Iran has restarted the Bushehr nuclear power plant after it was shut down last month, the government-linked Irib news agency reported.
State electricity company Tavanir said during the closure that essential maintenance work would be conducted at the site, leading to power cuts.
But in March, Iranian nuclear official Mahmoud Jafari said Bushehr was experiencing technical problems owing to the inability of engineers to find spare parts.
US sanctions were affecting the work of Russian contractors at the site, he said.
"After repairs the Bushehr power plant is back online, and 1,000MW of electricity is injected into the country's distribution network," Mostafa Mashhadi, a spokesman for Tavanir, told Irib.
That might not help matters much as Iran is currently in the midst of one of its worst electricity shortages and rolling blackouts are now frequent.
Iran said that electricity demand had hit a record of 65.9 Gigawatts, well above the available 55 Gigawatt production capacity.
Extremely hot summer temperatures had led to a surge in demand, mirroring the situation in neighboring Iraq.
The Bushehr reactor was commissioned by the Shah of Iran in the 1970s, but its completion by German contractors was disrupted by the revolution and the Iran-Iraq War.
Russian contractors eventually made the power plant operational and it opened in 2011.
Russia supplies the plant with enriched uranium, closely monitored by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran has ceased co-operation with the agency at other nuclear sites in the country. There are concerns that advanced centrifuges at Natanz are slowly building up enough medium-enriched uranium to produce highly enriched, or "weapons-grade", uranium, sufficient for a nuclear device.
In 2019, Iran began work on a new reactor at Bushehr, claiming that newly enriched uranium stockpiles would be used for the power plant.
The resumption of operations at Bushehr comes as China urged the US to rejoin the so-called nuclear deal, as negotiations between Tehran and world powers aimed at restoring the accord falter.
Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, said the US should "completely remove all its illegal and unilateral sanctions on Iran and any third party, to meet Iran halfway and make further breakthroughs in the negotiation.”
Iran has said in recent weeks that it has no obligation to allow international inspectors full access to its nuclear sites, something the US and EU insist would be the first step to restoring confidence in a new deal.
Inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency were a cornerstone of the deal, technically known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“With regard to the Iranian nuclear issue, the most important thing is that the United States should make its decision to return to the agreement as soon as possible. After 13 years of arduous negotiations, the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) is an important achievement of multilateralism and a paradigm for dispute settlement through dialogue and consultation,” Mr Wang said.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
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- Price: Not announced yet
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham 0-1 Ajax, Tuesday
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Game is on BeIN Sports
'Shakuntala Devi'
Starring: Vidya Balan, Sanya Malhotra
Director: Anu Menon
Rating: Three out of five stars
