Spurning Gulf Arab pressure, Qatar says foreign policy "non-negotiable"

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https://t.co/hvXmoPbb7Z Mon, Mar 10 13:02 PM EDT DOHA, March 10 (Reuters) - Qatar on Monday again dismissed demands by three fellow Gulf Arab states for changes to its foreign policy, calling its independence "non-negotiable" in a further sign that it will continue to aid Islamists such as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. In an unprecedented move within the Gulf Cooperation Council of allied hereditary monarchies, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar on March 5, accusing Doha of failing to abide by an accord not to interfere in each others' internal affairs. The three GCC states are especially angry at Qatar's support for the Brotherhood, an Islamist movement whose ideology challenges the principle of conservative dynastic rule long dominant in the Gulf. "Qatar is to take decisions, and follow a path, of its own," the official Qatar news agency quoted Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiyah as saying in a speech in Paris. "The independence of Qatar's foreign policy is simply non-negotiable. Therefore I strongly believe that the recent statements made by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have no relationship whatsoever with the internal security of the GCC countries, but they are related to clear differences in views on international issues." A source close to Qatar's government said last week the dispute had more to do with issues in the wider Middle East such as the crises in Egypt and Syria, than about matters affecting fellow Gulf states. However, Saudi Arabia and the UAE do see Qatar as at odds with them on Gulf issues. They resent the way Doha has sheltered prominent Brotherhood preacher Youssef al-Qaradawi, a critic of Saudi and UAE authorities, and given him regular air time on its pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, and on Qatari state television. Attiyah said one of Qatar's basic foreign policy principles was its support for popular aspirations to justice and freedom in the Arab world. Islamists have figured prominently in the Arab Spring uprisings since 2011. Qatar's cabinet voiced "regret and surprise" last week at the withdrawal of the Saudi, UAE and Bahraini ambassadors but said Doha would not respond in kind and that it remained committed to GCC security. The U.S.-aligned GCC, formed in 1981 and also including Kuwait and Oman, has managed to present a united front at times of threat ranging from Iranian revolution on the other side of the Gulf to Iraqi invasion. (Reporting by Amena Bakr, Editing by William Maclean and Mark Heinrich) Qatar's Doha Insurance to launch $120 mln rights issue March 17 Mon, Mar 10 05:08 AM EDT DUBAI, March 10 (Reuters) - Qatar's Doha Insurance said on Monday it would offer new shares to shareholders from March 17 through March 31 as it aims to raise 436.7 million riyals ($119.9 million) and nearly double its capital. Shareholders will be able to buy up to 24,260,000 new shares at a price of 18 riyals per share, a discount to the closing price of 24 riyals on Sunday. Shareholders will be allowed to subscribe for nine new shares for every 10 they currently own. Doha Insurance has said the capital boost would increase financial solvency and improve its credit rating, which would allow it to compete for large projects locally and internationally. ($1 = 3.6415 Qatar riyals) (Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jason Neely) ================== MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt gains marginally after $40 bln housing deal; Gulf mixed Mon, Mar 10 09:11 AM EDT * Huge housing deal lifts Egypt, Arabtec * But execution is a concern * Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan drops on no-dividend plan By Nadia Saleem DUBAI, March 10 (Reuters) - Egypt's shares rose slightly on Monday after a deal between the country's army and a Dubai builder for an affordable housing project worth 280 billion Egyptian pounds ($40.2 billion). Cairo's benchmark index advanced 0.5 percent, recovering early-session losses and boosting 2014 gains to 17.6 percent. Under a deal with Cairo's army-backed government, Dubai's Arabtec will build one million homes in a project that will cover 160 million square meters across 13 sites in Egypt for lower income individuals. "People are a bit skeptical on the project," said Mohamed Radwan, director of international sales at Pharos Securities. Some analysts said executing the colossal project could be a challenge. "The scale of the project is... well beyond anything Arabtec has previously managed," brokerage Arqaam Capital said in a note. Politically and economically, the project is one of the biggest initiatives since the ouster of President Mohamed Mursi last July. "It adds more value to Arabtec itself although there's only a shallow performance in terms of magnitude." Shares in Arabtec rose 1.7 percent. Other UAE shares were choppy as investors looked for fresh catalysts after an early-year surge. Dubai's measure climbed 0.2 percent, taking 2014 gains to 23.1 percent but has been trading sideways for three weeks. Abu Dhabi's index fell 1.0 percent to its lowest since Feb. 9. The measure has also been range-bound, trading within a range of 200 points for four weeks. "What you're seeing now is short-term uncertainty - Q4 earnings are out and Q1 is a few weeks away so it's a natural lull at this time," said Sanyalaksna