Company Insights Kuwait Finance House Banking & Finance Kuwait Finance House News Opinion Banking & Finance Strong results likely from Gulf banks – but there’s more to success than profit Expect healthy returns for 2023, yet look beyond the financials for 2024 January 26, 2024 Analysis Finance Bonds to expand in 2024 as governments plug shortfalls Gulf bond issuance this year will exceed that of 2023-24 as governments borrow to bridge budget shortfalls and tight spreads persuade more corporations to raise debt, according to experts. Gulf bond issuance in 2023 was $64.7 billion, up 74 percent year on year, according to data from Refinitiv. Yet last year’s total was still down […] January 18, 2024 Banking & Finance Bahrain Steel lands $450m loan for green transition Bahrain Steel, a supplier of high-grade iron ore pellets, has secured a $450 million sustainability-linked loan from a consortium of regional banks as part of its carbon footprint reduction drive. The loan will be used to build the world’s largest stockyard shed with rooftop solar panels, in addition to meeting working capital requirements, Dubai-headquartered lender […] January 9, 2024 Analysis Finance Kuwaiti stocks toil but analysts foresee 2024 rebound Overpriced valuations, high interest rates and oil production cuts have sapped investor confidence in Kuwait, and the country’s stock market is among the Mena region’s worst performers this year. Despite this, analysts predict a sustained rebound in crude prices, steady corporate earnings and renewed government infrastructure spending. This could boost ebbing sentiment and spark a […] October 13, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Turkey and Egypt can trip up Gulf lenders says analyst Gulf banks are in a resilient position as oil production cuts crimp economic growth, but lenders could face headwinds from macroeconomic volatility in Egypt and Turkey, an S&P Global analyst said this week. In Turkey, Dubai’s Emirates NBD owns Denizbank and Qatar National Bank owns QNB Finansbank, the country’s eighth and ninth largest banks by […] October 12, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Islamic finance tops $3.3trn but growth challenges remain Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest player in Islamic finance and the appetite for it in the kingdom is only growing. It has $830 billion of assets out of a global market estimated to be worth $3.3 trillion, according to Ayman al Sayari, the governor of the Saudi Central Bank. Just last week, when Saudi […] August 30, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Mergers push Islamic banking forwards in Bahrain Hundreds of Islamic banking executives are descending on Bahrain next month for the Islamic Finance Innovation Day on May 30. Under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, it will focus on embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing into Islamic finance. The event comes as analysts predict that Islamic banking’s market share will […] April 26, 2023 Banking & Finance Middle East awaits impact of Silicon Valley Bank crash The Middle East faces an anxious wait to fully understand the impact of the demise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB Financial Group on Friday became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling markets and leaving billions of dollars belonging to companies and individuals stranded. Most major Gulf stock markets fell […] March 14, 2023 Analysis Banking & Finance Influx of millionaires stokes UAE demand for private bankers An influx of affluent migrants is fuelling demand for wealth management services in the UAE, with some private bankers joining their clients in the seven-figure-salary club as competition for their expertise soars. Andrew Amoils, head of research at Johannesburg-based analyst New World Wealth, told AGBI that the number of centi-millionaires – people with fortunes of […] November 11, 2022 Banking & Finance Calculating hyperinflation is ‘top priority’ for Islamic banks Islamic banking’s top rule maker is racing to create a new accounting standard to calculate the impact of hyperinflation. Changes to sharia-compliant accounting practices could make some account holders liable for banks’ losses related to soaring prices. Under IFRS accounting standards, which are commonly used worldwide, there is a clause, IAS 29, that covers hyperinflation. […] November 9, 2022 Posts navigation Previous 1 2 3 Next
Opinion Banking & Finance Strong results likely from Gulf banks – but there’s more to success than profit Expect healthy returns for 2023, yet look beyond the financials for 2024 January 26, 2024
Analysis Finance Bonds to expand in 2024 as governments plug shortfalls Gulf bond issuance this year will exceed that of 2023-24 as governments borrow to bridge budget shortfalls and tight spreads persuade more corporations to raise debt, according to experts. Gulf bond issuance in 2023 was $64.7 billion, up 74 percent year on year, according to data from Refinitiv. Yet last year’s total was still down […] January 18, 2024
Banking & Finance Bahrain Steel lands $450m loan for green transition Bahrain Steel, a supplier of high-grade iron ore pellets, has secured a $450 million sustainability-linked loan from a consortium of regional banks as part of its carbon footprint reduction drive. The loan will be used to build the world’s largest stockyard shed with rooftop solar panels, in addition to meeting working capital requirements, Dubai-headquartered lender […] January 9, 2024
Analysis Finance Kuwaiti stocks toil but analysts foresee 2024 rebound Overpriced valuations, high interest rates and oil production cuts have sapped investor confidence in Kuwait, and the country’s stock market is among the Mena region’s worst performers this year. Despite this, analysts predict a sustained rebound in crude prices, steady corporate earnings and renewed government infrastructure spending. This could boost ebbing sentiment and spark a […] October 13, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Turkey and Egypt can trip up Gulf lenders says analyst Gulf banks are in a resilient position as oil production cuts crimp economic growth, but lenders could face headwinds from macroeconomic volatility in Egypt and Turkey, an S&P Global analyst said this week. In Turkey, Dubai’s Emirates NBD owns Denizbank and Qatar National Bank owns QNB Finansbank, the country’s eighth and ninth largest banks by […] October 12, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Islamic finance tops $3.3trn but growth challenges remain Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest player in Islamic finance and the appetite for it in the kingdom is only growing. It has $830 billion of assets out of a global market estimated to be worth $3.3 trillion, according to Ayman al Sayari, the governor of the Saudi Central Bank. Just last week, when Saudi […] August 30, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Mergers push Islamic banking forwards in Bahrain Hundreds of Islamic banking executives are descending on Bahrain next month for the Islamic Finance Innovation Day on May 30. Under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain, it will focus on embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing into Islamic finance. The event comes as analysts predict that Islamic banking’s market share will […] April 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Middle East awaits impact of Silicon Valley Bank crash The Middle East faces an anxious wait to fully understand the impact of the demise of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). SVB Financial Group on Friday became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling markets and leaving billions of dollars belonging to companies and individuals stranded. Most major Gulf stock markets fell […] March 14, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Influx of millionaires stokes UAE demand for private bankers An influx of affluent migrants is fuelling demand for wealth management services in the UAE, with some private bankers joining their clients in the seven-figure-salary club as competition for their expertise soars. Andrew Amoils, head of research at Johannesburg-based analyst New World Wealth, told AGBI that the number of centi-millionaires – people with fortunes of […] November 11, 2022
Banking & Finance Calculating hyperinflation is ‘top priority’ for Islamic banks Islamic banking’s top rule maker is racing to create a new accounting standard to calculate the impact of hyperinflation. Changes to sharia-compliant accounting practices could make some account holders liable for banks’ losses related to soaring prices. Under IFRS accounting standards, which are commonly used worldwide, there is a clause, IAS 29, that covers hyperinflation. […] November 9, 2022
