Day: July 12, 2021

ABU DHABI, The value of Abu Dhabi’s foreign trade of foodstuffs amounted to AED7.51 billion during the first five months of 2021, reflecting Emirate’s maintain its commercial activity levels, according to data issued by the General Administration of Customs in Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi Customs).

In terms of foodstuff trade, the number of customs transactions reached 72,918 (66,389 by land, 4,290 by air, 2,239 by sea) during the first five months, recording an increase of 61 percent when compared to 62,906 transactions during the same period in 2020. The size of traded foodstuffs reached about 1.74 million tonnes, comprising 998,179 tonnes of imports and 414,689 tonnes of exports, and 330,233 tonnes of re-exports.

Abu Dhabi’s total value of foreign trade in foodstuffs included imports with a value exceeding AED 3.14 billion, exports with a value of AED 2.88 billion, a growth of 11 percent compared to AED 2.60 billion during the same period of 2020, and re-exports with a value of AED 1.5 billion, a growth of 5 percent compared to AED 1.42 billion.

Saudi Arabia maintained its position as Abu Dhabi’s largest strategic partner in the foodstuff trade sector, trading around AED 3.37 billion, a growth of 3 percent compared to AED 3.29 billion during the same period of 2020.

Kuwait ranked second with a total foodstuff trade value of AED 804.59 million, a growth of 20 percent compared to AED 671.16 million during the same period of last year, followed by Yemen with AED 626.14 million, Bahrain with AED 348.62 million, Jordan with AED 314.60 million, Oman with AED 274.16 million, and Spain with AED 184.42 million.

The data revealed that dairy and livestock products are the most traded segment, amounting to AED 1.868 billion of Abu Dhabi’s total foodstuff trade, followed by its fruits and citruses trade, which reached AED 938.54 million.

Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Customs, said that Abu Dhabi Customs is continuing its efforts to promote and facilitate food trade movement in Abu Dhabi through employing highly qualified Emirati professionals, as well as digital customs services, to meet the needs of all traders, especially in the foodstuffs sector, in line with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership to enhance food security in the UAE.

He added that Abu Dhabi Customs, in collaboration with the strategic partners, is bolstering its efforts to ensure the safety of foodstuffs and their compliance with health conditions through facilitating the timely clearance of all shipments to ensure fast access to markets, in line with the highest quality standards.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, An Arbitral Tribunal of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) has ruled against Djibouti’s port company, Port de Djibouti S.A. (PDSA), in its dispute with DP World, confirming the unlawfulness of its effort to terminate its Joint Venture Agreement and transfer its shares to the State.

PDSA is 23.5 percent owned by China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd of Hong Kong (China Merchants), and the rest of its shares are held by the Government of Djibouti.

On 23 February 2018, the Government illegally seized control of the Doraleh Container Terminal from DP World, who designed, built and operated the terminal following a concession awarded in 2006. Until the seizure, the Terminal was being managed under a joint venture between DP World and PDSA. In July 2018, PDSA unilaterally declared that its Joint Venture Agreement with DP World was terminated. PDSA also tried to remove DP World’s nominated directors from the joint venture company in an effort to seize control of that company. DP World approached the High Court of England & Wales and secured an injunction against PDSA to restrain it from doing so until the Tribunal had the opportunity to rule on the dispute. In an attempt to circumvent the effect of the injunction, PDSA attempted to transfer its shares in the joint venture to the Government of Djibouti, relying on an Ordinance issued by the President of Djibouti. DP World sued PDSA over these matters in the arbitration.

The Tribunal has now ruled that PDSA breached the Joint Venture Agreement by wrongfully attempting to terminate it, and by engaging in the attempted transfer of its shares to the Government. The Tribunal ruled that the Joint Venture Agreement was not terminated and remains in full force and effect. It also ruled that PDSA remains a shareholder in the joint venture, and its attempted transfer of its shares to the Government had no effect. The arbitration will now proceed to a second phase to decide the damages owed by PDSA to DP World. PDSA has also been ordered to reimburse DP World’s legal costs to date in the sum of GBP 1.7 million.

The new ruling is the seventh decision by an international court or tribunal in favour of DP World in its ongoing dispute with the Republic of Djibouti. It follows a ruling on 31 July 2018 by another LCIA Tribunal that the Concession Agreement over the Doraleh Container Terminal remains valid and binding notwithstanding the Government of Djibouti’s efforts to evade its contractual obligations, and a further ruling on 10 January 2020 ordering the Government to restore the Terminal to DP World. A third arbitration tribunal has also ordered the Government to pay damages of US$ 485.7 million to the joint venture company (in which DP World has a 1/3rd stake) over the breach of its exclusivity rights, due to the construction of the Doraleh Multipurpose Port and including certain unpaid royalties for container traffic handled at other ports in Djibouti. The Government of Djibouti has yet to comply with any of these rulings, and remains in breach of its international obligations.

