{"id":94446,"date":"2024-08-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/visa-overstay-amnesty-period-in-september-could-someone-acquire-the-spectator-from-redbird-imi-as-soon-as-this-month\/"},"modified":"2024-08-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T00:00:00","slug":"visa-overstay-amnesty-period-in-september-could-someone-acquire-the-spectator-from-redbird-imi-as-soon-as-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/uae\/2024\/08\/02\/visa-overstay-amnesty-period-in-september-could-someone-acquire-the-spectator-from-redbird-imi-as-soon-as-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Visa overstay amnesty period in September + could someone acquire The Spectator from RedBird-IMI as soon as this month?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good morning, friends. <\/strong>It\u2019s the final day of what felt like a long week, and we\u2019re very much looking forward to the weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a relatively quiet day in the news \u2014 though not on the earnings front. <\/strong>The biggest stories of the day include: data on the UAE\u2019s ESG sukuk issuances<\/strong> in 1H 2024; an investment <\/strong>from Dubai-based National Pulse<\/strong> in Singaporean fintech Aleta<\/strong>; and a new AED 293 mn medical manufacturing facility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

UPDATE ON OUR OLYMPICS RUN- The UAE equestrian team finished 18th in yesterday\u2019s qualifiers, <\/strong>failing to qualify for the finals. Today: <\/strong>Judoka Magomedomar Magomedomarov competes in the round of 32 against Mohamed El Mehdi Lili. Meanwhile, Mariam El Farsi will compete in the 100m sprint. <\/p>\n

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Residents breaching residency regulations will be exempt from any fines starting 1 <\/strong>September and until November,<\/strong> according to a decision<\/a> by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs, and Port Security. The two-month grace period will allow violators to either adjust their status or leave the UAE without facing legal consequences. <\/p>\n

#2- Two gov\u2019t websites will be suspended today: <\/strong>The Foreign Affairs Ministry\u2019s website, along with the Federal Prevention and Safety System\u2019s services on the civil defense and Interior ministry\u2019s websites, applications, and other third party platforms services will be suspended temporarily today for technical maintenance, according to two separate X posts (here<\/a> and here<\/a>). The Foreign Affairs Ministry\u2019s website will be unavailable starting 9pm and until midnight, while the rest will be suspended for one hour from noon until 1pm. <\/p>\n

#3- Etihad Airways has warned against fake ads promoting subscriptions to an IPO on <\/strong>DFM,<\/strong> stating that \u201cdeceptive posts\u201d are using the carrier\u2019s branding to advertise fraudulent investment opportunities in a statement to Khaleej Times<\/a>. The Securities and Commodities Authority also warned<\/a> against the fake ads. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER- <\/strong>Etihad Airways tapped banks<\/a> in May to advise on its planned IPO on the ADX, which could raise as much as USD 1 bn. Slated to become the first by a Gulf carrier, the share float could take place by year\u2019s end. <\/p>\n

HAPPENING THIS WEEKEND- <\/p>\n

#1- The annual jiu-jitsu tournament, the Abu Dhabi Extreme Championship, is <\/strong>returning to Abu Dhabi at the Mubadala Arena on 2 August, <\/strong>Wam<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

#2- Abu Dhabi will play host to a big night for mixed martial arts fans <\/strong>on 3 August at Etihad arena. The UFC Fight Night will see the return of MMA champion Nick Diaz, who has been out of the limelight since 2021, as he goes head to head with Tony Ferguson. <\/p>\n

Also set to clash: <\/strong>Former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo will face bantamweight title challenger Marlon Vera, while world number 2 bantamweight contender Cory Sandhagen will headline against Umar Nurmagomedov.<\/p>\n

WATCH THIS SPACE-<\/p>\n

<\/a> #1- Hedge fund owner Paul Marshall could acquire The Spectator Magazine from RedBird <\/strong>IMI as soon as this month<\/strong>, with talks reportedly progressing well, the Financial Times<\/a> reports citing three people with knowledge of the matter. Marshall\u2019s bid values the publication at USD 100 mn, one of the people said.<\/p>\n

The Telegraph and The Spectator will likely be sold separately: <\/strong>If Marshall\u2019s acquisition of The Spectator goes through, it would remove the magazine from the Telegraph bidding, where a second source suggests he is unlikely to be the final buyer.<\/p>\n

