Sunday, 26th July
2015
Note: News U Wish to Read is a daily
press review compiled and only covers articles published in the press,
in the UAE, India and world around. Its purpose is to keep us informed of
important news items which we all wish to not miss. Enjoy reading the below news items and links. More
sections will come as it take shape and interest. Your response to this
initiative is highly appreciated.
Energy
Iran seeks $85 billion investment for
petrochemicals sector
thenational.ae
Iran is looking for
US$85 billion in investment for its petrochemicals sector and aims to increase
production by a third this year. Moayed Sadr Hossein, the chairman of the
Iranian parliament’s petrochemical subcommittee, was quoted as saying by the
official Fars news agency yesterday that the country needs such an investment,
some of which has already been earmarked for this year. Of all the country’s
export sectors, the petrochemicals one is expected to get the quickest boost
from the agreement to lift nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, which was reached
earlier this month by the United States and five other countries involved in
negotiations. The government’s National Development Fund of Iran has already
committed $5bn to the sector, and a further $2.5bn is needed to boost
production from 45 million tonnes annually to 60 million tonnes, according to
Abbas Shari Moqaddam, the head of National Petrochemical Company (NPC). NPC had
previously targeted a production rate of at least 50 million tonnes annually by
next March.
Published: 26th
July 2015
UAE’s move to axe fuel subsidies a long-term
gain that will outweigh short-term pain
thenational.ae
Motorists may
wince, but the UAE’s move to remove subsidies on fuel prices has long been
expected. Paradoxically, falls in global oil prices made it inevitable. And the
possible short-term pain is more than outweighed by the long-term benefits for
national development and the environment. UAE petrol and diesel prices are set
by the government, and, despite an increase in 2010, have been well below
global levels. This leads to large losses for the government-owned retailers
Enoc, Adnoc and Emarat. Adnoc has the advantage of producing its own oil, but
Enoc and Emarat have to buy theirs on the open market. Fuel prices have not
exactly been “deregulated”, as reports had it – they will still be set monthly
by a government committee, but now will follow global price levels. I have long
advocated this move, but the timing is good. The fall in global oil prices puts
stress on government budgets across the Arabian Gulf, encouraging governments
to search for savings. It also means that fuel prices will not increase by much
initially. Current pre-tax US prices for regular petrol are about Dh2.20 per
litre, implying that UAE prices could rise about a quarter from the current
Dh1.72 per litre level. With petrol comprising about 3 to 4 per cent of an
average UAE family budget, that suggests that the fuel price increase could
lead to a one-off increase in inflation of just under one percentage point. The
overall inflation rate was 4.2 per cent last month. On the other hand, diesel
prices could actually fall. The standard price outside Abu Dhabi is at Dh3.42
per litre, well above US pre-tax rates of about Dh2.26 per litre. Diesel, used
in buses and lorries, is the main influence on commercial transport rates, and
hence affects the prices of goods in shops.
Published: 26th July
2015
Oil price sentiments are still downbeat
Gulfnews.com
They could remain
so given that higher Iranian supply will only come by late 2016. The oil market
is languishing and the trend is downward judging by the movement of benchmark
crude prices. The price of Opec’s basket of crude oils posted $53.79 a barrel
on July 20, down from $64.96 on May 6. Brent crude oil prices posted $56.67 a
barrel, down from $69.63 during the same period. The reasons are many. Most
importantly, concerns about more than 2 million barrels a day (mbd) of
oversupply is what really matters. Opec production is now 31.7 mbd according to
IEA and 31.4 mbd according to Opec, which is well above the ceiling of 30 mbd
decided by the organization. Production in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE rose last
month. Other factors weighing on oil prices are the Greek crisis and its
possible impact on growth in the Eurozone. Even the EU bailout deal may not be
met with a popular acceptance for its severe austerity measures. The relative
slowdown in China may not only impact oil demand but also the filling of
China’s strategic petroleum reserves.