Manibhandu, senior analyst at NBAD Securities. "We've had geopolitical concerns on Ukraine and Qatar but I think there is more upside to prices this year." He cited catalysts such as an MSCI upgrade to the emerging market status that will take effect at the end of May, along with possible earnings momentum for the first quarter. Some of the optimism over the upgrade has already been priced in, but there could be a further boost as index funds flow in upon implementation. Analysts estimate UAE and Qatar could both draw hundreds of millions of dollars in fresh investment thanks to the upgrade. Qatar's measure gained 0.6 percent, up for a third session after last week's brief tumble because of a diplomatic row in which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors, apparently because of Qatari support for Islamists. Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan fell 4 percent after the firm's board proposed not to pay out 2013 dividends. It said the decision would support future business growth, but it has yet to be approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting. Saudi Arabia's measure was little changed at a 68-month high but turnover exceeded 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion). MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS EGYPT * The index climbed 0.5 percent to 7,976 points. DUBAI * The index gained 0.2 percent to 4,150 points. ABU DHABI * The index fell 1.0 percent to 4,829 points. QATAR * The index gained 0.6 percent to 11,710 points. SAUDI ARABIA * The index eased 0.07 percent to 9,344 points. KUWAIT * The index slipped 0.3 percent to 7,492 points. OMAN * The index ticked up 0.06 percent to 7,092 points. BAHRAIN * The index rose 1.2 percent to 1,387 points. ===================== Arabtec Holding net profit surges by 171pc in 2013 March 19, 2014 - 11:47:03 am DUBAI: Arabtec Holding PJSC, a leading engineering and construction group of companies specialising in complex projects in the Middle East and North Africa region, revealed a net profit attributable to parent company of over AED377.7 million, up by 171 per cent compared to 2012. Arabtec, in which Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar is a key stakeholder, said it made a net profit of 122 million dirhams in the quarter, compared with 32 million dirhams in the corresponding period of 2012, on revenue up 39 per cent at 2.3 billion dirhams. The Company went through a major management shake-up last year backed by Aabar. It has won a series of contracts in the region recently including high-profile projects such as the development of Abu Dhabi's main airport and building of a Louvre museum and a contract to build 1m homes in Egypt. "Since the start of 2014, our company's subsidiaries have been selected to execute a series of new projects, with a total value of 180bn dirhams, which gives us visibility on our earnings growth for many years to come," Hasan Ismaik, the chief executive of Arabtec said. The company said its backlog of work in 2013 increased by 22pc over the previous year to 24.1 billion dirhams. Arabtec also proposed a cash dividend of 0.1 dirhams per share plus bonus shares worth 30pc of its share capital. The company gave no dividend for 2012. Full-year net profit rose to 377 million dirhams from 139 million dirhams in 2012. (QNA) =Arabtec Q3 profits fall following company-wide restructuring after Hasan Ismaik departure Lucy Barnard November 16, 2014 Updated: November 16, 2014 12:23 PM ======================= Related Arabtec shares fall after Hasan Ismaik stake sale to Aabar Former Arabtec chief Hasan Ismaik sells stake worth close to $1bn to Aabar Former Arabtec CEO Hasan Ismaik reduces shareholding at Dubai builder DFM rebound ends as Aabar fails to win over investors with disclosure on Arabtec Video: Khadem Al Qubaisi fields questions about Arabtec’s future Topics: Arabtec Arabtec third quarter profit fell by almost a third on costs associated with a company-wide restructuring that followed the departure of former chief executive Hasan Ismaik. Net profit fell 32.6 per cent to Dh68 million in the three months to the end of September 2014, from Dh100.7 million a year earlier. Mr Ismaik, the architect of Arabtec’s ambitious expansion strategy the company had been following during the earlier part of the year, left Arabtec in a shock move on 17 June. That triggered a crisis in the company’s share price in July and August as the company cut highly paid and recently recruited mergers and acquisitions staff as well as its chief operating officer, chief information officer and chief risk officer. General and administrative expenses at the company increased 89 per cent during the period to Dh241.5 million, up from Dh127.5m the previous year while provision for employees’ end of service indemnity payments increased 17.8 per cent to Dh215.1m. Still, revenues during the quarter rose 24 per cent to Dh2.4 billion from Dh1.93 billion the previous year and gross margins increased to 12.8 per cent from 12 per cent. Shares in Arabtec fell 1.64 per cent in early trading on the news. In a statement Arabtec said that its board of directors “emphasised the importance” of the company’s change in direction. For the first nine months of the year, Arabtec said that net profits increased 20.7 per cent to Dh309 million driven by business growth inside and outside the UAE. Revenues for the nine months increased 37.1 per cent to Dh6.96 billion. lbarnard@thenational.ae Add your comment View all comments