A little good news can go a long way for the share price of even the healthiest company. So it proved for Dana Gas, when its shares resumed trading with a bang after the Eid Al Adha holiday.
The Sharjah-based energy firm’s arbitration settlement with the Kurdistan regional government (KRG), announced on Friday, was, to put it mildly, a positive boost for the company. The settlement terms will see the KRG pay Dana and its partners in the Pearl Consortium US$600 million immediately, with a further $400m allocated towards the consortium’s further development of the region’s Khor Mor and Chemchemal gas fields. A further $1.24bn will be recovered by the consortium from future revenues.
Dana shares, a traditional favourite of the UAE’s retail investment community, were unsurprisingly the runaway winners on an otherwise quiet day for UAE bourses. The shares rose 14 per cent at the open and maintained such heights throughout the day, closing at a joint high for the year of 73 fils.
Such a positive performance however should not obscure the challenges facing the company. The recent settlement will win a lot of love from Dana’s shareholders (for the moment at least). Its relationship with its sukukholders, however remain fraught.
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Dana Gas shares surge to highest this year thanks to $1bn KRG settlement
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The company’s dispute with creditors over $700m sukuk due to mature in October remains toxic, following Dana’s extraordinary claim that the sukuk are no longer Sharia-compliant due to changes in Islamic finance practice.
The company’s subsequent decision to attempt to push the sukuk restructuring through the Sharjah and London courts, at odds with the behind closed doors restructuring culture of the region, has not endeared it to creditors, or to the Islamic finance community in general.
The KRG settlement may in the end act as a positive catalyst for Dana’s restructuring negotiations, giving the company, in theory at least, the ability to sweeten its offer to creditors, who in turn will be more willing to extend terms, comforted by the prospect of more reliable revenue streams from its operations in territory.
Such a scenario remains very optimistic however, with the company just as likely to be emboldened by its recent victory. Dana’s shareholders may rejoice in the short-term, but the company’s issues seem destined to continue for a while longer.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
What is double taxation?
- Americans living abroad file taxes with the Internal Revenue Service, which can cost hundreds of dollars to complete even though about 60 per cent do not owe taxes, according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service
- Those obligations apply to millions of Americans residing overseas – estimates range from 3.9 million to 5.5 million – including so-called "accidental Americans" who are unaware they hold dual citizenship
- The double taxation policy has been a contentious issue for decades, with many overseas Americans feeling that it punishes them for pursuing opportunities abroad
- Unlike most countries, the US follows a citizenship-based taxation system, meaning that Americans must file taxes annually, even if they do not earn any income in the US.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”