Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum speaks at a conference.
Worst over for Dubai -Sheikh Mohammed
DUBAI - Dubai's ruler is not worried about debt restructuring and the United Arab Emirates will stay out of a planned Gulf monetary union, favouring a dollar peg, an interview transcript showed on Thursday.
The economy of the world's third largest oil exporter is expected to see the slowest growth in the Gulf region this year, with banks heavily exposed to a $23.5 billion restructuring of debt-laden state conglomerate Dubai World. When asked whether Dubai needed additional external support to proceed with current restructuring, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said: "I'm not worried about the company, the company have got the wealth."
"So they have something, and they will come back very very quickly," he said in a transcript of an interview with CNN to be aired on Friday.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president and prime minister of the UAE federation, did not say which company he was referring to in the transcript provided to Reuters.
Dubai World reached a deal in May with key banks after a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Abu Dhabi emirate but the remaining creditors still await the final terms.
A unit of another conglomerate Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, has said it might sell assets to deal with its debt after a $6.2 billion loss in 2009.
The loss increased challenges faced by Dubai Holding to meet its obligations, estimated at $14.8 billion out of a total $109 billion owed by the government of Dubai and its entities.
Sheikh Mohammed also indicated he was not concerned about economic challenges in the OPEC member country.
"No, Dubai and UAE, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the emirates are fine, you know, we know it is recession, we know it is (a) challenge and we dealing with it," he said. The second-largest Arab economy is seen expanding by 2.1 percent this year after an estimated 1.4 percent contraction in 2009, lagging behind its regional peers.
GULF UNION
Sheikh Mohammed also said rejoining a planned Gulf monetary union was not on the cards.
"The euro is in trouble and we thought of the Gulf currency and we said, well the UAE said 'not yet' and I think they are right, until we are sure," he said.
"So therefore now we will not change anything for the time being until we see something solid really and profitable," he added.
The UAE quit the plan to launch a single currency in the world's largest crude exporting region last year, after losing its bid to host a joint central bank to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom, the top Arab economy, plans a currency union with Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to boost trade and political leverage and better face the power of Iran.
But the project is now nearly a decade old and officials say the currency is not likely to be launched by 2015.
When asked whether the dollar peg served the country's interests well, Sheikh Mohammed echoed comments by other UAE officials: "Yes, yes and we still believe in the dollar."
The UAE as well as other Gulf oil producers with the exception of Kuwait, decided to peg their currencies to the greenback in
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Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ban on U.N. inspectors 'notice' to IAEA -Iran
UAE closes firms violating Iran sanctions
Iran bars two U.N. inspectors
TEHRAN - Iran said on Tuesday its barring of two nuclear inspectors serves as "notice" to the chief of the IAEA, but added Tehran was ready for talks with the UN atomic agency as suggested by France.
"This action (banning the inspectors from entering Iran) is in reality a regulatory notice to (Yukiya) Amano to be careful so that the agency's inspectors do not violate the international entity's charter," the official news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying in a state television interview.
"Amano should manage the agency professionally," he said, referring to the chief of the UN atomic body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On Monday, Iran announced it was barring two IAEA inspectors from entering the country, accusing them of filing a "false report" and "leaking information" about Tehran's nuclear programme which the West suspects masks a weapons drive.
The Islamic republic says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said that Tehran told the IAEA at its latest meeting that the inspectors had filed a "totally wrong report and the two be replaced with two other inspectors who can visit the country."
Iran's arch-foe Washington quickly criticised Tehran, saying the ban on the inspectors was "symptomatic of its longstanding practice of intimidating inspectors."
"Reducing cooperation with the IAEA will only deepen the world's concern with respect to its nuclear programme," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in Washington.
The ban on inspectors came less than a fortnight after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran after a resolution sponsored by the United States.
Top US lawmakers further pressured Iran on Monday as they reached a deal on a series of unilateral punitive measures against Tehran, separate from the UN sanctions.
The US legislation targets firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products -- like gasoline or jet fuel. Oil-rich Iran relies heavily on imports of petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capability.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities -- including Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and several banks -- shut out of the US financial system, according to a summary.
The European Union too has imposed separate sanctions against Iran.
But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose government backed the UN sanctions, has offered to hold talks with Iran at the IAEA over its atomic programme, including a proposed nuclear fuel swap deal.
Mottaki, in the same state television interview, welcomed Sarkozy's offer.
"We believe there are serious signs that France is willing to conduct an independent action," Mottaki said.
"We see this approach as positive. If there are more serious signs of such a will then Europe can enter a new phase of playing a greater role" in resolving Iran's nuclear issue, he said.
However, his ministry's spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said Sarkozy's offer "contradicts" the stance of the French government of backing the UN sanctions.
Sarkozy told his Russian counterpart at a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Saturday that France was ready "without delay" to hold talks with Iran in Vienna where the IAEA is based.
He reportedly said that the talks can address the fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey on May 17 and can also "restart negotiation between Iran and the six powers about the (overall) nuclear issue."