Published: 26th July
2015
Politics &
Economy
Abu Dhabi economy grows 2.2% thanks to
diversification
thenational.ae
Abu Dhabi’s economy
grew at an estimated 2.2 per cent last year despite the collapse in oil prices
as its diversification efforts paid off, according to a report from Statistics
Centre Abu Dhabi. The emirate, the world’s eighth-biggest producer of oil, said
its GDP rose to Dh952.6 billion in 2014 from Dh931.7bn in 2013, when GDP rose
2.4 per cent. The share of non-oil activities in GDP at constant prices
increased to 49.5 per cent in 2014 from 38.7 per cent in 2004. Away from oil,
construction was the biggest contributor to growth. Construction had a 9.6 per cent
share of non-oil GDP, while finance and insurance accounted for 7.2 per cent of
the non-oil economy. Crude oil, the lifeblood of many economies in the region,
fell more than 50 per cent last year amid a drop in demand from emerging
markets such as China, the world’s second-largest economy, and an increase in
production in the US. The UAE’s federal government relies on oil revenues to
fund more than 60 per cent of its budget. Despite that drop, the UAE economy is
estimated to have grown more than 4 per cent last year. As a result of the oil
slump, many economists – including those at HSBC, Standard Chartered and the
IMF – have lowered their growth forecasts for Arabian Gulf countries this year.
The IMF cut its estimate of the UAE’s GDP growth to 3.2 per cent. In January,
the ratings agency Moody’s estimated that Abu Dhabi’s economic growth rate
would slow this year – to below 3 per cent.
Published: 25th
July 2015
UAE residents fear rising cost of living
thenational.ae
The increase in
fuel prices will further exacerbate the rising cost of living, which could
result in people being forced to consider leaving the UAE, expatriates
said. Although residents welcomed moves
by the Government to deregulate the cost of petrol as a means of reducing the
number of gas-guzzling 4x4s on the road and force motorists to downgrade to
more fuel-efficient cars, they are worried about the effect the increase will
have on their finances. “People move to
Dubai for many reasons, but one of them is for the low fuel costs,” said South
African mother-of-two Ilse Onderweegs, who had noticed the cost of living
rising month by month, from groceries to childcare and schooling. “If things
increase much more we will have to re-assess if it is worth staying. At the
moment it is getting harder. “Over the years costs have increased dramatically
– increased fuel prices will mean increases in flight tickets and food, because
most things need to be imported to the UAE. “My kids are both in school from
September. I will need to do more lifts and club together with other parents
that live close by. “It will also mean the kids will be restricted to fewer
school activities. Schooling is already very expensive in Dubai.”
Published: 23rd
July 2015
Forget about investing in glittering gold for
now
Gulfnews.com
In the backdrop of
rising interest rates in the United States and thereby stronger dollar, much
more downside is expected in the yellow metal.
Gold seems to have lost favour among investors, in the backdrop of
rising interest rates in the United States and therefore a stronger dollar.
Much more downside is expected in the yellow metal, analysts say, which could
push more investors away from the non-dividend paying asset. International spot
gold has continued its rout, and on Thursday it extended losses for a tenth
straight session, it’s biggest since 1996. Gold was at $1,100 (Dh4,037) an
ounce, down $300 from levels seen in 2013. However, the current rout was
triggered after China on July 17 disclosed that their reserves were up by 60
per cent at $1,658 as of end of June, much lower than analysts expectations.
