Company Insights Sico Bank Banking and Finance Sico Bank Overview Sico Bank is a regional asset manager, broker and investment bank based in Bahrain, with around $6.2 billion in assets under management Its services include asset management, brokerage, markets, investment banking, advisory and treasury services. Its product portfolio includes direct securities such as equities, bonds and sukuk, as well as single-account brokerage services across the GCC and other Middle Eastern markets. Formerly known as Securities & Investment Company, Sico Bank operates under a wholesale banking licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain. It oversees three wholly owned subsidiaries: Abu Dhabi-based brokerage firm Sico Invest, Saudi capital markets services firm Sico Capital and Sico Fund Services Company, a regional custody and fund administration house. Sico Bank is majority-owned by the Social Insurance Organization of Bahrain. Other shareholders include the National Bank of Bahrain, Bank Muscat, BBK BSC, Ahli United Bank and the Gulf Investment Corporation. Sico Bank News Analysis Banking and Finance Retail and corporate lending help UAE banks to prosper Consumer demand for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans as well as increased corporate and government borrowing helped most major UAE banks post double-digit rises in profits in the first quarter of this year. The profit surge, which comes despite a greater tax burden on the sector, has supported a renewed rally in banking stocks. […] June 14, 2025 Analysis Telecoms Analysts opt for small Gulf telcos despite profits at majors The Gulf’s major former telecom monopolies reported steady first-quarter profit growth and have proved a safe haven for equity investors during market volatility this year. However, it is their smaller domestic rivals that analysts prefer. Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the UAE’s e& (formerly and more commonly known as Etisalat), Qatar’s Ooredoo and Kuwait’s Zain are […] June 13, 2025 Analysis Real Estate UAE property developers bank on huge order backlogs The UAE’s largest property developers are likely to post rising profits in the coming quarters as under-construction projects reach new milestones. This will enable them to book revenue from their vast order backlogs, analysts predict. Most listed developers reported big year-on-year increases in first-quarter profits. Emaar Properties’ Q1 profit rose 27 percent to just over […] May 29, 2025 Analysis Transport Etihad Rail’s super-fast service tracked by investors The UAE’s Etihad Rail is due to start passenger services next year, promising to slash travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi by as much as 40 percent. Not only could this reshape the daily commute but it could also shift the investment outlook for a clutch of transport-focused companies listed on local bourses. With […] May 28, 2025 Banking and Finance Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […] April 10, 2025 Markets Oil price drop leads Gulf’s government bonds to fall Dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of Middle East and North African countries slid on Monday as President Donald Trump took effective US tariff rates to their highest in more than a century, causing steep declines in global stock markets and a flight to safety in US government debt. Saudi Arabia’s stock index tumbled to a 17-month low […] April 7, 2025 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 Analysis Markets Gulf investors urged to switch from petrochems to fertiliser Gulf fertiliser companies are trading below their fair value, with investors not seeming to price in a rebound in product prices that analysts say is more than just a seasonal upswing. In the Gulf, fertilisers and petrochemicals are considered adjacent industries, since both rely on natural gas as a feedstock. While petrochemical companies’ earnings have […] March 7, 2025 Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025 Food & Drink Americana Restaurants profit rises as Gaza boycott eases Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Middle East and North Africa, said profit rose in the fourth quarter as a consumer boycott that is related to the Gaza conflict eased. Net income in the three months to December 31 rose 26 percent to $41 million, compared with $32 million in the same […] February 12, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 4 Next
Analysis Banking and Finance Retail and corporate lending help UAE banks to prosper Consumer demand for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans as well as increased corporate and government borrowing helped most major UAE banks post double-digit rises in profits in the first quarter of this year. The profit surge, which comes despite a greater tax burden on the sector, has supported a renewed rally in banking stocks. […] June 14, 2025
Analysis Telecoms Analysts opt for small Gulf telcos despite profits at majors The Gulf’s major former telecom monopolies reported steady first-quarter profit growth and have proved a safe haven for equity investors during market volatility this year. However, it is their smaller domestic rivals that analysts prefer. Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the UAE’s e& (formerly and more commonly known as Etisalat), Qatar’s Ooredoo and Kuwait’s Zain are […] June 13, 2025
Analysis Real Estate UAE property developers bank on huge order backlogs The UAE’s largest property developers are likely to post rising profits in the coming quarters as under-construction projects reach new milestones. This will enable them to book revenue from their vast order backlogs, analysts predict. Most listed developers reported big year-on-year increases in first-quarter profits. Emaar Properties’ Q1 profit rose 27 percent to just over […] May 29, 2025
Analysis Transport Etihad Rail’s super-fast service tracked by investors The UAE’s Etihad Rail is due to start passenger services next year, promising to slash travel time between Dubai and Abu Dhabi by as much as 40 percent. Not only could this reshape the daily commute but it could also shift the investment outlook for a clutch of transport-focused companies listed on local bourses. With […] May 28, 2025
Banking and Finance Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […] April 10, 2025
Markets Oil price drop leads Gulf’s government bonds to fall Dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of Middle East and North African countries slid on Monday as President Donald Trump took effective US tariff rates to their highest in more than a century, causing steep declines in global stock markets and a flight to safety in US government debt. Saudi Arabia’s stock index tumbled to a 17-month low […] April 7, 2025
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
Analysis Markets Gulf investors urged to switch from petrochems to fertiliser Gulf fertiliser companies are trading below their fair value, with investors not seeming to price in a rebound in product prices that analysts say is more than just a seasonal upswing. In the Gulf, fertilisers and petrochemicals are considered adjacent industries, since both rely on natural gas as a feedstock. While petrochemical companies’ earnings have […] March 7, 2025
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025
Food & Drink Americana Restaurants profit rises as Gaza boycott eases Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Middle East and North Africa, said profit rose in the fourth quarter as a consumer boycott that is related to the Gaza conflict eased. Net income in the three months to December 31 rose 26 percent to $41 million, compared with $32 million in the same […] February 12, 2025