Talks between Iran and the six world powers -- Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany have been on the backburner since the fuel swap deal hit a deadlock.
The fuel deal, which is a counter proposal to last October's plan drafted by the IAEA, envisages Tehran sending 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey after which Iran would be supplied at a later date with 20 percent enriched uranium by Russia and France.
But this proposal has been cold-shouldered by the United States, France and Russia which have asked for further clarification.
Mehmanparast said Iran will "soon send its response" to their questions.
Iran bars two U.N. inspectors
TEHRAN - Iran said on Tuesday its barring of two nuclear inspectors serves as "notice" to the chief of the IAEA, but added Tehran was ready for talks with the UN atomic agency as suggested by France.
"This action (banning the inspectors from entering Iran) is in reality a regulatory notice to (Yukiya) Amano to be careful so that the agency's inspectors do not violate the international entity's charter," the official news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying in a state television interview.
"Amano should manage the agency professionally," he said, referring to the chief of the UN atomic body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On Monday, Iran announced it was barring two IAEA inspectors from entering the country, accusing them of filing a "false report" and "leaking information" about Tehran's nuclear programme which the West suspects masks a weapons drive.
The Islamic republic says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said that Tehran told the IAEA at its latest meeting that the inspectors had filed a "totally wrong report and the two be replaced with two other inspectors who can visit the country."
Iran's arch-foe Washington quickly criticised Tehran, saying the ban on the inspectors was "symptomatic of its longstanding practice of intimidating inspectors."
"Reducing cooperation with the IAEA will only deepen the world's concern with respect to its nuclear programme," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in Washington.
The ban on inspectors came less than a fortnight after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran after a resolution sponsored by the United States.
Top US lawmakers further pressured Iran on Monday as they reached a deal on a series of unilateral punitive measures against Tehran, separate from the UN sanctions.
The US legislation targets firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products -- like gasoline or jet fuel. Oil-rich Iran relies heavily on imports of petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capability.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities -- including Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and several banks -- shut out of the US financial system, according to a summary.
The European Union too has imposed separate sanctions against Iran.
But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose government backed the UN sanctions, has offered to hold talks with Iran at the IAEA over its atomic programme, including a proposed nuclear fuel swap deal.
Mottaki, in the same state television interview, welcomed Sarkozy's offer.
"We believe there are serious signs that France is willing to conduct an independent action," Mottaki said.
"We see this approach as positive. If there are more serious signs of such a will then Europe can enter a new phase of playing a greater role" in resolving Iran's nuclear issue, he said.
However, his ministry's spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said Sarkozy's offer "contradicts" the stance of the French government of backing the UN sanctions.
Sarkozy told his Russian counterpart at a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Saturday that France was ready "without delay" to hold talks with Iran in Vienna where the IAEA is based.
He reportedly said that the talks can address the fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey on May 17 and can also "restart negotiation between Iran and the six powers about the (overall) nuclear issue."
Talks between Iran and the six world powers -- Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany have been on the backburner since the fuel swap deal hit a deadlock.
The fuel deal, which is a counter proposal to last October's plan drafted by the IAEA, envisages Tehran sending 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey after which Iran would be supplied at a later date with 20 percent enriched uranium by Russia and France.
But this proposal has been cold-shouldered by the United States, France and Russia which have asked for further clarification.
Mehmanparast said Iran will "soon send its response" to their questions.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Flooding deaths rise to 132 in southern China
China landslide, floods kill 16
BEIJING- Massive flooding in southern China has killed 132 people and forced 860,000 to flee their homes, and more storms were forecast, the government said Sunday.
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains began June 13, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, the Ministry of Water Resources said in a news release.
While the death toll was up from 90 on Saturday, the number of evacuees was lower than the previous day's figure of 1.4 million.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
Thousands of houses have been destroyed and economic losses have topped 14 billion yuan, the ministry said.
More thunderstorms over the area were forecast from Sunday afternoon late into Monday, according to the official meteorological bureau.
State broadcaster CCTV aired images of rescues performed by boat, truck and helicopter.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslides and power outages and damaged highways.
The flooding follows the worst drought in a century for the southern provinces and regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. It left millions without drinking water and destroyed more than 12 million acres (5 million hectares) of crops
BEIJING- Massive flooding in southern China has killed 132 people and forced 860,000 to flee their homes, and more storms were forecast, the government said Sunday.
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains began June 13, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, the Ministry of Water Resources said in a news release.
While the death toll was up from 90 on Saturday, the number of evacuees was lower than the previous day's figure of 1.4 million.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
Thousands of houses have been destroyed and economic losses have topped 14 billion yuan, the ministry said.
More thunderstorms over the area were forecast from Sunday afternoon late into Monday, according to the official meteorological bureau.
State broadcaster CCTV aired images of rescues performed by boat, truck and helicopter.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslides and power outages and damaged highways.
The flooding follows the worst drought in a century for the southern provinces and regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. It left millions without drinking water and destroyed more than 12 million acres (5 million hectares) of crops
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