Company Insights Emirates NBD Banking & Finance Emirates NBD Overview Emirates NBD is Dubai’s largest lender and largest bank in terms of assets. It was initially formed as the National Bank of Dubai (NBD) in 1963 by Dubai’s then ruler Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Then in 2007 NBD merged with Emirates Bank International to form Emirates NBD, and its shares were officially listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Emirates NBD then bought the Shari’a-compliant Dubai Bank in 2012. Units within the Emirates NBD Group include Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD Asset Management and DenizBank in Turkey. Products and services include personal, private, corporate and Islamic banking. Based in Dubai, the Emirates NBD Group has more than 850 branches in the UAE and overseas, including in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Singapore, the UK and representative offices in China and Indonesia. It is increasing its branch network in Saudi Arabia and also plans further expansion in India. In September 2023 Emirates NBD announced it was launching a sustainable finance framework, including directly issuing green debt and other instruments to support social and environmental aims. Emirates NBD News Adnoc to raise $1.5bn with Islamic bonds Abu Dhabi state oil giant Adnoc will raise $1.5 billion from a debut sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, acting through its primary debt capital markets entity Adnoc Murban, is selling the sukuk at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, the […] April 29, 2025 Analysis Markets Dollar slump impacts foreign Gulf stock investors The dollar’s descent to multi-year lows against other major currencies presents a dilemma for foreign investors in Gulf stocks. Regional currencies are pegged to the US currency, aside from the Kuwaiti dinar which tracks a basket of currencies that is heavily dollar weighted. So, a lower dollar makes buying Gulf stocks cheaper for investors from […] April 29, 2025 Real Estate Dubai ad portals exploring IPOs as real estate rises Dubai-based classified ad portals Dubizzle and Property Finder are both said to be exploring the idea of selling shares to the public in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Dubizzle is preparing to meet with potential investors and could raise at least $500 million in a possible IPO, the […] April 28, 2025 Economy Dubai inflation falls to its lowest in five months Dubai’s annual consumer price inflation fell in March to its lowest in five months, driven by lower transport and food costs, according to official data from Dubai Statistics Centre. The headline CPI inflation rate declined to 2.8 percent on an annual basis, from 3.2 percent in each of January and February. That is the lowest […] April 23, 2025 Banking & Finance Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […] April 22, 2025 Banking & Finance HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings. The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those […] April 9, 2025 Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […] April 9, 2025 Finance Dubai’s ICD could tap IPO market to fund expansion The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the emirate’s government, could potentially turn to the capital markets with a raft of listings over the next year or so, according to analysts. Established in 2006, ICD is worth about $340 billion and already has one of its crown jewels – Emirates NBD, […] April 7, 2025 Finance UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […] March 26, 2025 Analysis Renewable Energy Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. […] March 21, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 19 Next
Adnoc to raise $1.5bn with Islamic bonds Abu Dhabi state oil giant Adnoc will raise $1.5 billion from a debut sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, acting through its primary debt capital markets entity Adnoc Murban, is selling the sukuk at 60 basis points over US Treasuries, the […] April 29, 2025
Analysis Markets Dollar slump impacts foreign Gulf stock investors The dollar’s descent to multi-year lows against other major currencies presents a dilemma for foreign investors in Gulf stocks. Regional currencies are pegged to the US currency, aside from the Kuwaiti dinar which tracks a basket of currencies that is heavily dollar weighted. So, a lower dollar makes buying Gulf stocks cheaper for investors from […] April 29, 2025
Real Estate Dubai ad portals exploring IPOs as real estate rises Dubai-based classified ad portals Dubizzle and Property Finder are both said to be exploring the idea of selling shares to the public in an initial public offering, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Dubizzle is preparing to meet with potential investors and could raise at least $500 million in a possible IPO, the […] April 28, 2025
Economy Dubai inflation falls to its lowest in five months Dubai’s annual consumer price inflation fell in March to its lowest in five months, driven by lower transport and food costs, according to official data from Dubai Statistics Centre. The headline CPI inflation rate declined to 2.8 percent on an annual basis, from 3.2 percent in each of January and February. That is the lowest […] April 23, 2025
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […] April 22, 2025
Banking & Finance HSBC dominates as Mena investment banking fees soar Investment banking fee revenue in the Middle East and North Africa soared during the first quarter thanks to record debt arrangements, increased mergers and acquisitions and more initial public offerings. The industry’s regional earnings underline the growing importance of the Mena region to international banks, although the revenue from fees remains a fraction of those […] April 9, 2025
Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […] April 9, 2025
Finance Dubai’s ICD could tap IPO market to fund expansion The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the emirate’s government, could potentially turn to the capital markets with a raft of listings over the next year or so, according to analysts. Established in 2006, ICD is worth about $340 billion and already has one of its crown jewels – Emirates NBD, […] April 7, 2025
Finance UAE banks back Turkey Wealth Fund’s $1.2bn loan State-backed Turkey Wealth Fund has secured its first loan without a treasury guarantee, backed by UAE-listed banks, a local newspaper reported. The sovereign fund raised €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) two-year syndicated loan from 20 banks from 12 countries, Daily Sabah reported. The interest rate was set at Euro interbank offered rate, plus 2 percent annually for […] March 26, 2025
Analysis Renewable Energy Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. […] March 21, 2025
