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UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company

UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company
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UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company

UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced the successful completion of its transaction with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) creating one of the largest utility companies in the region of Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

The transaction saw the transfer of ADPower’s majority power and water generation, transmission and distribution assets to TAQA in exchange for over 106 billion new shares.

With the completion of the transaction, TAQA is now the UAE’s third-largest publicly traded company by market capitalization and among the top-ten integrated utility companies in EMEA by regulated assets.

TAQA currently has 23 GW of power generation capacity globally and 916 MIGD of water desalination capacity, of which 1.4 GW are from renewable sources. It also has a further 4.4 GW and 200 MIGD under development, including 2 GW from renewable sources.

TAQA’s assets now include 12 power and water generation plants in operation, and it is the only company responsible for all of Abu Dhabi’s power and water transmission and distribution.

It has its own international assets in Canada, Ghana, India, Iraq, Morocco, the Netherlands, Oman, Saudi Arabia, UK, and the US.

ADPower will own 98.60 percent of the entire issued share capital of TAQA, which intends to increase to the free float through a follow on public offering.

TAQA Chairman Mohammed al-Suwaidi indicated that the successful consolidation of Abu Dhabi’s power and water assets has created a true national energy champion that is well-positioned to spearhead the transformation of the utilities industry.

“TAQA’s strong balance sheet, predictable income, access to global capital markets and deep industry expertise enables it to play an active role in the UAE’s diversification strategy, putting a strong emphasis on clean sources," Suwaidi was quoted as saying by Emirates News Agency (WAM).

He added that the company will invest and deploy new technology to ensure continued reliable and efficient supply of power and water and additional sustainable capacity to meet the demands of the UAE economy.

For his part, TAQA’s CEO Jasim Husain Thabet said that this transaction is the beginning of TAQA’s new journey, which will fully integrate “our diverse asset portfolio and combine the talent and expertise of both organizations into a stronger company,” which will contribute to the socio-economic development of UAE.

“We benefit from a strong capital structure, a robust business model and exclusivity rights to participate in all generation and water desalination projects tendered in Abu Dhabi over the next decade with a minimum 40% equity share,” he concluded.

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Syria’s New Central Bank Chief Vows to Boost Bank Independence Post Assad

A bank teller counts Syrian pound banknotes at the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, Syria, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
A bank teller counts Syrian pound banknotes at the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, Syria, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
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Syria’s New Central Bank Chief Vows to Boost Bank Independence Post Assad

A bank teller counts Syrian pound banknotes at the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, Syria, 09 January 2025. (EPA)
A bank teller counts Syrian pound banknotes at the Syrian Central Bank in Damascus, Syria, 09 January 2025. (EPA)

Syria's new central bank governor, Maysaa Sabreen, said she wants to boost the institution's independence over monetary policy decisions, in what would be a sea change from the heavy control exerted under the Assad regime.

Sabreen, previously the Central Bank of Syria's number two, took over in a caretaker role from former governor Mohammed Issam Hazime late last year.

She is a rare example of a former top state employee promoted after Syria's new rulers' lightning offensive led to President Bashar al-Assad's fall on Dec. 8.

"The bank is working on preparing draft amendments to the bank's law to enhance its independence, including allowing it more freedom to make decisions regarding monetary policy," she told Reuters in her first media interview since taking office.

The changes would need the approval of Syria’s new governing authority, though the process is at this stage unclear. Sabreen gave no indication of timing.

Economists view central bank independence as critical to achieve long-term macroeconomic and financial sector stability.

While the Central Bank of Syria has always been, on paper, an independent institution, under Assad's regime the bank's policy decisions were de facto determined by the government.

Syria's central bank, Sabreen added, was also looking at ways to expand Islamic banking further to bring in Syrians who avoided using traditional banking services.

"This may include giving banks that provide traditional services the option to open Islamic banking branches," Sabreen, who has served for 20 years at the bank, told Reuters from her office in bustling central Damascus.

Limited access to international and domestic financing meant the Assad government used the central bank to finance its deficit, stoking inflation.

Sabreen said she is keen for all that to change.

"The bank wants to avoid having to print Syrian pounds because this would have an impact on inflation rates," she said.

Asked about the size of Syria's current foreign exchange and gold reserves, Sabreen declined to provide details, saying a balance sheet review was still underway.

Four people familiar with the situation told Reuters in December that the central bank had nearly 26 tons of gold in its vaults, worth around $2.2 billion, some $200 million in foreign currency and a large quantity of Syrian pounds.

The Central Bank of Syria and several former governors are under US sanctions imposed after former Assad’s violent suppression of protests in 2011 that spiraled into a 13-year civil war.

Sabreen said the central bank has enough money in its coffers to pay salaries for civil servants even after a 400% raise promised by the new administration. She did not elaborate.

Reuters reported that Qatar would help finance the boost in public sector wages, a process made possible by a US sanctions waiver from Jan. 6 that allows transactions with Syrian governing institutions.

INFLATION CHALLENGE

Analysts say stabilizing the currency and tackling inflation will be Sabreen's key tasks - as well as putting the financial sector back on a sound footing.

The Syrian currency's value has tumbled from around 50 pounds per US dollar in late 2011 to just over 13,000 pounds per dollar on Monday, according to LSEG and central bank data.

The World Bank in a report in spring 2024 estimated that annual inflation jumped nearly 100% year-on-year last year.

The central bank is also looking to restructure state-owned banks and to introduce regulations for money exchange and transfer shops that have become a key source of hard currency, said Sabreen, who most recently oversaw the banking sector.

Assad's government heavily restricted the use of foreign currency, with many Syrians scared of even uttering the word "dollar".

The new administration of de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa abolished such restrictions and now locals wave wads of banknotes on streets and hawk cash from the backs of cars, including one parked outside the central bank's entrance.

To help stabilize the country and improve basic services, the US last week allowed sanctions exemptions for humanitarian aid, the energy sector and sending remittances to Syria, although it reiterated the central bank itself remained subject to sanctions.

Sabreen said allowing personal transfers from Syrians abroad was a positive step and hoped sanctions would be fully lifted so banks could link back up to the global financial system.