An Abu Dhabi Government fund has agreed to sell a US$2.2 billion (Dh8.08bn) stake in a South Korean refinery after it lost a long legal battle with Hyundai Heavy Industries.
The sale will end an 11-year presence that helped maintain South Korea's position as the second-largest market for the emirate's crude oil exports.
The International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) will sell its 70 per cent stake in Hyundai Oilbank, the country's fourth-largest refiner, to Hyundai Heavy Industries, according to a regulatory filing lodged yesterday with the Korea Financial Supervisory Service.
Hyundai Heavy, which has waged a legal battle with IPIC for more than two years to wrest control of the stake, will now own 91.1 per cent of the refiner.
"Through the acquisition we will be able to secure a bridgehead in the energy business and seek synergies with our petrochemical plant business," according to a translation of the company's statement posted by Dow Jones.
A spokesman for Hyundai Heavy yesterday declined to elaborate. IPIC officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Hyundai Oilbank has a long-term contract to buy 70,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) from Abu Dhabi and operates a refinery in the western city of Daesan with capacity to process 275,000 bpd. The company, together with a major refiner in Japan, has formed the core of IPIC's investments in petrochemicals and refining in east Asia.
Owning a stake in a Korean refinery gave IPIC a guaranteed market for Abu Dhabi crude and provided access to some of the most efficient production capacity in the region, said Tom Grieder, an east Asian energy analyst at IHS Global Insight.
South Korea's refineries feed the domestic market and re-export oil products to other east Asian countries.
"South Korea itself is not a massive growth potential market but it plays an important role because its refineries are quite complex and are very competitive," Mr Grieder said. "It does open supplies and marketing channels to other companies."
The sale to Hyundai Heavy is likely to encourage Abu Dhabi companies to look for alternative investments in refineries and oil storage in east Asia to guarantee market share, analysts said.
A week ago, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Korea National Oil Corporation, a state-owned entity, signed a wide-ranging oil co-operation agreement that will see Abu Dhabi store some of its crude in Korea.
ADNOC's move comes just as Korea is investing in huge new storage capacity to become a major oil centre in east Asia, said Chang Jihak, the senior vice president for crude oil and trading at Hyundai Oilbank.
"Asia has been experiencing a surge in demand for petroleum storage that could not be met by existing capacity," Mr Jihak said last week before the sale to Hyundai Heavy was announced.
ADNOC last year signed an agreement with the Japanese government to store up to 3.6 million barrels of crude on the island of Okinawa.
With the $2.2bn cash windfall, IPIC may look to other parts of east Asia, including China, to make its next strategic investment, Mr Grieder said.
"I wouldn't see this as a massive loss for IPIC," he said. "China's got much more growth potential, there's a large internal market and it could open up additional opportunities."
IPIC was first ordered to sell the stake to Hyundai Heavy last November when it lost an international arbitration case at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce.
It rejected the decision, saying it was legally unenforceable. Last month, a Korean court in Seoul ordered IPIC to sell the stake.
IPIC bought 50 per cent of Oilbank from Hyundai's parent company in 1999 and increased its stake in the refiner to 70 per cent in 2006.
The legal battle stemmed from the fund's 2007 attempt to sell 35 per cent to Hyundai Heavy's rival, GS Group.
Hyundai Heavy said the sale broke the terms of the original acquisition agreement and filed suit in early 2008.
@Email:cstanton@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3ECompany%3A%20Zywa%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202021%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Nuha%20Hashem%20and%20Alok%20Kumar%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20UAE%3Cbr%3EIndustry%3A%20FinTech%3Cbr%3EFunding%20size%3A%20%243m%3Cbr%3ECompany%20valuation%3A%20%2430m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
FIGHT CARD
Bantamweight Hamza Bougamza (MAR) v Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Catchweight 67kg Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR) v Fouad Mesdari (ALG)
Lighweight Abdullah Mohammed Ali (UAE) v Abdelhak Amhidra (MAR)
Catchweight 73kg Mostafa Ibrahim Radi (PAL) v Yazid Chouchane (ALG)
Middleweight Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) v Badreddine Diani (MAR)
Catchweight 78kg Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Adnan Bushashy (ALG)
Middleweight Sallaheddine Dekhissi (MAR) v Abdel Emam (EGY)
Catchweight 65kg Rachid Hazoume (MAR) v Yanis Ghemmouri (ALG)
Lighweight Mohammed Yahya (UAE) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)
Catchweight 79kg Omar Hussein (PAL) v Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
Middleweight Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Laid Zerhouni (ALG)
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
How to become a Boglehead
Bogleheads follow simple investing philosophies to build their wealth and live better lives. Just follow these steps.
• Spend less than you earn and save the rest. You can do this by earning more, or being frugal. Better still, do both.
• Invest early, invest often. It takes time to grow your wealth on the stock market. The sooner you begin, the better.
• Choose the right level of risk. Don't gamble by investing in get-rich-quick schemes or high-risk plays. Don't play it too safe, either, by leaving long-term savings in cash.
• Diversify. Do not keep all your eggs in one basket. Spread your money between different companies, sectors, markets and asset classes such as bonds and property.
• Keep charges low. The biggest drag on investment performance is all the charges you pay to advisers and active fund managers.
• Keep it simple. Complexity is your enemy. You can build a balanced, diversified portfolio with just a handful of ETFs.
• Forget timing the market. Nobody knows where share prices will go next, so don't try to second-guess them.
• Stick with it. Do not sell up in a market crash. Use the opportunity to invest more at the lower price.
MATCH INFO
Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)
Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')
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
|
SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
Results
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Major Cinnamon, Fernando Jara, Mujeeb Rahman
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Al Mureib, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Remorse, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Meshakel, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Desert Peace, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Sharamm, Ryan Curatlo, Satish Seemar
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0