Company Insights Saudi Central Bank Banking & Finance Saudi Central Bank News Analysis Banking & Finance Buy now, pay later growing fast in UAE and Saudi Arabia A tech-savvy society, an expanding ecommerce market and the appeal of flexible financing options is fuelling the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector, according to industry experts. BNPL – when people can make immediate online purchases and spread payments over interest-free instalments – has grown in popularity in the Gulf since the Covid-19 pandemic. […] July 3, 2024 Banking & Finance Saudi forex reserves at 18-month high in boost to giga-projects Saudi Arabia’s foreign exchange reserves have shot up by nearly 7 percent this year to $445 billion in May, or SAR167 trillion, the highest since November 2022. The rise gives the government more scope to pump money into cash-constrained giga-projects. Saudi Arabia has raised $17 billion in debt markets this year. The Public Investment Fund […] July 2, 2024 Analysis Economy Saudi new mortgage approvals rebound A greater supply of affordable housing and a growing resignation among prospective house buyers that interest rates are unlikely to fall substantially is helping to propel a rebound in new residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia set a target to increase home ownership among the kingdom’s adult citizens to 60 percent […] June 5, 2024 Economy Saudi point-of-sale transactions on course for record high Growing consumer confidence should lift the value and volume of Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions to record highs this year, the latest central bank data indicates. Point-of-sale transactions are typically made in person using cash, credit or debit cards, but also include online purchases. As such, point-of-sale data can be interpreted as a proxy for the […] June 4, 2024 Banking & Finance Saudi banks’ profits fall as interest margins are squeezed Combined profits in April at Saudi Arabia’s banks fell 3.3 percent compared with March, to SAR6.7 billion ($1.9 billion), the lowest monthly total since last November’s SAR6.1 billion, central bank data shows. Nevertheless, banks total profits for January to April was SAR27.4 billion, up from SAR24.8 billion for the same period in 2023, a report […] May 30, 2024 Opinion Banking & Finance Bahrain bank mergers are good news for the kingdom and the Gulf It is likely that a merger of NBB and BBK would take the new bank into the top 30 April 29, 2024 Economy US treasury holdings high in Saudi Arabia’s estimation Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US treasuries stayed close to a two-year high in February at $130.5 billion as yields rose in recent months, according to new data. The Saudi central bank’s holdings fell $3.2 million month on month, or 0.3 percent, to $130.5 billion, maintaining Saudi Arabia’s place at number 17 in the list of […] April 22, 2024 Banking & Finance Acwa Power takes China bank loan in first for Saudi Arabia Saudi energy major Acwa Power has secured an $80 million loan from the Bank of China as the appeal of the Chinese Renminbi as a trade currency gains traction in the GCC. Acwa Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company and a first mover into green hydrogen, has received the equity bridge loan to […] April 19, 2024 Retail Electronic retail payments rise to 70% in Saudi Arabia The Saudi central bank said this week that the share of electronic payments in the retail sector rose to 70 percent in 2023 from 62 percent the year before, as the government tries to boost online banking and the fintech sector. A total 10.8 billion transactions were processed in 2023 compared to 8.7 billion transactions […] April 4, 2024 Banking & Finance Network International profit shrinks while revenue grows High interest rates and currency devaluations dented profit at Middle East payments provider Network International last year, despite revenue rising by 13 percent. The company posted net profit of $67 million for 2023, a drop of 16 percent year on year. The primary impact on profit for the year came from increased financing costs as […] March 29, 2024 Posts navigation Previous 1 2 3 4 … 8 Next
Analysis Banking & Finance Buy now, pay later growing fast in UAE and Saudi Arabia A tech-savvy society, an expanding ecommerce market and the appeal of flexible financing options is fuelling the UAE and Saudi Arabia’s buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) sector, according to industry experts. BNPL – when people can make immediate online purchases and spread payments over interest-free instalments – has grown in popularity in the Gulf since the Covid-19 pandemic. […] July 3, 2024
Banking & Finance Saudi forex reserves at 18-month high in boost to giga-projects Saudi Arabia’s foreign exchange reserves have shot up by nearly 7 percent this year to $445 billion in May, or SAR167 trillion, the highest since November 2022. The rise gives the government more scope to pump money into cash-constrained giga-projects. Saudi Arabia has raised $17 billion in debt markets this year. The Public Investment Fund […] July 2, 2024
Analysis Economy Saudi new mortgage approvals rebound A greater supply of affordable housing and a growing resignation among prospective house buyers that interest rates are unlikely to fall substantially is helping to propel a rebound in new residential mortgages in Saudi Arabia. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia set a target to increase home ownership among the kingdom’s adult citizens to 60 percent […] June 5, 2024
Economy Saudi point-of-sale transactions on course for record high Growing consumer confidence should lift the value and volume of Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions to record highs this year, the latest central bank data indicates. Point-of-sale transactions are typically made in person using cash, credit or debit cards, but also include online purchases. As such, point-of-sale data can be interpreted as a proxy for the […] June 4, 2024
Banking & Finance Saudi banks’ profits fall as interest margins are squeezed Combined profits in April at Saudi Arabia’s banks fell 3.3 percent compared with March, to SAR6.7 billion ($1.9 billion), the lowest monthly total since last November’s SAR6.1 billion, central bank data shows. Nevertheless, banks total profits for January to April was SAR27.4 billion, up from SAR24.8 billion for the same period in 2023, a report […] May 30, 2024
Opinion Banking & Finance Bahrain bank mergers are good news for the kingdom and the Gulf It is likely that a merger of NBB and BBK would take the new bank into the top 30 April 29, 2024
Economy US treasury holdings high in Saudi Arabia’s estimation Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US treasuries stayed close to a two-year high in February at $130.5 billion as yields rose in recent months, according to new data. The Saudi central bank’s holdings fell $3.2 million month on month, or 0.3 percent, to $130.5 billion, maintaining Saudi Arabia’s place at number 17 in the list of […] April 22, 2024
Banking & Finance Acwa Power takes China bank loan in first for Saudi Arabia Saudi energy major Acwa Power has secured an $80 million loan from the Bank of China as the appeal of the Chinese Renminbi as a trade currency gains traction in the GCC. Acwa Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company and a first mover into green hydrogen, has received the equity bridge loan to […] April 19, 2024
Retail Electronic retail payments rise to 70% in Saudi Arabia The Saudi central bank said this week that the share of electronic payments in the retail sector rose to 70 percent in 2023 from 62 percent the year before, as the government tries to boost online banking and the fintech sector. A total 10.8 billion transactions were processed in 2023 compared to 8.7 billion transactions […] April 4, 2024
Banking & Finance Network International profit shrinks while revenue grows High interest rates and currency devaluations dented profit at Middle East payments provider Network International last year, despite revenue rising by 13 percent. The company posted net profit of $67 million for 2023, a drop of 16 percent year on year. The primary impact on profit for the year came from increased financing costs as […] March 29, 2024
