Banking and Finance Lebanon says state cannot ‘save all depositors’ who lost funds in crisis Lebanon’s deputy prime minister Saade Chami said Monday that the government’s plan to revive an economy crushed by a three-year financial crisis would not be able to pay back all depositors in full. Chami is the architect behind a recovery roadmap that Lebanon’s cabinet passed in May and which includes several measures that are required […] October 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Mubadala and US fund to jointly invest about $1bn in Asia Pacific US investment fund KKR & Co. and Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co. said they had entered into an agreement to invest about $1 billion in Asia. The agreement, announced on Sunday, will see the two firms investing across performing private credit opportunities in the Asia Pacific region. Mubadala, which manages $243 billion in […] October 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund ADQ manages $157bn in assets Sovereign wealth fund tracker Global SWF estimated on Monday that Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, which last week became the new owner of state carrier Etihad, has seen its assets under management grow to $157 billion. The smallest of Abu Dhabi’s three main sovereign wealth funds, ADQ has emerged as one of the region’s most active dealmakers, […] October 25, 2022
Banking and Finance PIF makes offer for 51% of Saudi Telecom’s $6bn towers unit Saudi Telecom Company (STC) said on Monday the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund had made a non-binding offer to buy 51 percent of its towers business, valuing the latter at almost $6 billion. The offer from the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns 64 percent of STC, is subject to a final agreement and approvals, […] October 25, 2022
Economy Rishi Sunak to be UK prime minister: What you need to know Rishi Sunak will be Britain’s next prime minister after his rivals quit the race, following one of the most turbulent periods in British political history. Politics Sunak, the 42-year-old former finance minister, will become Britain’s third prime minister in less than two months. His predecessor Liz Truss was brought down after just six weeks in […] October 24, 2022
Tourism Kuwait Airways receives 18 new aircraft, despite 2022 losses Kuwait Airways has received 18 aircraft from Airbus out of an order for 31, Reuters reported, citing the state carrier’s chairman. The airline expects to record an annual loss of KD 50-60 million ($161.27-193.52 million) in 2022, chairman Ali Aldakhan said. The company expects to break even by the end of 2024, he added. “It […] October 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi National Bank’s Q3 profit up 19% on high operating income Saudi National Bank, the kingdom’s biggest lender, said on Sunday its net profit in the third quarter rose 18.7 percent from the same period year before on higher operating income and lower net impairments for expected credit losses. SNB posted net profit of SAR4.725 billion ($1.26 billion) in the quarter, up from SAR 3.98 billion […] October 24, 2022
Tourism Airbus and Boeing battle for jet orders for new Saudi airline Saudi Arabia is in advanced negotiations to order almost 40 A350 jets from Europe’s Airbus as part of strategic efforts to launch a new airline and challenge heavyweight carriers in the Gulf, industry sources said. If confirmed, the purchase by the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), worth $12 billion at list prices, could be announced […] October 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Lebanon to halt purchase of US dollars on Sayrafa platform Lebanon’s central bank will halt purchases of dollars on its Sayrafa platform starting on October 25 until further notice, a statement from the central bank said on Sunday. The statement said the bank would continue to sell exclusively dollars on its exchange rate platform. The move is intended to strengthen the Lebanese pound after it […] October 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt to develop new currency indicator to wean off dollar peg Egypt will develop a new currency indicator partly to wean people off the idea that the Egyptian pound should be pegged to the US dollar, the new central bank governor said on Sunday. Hassan Abdalla, appointed in August, told an economic conference that the central bank was also working to introduce currency hedging and had […] October 24, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey halts lending to more FX-rich firms to boost lira Turkey tightened lending rules for many companies with more than $500,000 in foreign currency cash on Friday, sweeping up more borrowers under rules adopted in June in the latest step to reverse a tumbling lira. The BDDK bank regulator said that if companies subject to independent audit had more than 10 million lira ($538,000) of […] October 24, 2022