Remember, there are still a lot of interested bidders: <\/strong>Interest in the two papers has \u201cremained extremely strong,\u201d a RedBird IMI spokesperson said in June, stating that the firm has been in talks with \u201cseveral interested parties.\u201d DMGT, which owns the Daily Mail, Belgian Group Mediahuis, and National World are among the bidders vying for the two papers. <\/p>\n

RedBird IMI wants to recoup its losses:<\/strong> RedBird IMI, a JV between Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan's International Media Investments and RedBird Capital Partners, is looking to sell the papers to recoup the GBP 600 mn invested last year to acquire the assets, before the takeover bid fell through. The Barclay Family is also expected to fail to repay the debt after the Telegraph incurred a GBP 240 mn loss in 2023, Bloomberg reports.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Adia eyes minority stake in Indian loan provider:<\/strong> Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) has entered talks with EQT Baring Private Equity to buy a 10% stake in Indian education loan provider HDFC Credila Financial Services<\/a>, Moneycontrol<\/a> reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. The sale could come as part of a wider fundraising round or a secondary transaction, the source said. Discussions with the sovereign fund have resumed after initial talks \u2014 in which Adia reportedly took part as part of a consortium \u2014 stalled, with EQT later acquiring a 72% stake in Credila in March.<\/p>\n

<\/a> #3- GCC-Indonesia trade talks kick off:<\/strong> GCC Secretary Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi and Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan kicked off negotiations for a trade agreement on Wednesday in Riyadh, Wam<\/a> writes. The first round of talks are slated to start this year, with plans to wrap talks within the next two years.<\/p>\n

DATA POINTS-<\/p>\n

#1- Gross bank assets fell 0.2% m-o-m to AED 4.287 tn at the end of May<\/strong>, according to the Central Bank of the UAE\u2019s (CBUAE) latest monetary and banking developments report (pdf)<\/a>. Gross credit grew a marginal 0.7% m-o-m to AED 2.078 tn, driven by a 0.7% increase in domestic credit and a 0.9% rise in foreign credit.<\/p>\n

The increase in domestic credit was fueled by increased lending mostly to the private sector,<\/strong> which saw a 1.2% m-o-m increase, and a 0.6% increase in lending to the public sector. This growth offset the reductions of 2.2% in credit to the government and 3.4% to non-banking financial institutions.<\/p>\n

Total bank deposits fell 1.4% m-o-m to AED 2.678 tn at the end of May<\/strong>, propelled by a 1.2% m-o-m decrease in resident deposits and a 4.6% decrease in non-resident deposits, according to the report. <\/p>\n

The CBUAE\u2019s total foreign assets rose some AED 16.44 bn to AED 766.73 bn at the end of May<\/strong>, according to the bank\u2019s latest data (pdf)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> #2- Sharjah saw the value of real estate <\/strong>transactions soar 35.6% y-o-y in 1H 2024 to over AED 18.2 bn<\/strong>, according to the Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department<\/a>. This growth was driven by a 64% y-o-y surge in sales to over 10.8k, marking the highest sales volume since 2012.<\/p>\n

The value of sales increased 13.8% y-o-y to AED 7 bn<\/strong>, according to a separate post<\/a> from the real estate department. Residential transactions accounted for the lion\u2019s share \u2014 81.5% \u2014 of total transactions, with UAE citizens buying up most of the units on offer with a total AED 8.8 bn invested, followed by expats who offered up some AED 4.8 bn. <\/p>\n

#3- Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce member exports hit AED 4.18 bn in 1H 2024<\/strong>, with 15.2k certificates of origin issued, Albayan<\/a> reports. Top recipients of exports were Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Egypt, while the top goods exported were live animals and animal products (43.5%), followed by plant products (27.6%).<\/p>\n

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MEANWHILE- Are you planning to be in Egypt on 24 September? <\/strong>You may be interested in attending our 2024 Enterprise Finance Forum. Seating is strictly limited at our flagship, invitation-only forum for C-suite executives and other senior leaders. <\/p>\n

Why attend? We\u2019re in the early days of a generational realignment of power in our <\/strong>industry<\/strong> \u2014 in our region and beyond \u2014 and on the cusp of the biggest intergenerational transfer of wealth the world has ever seen<\/strong>. With that as the backdrop, we\u2019re going to take stock of where we stand six months after the float of the EGP and ask what\u2019s next for finance in Egypt and the wider region. Among the questions we\u2019ll be asking:<\/p>\n