Company Insights Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Banking & Finance Latest Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank DevelopmentsAI Insights Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's share price rose by nearly 40 percent in the year to February as part of a broader rally in UAE bank stocks2. The bank played a significant role in the retail lending increase of 7.9 percent over the previous year in the third quarter of 20241. ADCB experienced a significant influx of 210,000 new customers during the third quarter, with a substantial 84 percent joining via digital channels. Despite the challenging financial environment, the bank chose not to reduce its stake in NMC Healthcare, valuing the asset differently compared to other shareholders amidst prospective sales discussions3. This decision resulted in discontinued buyer talks, reflecting varying valuations between stakeholders. Chief economist Monica Malik expects that ADCB will see growth if Qatar’s non-hydrogen development projects accelerate5. Even though some investors have not reacted positively to proposed dividends, experts seem to believe this offers a buying opportunity for the bank. The firm maintains a cautious outlook regarding the financial challenges posed by the economic conditions in Saudi Arabia due to changes in oil dividends4. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank Overview Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) was formed in 1985 as a public shareholding company with limited liability, following the mergers between Emirates Commercial Bank, Federal Commercial Bank and Khaleej Commercial Bank. ADCB is the third-largest bank in the UAE in terms of balance sheet size. Abu Dhabi’s government, through the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, holds over 60 percent of ADCB shares. The remainder is held by other institutions and individuals. ADCB offers retail and corporate client services to more than two million customers. It has around 50 branches and 475 ATMs across the UAE and also operates representative offices in Singapore and London. It also has a presence in Egypt and is moving to launch operations in Saudi Arabia. In May 2019 ADCB and Union National Bank merged and the combined entity acquired Al Hilal Bank, which operates as a separate Islamic banking entity under its own brand within the group. ADCB has said that part of its strategy is to focus on “growth and diversity building” via strategic partnerships with UAE companies. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank News Economy Kuwait gets closer to tapping debt markets to fund infrastructure Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […] March 17, 2025 Opinion Economy Aramco’s $40bn dividends drop highlights Saudi spending The shortfall is a blow to ambitious projects and reducing dependence on the oil giant's profits March 7, 2025 Analysis Banking & Finance Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi winning bank efficiency race Dubai’s Mashreq bank, the UAE’s fifth-largest by assets, slashed its cost-to-income ratio, an important banking metric, last year thanks to the partial sale of a subsidiary and more customers switching to non-interest-bearing accounts. The cost-to-income ratio shows the relation between income and the cost of acquiring that income. A declining ratio suggests that a bank […] March 5, 2025 Analysis Oil & Gas Saudi deficit to rise after $40bn loss in Aramco oil dividends A projected 30 percent drop in Saudi Aramco’s oil dividends in 2025 is likely to force the government and state-owned Saudi Public Investment Fund to step up borrowing to fund infrastructure and other projects under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social strategy, analysts say. The world’s largest oil company intends to cut dividends to […] March 4, 2025 Analysis Markets Aramco dividend vital to big-spending Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco’s 2024 full-year results due this week are likely to again underline the importance of the world’s largest listed oil company to big-spending Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans. Aramco has said it expects to announce fourth-quarter dividends – payouts to the Saudi government are a core source of state revenue – of SAR116.5 billion […] March 3, 2025 Health BR Shetty ordered to pay $106m to Indian bank BR Shetty, the founder of UAE company NMC Health, has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $106 million to India’s Icici Bank over personal guarantees tied to the embattled hospital group. This marks a second court ruling made public so far this month. Earlier this month, Shetty was ordered to pay $33 million […] February 20, 2025 Real Estate Damac tightens yield on $750m sukuk Dubai developer Damac Real Estate Development has sold $750 million in 3-1/2-year Islamic bond (sukuk), according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The yield was set at 7 percent, narrower than the 7.5 percent initial price guidance released earlier in the day after the orders surpassed $2.3 billion, the lead bank document showed. […] February 20, 2025 Analysis Banking & Finance