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☆ Man Utd to accept third round bids ahead of potential sale - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 11 (Reuters) - Manchester United will accept a third round of bids from prospective buyers at the end of the month as the Premier League club's owners explore a sale, sports industry news site Sportico reported on Tuesday. Manchester United and Raine Group, the investment bank running the bidding process, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. United's American owners, the Glazer family, launched a formal sale process late last year, with several bids received in February and March. Any sale would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far, the $5.2 billion including debt and investments paid for Chelsea. Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Qatar leads Gulf bourses higher on hopes of Fed rate pause
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Md Manzer Hussain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 26 (Reuters) - Qatar's stock market closed higher on Sunday, outperforming other bourses in the Gulf region, as expectations of a pause in rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted investor sentiment. The Fed raised its main interest rate by a quarter point on Wednesday, but signaled it would consider a pause in light of banking system stresses. The Qatari Stock index (.QSI) climbed 1.2%, extending its rally to a third straight session. The index recorded an advance in all sectors, with the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA) rising 3.1% and Qatar Islamic Bank (QISB.QA) adding 2.7%. The index was lifted up by a 15.1% jump in Sidi Kerir (SKPC.CA) and a 7% rise in Fawry Banking (FWRY.CA).

☆ ‍Soccer-Qatar's Al Thani submits new $6 bln bid for Manchester United - Sky News
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 25 (Reuters) - Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted a new bid to buy Manchester United which is believed to be worth around 5 billion pounds ($6.12 billion), Sky News reported on Saturday. Sheikh Jassim, a son of Qatar’s former prime minister, launched the bid in February. A spokesperson representing Sheikh Jassim said at the time that the bid was completely debt free, via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation. Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus also placed a bid on Thursday and told Reuters that he was willing to pay a premium for the English soccer club. United are the fourth richest soccer club in the world, according to analysis by Deloitte .

☆ Soccer-Qatar's Al Thani submits new $6 billion bid for Manchester United, Sky Sports News reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 25 (Reuters) - Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has submitted a new bid to buy Manchester United which is believed to be worth around 5 billion pounds ($6.12 billion), Sky Sports News reported on Saturday. Sheikh Jassim, a son of Qatar’s former prime minister, launched the bid in February. A spokesperson representing Sheikh Jassim said at the time that the bid was completely debt free, via Sheikh Jassim's Nine Two Foundation. Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus also placed a bid on Thursday and told Reuters that he was willing to pay a premium for the English soccer club. United are the fourth richest soccer club in the world, according to analysis by Deloitte .

☆ Miramax launched a film development team to resurrect its blockbuster-rich heyday. But a string of key departures has hobbled the vision and frustrated some Hollywood creatives.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Miramax built out a film development team early in the pandemic to bring in new projects and filmmakers. "He's the perfect leader to take the Miramax film team into this next chapter." Hammer's credits as a production executive include "Last Vegas" and "Inside Llewyn Davis." The first source said the film development team had worked to turn the company's reputation around by emphasizing relationships with respected filmmakers. But this person and an independent producer familiar with the Hollywood landscape, agreed that Miramax is no longer a top player in film development.

☆ The Biden administration considered probing Elon Musk's Twitter purchase over national security concerns, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration reportedly considered an official review of Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. The White House had national security concerns over its foreign investors, per Bloomberg. Changpeng Zhao, the Binance CEO; Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal; and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund are all investors in Musk's Twitter. Some in the Biden administration considered whether Musk's deal should be brought in front of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which can block business transactions over security concerns, Bloomberg reported. In response to Insider's request for comment on the government's concerns, Twitter responded with a poop emoji – an auto-reply Musk announced Sunday.

☆ The 20 best airports in the world according to passengers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Aviation ranking website Skytrax has revealed the world's best airports for 2023. "Changi Airport is honoured to be named World's Best Airport for the 12th time," Changi CEO Lee Seow Hiang said in a press release. Of the top 20 airports, nine are in Europe, eight are in Asia, two are in North America, and one is in Australia. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Vancouver International Airport came in at numbers 18 and 20, barely making the list. In fact, Seattle once again won the award for being North America's best airport, and LaGuardia's Terminal B won "world's best new airport terminal."

