Joel Van Dusen, Group Head of Corporate & Investment Banking at Mashreq, said that since January 2021, Mashreq has facilitated $15.5 billion of sustainable finance and adaptation-related investments.

In a statement to Emirates News Agency (WAM), Dusen said that ESG is related to cash flow in five important ways. It minimises regulatory and legal intervention, increases employee productivity, optimises investment and capital expenditures, facilitates top-line growth by attracting customers through sustainable products and services, and reduces costs by, for example, lowering energy consumption.

He added that businesses and governments globally are increasingly recognising that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks and opportunities are fundamental to guarantee the long-term success of companies alongside the attraction of talent, the operating model, and their investors’ interests.

As such, ESG principles have become a core element to every company’s operations and supply chain, moving from a “nice to have” to a crucial element of business strategy, Dusen stated.

He noted, “The levels of scrutiny on environmental credentials that businesses face will only continue to increase. Demonstrating genuine and tangible ESG policies as well as a solid strategy to offer more sustainable products and services has therefore become paramount.”

Dusen highlighted that businesses that neglect or do not put the right strategies in place to improve their environmental impact – including Scope 3 emissions and the environmental footprint across their supply chain – risk damaging their reputation, facing greenwashing claims and losing market share.

“A business’s ESG performance can also impact stock prices, business valuations, and investor appetite, in turn affecting a company’s potential growth and funding opportunities,” he stated.

Dusen added that an increasing number of jurisdictions, including the UAE, are passing regulations requiring businesses to adopt and report on ESG metrics, with some markets – such as the European Union – also introducing tariffs for non-compliant companies and products.

Similarly, the digital transformation and the digitisation of processes are enabling better reporting, efficiency gains, and data capture and analysis. Latest generation of digital technologies such as the Cloud, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), which are already part of the business digitisation toolkit, can make enormous inroads in optimising energy consumption and supply chain efficiencies.

ESG is related to cash flow in five important ways. It minimises regulatory and legal intervention, increases employee productivity, optimises investment and capital expenditures, facilitates top-line growth by attracting customers through sustainable products and services, and reduces costs by lowering energy consumption.

The financial sector has an important commitment to make in supporting ESG adoption across the supply chain by developing financial solutions that help businesses achieve their ESG objectives. Green bonds are an excellent example of this, but it can also be extended to ESG-linked supply chain finance programmes that reward suppliers who meet specified targets with a lower cost of working capital.

Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, participated in the CII Partnership Summit 2023, which is being held in New Delhi, India, from 13th to 15th March under the theme “Partnerships for Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and Equitable Businesses”.

The Summit aims to facilitate the exchange of visions and ideas that can support sustainable development efforts and promote the use of technology in driving economic growth.

In his speech, Bin Touq said, “The historic ties between the UAE and India add a unique dimension to our economic partnership. Besides, both countries believe in the potential of fair and sustainable trade that is based on clear foundations and rules. India is one of the most vibrant economies worldwide today and has a wealth of resources, expertise and innovative ideas. Similarly, the UAE’s strengths include its global status as a leading trade, investment and business hub and a gateway to the Middle Eastern and African markets.”

The Minister of Economy added that the UAE reinforced its ability to serve as a strategic partner to India by establishing itself as a leading provider of logistics, financial services and technology. The UAE is India’s third-largest global trading partner today, while India is the second-largest.

He continued, “We are proud of the strong presence of Indian companies in the UAE, and strive to provide them with all enablers for growth and expansion in our markets. People-to-people ties add more value to our partnership, as the Indian diaspora in the UAE is the largest expatriate community in the country that continues to make great contributions to the development of our economy.

The UAE government has adopted an array of measures that have enhanced the resilience of our economy in the face of these challenges. These efforts have led to the establishment of an environment that fosters business growth and attracts investments, the minister elaborated.

These include the granting of 100 percent foreign ownership; issuance of a legislation to protect intellectual property; and the launch of an ambitious strategy to attract talent and skills in all sectors to enhance the UAE’s position as a permanent hub for creativity and innovation.

In addition, the UAE has also launched a set of pioneering initiatives such as the global Investopia platform to create opportunities and enable future investments. Also, the comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPA) under which the UAE has signed four agreements so far – with India, Israel, Indonesia and Turkey.

“Negotiations with more strategic markets are currently progressing,” the minister added.

He pointed out that the adoption of such forward-looking policies has enabled the UAE’s real GDP to grow by 7.6 percent in 2022. Besides, FDI inflows to the country amounted to US$171.6 billion, The country’s non-oil foreign trade also witnessed unprecedented growth as it crossed the AED2 trillion and AED233 billion mark for the first time in its history with a 17 percent year-over-year growth. This confirms the efficiency of the initiatives and strategies of the UAE government.

The Minister of Economy underlined the importance of the comprehensive economic partnership between the UAE and India, and its role in boosting trade flows between the two markets. The trade deal has cancelled or reduced customs duties by 90 percent on goods and commodities traded between both countries.

He explained that they cover nearly 95 percent of the value of commodities that each country imports from the other, which will accelerate the growth of non-oil trade to amount to US$100 billion per annum over the next five years.

 Emirates has boosted operations by 31 percent (total ASKMs) since the start of its financial year and has further plans to ramp up seat capacity in its latest published northern summer schedule starting 26th March 2023.

