EFTA Document EFTA01807535

From: Sultan Bin Sulayem Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 10:37 AM To: Jeffrey Epstein Subject: Fwd: Wall Street Journal article on Iran - includes your quote Sent from my iPhone =br>Begin forwarded message: <=iV> =rom: Kate Delahunty Date: September 2, 2015 at 3:16:=3 PM GMT+5:30 To: Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem Sabs Sultan bin sylayem Cc: Sana Ma=dad > > Subject: Wall Street J=urnal ar ice on ran - inc u es your quo e Chairman, Please find below the Wall Street Journal article on Iran for which you spok= to journalist Nico Parasie a few weeks ago. Best regards, Kate =ran Deal Could Open Door to Gulf Businesses While ex=cutives see opportunities, governments remain at loggerheads on other issue= <=pan style="font-size:7.5pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-seri="; color:#333333">ENLARGE A RAK Ceramics factory. Executives at U=A.E.-based RAK expect the long wait on Iran will soon pay off. PHOTO: RAK CERAMICS By NICOLAS PARASIE Updated Aug. 31, 2015 5:58 p.m. ET EFTA_R1_00155926 EFTA01807535 <=pan style="font-size:10.0pt; color:#0080C3; text-decoration:none">38 COMMENTS chttp://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-deal-could-open-door-to-gu=f -busi nesses-1441013401?mod=e2tw#I ivefyre- comment> DUBAI—In the 10 years since RAK Cerami=s opened a $40 million tile manufacturing plant in Iran, the United Arab Em=rates-based firm has racked up millions of dollars in losses in the Persian=country, fired hundreds of employees and all but extinguished its kilns. But this summer Iran struck a nuclear deal wit= the U.S. and other foreign powers. Now with sanctions on Tehran expected t= ease, RAK Ceramics is looking to boost output of the kitchen and bathroom t=les it sells in Iran and the wider region. Executives for one of the world's largest manufacture=s of tiles and sanitary ware by capacity are now betting the long wait on l=an is about to pay off. "We were a patient investor," s=ys Abdallah Massaad, RAK Ceramics' chief ex=cutive. RAK Ceramics is one of a handful of Arab-owned=firms positioning themselves to profit from a post-sanctions neighbor, even=as frosty relations between Iran and most of the Gulf Cooperation Council*=80*Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the U.A.E., Oman, Qatar and Kuwait—show few signs of thawing. The week after the U.A.E. joined Saudi Arabian-led airstrikes in April against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels=/a> in Yemen, U.A.E.-owne= Etihad Airways launched a daily commercial service to Tehran. Dubai-owned =lyDubai has launched seven new routes to Iran this year after a bilateral aviation agreement was signed in Januar= between the U.A.E. and Iran. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/=audi-arabia-launches-military-operations-in-yemen-1427275251> apan style="font-size:7.5pt; font-family:"Arial","sans-seri="; color:#333333">=/span>ENLARGEaspan> Dubai's Jumeirah Group, operator of th= ultra-luxury Burj Al Arab hotel, is searching for properties in Iran. Offi=ials at DP World <http:/=quotes.wsj.com/AE/DIFX/DPW> , one of the world's biggest shipping-container=handlers, recently visited the Persian state to see the country's ports and railway infrastructure can be used to t=ansport goods faster between China and Europe. "I am not a politician, I am a busines=man," said Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai government- o=ned DP World, and one of the most prominent Emirati businessmen. "W=at I look for is if there is an opportunity for our customers." Advertisement The forays by Gulf businesses, though still in=their infancy, could further complicate political alliances across the Midd=e East by deepening commercial ties between Iran and some of its less-hosti=e neighboring states. Such developments could begin to shift the region's center of economic gravity from S=udi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer, to Iran, home to an e=ucated and burgeoning middle class. As executives from the Gulf are eyeing Iran fo= business opportunities, their governments are locking horns elsewhere in t=e region. Saudi Arabian warplanes, supported by the U.A.E., Bahrain, Qatar a=d Kuwait, continue to bombard Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. The tiny Gulf island of Bahrain in J=ly pulled its ambassador from Iran in protest at alleged Iranian meddling i= its affairs. Gulf-backed rebels also face off against the Iranian-supporte= government of President Bashar Al Assad in Syria. The foreign ministers of the GCC in August pub=icly backed the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in