Industry Update

Thomas Cook has said it is "focused on completing" a rescue deal amid reports that some lenders could vote against the terms of the agreement. The troubled travel firm is understood to be in last minute negotiations with bondholders to approve a takeover by Chinese firm Fosun Tourism. The deal needs the backing of three quarters of bondholders to succeed. Thomas Cook wants to delay a meeting with them to give it more time to negotiate, the Financial Times said. Thomas Cook 'racing to finalize rescue deal'.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49707230

Islamic banking will grow substantially in Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries in the next five years from a very low base, driven by government initiatives to nurture the sector according to a report by global rating agency Moody’s. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are set to lead this expansion of Islamic banking,” said Svetlana Pavlova, AVP-Analyst at Moody’s. “These countries have large Muslim populations, and are notable for their governments’ commitment and progress in establishing better legal and regulatory infrastructure for Islamic finance.” Source: https://gulfnews.com/business/banking/cis-is-the-next-frontier-for-islamic-banking-expansion-moodys-1.65827299

Softbank Vision Fund shed 4.9 million shares of high-flying Guardant Health Inc. as the fund’s other investments faced valuation and regulatory turmoil. The Guardant shares were sold for $77 a piece on Wednesday, according to a Friday filing. That’s below the cancer-testing company’s record-high close of $110.30 in August, but still a hefty hike from last year’s $19 initial public offering price. The fund remains Guardant’s largest holder with more than 20 million shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-14/softbank-fund-sheds-guardant-shares-as-other-investments-drubbed?srnd=premium-europe

Bank of America Corp., the biggest underwriter of state and local government debt, isn’t worried that municipal-bond yields will turn negative, even if they do in other parts of the U.S. fixed-income markets. Bond yields have been plunging fast, making it seem possible that American investors could actually wind up paying governments to lend them money -- as is already happening in Japan and much of Europe because of the escalating trade war with China, concerns about slowing global growth and stock market volatility. The yield on 10-year Treasuries has dropped to about 1.55%, with those on tax-free debt about a quarter percentage point less. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-16/negative-muni-bond-yields-bank-of-america-says-no-way?srnd=markets-vp

UAE teleco du on Sunday announced the appointment of Johan Dennelind as its new CEO, replacing Osman Sultan, who was at the helm for almost 14 years. Johan will take up his appointment in early 2020. Johan brings 25 years' experience in the telecommunication/internet industry. Recently he has been the Group CEO of Telia Company, the largest Nordic telecoms operator and one of the largest internet carriers in the world, with 8 billion Euro revenues and operating across 7 countries; which has 25 million customers and over 21,000 employees.

Source: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/local/johan-dennelind-replaces-osman-sultan-as-new-du-ceo

The Turkish Armed Forces Assistance Fund (known as Oyak) says it plans to take over British Steel, which employs 5,000 people, by the end of the year. British Steel owns the Scunthorpe steel works where 3,000 people work and it employs another 800 on Teesside. But the firm was put into compulsory liquidation in May after rescue talks with the government broke down. Another 20,000 jobs in the supply chain were put at risk by the collapse of the talks between the government and British Steel's owner, Greybull, prompting a parliamentary inquiry. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49368217

Home-sharing company Airbnb Inc.’s most-recent financial data shows its strong cash position and a first-quarter growth rate above 30%, both key metrics that will draw investors as the startup positions itself to go public next year. The San Francisco-based travel company had about $3.5 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of March 31, according to multiple people familiar with Airbnb’s finances. Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnbs-first-quarter-financials-show-strong-growth-rate-cash-reserves-11565998183

Softbank Group Corp. is planning to lend as much as $20 billion to its employees to buy stakes in its second venture capital fund following the success of an earlier $100 billion fund to invest in tech startups, the Wall Street Journal reported. The second Vision Fund aims to raise $108 billion, Softbank said earlier. In addition to its employees, it’s also expected to collect money from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Foxconn Technology Group and the sovereign wealth fund of Kazakhstan. It’s also won support from Japanese financial institutions, with seven identified as signing memorandums of understanding to participate. Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-08-17/softbank-to-lend-employees-up-to-20-billion-for-fund-wsj-says?srnd=premium-europe

Despite a 0.7% drop in tourists during the first half of the year, Kenya is expecting to grow tourist numbers by 10% compared with last year and reach 2.2 million by the end of 2019, says Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Najib Balala. The number of international visitors in the first half of this year was 921 090, a 0.7% drop compared with 927 797 in the same period last year. Arrivals from Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, India and South Africa dropped in the first half, partly due to the January 15 Dusit D2 terrorist attack. Source: http://www.tourismupdate.co.za/article/194363/Kenya-expecting-2-2m-tourists-in-2019

Dubai welcomed 8.36 million international overnight visitors in the first six months of 2019, up 3 percent compared to the same period last year, according to official figures. According to Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), India was the largest source market with 997,000 visitors despite severe air traffic and seat capacity challenges due to geopolitical volatilities. The second largest feeder market was Saudi Arabia which delivered 755,000 visitors, followed by the UK which delivered 586,000 travellers despite a devalued British Pound and concerns surrounding Brexit. Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/travel-hospitality/425925-dubai-attracts-836m-tourists-in-first-half-of-2019-up-3