Dubai Wealth Fund Posts $6.8bn Profit for 2019

General view Dubai. AAWSAT AR
General view Dubai. AAWSAT AR
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Dubai Wealth Fund Posts $6.8bn Profit for 2019

General view Dubai. AAWSAT AR
General view Dubai. AAWSAT AR

The Investment Corporation of Dubai reported Dubai's sovereign wealth fund on Wednesday announced full-year revenues of AED 228 billion ($62 billion) and a net profit of AED 25 billion ($6.8bn).

It said it posted a 25 billion dirham ($6.8 billion) net profit compared to $5.8 billion in 2018.

The banking and financial services results benefited from an AED 4.4Billion ($1.1bn) gain on the partial disposal of Network International Holdings Plc and the fair value measurement of its remaining stake.

Chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice president and ruler of Dubai, ICD owns giant firms like Emirates Airline, the largest in the Middle East, Emaar Properties, the region's biggest real estate firm, and UAE's second largest lender, Emirates NBD bank.

It said its revenues last year dropped by 1.9 percent year-on-year to $62 billion over a decline in income from the energy and transport sectors.

"In 2019, ICD produced a very solid performance given the considerable challenges faced by the global economy and the effect that these have had on our businesses," CEO Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani said.

"In 2020, with the significant disruptions arising in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, we are focused on adjusting our operations to preserve their ability to operate competitively when the health crisis subsides," he added.



Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
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Lebanon's Bonds Rally as Parliament Elects 1st President since 2022

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri shakes hands with Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun after he is elected as the country’s president at the parliament building in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2025. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese government bonds extended their three-month-long rally on Thursday as the crisis-ravaged country's parliament voted in a new head of state for the first time since 2022.

Lebanese lawmakers elected army chief Joseph Aoun as president. It came after the failure of 12 previous attempts to pick a president and boosts hopes that Lebanon might finally be able to start addressing its dire economic woes.

The country's battered bonds have almost trebled in value since September, when the regional conflict with Israel weakened Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, long viewed as an obstacle to overcoming its political paralysis.

According to Reuters, most of Lebanon's international bonds, which have been in default since 2020, rallied after Aoun's victory was announced to stand 1.3 to 1.7 cents higher on the day and at just over 16 cents on the dollar.

They have risen almost every day since late December, although they remain some of the lowest-priced government bonds in the world, reflecting the scale of Lebanon's difficulties.

With its economy and financial system still reeling from a collapse in 2019, Lebanon is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the conflict, which the World Bank estimates to have cost the country $8.5 billion.

Hasnain Malik, an analyst at financial research firm Tellimer said Aoun's victory was "the first necessary step on a very long road to recovery".

Malik said Aoun now needs to appoint a prime minister and assemble a cabinet that can retain the support of parliament, resuscitate long-delayed reforms and help Lebanon secure international financial support.

The 61-year old Aoun fell short of the required support in Thursday's first round of parliamentary voting and only succeeded in a second round, reportedly after a meeting with Hezbollah and Amal party MPs.

"That presents significant ongoing risk to any new PM and cabinet, which need to maintain the confidence of a majority of parliament," Malik said.