meetings with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry <http://www.wsj.com/arti=les/gulf-arab-states-voice- support-for-iran-nuclear-deal-1438618887> . But some, such as the U=A.E.'s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, have a=so voiced concern that the deal will embolden Iran. 2 EFTA_R1_001 55927 EFTA01807536 RELATED • =nbsp; Saudi Arabia Launches Airstrikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen <http://www.wsj.com=articles/saudi- arabia-launches-military-operations-in-yemen-1427275251> • =nbsp; Gulf Arab States Voice Support for Iran Nuclear Deal <http://www.wsj.com=articles/gulf-arab-states- voice-support-for-iran-nuclear-deal-1438618887> The U.A.E., particularly the port of Dubai, ha= long been an important trade conduit for Iran in the region. Iran'= imports from the Gulf region amounted to around $35 billion last year, the=bulk of which were exports from the U.A.E. that were imported via Dubai, according to figures from the Washington-base= Institute of International Finance. Globally, the U.A.E. is one of Irani,=804>s largest trade partners alongside India and China. Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts that wi=h the removal of sanctions Iran's annual import totals could soar t= $200 billion from $80 billion in 2014. The U.A.E. is among those countries=best positioned to benefit from the trade flows, analysts at the bank said in a note to clients. Like the U.A.E., Oman, which has the closest p=litical relationship with Iran of all the Gulf States, is making headway to=strengthen its economic ties. Ahead of the nuclear agreement between Iran a=d world powers, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Oman in March and signed a 25-year deal to sell $60 b=llion worth of natural gas to the Arab state. Access to cheap energy in Iran, as well as raw=materials and labor, means the country is in a sweet spot for production of=ceramics, said Mr. Massaad, the RAK chief executive. In production of ceram=cs, Iran ranks fourth globally after China, Brazil and India in terms of capacity, a fact that spurred RAK=Ceramics to acquire a 420,000-square-meter (about 104 acres) tract of land i= Isfahan, Iran, (about 270 miles south of Iran) and build a plant in 2005, h= said. But one year later, sanctions were imposed on l=an, and RAK Ceramics cut annual production from nine million square meters o= tiles to six million. As financial sanctions tightened, manufacturing fell=further and the company cut its roughly 480-strong Iranian workforce to around 70. For the past six months, the facility has prod=ced nothing and sales have come to a virtual standstill. In the first quart=r, RAK reported an overall profit but noted losses of 15.4 million U.A.E. d=rhams ($4 million) related to hyperinflation in Iran and Sudan. RAK decided to sell its operation in the A=rican country earlier this year. After years of talks, the U.S. and other forei=n governments struck a deal in July that will limit parts of Iran's=nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. The agreem=nt still must survive a U.S. congressional vote, among other political hurdles. Now Mr. Massaad is preparing a staff team to g= back to Iran. But the tile maker isn't going to get ahead of polit=cs and will wait for sanctions to unwind before committing more investment.=If sanctions ease, RAK plans to use Iran to export to Russia, Central Asia and Europe. "We were in a dilemma," Mr. Ma=saad said. "[But] we have an asset which is fully equipped, fully i=vested. We don't need to wait years to find land. We can produce in=very short term in a market that will boom." Write to Rory Jones at [email protected] and Nicolas Parasie [email protected] <mailto:nicolas. [email protected]> 3 EFTA_R1_001 55928 EFTA01807537 DISCLAIMER This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and contain pr=vileged or copyright information. If you are not the intended recipient you=must not copy, distribute or use this email or the information contained in=it for any purpose other than to notify us of the receipt thereof. If you have received this message in e=ror, please notify the sender immediately, and delete this email from your s=stem. Please note that e-mails are susceptible to change. The sender shall not be I=able for the improper or incomplete transmission of the information contain=d in this communication, nor for any delay in its receipt or damage to your=system. The sender does not guarantee that this material is free from viruses or any other defects alth=ugh due care has been taken to minimize the risk. 4 EFTA_R1_00155929 EFTA01807538