“The [China] news disappointed the market as people thought they had bought
more gold because their share of gold of total currency reserves were pretty low,”
Carsten Menke, commodity analyst with Bank Julius Baer & Co told Gulf News
from Zurich. “On Monday morning, after Asian trading started we had a huge fall
in gold price. The speed and magnitude pointed to short selling by hedge funds
in Asia,” Menke said. A more significant technical development was that the
sell-off on July 20 was preceded by large redemptions from gold ETFs, almost
504,000 ounces were withdrawn from global gold ETF’s on July 17, the largest
one-day decrease since July 2013, said Cesar Perez, Global Head of Investment
Strategy, J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
Published: 25th
July 2015
'61,000 Indian millionaires shifted overseas
in last 14 yrs'
TimesofIndia
India has seen the
second-biggest outflow of high net worth individuals in last 14 years, with as
many as 61,000 millionaires shifting base to abroad due to reasons like tax,
security and child education, says a report. A joint report by New World Wealth
and LIO Global said the change in domicile, along with a rise in second
citizenship applications, has increased dramatically since the turn of the
century. Some 61,000 uber-rich Indians
have changed domicile between 2000 to 2014 -- second only to China which saw an
outflow of 91,000 ultra-rich persons in the same period, the report said.
"Indian HNWIs tend to move to the UAE, the UK, the US and Australia,"
the report said, adding that Chinese HNWIs mainly moved to the US, Hong Kong,
Singapore and the UK. Overall, the UK has seen the biggest inflow of HNWIs from
abroad and the figure stood at 1.25 lakh over the past 14 years. Other countries that saw significant HNWI
outflows include France (42,000), Italy (23,000), Russia (20,000), Indonesia
(12,000), South Africa (8,000) and Egypt (7,000). The factors of the outflow,
according to the report, include turmoil in home country, security concerns and
optimising education of children. Most of the HNWIs who moved into the UK came
from Europe, Russia, China and India. There were also substantial numbers that
came from the Middle-East and Africa, the report added. In terms of inflows of
HNWIs, the UK was followed by the US and Singapore.
Published: 26th
July 2015
Community,
Environment & Society
Tough UAE social media law could see expats
deported for saving someone’s photo
Thenational.ae
Phone and computer
users have been warned against falling foul of the 2012 law against
cybercrime. Simply possessing on an
electronic device a photo taken without the subject’s consent is an offence for
which expatriates could be deported, a leading prosecutor said. Mohammed Al
Dhanhani, head of the family prosecution service in Abu Dhabi, also said more
people were being ordered to leave the country because they had insulted their
spouse on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.
Article 21 of the Federal Decree No 5/2012 on combating cybercrimes
One is punished by
a jail sentence of no less than six months and a fine that is of no less than
Dh 150,000 and not more than Dh 500,000 or by
either of those two punishments whoever uses an information network or
automated information system or one of the information technology methods to
attack the privacy of a person in the unwarranted circumstances legally by one
of the following methods:
1. Eavesdropping,
intercepting, recording or disclosing conversations, communications, audio and
video material.
2. Taking
photographs of others, creating electronic photos of others, disclosing,
copying or saving them.
3. Publishing news,
electronic photographs or photographs or scenes, comments, data and information
even if they are authentic.
Is it also
punishable by a jail sentence of no less than one year in and a fine of no less
than Dh 250,000 and no more than Dh 500,000 or by one
of those two punishments, whoever uses an automated information system or one
of the information technology methods to conduct an amendment or an edit to a
recording or picture or scene, with the intention to defame or offend another
person, or to breach their privacy.
Published: 19th
July 2015
All you need to know about passport renewal
in UAE
Gulfnews.com
Some missions can
issue a passport within minutes, others within days, others in weeks or
months. How long does it take to renew
your passport here in the UAE? Days? Weeks? Months? Minutes? Yes, apparently in
one case, it could take a few minutes, Gulf News has learnt. Getting a new
passport can be arduous for some residents, especially those who need to travel
and forgot to renew their travel documents. While some have to take a day off
work to apply for a new passport and receive it days or weeks later, there are
those who can get their actual ordinary passport within minutes, and yet others
within three business days.
Published: 25th
July 2015
Passport issuance of different missions in
UAE
Gulfnews.com
Different missions
have different policies that influence the processing time and delivery of
passports.
DISCLAIMER: The
TIME mentioned below takes into consideration the actual processing of the
passport, issuance and, in some cases, delivery. This is not an exhaustive list
as there are many more foreign missions in the UAE.