DP World has reiterated that it will continue to pursue all legal means to defend its rights as shareholder and concessionaire in the Doraleh Container Terminal in the face of the Government’s blatant disregard for the rule of law and respect for binding commercial contracts. It has also highlighted that despite three years having passed, the Government is yet to come forward with any offer of compensation in an effort to find a negotiated settlement to the dispute.

The Doraleh Container Terminal, the largest employer and biggest source of revenue in the country, has operated at a profit every year since it opened, and has been found by an international tribunal and the English Commercial Court to have been a “great success” for Djibouti under DP World’s management.

DP World is a leading enabler of global trade and an integral part of the supply chain. It operates multiple yet related businesses – from marine and inland terminals, maritime services, logistics and ancillary services to technology-driven trade solutions.

With a portfolio of 81 operating marine and inland terminals supported by 148 business units in 60 countries across six continents with a significant presence in both high-growth and mature markets, the company enjoys strong relationships with governments around the world, working in partnership to strengthen economies through investment in infrastructure and the implementation of smart trade solutions.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, The Central Bank of the UAE announced that the Money Supply aggregate M1 increased by 0.3%, from AED 644.4 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 646.4 billion at the end of May 2021, according to monetary and banking developments for May 2021 The Money Supply aggregate M2 decreased by 0.3%, from AED 1462.5 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 1458.5 billion at the end of May 2021.

The Money Supply aggregate M3 also reduced by 0.8%, falling from AED 1764.8 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 1750.2 billion at the end of May 2021.

The increase in M1 was due to AED 2.4 billion rise in Monetary Deposits, overshadowing AED 0.4 billion fall in Currency in Circulation Outside Banks. M2 decreased due to an AED 6.0 billion reduction in Quasi-Monetary Deposits, superseding the increase in M1. M3 fell due to a reduced M2 and an AED 10.6 billion reduction in Government Deposits.

The Monetary Base expanded by 2.9 % rising from AED 430.8 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 443.4 billion at the end of May 2021. The main driving force behind this increase in the Monetary Base was 32.7% and 11.1% increases in Reserve Account and Certificates of Deposit & Monetary Bills, respectively. Currency Issued and Banks & OFCs’ Current Accounts & Overnight Deposits of Banks at CBUAE fell by 1.2% and 28.6%, correspondingly.

Gross banks’ assets, including bankers’ acceptances, rose by 0.4%, increasing from AED 3169.3 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 3182.0 billion at the end of May 2021.

Gross credit decreased by 0.7% falling from AED 1763.2 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 1751.5 billion at the end of May 2021. Gross Credit fell because of 0.8% reduction in Domestic Credit, overriding 0.5% increase in Foreign Credit. The fall in Domestic Credit was mainly due to a 1.4%, 2.8%, 0.2% and 0.6% reductions in credit to Government Sector, credit to Public Sector (GREs), credit to Private Sector and credit to Non-Banking Financial Institutions, respectively.

Total bank deposits decreased by 0.1%, falling from AED 1877.3 billion at the end of April 2021 to AED 1874.6 billion at the end of May 2021, attributable to 0.4% reduction in Resident Deposits, overriding a 1.5% rise in Non-Resident Deposits. Resident Deposits fell mainly due to 1.2%, 0.1%, 0.2% and 1.7% reductions in Government Sector Deposits, GREs Deposits, Private Sector deposits and Non-Banking Financial Institutions’ Deposits, respectively.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed 79.6 percent of the Lusaily water reservoir, which has a storage capacity of 60 million imperial gallons (MIG). With investments totalling AED 175.4 million, the project is expected to be completed by the end of Q3 2021.

“DEWA works in line with its strategy to consolidate Dubai’s leading position as a role model in the effectiveness and efficiency of the electricity and water infrastructure to meet current and future development requirements in Dubai. We are currently building a reinforced concrete 60-million-gallon reservoir in Lusaily alongside the existing one, which stores 120 million gallons of desalinated water,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

Al Tayer said that DEWA is building another 120 MIG reservoir in Nakhali to increase the water flow and raise the volume of the Emirate’s water reserve. This meets the growing demand, supports the sustainable development of Dubai, and increases the efficiency and reliability of water networks, as well as increases the water storage capacity in Dubai to 1002 MIG by 2021 compared to the current capacity of 815 MIG.

Al Tayer noted that DEWA adopts the latest global technologies to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and manage all facilities and services in the Emirate through smart connected systems. This improves operational efficiency and reduces losses in the water transmission and distribution networks, which has decreased from 42 percent in 1988 to 5.1 percent, making it one of the lowest water losses worldwide.

Source: Emirates News Agency