Liquidators for defunct crypto exchange FTX asked a judge to approve the sale of its interest in a fund of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital to an Abu Dhabi state-backed investment firm, in a deal valued at $45 million, Bloomberg News reported. FTX agreed to sell the interest in the Sequoia Capital Fund, which previously belonged to its sister trading outfit Alameda Research’s venture arm, to Al Nawwar Investments RSC Limited on Wednesday, its estate said in a filing to Delaware’s bankruptcy court late that same day.
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United Arab Emirates
FTX’s investment arm, Alameda Research, has struck a $45 million cash deal to sell its interest in Sequoia Capital to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, according to court documents filed Wednesday, CoinDesk reported. The deal, subject to approval by Delaware bankruptcy court Judge John Dorsey, is part of the bankrupt company's attempts to sell its investments in early stage crypto and tech ventures in a bid to repay creditors.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has shut its Abu Dhabi office less than a year after securing a license in the region, a spokesperson said on Thursday, as the company seeks to sharpen its focus after FTX's bankruptcy shook the digital assets sector, Reuters reported. The U.S.-based company had said last year it would reduce its workforce by 30%, or about 1,100 employees, as rising rates and worries of an economic downturn soured the sentiment on crypto.
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Pakistan’s prime minister said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates agreed to extend a $2 billion loan to his country and provide an additional $1 billion as his nation struggles to recover from devastating floods this summer and a dire economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office made the announcement after he met with the leader of the UAE, Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
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BitOasis, a Middle East-focused cryptocurrency exchange based in the United Arab Emirates, said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with Mastercard to launch payment cards linked to cryptocurrencies, they said in a joint statement, Reuters reported. The cards will allow BitOasis customers in the Middle East and North Africa to make purchases at points of sale or online, "thereby adding consumer protection - such as provisions for dispute resolution and refunds - which doesn't exist today when paying with a digital asset," the companies said.
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An insurance company that was ordered to pay more than a billion dirhams in damages for a 2015 New Year’s Eve fire in Dubai has lost a civil lawsuit that it filed to try and recover the money, the Associated Press reported. Two years after the massive fire rocked the Address Downtown hotel, Orient Insurance was ordered to pay Dubai’s state-backed developer Emaar 1.25 billion dirhams (more than $340 million) in a settlement. Emaar is behind projects like the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa.
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The Dubai-owned company P&O Ferries will not face any criminal action over its decision to sack nearly 800 British workers without notice, the Insolvency Service has said, the Epoch Times reported. P&O Ferries, which was bought by Dubai-based logistics giant DP World in 2019, sparked outrage on March 17 when it fired 800 seafarers without any prior notice and replaced them with cheaper agency workers, citing £100 million ($132 million) year-on-year loss.
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The future of Dubai-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital hangs in the balance as the firm faces potential insolvency after being liquidated by its lenders, The Block reported. According to well-placed sources, the investment firm — which counts the likes of options exchange Deribit and financial services firm BlockFi among its venture bets — is in the process of figuring out how to repay lenders and other counter-parties after it was liquidated by top tier lending firms in the space.
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The United Arab Emirates will introduce a form of unemployment insurance, the cabinet said on Monday, the latest reform by the Gulf country as it strives to attract talent and investment amid increasing regional economic competition, Reuters reported. Insured workers would receive some money for a limited time period if made unemployed, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of trade hub Dubai, said on Twitter, citing a cabinet decision.
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Dubai-owned P&O Ferries on Thursday suspended its passenger and freight ships but denied the group was heading into bankruptcy, Times of Malta reported. P&O Ferries operates four routes serving Britain, France, Ireland and the Netherlands. “P&O Ferries is not going into liquidation,” the company owned by DP World said in a statement. “We have asked all ships to come alongside (return to dock), in preparation for a company announcement.