Energy Lebanon and Syria discuss sea border after Beirut’s Israel deal The Lebanese and Syrian presidents discussed delineating their countries’ shared maritime border on Saturday before a visit to Damascus next week by a Lebanese delegation tasked with negotiating the issue, a Lebanese official said. A dispute over their shared sea boundary emerged last year after Syria granted a licence to a Russian energy company to […] October 24, 2022
Logistics Saudi Arabia eyes $10bn in supply chain investment Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Sunday launched an initiative to attract investments in supply chains to and from the kingdom, with an aim of raising an initial SAR 40 billion ($10.64 billion). The initiative by Prince Mohammed bin Salman will include allocating about SAR 10 billion in incentives for supply chain investors, state news agency […] October 24, 2022
Economy Saudi Crown Prince will not attend Arab summit in Algeria Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will not travel to Algeria next month to attend a summit of the Arab League on medical advice, the royal court confirmed in a statement on state media on Sunday. Doctors had advised Prince Mohammed, 37, to avoid long-haul flights that might affect his middle ear, said the royal […] October 24, 2022
Tech White House in talks with Elon Musk to set up Starlink in Iran The White House is in talks with billionaire Elon Musk about setting up SpaceX’s satellite internet service Starlink in Iran, CNN reported on Friday, citing officials familiar with the matter. The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent the regime’s restrictions on accessing the internet and certain social media platforms. The Islamic Republic has been […] October 23, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai Islamic Bank sets up green financing framework Dubai Islamic Bank is planning to finance environmental and social projects under a new sustainable finance framework published on Friday. The framework will allow the lender to issue green and sustainability-linked Islamic bonds and loans to fund projects in renewable energy, clean transport, green buildings and wastewater management as well as support job creation and […] October 23, 2022
Banking and Finance UK watchdog fines Barclays $55m over fees paid to Qatari entities Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it would fine Barclays £50 million ($55 million) for its failure to disclose fees paid to Qatari entities during its financial crisis-era fundraising. The fine dates back to the height of the 2008-2009 crisis, when Barclays scrambled to raise funds from overseas investors including Qatar in order to avoid […] October 23, 2022
Tech Carmakers to double spending on EVs, batteries to $1.2trn by 2030 The world’s top automakers are planning to spend nearly $1.2 trillion through 2030 to develop and produce millions of electric vehicles, along with the batteries and raw materials to support that production, according to a Reuters analysis of public data and projections released by those companies. The EV investment figure, which has not previously been […] October 21, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey slashes rates more than expected, lira hits record low Turkey’s central bank slashed its policy rate by a more-than-expected 150 basis points (bps) to 10.5 percent on Thursday, and promised to halt the easing cycle urged by President Tayyip Erdogan after another similarly-hefty cut next month. The move pushed the lira to a record low near 19 to the dollar and comes after Erdogan […] October 21, 2022
Tech Google activates Israel’s first local cloud region Alphabet’s Google on Thursday activated a local cloud region for Israel, offering cloud services to the country’s government and military in a move expected to boost jobs and economic growth. Israel signed a deal with Google and Amazon Web Services (AWS) in May 2021 for the more than $1 billion four-phase ‘Nimbus’ project. As part […] October 21, 2022
Real Estate Dubai revival sees developer Deyaar’s Q3 profit surge 72% Dubai property developer Deyaar on Thursday reported a surge in third quarter profit while revenues rose 72 percent over the same period on the back of a revival in the emirate’s real estate sector. The company made a profit of AED36.3 million ($9.88 million) in the third quarter from AED8.1m in the same period last […] October 21, 2022
Markets Saudi Arabia’s Alsulaiman Group weighs IPO of IKEA business Saudi Arabia’s Alsulaiman Group is weighing an initial public offering of its IKEA business franchise next year and has hired Moelis & Co as an adviser, two sources told Reuters. The company plans to invite investment banks early next year to pitch for roles in a possible public share-sale, said the sources, who declined to […] October 21, 2022