☆ UAE withdraws bid for 2026 World Bank-IMF meetings in favour of Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view of the Burj Khalifa and the downtown skyline in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 12, 2021. The decision came during a phone call between UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, statements from state news agency WAM and the Amiri Diwan said. In Sunday's phone call, Sheikh Mohammed pledged the UAE's support for Qatar's bid to host the meetings and "wished the Emir and the people of Qatar every success in hosting this global gathering," WAM's statement said. But relations between Abu Dhabi and Doha have warmed in recent months with Sheikh Mohammed visiting Qatar during the soccer World Cup last December. Abu Dhabi, like Manama, has not appointed an envoy to Doha, but restored travel and trade links with Qatar.

☆ 'Our phones are ringing off the hook': Amid a global downturn, the finance world is chasing Middle Eastern money
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The region's 10 largest sovereign wealth funds combined manage nearly $4 trillion, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. The regional investors, especially the sovereign funds but also the families, are now much more sophisticated than before. Follow the capitalAs oil prices made a roaring comeback in the last two years, the Gulf's public wealth funds went on a spending spree. It added that GCC sovereign wealth funds "played an important role in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and now again in 2022 during times of financial distress." Our phones are ringing off the hook," one manager from a UAE investment fund said, declining to be named due to professional restrictions.

☆ Qatar’s emir criticises delay in aid to earthquake victims in Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DOHA, March 5 (Reuters) - Qatar's emir said on Sunday he was puzzled by the delay in delivering aid to victims of last month's earthquake in Syria, adding that it was wrong to abuse humanitarian aid for political purposes, in an apparent swipe at the Syrian government. The death toll in Turkey has risen to above 45,000, bringing the total toll including Syria to about 51,000. In Syria, the northwest region controlled by rebels at war with President Bashar al-Assad was the worst hit. The United Nations has called for access by all parties in Syria, already devastated by years of civil war, in order to scale up aid deliveries. Other aid agencies say hardline rebels have blocked aid deliveries from government-held parts of Syria, further complicating efforts.

☆ Uber-backed ride hailing app Careem is halting its operations in Qatar
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Emma Graham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Careem ride-hailing app on a phone outside the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. Uber-backed ride hailing service Careem announced on Tuesday an end to its operations in Qatar. While regulatory approvals in other countries were obtained, unfortunately, this did not happen in Qatar," Uber told CNBC. Careem told CNBC it "will no longer provide ride hailing services in the country as of 28 February 2023." Dubai-based Careem, which in other markets across the region offers its "Super App," initially ran a ride-only platform in Qatar, but launched food delivery in Qatar last February.

☆ The week in Asian football
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Talking points from the week in Asian football:RONALDO'S SAUDI SCORING STREAK CONTINUES WITH HAT-TRICKCristiano Ronaldo's scoring run continued on Saturday as the Portuguese attacker netted all three goals in Al Nassr's 3-0 victory over Damak. The 38-year-old capped the scoring a minute before halftime when he side-footed home after Ayman Yahya cut the ball back towards the penalty spot. The goal was Ronaldo's eighth in five league games since joining Al Nassr after the World Cup. The defeat was the second in a row for new Urawa coach Maciej Skorza and the Pole's team are bottom of the standings. JANKOVIC APPOINTED NEW CHINA COACHSerbian Aleksandar Jankovic has been named coach of the China national team for next year's Asian Cup and the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

☆ British supermarkets confront their German discounting demons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And the discounters' supermarket sweep still has a long way to run, industry executives say, with Aldi UK CEO Giles Hurley pledging Britain's lowest prices "no matter what". "Over the Christmas period alone shoppers switched 58 million pounds ($70 million)(of purchases) to Lidl from Tesco and Sainsbury's," Lidl GB CEO Ryan McDonnell told Reuters. Tesco and Sainsbury's are now matching Aldi prices on hundreds of key items and using customer loyalty schemes, while they have accepted a profit hit to keep prices down. Sector executives, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the further rise of Aldi and Lidl is inexorable. "Nobody's going to take Tesco out but at some point somebody might take Sainsbury's out," the sector veteran said.

☆ Liverpool owner Henry rules out sale of the club
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Liverpool's American owner John Henry has said there are no plans to sell the Premier League club after the Merseyside outfit's owners said in November they were exploring a sale. After FSG's initial statement, Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said there was no urgency to complete any potential deal. Are talking with investors about Liverpool? I believe so, but it won't be a sale. Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Former Qatari prime minister's son bids for Manchester United
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A statue of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton standing outside Old Trafford, home of Manchester United in Manchester, England. Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, a son of Qatar's former prime minister, on Friday launched a bid to buy Premier League soccer club Manchester United, whose American owners launched a formal sale process late last year. Sheikh Jassim is the son of Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who is one of the richest men in the Gulf state. However, Qatari state investors, who own a stake in French champions Paris Saint-Germain, could face challenges structuring a takeover of Manchester United, as rules forbid two clubs with the same owner taking part in the lucrative Champions League. Sheikh Hamad is the owner of PSG and it is unclear how the Qatari bid will be structured.

If sealed, this would be the second such deal between major LNG exporter Qatar and the world's no.2 LNG buyer, as Beijing looks to beef up gas supply and diversify its sources in a drive to replace coal and cut carbon emissions. CNPC's talks follow a deal announced last November by China's Sinopec, in which QatarEnergy agreed to supply 4 million tonnes of LNG annually for 27 years, the longest duration LNG supply contract ever signed by Qatar. "This is a good move for CNPC, securing additional long term supply from a reliable and well positioned partner. Sinopec said in November the gas purchase agreement was part of an "integrated partnership", which indicated the Chinese firm could be considering acquiring a stake in Qatar's North Field expansion export facility. Chinese customs data showed the country's imports of Qatari LNG surged 75% last year from 2021 to 15.7 million tonnes, making up a quarter of the nation's total imports, while China's total LNG imports shrank nearly 20%.

☆ Saudi Arabian shares drop on lower oil prices; Egypt rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Md Manzer Hussain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian stock market closed lower on Sunday, in response to fall in oil prices on Friday amid concern about the European Union embargo on Russian refined products. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister warned on Saturday that sanctions and underinvestment in the energy sector could result in a shortage of energy supplies in future. The European Union has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia, reducing Russian energy exports. Saudi oil giant Aramco (2222.SE) sank 1.5%, while the world's largest Islamic bank by market capitalization, Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), dropped 1.9%. Qatar's stock index (.QSI) ended down 0.4%, with almost all its constituent stocks in negative territory.

☆ Airbus and Qatar Airways settle bitter A350 jet row
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "amicable and mutually agreeable settlement" ends a $2 billion row over surface damage on the long-haul jets. The spat led to the withdrawal of billions of dollars' worth of jet deals by Airbus and prompted Qatar to increase purchases from Boeing. The deal heads off what amounted to an unprecedented public divorce trial between heavyweights in the normally tight-knit and secretive $150 billion jet industry. Airbus' decision to revoke that order, separate from the disputed A350 contract, had been criticised by global airlines group IATA. Airbus said it had done its best to avoid pushing Qatar too far back in the queue.

☆ Germany approves Leopard 1 delivery to Ukraine, in talks with Qatar over Gepards -newspaper
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The German government has approved the delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine from industrial stocks and is in talks over purchasing back 15 Gepard tanks from Qatar to send to Kyiv, Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday. The delivery of the Leopard tanks to Ukraine could happen anytime once the tanks are repaired, the newspaper reported, citing government sources. Rheinmetall and Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft (FFG) want to recondition dozens of Leopards 1 tanks and could supply them to Ukraine if Kyiv was willing to buy them, it added. "The Gepards have proven themselves very well in the war in Ukraine. If we could get more from partners here, that would definitely help the Ukrainians," new German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

☆ Airbus and Qatar edge towards agreement in A350 dispute - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A view shows the Qatar Airways' airbus A350 parked outside Qatar Airways maintenance hangar in Doha, Qatar, June 20, 2022. REUTERS/Imad CreidiPARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) and Qatar Airways are edging towards an agreement to settle a bitter dispute over grounded A350 jets, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. "There will be an agreement," one of the sources said, while another cautioned that the talks were still ongoing. Airbus and Qatar Airways had no immediate comment. The dispute between two of aviation's largest players has led to the unprecedented cancellation of large-scale orders from Airbus, and extra business for its U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N).

