ABU
DHABI, Feb 18 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates on Monday awarded
Raytheon Co. a 5.7 billion dirhams ($1.55 billion) contract to supply
its air force with platform systems to launch missiles, a UAE military
spokesman said.
The
agreement was signed at the week-long IDEX military exhibition in Abu
Dhabi and followed the award on Sunday of a 1.3 billion dirhams contract
to Raytheon to supply the UAE with patriot missiles.
The
UAE armed forces signed a total of 7.2 billion dirhams in contracts on
Monday, including 5.8 billion dirhams with international companies,
Brigadier General Mohammed al-Hassani said, speaking through a
translator.
The UAE has signed a total of 12 billion dirhams in contracts since the IDEX exhibition started on Sunday, he said.
Lockheed
Martin, Germany’s Diehl Defence, and Sweden’s Saab on Monday launched
at IDEX the Falcon air defence weapon system, billed as a replacement to
the Hawk system used by countries in the Middle East.
Falcon
was developed in response to a UAE request for a replacement for the
Hawk system and talks are underway to sell it to the Gulf state, Scott
Arnold, Lockheed Martin’s vice-president and deputy head of Integrated
Air and Missile Defense said.
Weapons
sales to the UAE have come under scrutiny over the past year due to the
country’s involvement in the Yemen war that has killed tens of
thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are leading a military coalition, which includes local forces drawn from Yemeni factions, that is trying to restore the internationally recognised government ousted from power in 2014 by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.
($1 US = 3.6728 UAE dirham)
(Writing by Alexander Cornwell. Editing by Jane Merriman)
DUBAI (Reuters) – A crackdown on corruption in Saudi Arabia has severely dented the kingdom’s private jet industry in a sign of the impact the campaign has had on private enterprise and the wealthy elite.
Dozens of planes, owned by individuals and charter companies and worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are stranded at airports across the kingdom including Riyadh and Jeddah, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Some were handed over to the state in settlements reached after the crackdown was launched in late 2017, when dozens of princes, businessmen and government officials were detained, they said.
Others belong to Saudis who either face travel bans or are reluctant to fly the planes because they are wary of displays of wealth that might be seen as taunting the government over the anti-corruption campaign, two of the sources said.
The government media office did not respond to requests for comment. The General Authority of Civil Aviation said questions on the impact of the anti-corruption drive on the private jet industry were outside its mandate, adding that its relationship with private aviation covers operations, safety and regulations.
The crackdown’s impact on the business community and private enterprise, which are already reeling from low oil prices and weakened consumer confidence, has shattered investor confidence and contributed to a sense of uncertainty around the policies of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The idle aircraft, which one of the sources estimated at up to about 70, include Bombardier (BBDb.TO) and Gulfstream jets, the sources said. There are also larger Airbus (AIR.PA) and Boeing (BA.N) aircraft that are more commonly associated with commercial airlines but are often used in the Middle East as private jets.
A Boeing 737 MAX or Airbus A320neo can cost up to $130 million (£102.1 million), though the final cost depends on how the jet is fitted out with technology and amenities, including private bedrooms, meeting rooms, and even gym equipment.
The number of registered private jets in Saudi Arabia stood at 129 as of December 2018 compared with 136 a year earlier, according to FlightAscend Consultancy data.
Private jets offer users flexibility as, unlike commercial airliners, they are not constrained by arrival and departure time slots. They also enable users to travel more discreetly.
UNDER THE RADAR
Saudi Arabia’s finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said last month the state had collected more than 50 billion riyals (£10.4 billion) from settlements reached under the crackdown.
Most of the detainees held at Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel last November were released after being exonerated or reaching financial settlements with the government, which said it aims to seize more than $100 billion in total in either cash or assets.
It is unclear how the government would transfer ownership of the jets grounded across Saudi Arabia as many are owned through offshore firms or are mortgaged, two of the sources familiar with the matter said.