In the past months, the airline has planned and executed the rapid growth of its network operations – reintroducing services to 5 cities; launching flights to 1 new destination (Tel Aviv), adding 251 weekly flights onto existing routes; and continuing the roll-out of service enhancements in the air and on the ground.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Emirates continues to expand its global network and deploy its capacity to meet travel demand across the world. Our financial year started relatively quietly as we held back our ramp up until the planned northern runway rehabilitation program at Dubai International airport was completed in June. From July 2022 onwards, it’s been non-stop expansion.”

He added, “Customer demand has been very strong, and our forward bookings are also robust. Emirates is working hard on several fronts – to bring back operating capacity as quickly as the ecosystem can manage, while also upgrading our fleet and product to ensure our customers always enjoy the best possible Emirates experience. So far, 4 of our A380 aircraft have been completely refurbished with our new cabin interiors and Premium Economy seats, and more will enter service as our US$2 billion cabin and service enhancement program picks up pace.”

In the coming months, established routes to Europe, Australia and Africa will be served with more Emirates flights, while in East Asia, more cities are seeing route restarts.

Emirates continues to scale up its A380 operations with the reintroduction of the iconic double-decker across its network: Glasgow (from 26th March), Casablanca from (15th April), Beijing (from 1st May), Shanghai (from 4th June), Nice (from 1st June), Birmingham (from 1st July), Kuala Lumpur (from 1st August), and Taipei (from 1st August).

US markets – Bond yields declined sharply on Monday. 2-year treasury yields tumbled 38 basis points to 4.213%, marking their biggest two-day slide since 1987. Meanwhile, the 10-year treasury yields slipped 16.3 basis points to 3.542%. The collapse of Silicon Valley bank and Signature Bank spurred expectations of a slowdown in the pace of monetary policy tightening. This has led markets to eliminate the possibility of a 50-basis point rate hike in March. Nearly 96% of the traders are pricing in a 25-basis point interest rate decision. Most banking stocks traded lower in premarket trading on Monday. Meanwhile, the US Dollar index its heading for its worst three-day decline in two months. Investors now await the US CPI print for February due tomorrow. A hotter-than-expected print could lend support to the dollar. Sentiment towards US equities improved somewhat after US bank regulators said they’d not only make depositors whole at both ailing banks, but also provide a lending facility to backstop eligible US lenders. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured investors that her office would protect all depositors at SVB. Nonetheless, US indices erased early gains as investors sought the safety of bonds. Meanwhile, Wall Street’s fear gauge, namely, the Cboe Volatility index surged to its highest level so far this year.

European markets– The Stoxx Europe 600 index declined almost 3%, marking its biggest drop since December 2022. A gauge of banking stocks slipped 6% as HSBC Holdings tumbled 2% after its purchase of SVB’s UK unit. Meanwhile, trading in UniCredit was halted after its shares fell 4.9%. Shares of Credit Suisse plummeted 15%. The ECB is set to announce its interest rate decision on Thursday where investors are anticipating a 50-basis point interest rate hike.

Asian markets– Asian equities climbed higher during early trading on Monday after Goldman Sachs said the Fed was likely to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at its upcoming FOMC meeting in March. Nonetheless, the rally lost steam amidst growing concerns of the impact of high interest rates on banks’ balance sheets hurt sentiment. The MSCI Asia Pacific index declined 1.3%, reaching its lowest level since 20% in December. A gauge tracking Japan’s banking sector tumbled 4% on Monday following a decline of 5.4% on Friday. Meanwhile, China retained most of its members on the economic leadership team, including the governor of the central bank. This led investors to bet on policy continuity in the long run.

Thank you!

Gold prices rallied by more than 1% on Monday following fears of a fallout from the largest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crises.

Spot gold was up 0.6% at $1,878.54 per ounce, as of 0631 GMT. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest since Feb. 3 at $1,893.96.

Gold’s rally follows on from Friday’s bullish momentum where gold prices rallied by 2% after California regulators closed tech startup focused Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The sharp fall if the dollar index provided a tailwind for gold prices. Moreover, revised rates hike expectations for the Fed to be less aggressive have supported gold prices. Goldman Sachs said on Sunday it no longer expected the Fed to deliver a hike on March 22. Goldman had previously expected a 25 basis-point hike in March. On the other hand, Morgan Stanley continues to look for a 25 basis-point hike during the March FOMC meeting.

On a technical aspect, gold price has broken the 1875 barrier. Next resistance levels are 1900 followed by 1926. A close above 1875 will help to sustain the bullish momentum. Support levels are at 1864 and 1840. Only a close below 1836 can renew bear trend forces.

Gold prices in the UAE for the day are as follows:
24 Carat 227.75
22 Carat 211.00
21 Carat 204.25
18 Carat 175.00

The ADX General is falling for the fifth day, dropping 0.4%, or 40.12 to 9,787.67 in Abu Dhabi. Emirates Telecommunications Group Co. PJSC contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.8%. Emirates Insurance Co. had the largest drop, falling 9.9%. In midday trading, 24 of 62 shares fell, while 11 rose.

The DFM General Index is falling for the fifth day, dropping 1.3%, or 43.2 to 3,342.31 in Dubai. Commercial Bank of Dubai PSC contributed the most to the index decline and had the largest move, decreasing 8.9%. In midday trading, 18 of 35 shares fell, while 4 rose.

The Tadawul All Share Index is declining slightly to 10,376.93 in Riyadh. Al Rajhi Bank contributed the most to the index decline, decreasing 0.4%. Mobile Telecommunications Co. Saudi Arabia had the largest drop, falling 2.7%. In midday trading, 88 of 221 shares fell, while 111 rose; 8 of 20 sectors were lower, led by bank stocks.