☆ TotalEnergies says well drilling in Lebanon's offshore Block 9 to begin in Q3
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Following months of talks, QatarEnergy has taken a 30% stake in the consortium, leaving TotalEnergies and Eni with 35% each. "From a geological point of view, I am positive" about a discovery in Lebanon's Block 9, Descalzi told reporters. Pouyanne and Qatar's energy minister Saad al-Kaabi, also the CEO of QatarEnergy, said they were discussing possible coordination on renewable energy in Lebanon. Lebanon's first licensing round in 2017 saw a consortium of TotalEnergies, Eni and Russia's Novatek win bids to explore. Pouyanne said the maritime border agreement had ended the "deadlock" facing exploration activities in Block 9.

☆ Bahrain's crown prince calls Qatari emir in apparent step towards mending fences
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Bahrain's Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa attends the inauguration of Exhibition World Bahrain at Sakhir Bahrain, November 21, 2022. BNA said that Bahrain's crown prince and prime minister, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, had in the call with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani "emphasised the importance of joint efforts to resolve all outstanding differences". "It was also agreed that officials from both countries will continue to communicate to achieve common goals," BNA said. Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia has led efforts to rebuild ties with Qatar and, along with Egypt, re-established diplomatic relations. Bahrain, a Sunni Muslim-ruled monarchy with a restive Shi'ite population, has deep unease over Qatar's relations with Iran.

DUBAI/LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Qatar is in talks to acquire a stake from French company TotalEnergies' (TTEF.PA) $27 billion cluster of energy projects in Iraq, three sources told Reuters, as Baghdad hopes to stem efforts by Western energy companies to exit the country. The TotalEnergies deal with Iraq, which will require an initial investment of $10 billion, followed a visit from French President Emmanuel Macron in September 2021. Sources told Reuters last year that disputes over terms had risked scrapping the project. A senior Iraqi oil ministry official said he was not aware of QatarEnergy plans to acquire a stake in the TotalEnergies' project. One of the sources told Reuters Sudani would also meet TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne in a bid to end the deadlock.

☆ Airbus has changed the design of its A350 flagship jet amid its dispute with Qatar Airways over peeling paint
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Airbus has changed the copper foil used on its A350 aircraft, which protects from lightning strikes. In 2021, Qatar Airways sued Airbus over chipped paint that exposes the copper mesh, citing a safety risk. According to Airbus, the company started "progressively" using PCF on A350 aircraft "fuselage section by fuselage section," starting with deliveries in late 2022. The change is significant considering Airbus' ongoing battle with Qatar Airways over the old copper foil — a dispute worth $2 billion, per Reuters. An undated image shows what appears to be paint peeling, cracking and exposed expanded copper foil (ECF) on the fuselage of a Qatar Airways Airbus A350 aircraft.

☆ Qatar doubles Credit Suisse stake as embattled lender forges ahead with strategic overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Qatar Investment Authority is the second-largest shareholder in Credit Suisse after doubling its stake in the embattled Swiss lender late last year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The QIA — Qatar's sovereign wealth fund — initially began investing in Credit Suisse around the time of the financial crisis. Combined with the 3.15% owned by Saudi-based family firm Olayan Financing Company, around a fifth of the company's stock is now owned by Middle Eastern investors, Eikon data indicates. Credit Suisse will report its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 9, and has already projected a 1.5 billion Swiss franc ($1.6 billion) loss for the fourth quarter as a result of the ongoing restructuring. The shake-up is designed to address persistent underperformance in the investment bank and a series of risk and compliance failures.

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