Share price rally tipped to keep rolling for UAE banks A year-long rally in share prices for major UAE banks still has some steam in it, underpinned by loans growth and attractive dividend yields, analysts have said. In the 12 months to February 11, the share price of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) surged by almost 40 percent. Shares in Emirates NBD, Mashreq and Dubai […] February 19, 2025 Health NMC confirms no buyers so far have matched valuation The UAE’s troubled hospital operator NMC Healthcare confirmed that it has no buyers yet for the company, with differences around valuation cited as one of the reasons. Earlier this week, two people familiar with discussions around a possible sale said that Abu Dhabi-based PureHealth Holding, the UAE’s biggest healthcare group by number of facilities, had […] February 13, 2025 Markets Alpha Data to sell 40% stake in IPO on Abu Dhabi bourse A 44-year-old UAE-based technology company, Alpha Data, is to list 40 percent of its capital, or 400 million shares, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the company has said. Alpha Data’s initial public offering (IPO) subscription will run from February 20 to 25 for UAE retail and professional investors. The offer price will be […] February 13, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 9 Next
Economy Kuwait gets closer to tapping debt markets to fund infrastructure Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […] March 17, 2025
Opinion Economy Aramco’s $40bn dividends drop highlights Saudi spending The shortfall is a blow to ambitious projects and reducing dependence on the oil giant's profits March 7, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Mashreq and First Abu Dhabi winning bank efficiency race Dubai’s Mashreq bank, the UAE’s fifth-largest by assets, slashed its cost-to-income ratio, an important banking metric, last year thanks to the partial sale of a subsidiary and more customers switching to non-interest-bearing accounts. The cost-to-income ratio shows the relation between income and the cost of acquiring that income. A declining ratio suggests that a bank […] March 5, 2025
Analysis Oil & Gas Saudi deficit to rise after $40bn loss in Aramco oil dividends A projected 30 percent drop in Saudi Aramco’s oil dividends in 2025 is likely to force the government and state-owned Saudi Public Investment Fund to step up borrowing to fund infrastructure and other projects under the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic and social strategy, analysts say. The world’s largest oil company intends to cut dividends to […] March 4, 2025
Analysis Markets Aramco dividend vital to big-spending Saudi Arabia Saudi Aramco’s 2024 full-year results due this week are likely to again underline the importance of the world’s largest listed oil company to big-spending Saudi Arabia’s economic development plans. Aramco has said it expects to announce fourth-quarter dividends – payouts to the Saudi government are a core source of state revenue – of SAR116.5 billion […] March 3, 2025
Health BR Shetty ordered to pay $106m to Indian bank BR Shetty, the founder of UAE company NMC Health, has been ordered by a Dubai court to pay $106 million to India’s Icici Bank over personal guarantees tied to the embattled hospital group. This marks a second court ruling made public so far this month. Earlier this month, Shetty was ordered to pay $33 million […] February 20, 2025
Real Estate Damac tightens yield on $750m sukuk Dubai developer Damac Real Estate Development has sold $750 million in 3-1/2-year Islamic bond (sukuk), according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The yield was set at 7 percent, narrower than the 7.5 percent initial price guidance released earlier in the day after the orders surpassed $2.3 billion, the lead bank document showed. […] February 20, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Share price rally tipped to keep rolling for UAE banks A year-long rally in share prices for major UAE banks still has some steam in it, underpinned by loans growth and attractive dividend yields, analysts have said. In the 12 months to February 11, the share price of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) surged by almost 40 percent. Shares in Emirates NBD, Mashreq and Dubai […] February 19, 2025
Health NMC confirms no buyers so far have matched valuation The UAE’s troubled hospital operator NMC Healthcare confirmed that it has no buyers yet for the company, with differences around valuation cited as one of the reasons. Earlier this week, two people familiar with discussions around a possible sale said that Abu Dhabi-based PureHealth Holding, the UAE’s biggest healthcare group by number of facilities, had […] February 13, 2025
Markets Alpha Data to sell 40% stake in IPO on Abu Dhabi bourse A 44-year-old UAE-based technology company, Alpha Data, is to list 40 percent of its capital, or 400 million shares, on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the company has said. Alpha Data’s initial public offering (IPO) subscription will run from February 20 to 25 for UAE retail and professional investors. The offer price will be […] February 13, 2025
