Egypt’s banking community.
We must not fear the unknown. Egypt must keep its best foot forward, for every digital step counts.
Source:zawya