Three of the sources said it was likely that the jets were still registered in the kingdom.
Two of the sources said the government could absorb the aircraft into existing fleets used by ministries and state-owned corporations. A third source said the government had been looking to set up its own private jet company made up entirely of seized aircraft.
The anti-corruption campaign launched by Prince Mohammed has won widespread approval among ordinary Saudis, partly because the government has said it will use some of the funds to finance social benefits.
Critics have said the purge was a power play by the prince as he moved to consolidate power in his hands.
There have been few private jet flights in Saudi Arabia over the past year, largely because there are fewer planes readily available, including for charter, three of the sources familiar with the matter said.
VistaJet Chief Commercial Officer Ian Moore compared it to the situation in China where an anti-corruption crackdown has also weakened the private jet market.
“It’s not really politically great to be seen flying privately at the moment, particularly owning your own aircraft,” he told Reuters.
Some wealthy Saudi elite are taking commercial airlines to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and other destinations and then chartering private jets to avoid government scrutiny, two of the sources said.
Plane manufacturers said the appetite for business jet sales in Saudi Arabia has dropped since the anti-corruption crackdown was launched in November 2017.
“Political instability does not help consumer confidence in any way, shape or form,” Embraer Executive Jets Chief Commercial Officer Stephen Friedrich told Reuters.
By Alexander Cornwell. Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Saeed Azhar and Timothy Heritage.
DUBAI/BEIJING, Jan 2 (Reuters) – Qatar Airways has acquired a 5 percent stake in China Southern Airlines, the state-owned Gulf carrier said on Wednesday, in a move to gain access to the fast-growing mainland Chinese market.
Qatar Airways also owns a 20 percent stake in British Airways-parent International Consolidated Airlines Group, 10 percent of South America’s LATAM Airlines Group SA , 49 percent of Italy’s Meridiana and 9.99 percent stake in Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific.
Qatar’s flagship airline has sought new partners and routes after it was blocked last year from flying to the lucrative markets of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates because of restrictions imposed by those countries.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, imposed a political and economic boycott on Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.
China Southern in a separate statement said Qatar Airways may consider increasing its stake in the airline in the next 12 months. Qatar had no previous investment in the Chinese airline.
Qatar Airways is the second foreign carrier that has a stake in China Southern, after American Airlines. The Chinese carrier left the Skyteam airline alliance at the start of the year.
There are opportunities for “us to work together and build a long term relationship in ways that would bring benefits to customers of both airlines,” said Qatar Airways’ Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker.
Ajith K, director of Asia transport at UOB Kay Hian, said given that China Southern is the biggest competitor of Cathay Pacific in Greater China, this deal could strengthen the China Southern’s position at the Hong-Kong carrier’s expense. “Why Qatar is doing this, seems to me, one of course is to gain access to the Chinese market. Secondly it’s probably that they are hedging against their bet given they own almost 10 percent in Cathay Pacific.”
(Reporting by Asma Alsharif and Saeed Azhar in Dubai and Stella Qiu in Beijing; editing by Louise Heavens)
DUBAI (Reuters) – Saudi Arabian airline SaudiGulf owner Al-Qahtani Aviation has signed an agreement to buy 10 Airbus (AIR.PA) A320neo family jets, Airbus said in a statement on Thursday.
The value of deal was not announced. It would be worth around $1.1 billion at list prices, though discounts are common.
The “commitment” was announced at the Bahrain International Airshow, which is taking place this week, Airbus said.
The parties did not immediately respond to questions about whether the deal was new or part of earlier Airbus announcements in which the buyer was not identified.
Reuters reported in July, citing sources, that SaudiGulf was behind an order for 10 A320neos that Airbus said during England’s Farnborough was for an undisclosed customer.
SaudiGulf President Samer Majali said the order would help the airline’s regional and international expansion.
SaudiGulf, based in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dammam, launched it 2016. It currently operates a fleet of six A320 jets.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; editing by Jason Neely)
