Sheikh Khaled endorses Adnoc's plans to expand trading

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has endorsed Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's plans to expand its trading activities to support global energy security and boost the UAE’s position as an important player in global energy markets.

Sheikh Khaled, who visited Adnoc’s trading office at Abu Dhabi Global Market – the emirate's financial free zone – reviewed the achievements of company’s trading businesses, Adnoc Global Trading and Adnoc Trading.

He stressed on the role of Adnoc’s trading businesses in strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a global trading hub while supporting the country’s growth into new energy and further diversifying the economy to continue driving sustainable economic development, Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement on Monday.

Launched in December 2020, Adnoc Global Trading is a partnership with European oil services companies Eni and OMV. The business, which is 65 per cent owned by Adnoc, 20 per cent by Italy's Eni and 15 per cent by Austria's OMV, aims to commercialise Adnoc's refined products offering new delivery, pricing and hedging options to customers.

Over the past few years, Adnoc’s trading companies have unlocked “sizeable revenue streams” for the company, ADMO statement said.

Adnoc has also expanded its trading desks from refined products, such as gasoline, jet fuel, gas oil, naphtha and crude oil, to include liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, biofuels, sulphur and carbon. It helped Adnoc to capture new market share and support the Emirates’ growth into new energy.

Adnoc has also established active trading offices in Singapore, expanded its trading operations with offices in Europe and plans to extend its operations to the US.

During his tour of the trading floor, Sheikh Khaled also met Emirati commodity traders and he was briefed on how Adnoc is equipping UAE citizens with skills in international commodity trading through its trading academy.

Adnoc Global Trading and Adnoc Trading employ more than 100 Emiratis, who are responsible for core trading functions, including physical trading, chartering for own flows and third-party volumes and derivatives trading including hedging.

Adnoc Global Trading trades refined products from Adnoc and other sources to the market, while Adnoc Trading is focused on the trade of crude oil and LNG and is active on Ice Futures Abu Dhabi, an independent futures exchange for the trade of Murban Futures contract derivatives.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

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Tenet

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh

Rating: 5/5

Citizenship-by-investment programmes

United Kingdom

The UK offers three programmes for residency. The UK Overseas Business Representative Visa lets you open an overseas branch office of your existing company in the country at no extra investment. For the UK Tier 1 Innovator Visa, you are required to invest £50,000 (Dh238,000) into a business. You can also get a UK Tier 1 Investor Visa if you invest £2 million, £5m or £10m (the higher the investment, the sooner you obtain your permanent residency).

All UK residency visas get approved in 90 to 120 days and are valid for 3 years. After 3 years, the applicant can apply for extension of another 2 years. Once they have lived in the UK for a minimum of 6 months every year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residency (called Indefinite Leave to Remain). After one year of ILR, the applicant can apply for UK passport.

The Caribbean

Depending on the country, the investment amount starts from $100,000 (Dh367,250) and can go up to $400,000 in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take between four to five months to receive a passport.

Portugal

The investment amount ranges from €350,000 to €500,000 (Dh1.5m to Dh2.16m) in real estate. From the date of purchase, it will take a maximum of six months to receive a Golden Visa. Applicants can apply for permanent residency after five years and Portuguese citizenship after six years.

“Among European countries with residency programmes, Portugal has been the most popular because it offers the most cost-effective programme to eventually acquire citizenship of the European Union without ever residing in Portugal,” states Veronica Cotdemiey of Citizenship Invest.

Greece

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Greece is €250,000, making it the cheapest real estate residency visa scheme in Europe. You can apply for residency in four months and citizenship after seven years.

Spain

The real estate investment threshold to acquire residency for Spain is €500,000. You can apply for permanent residency after five years and citizenship after 10 years. It is not necessary to live in Spain to retain and renew the residency visa permit.

Cyprus

Cyprus offers the quickest route to citizenship of a European country in only six months. An investment of €2m in real estate is required, making it the highest priced programme in Europe.

Malta

The Malta citizenship by investment programme is lengthy and investors are required to contribute sums as donations to the Maltese government. The applicant must either contribute at least €650,000 to the National Development & Social Fund. Spouses and children are required to contribute €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents must contribute €50,000 each.

The second step is to make an investment in property of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for at least €16,000 per annum for five years. The third step is to invest at least €150,000 in bonds or shares approved by the Maltese government to be kept for at least five years.

Candidates must commit to a minimum physical presence in Malta before citizenship is granted. While you get residency in two months, you can apply for citizenship after a year.

Egypt

A one-year residency permit can be bought if you purchase property in Egypt worth $100,000. A three-year residency is available for those who invest $200,000 in property, and five years for those who purchase property worth $400,000.

Source: Citizenship Invest and Aqua Properties

How to wear a kandura

Dos

Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts

Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying