Maan Al Sanea, the Saudi Arabian financier, has decided to open talks with international creditors over US$3 billion of debt in dispute since the collapse of the Al Gosaibi business empire in 2009.
Mr Al Sanea, who is related to the Al Gosaibi family by marriage but estranged since the crash, published a notice in a Saudi newspaper on September 17, calling on creditors to register claims against his Saad Trading business.
“The company invites financial institutions that have claims against the company to send the details of such claims [via email]. Following the receipt of such information, the creditors will be notified of a meeting appointment as soon as possible to discuss these claims,” the advertisement said.
Mr Al Sanea’s legal representative and public relations spokesman declined to comment. But a source familiar with the situation confirmed that the notice had been placed by Saad Trading and was the beginning of a process to reach settlement in the Middle East’s longest-running business dispute.
In 2009, the business of Ahmed Hamad Al Gosaibi and Brothers (Ahab) was forced to the brink of bankruptcy after two Bahrain banks owned by the partnership failed to repay debts. Ahab alleged fraud, forgery and theft by Mr Al Sanea leading up to the collapse. He has consistently denied all these allegations.
It is believed that Mr Al Sanea’s businesses – in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands – owe about $9bn to creditors. The offer to open talks with creditors relates to the approximately 30 per cent of that which is held by the Saudi operation.
The notice is also an attempt to define the current extent of Saad Trading liabilities, and the identities of creditors. The debt has been heavily traded in international markets over the past six years as original bank creditors sold out and wrote down their liabilities. Creditors include Saudi financial institutions, with whom Mr Al Sanea reached an agreement early in the saga, warding off further action by creditors in the kingdom. But he has steadfastly refused to deal with international banks, which are among the Saad Trading creditors.
The source said the notice was a genuine attempt to initiate a settlement process. “It has just gone on for too long, and all parties are beginning to recognise that,” he said.
The Al Gosaibi and Al Sanea families have been banned from travel outside Saudi Arabia since the affair broke, and their financial and business activities have been severely curtailed.
The source also indicated that there had been pressure from the Saudi government, under financial pressure following the sharp decline in oil prices, to settle the dispute, which has been widely regarded as damaging to the kingdom’s reputation in global banking circles.
The affair led to a rash of legal actions against Ahab and Saad Trading. A case in New York was dropped after an American judge decided it should be heard in Saudi Arabia. Last month, a Swiss prosecutor announced it had halted a six-year investigation against Saad Trading businesses in the country.
However, legal actions are ongoing in Bahrain and the Cayman Islands, where Mr Al Sanea had significant operations and where most of his debts are located. Earlier this year, investment vehicles owned by Awal Bank, one of the Bahrain banks that collapsed in 2009, filed for bankruptcy protection in the US courts.
However, Mr Al Sanea’s olive branch to creditors could be just the start of a long process of negotiation. Ahab, which has been talking to creditors since 2010, said in June that creditor representatives had approved a plan to repay a guaranteed minimum of 28 cents on the dollar of their $6bn of debts.
fkane@thenational.ae
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WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Rebel%20Moon%20%E2%80%93%20Part%20Two%3A%20The%20Scargiver%20review%20
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Company%20Profile
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'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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TCL INFO
Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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