Liberty House, a privately-owned British industrial conglomerate with $15 billion (Dh55.09bn) in revenues, is in talks to snap up steel and aluminium assets in the UAE as it looks to expand its Middle East presence, a company official said.
“We are significantly advanced on two particular acquisitions and hope to make some announcement in the next year,” said Douglas Dawson, the chief executive of Liberty House Industries, a unit of the parent company. “We are keen to establish our industrial presence in the Middle East and what we are really doing in many ways is replicating our global strategy.”
Parent company Liberty House, which is part of the GFG Alliance owned by British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta, operates in over 30 countries. The London conglomerate is expanding aggressively in the steel and aluminium business from India to Luxembourg. In November, the company agreed to acquire three steel plants from ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel producer - two in Belgium and one in Luxembourg. In October, it agreed to further buy four steel facilities from ArcelorMittal in Romania, Czech Republic, Macedonia and Italy.
In November, the company completed the purchase of a French smelter, Aluminium Dunkerque, which is Europe’s biggest producer of lightweight metal from Anglo-Australian company Rio Tinto.
In 2017, Liberty acquired a speciality steel operation from Tata Steel UK, a unit of India's Tata Steel. It also has facilities in Australia and the United States.
Liberty House Industries expects its revenue to grow up to 20 per cent next year in the region if the acquisition in the UAE is finalised, said Mr Dawson.
“Despite some market challenges around the region, we have shown good growth in 2018 and we are looking at further growth in 2019,” he said. “The UAE is an area where we can see sustainable growth for the long-term and that is what drives us as an organisation.”
Liberty House Industries is already boosting the range of products it sells in the UAE, where it supplies materials to the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai Metro.
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Liberty House is expanding its steel business into the US
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“We think Expo 2020 is going to be a spring board for the region,” Mr Dawson added.
Most of their products are used in the oil and gas industries and construction in the region.
Liberty House Industries, whose biggest markets are Australia and Europe, is also expanding globally and is seeking acquisitions in Europe, the US and India.
“There are three key acquisitions we are looking on and we expect them to be successful and conclude in the first quarter next year,” he said. “If we are successful, revenue next year will be $20bn.”
US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports that were imposed this year, are unlikely to adversely affect the company, although the US is one of its big markets.
“We don’t have any concerns about tariffs,” Mr Dawson said. “Some of the products we export into the US, these products are of such quality and grade, that they are not made in the US. So tariffs are not impacting these products.”
The company is still planning initial public offerings for some of its subsidiaries, depending on the geography and size of these units.
“There may be opportunities for IPOing some individual parts of the business but not as an overall business,” he said.
“We are looking at various options there, depending on which jurisdiction we are in.”
City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
The five pillars of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
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The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The Sand Castle
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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
