Barclays bet lives up to rich billing for Qatar
By Una Galani
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own
A massive bet on Barclays is living up to its rich billing for Qatar. The complex 3.4 billion pound investment in the UK bank has earned a 19 percent internal rate of return for the sovereign fund, according to a Breakingviews calculation. That’s pretty good, factoring in the huge risk of propping up a universal bank at the height of the financial crisis. But it will grate for Barclays shareholders who resented the deal in the first place.
Egypt may struggle to meet Islamic finance target
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The
opinions expressed are her own)
By Una Galani
CAIRO, Nov 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Egypt may struggle to
meet its Islamic finance targets. The new Muslim Brotherhood
government aims to boost the sharia-compliant share of total
banking assets from 5 to 35 percent within five years. The
potential is undoubtedly big. Egypt is predominantly Muslim and
only 10 percent of the 80 million people have bank accounts. But
the rise of Islamic finance in Egypt might be slow.
Qatar’s sovereign funds: A guide for the perplexed
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own)
By Una Galani
DUBAI, Oct 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Cash-rich and outward
looking Qatar is a gold mine for advisors. Yet for those hoping
to land work on any of the multi-billion dollar transactions led
by the Gulf state, it’s no longer enough just to put in a call
to its highest-profile sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar
Investment Authority. Today, Qatar’s financial activities are
spread across different but related entities, with blurred
dividing lines.
Barclays’ Qatari baggage gets even heavier
(The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions
expressed are their own)
By Una Galani and George Hay
DUBAI/LONDON, Aug 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) – Barclays’
(BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Qatari baggage is getting heavier. A costly capital
injection by Gulf funds spared the UK bank from a state bailout
in 2008. But if a probe by the UK’s Financial Services Authority
into the disclosure of fees discredits one of the few remaining
members of Barclays’ top executive team, the bank’s decision to
seek salvation in the Middle East will look even more like a
Faustian pact.
Sovereign funds still hungry for Western banks
By Una Galani
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Sovereign wealth funds are still hungry for Western banks. Even though an early-crisis wave of financial investments mostly ended badly, Credit Suisse’s latest 3.8 billion Swiss franc cash call shows rich states still have faith in global lenders.
Saudi Arabia pushes accelerator on reform
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own
By Una Galani
Saudi Arabia is moving at its fastest pace in years to overhaul the economy, and this time there isn’t even the crunch of lower oil prices. Last year’s effort to tackle unemployment, and a recent and long-expected mortgage law designed to help solve the housing problem, should help shore up stability in the absolute monarchy. These are tentative steps so far. But they go in the right direction.
No quick wins for Egypt’s new Islamist president
By Una Galani
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Egypt’s Islamists will find victory bittersweet. The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi is the Arab nation’s first freely elected president. But the role comes with limited power and may be short-lived. The long-repressed movement will struggle to deliver on its promise to jumpstart the ailing economy.
UBS royal pickle reveals Gulf M&A minefield
(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own)
By Una Galani
DUBAI, June 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) – UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) has
got itself into a royal pickle in Kuwait. The Swiss bank is
fighting a claim that it failed to pay a local sheikh for
helping it secure the $10.7 billion sale of the African
subsidiary of part state-owned telecom operator Zain (ZAIN.KW: Quote, Profile, Research).
UBS denies that it entered into any contract with the sheikh.
Yet if nothing else, the case has exposed the lengths to which
big banks will go to schmooze Gulf royals.
Iran’s oil sanctions are just beginning to hurt
By Una Galani
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Iran’s sanction pain is just beginning. Oil revenue in the Islamic Republic may have fallen by nearly one third, or $35 billion, on the back of a slowdown in exports and declining prices. With U.S. sanctions set to tighten and China’s apparent readiness to go along, Tehran’s budget could be thrown deep into the red.
Iraq rise will upset OPEC power balance
By Una Galani and Christopher Swann
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.
Iraq’s rise is upsetting OPEC’s power balance. For the last decade, the oil cartel has let the Gulf country produce crude without an output quota. The exemption allowed Iraq the freedom to invest in its war-damaged oil industry. That reconstruction is picking up pace – production is now higher than before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Iraq is set to overtake Iran as OPEC’s second biggest producer. The rapid increase in output is an urgent challenge for OPEC’s oil ministers who are meeting this week in Vienna.
-
About Una
-
Follow Una