1) ITALY
Time: 20 minutes
Validity: 10 years
Cost: Dh485
2) INDIA
Time: Minimum 7
working days (Dubai-issued passport)
Minimum 3 working
days for passports under Tatkal scheme (Urgent or emergency cases)
Validity: 5-10
years
Cost: Dh337 (36
pages); Dh432 (60 pages Jumbo passport)
Published: 25th
July 2015
Of ethics & value systems
Economictimes.com
By Peter Drucker
To be able to
manage yourself, you finally have to ask, “What are my values?” This is not a
question of ethics. With respect to ethics, the rules are the same for
everybody, and the test is a simple one. I call it the mirror test. In the
early century, the most highly respected diplomat was the German ambassador in
London. He was clearly destined for great things—to become his country’s
foreign minister, at least, if not its federal chancellor. Yet in 1906 he
abruptly resigned rather than preside over a dinner given by the diplomatic
corps for Edward VII. The king was a notorious womaniser and made it clear what
kind of dinner he wanted. The ambassador is reported to have said, “I refuse to
see a pimp in the mirror in the morning when I shave.” That is the mirror test.
Ethics require you ask yourself, “What kind of person do I want to see in the
mirror in the morning?” Ethics is only part of a value system—especially of an
organisation’s value system. To work in an organisation whose value system is
unacceptable or incompatible with one’s own condemns a person both to
frustration and to nonperformance. Organisations, like people, have values. To
be effective in an organisation, a person’s values must be compatible with the
organisation’s values. They do not need to be the same, but they must be close
enough to coexist.
Published: 25th
July 2015
Technology
Etihad performs a perfect flight
Thenational.ae
It is easy to imagine
a perfect flight: watching our favourite film on the entertainment system,
having an empty seat next to us so we can stretch out and enjoying the view
from the window as we land. For
airlines, a perfect flight is very different, it involves maximising efficiency
to save time and fuel and, in doing so, cutting the carbon footprint. On May
24, Etihad Airways operated just such a perfect flight, a special Boeing 787
Dreamliner service from the carrier’s Abu Dhabi base to Washington DC. By
altering ascent and descent, perfecting the route, optimising ground handling
and other measures, the 13-and-a-half-hour flight saved 4,100 litres of fuel
and 10.7 tonnes of carbon emissions. Achieving this required collaboration with
30 services, from ground handling to air navigation.
Published: 25th
July 2015
UAE insurance company launches car breakdown
app
Thenational.ae
An insurance
company has launched a road assistance mobile application for reporting a car
breakdown. The AssistPal app has been launched by Oman Insurance Company to
offer its motor insurance customers services such as tyre changes, battery jump
starts and roadside recovery. AssistPal will send the vehicle’s exact location
via the phone’s GPS feature. “Once help
is on the way, drivers can track the real-time location of the assigned service
provider on the map,” said Haris Mylonas, executive vice president at OIC’s
consumer division. The app’s release follows the signing of a new contract
between OIC and the International Travel Assistance Company, which will provide
roadside and travel assistance to OIC customers.
Published:
21st July 2015
Sports – Campaign
PASS
Campaign PASS (Promote All
Sports Simultaneously) is an initiative started through my blog to promote all
sports(other than cricket – which gets lot of attention) and sports personnel
associated to give them more exposure.
We could have avoided hockey mess if
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore had been sports minister
Economictimes.com
Independent India’s
first winner of an individual Olympic silver medal should have been the
county’s minister of state (MoS) for sports and not for information and
broadcasting. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the silver medallist for double-trap
shooting at the 2004 Athens Olympics, would have known the effort required to
perform at the highest level in international sports. He would not have let
egocentric officials like Hockey India (HI) chief Batra run amok, sacking the
very coaches who were successfully striving to get India back to its Olympic
best.
Published: 25th
July 2015
Hope you enjoyed reading
the above news items and links. More sections will come as it take shape and
interest. Your response to this initiative is highly appreciated.
Regards,
Ramesh Menon, Abu
Dhabi
26th July 2015
