Banking and Finance Orsted defies Russia, refuses to open roubles account for gas payments Denmark’s Orsted has no intention of opening a rouble account in Russia to accommodate Moscow’s demand for gas payments in the Russian currency, the energy firm’s CEO said on Friday. Orsted sold its oil and gas assets in 2017 to focus on offshore wind energy but retains a long-term gas deal with Russia’s Gazprom which […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE freezes assets of Kinahan drug trafficking gang The United Arab Emirates has frozen the assets of Ireland’s Kinahan drug trafficking gang, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The United States, which earlier this month offered a $5 million reward for help arresting the leaders of the gang, has likened it to some of the world’s most notorious crime networks. Daniel Kinahan, one […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Guterres urges unconditional funds for Afghanistan aid UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday that the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan had “deteriorated alarmingly” and urged donors toprovide “unconditional and flexible funding” towards its $4.4 billion appeal for aid. Opening a high-level pledging conference, he said the Afghan economy had all but collapsed since the Taliban takeover in August and nine million Afghans […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Sterling set for biggest drop in six years against dollar Sterling rose against the dollar on Friday but was still set for its sharpest monthly drop since October 2016, while edging higher against the euro. The dollar dropped from its recent 20-year high while still on track for its best month since 2015, bolstered by a combination of expectations for US rate hikes and growth […] April 29, 2022
Angry Credit Suisse shareholders reject 2020 discharge Credit Suisse shareholders on Friday rejected by a wide margin the board’s proposal to provide the beleaguered Swiss bank’s management a discharge from liabilities for the 2020 financial year, as investor ire over a slew of costly missteps grows. The board’s proposal to provide managers a legal discharge for 2020 — a sign of backing, […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt seeks private sector participation in state-owned assets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the government to set a program for the private sector’s participation in state-owned assets, with a target of $10 billion annually for four years, state TV quoted him as saying on Tuesday. The broadcaster did not mention any other details about the method of participation. The Egyptian president also […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance ADQ buys stakes worth $1.85bn in Egyptian firms Abu Dhabi’s state holding company ADQ bought shares worth $1.85 billion in five publicly traded Egyptian companies in April, helping Egypt after the Ukraine crisis prompted foreign investors to flee. Egypt has been on the hunt for foreign exchange since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted investors to pull billions of dollars out of its treasury […] April 28, 2022
Banking and Finance Standoff with Lebanon banks could derail IMF deal: minister Lebanon’s efforts to secure $3 billion in International Monetary Fund (IMF) support to help it tackle its financial crisis could be derailed by divisions over how to deal with massive financial sector losses, according to economy minister Amin Salam. The Association of the Banks of Lebanon (ABL) has rejected the latest draft of the government’s […] April 27, 2022
Energy US energy secretary says oil, gas output will continue to increase The US Energy Secretary said on Monday US oil and gas production is rising and will continue to rise to make up for the 1 to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day that has been pulled off the market in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Jennifer Granholm told CNBC the boost in US oil […] April 25, 2022
Energy Italy’s Enel in talks to sell Brazilian power distributor for $2bn Italy’s Enel SpA is in talks to sell its Brazilian power distributor company Celg-D in a deal that may reach $2 billion, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. Celg-D distributes power in the Brazilian centre-west state of Goias and serves 3.27 million customers. The sources said companies interested in acquiring Celg-D include Brazilian rivals […] April 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Commodity stocks drag FTSE 100 lower Commodity stocks and banks led a near 2 percent drop in London’s FTSE 100 on Monday as fears of a global economic slowdown sapped sentiment at the start of a week loaded with corporate earnings. After falling as much as 2.4 percent, the blue-chip index pared some losses to close down 1.9 percent at its […] April 25, 2022
Turtle Beach explores options to defend against hedge fund Turtle Beach Corp is looking at strategic alternatives including a possible sale, the company said, as it seeks to defend itself against a hedge fund which is seeking to replace all of the gaming equipment company’s six board members. Investment advisory firm Donerail Group and Turtle Beach have both made regulatory filings urging the company’s […] April 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Lights go out on Erdogan rival who refused to pay power bills The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party said on Thursday that he will sit in the dark for a week after power had been cut at his home as he refused to pay his bills in protest of steep hikes in subsidised energy prices. A currency crisis late last year sent inflation soaring and prompted […] April 21, 2022
Banking and Finance India’s HDFC to sell 10% stake in HDFC Capital to ADIA India’s top housing finance firm HDFC Ltd said on Wednesday it plans to sell a 10% stake in unit HDFC Capital to an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) for INR 1.84 billion ($24.09 million). The deal comes two weeks after HDFC and HDFC Bank, the country’s largest private-sector lender, floated merger plans to […] April 20, 2022
Banking and Finance World Bank to push ahead with some Afghan projects The World Bank has resumed work on three projects in Afghanistan focused on health, agriculture and livelihoods, but will maintain a hold on some $150 million for education projects, two sources familiar with the decision said Tuesday. The multilateral development bank had put all four projects, valued at around $600 million, on hold in late […] April 19, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi bank FAB withdraws offer for Egypt’s EFG Hermes First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has withdrawn its offer for a controlling stake in Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes, citing global market uncertainty. FAB’s non-binding offer in February to buy at least 51 percent of EFG Hermes, valuing Egypt’s biggest investment bank at nearly $1.2 billion, could have secured access to EFG’s strong franchise in […] April 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt current account deficit narrows to $3.8bn Egypt’s current account deficit narrowed to $3.8 billion in the October-December quarter from $4.85 billion in the same period a year earlier, boosted by a jump in tourism, the central bank said in balance of payments figures released on Thursday. The figures also showed a sharp outflow of portfolio investment, which shrank to a deficit […] April 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt’s foreign reserves drop by $4bn on Ukraine war shock The March reserves figure should have included a $5 billion deposit that Saudi Arabia said it placed with Egypt’s central bank just before the end of March, indicating that the scope of the strain on reserves had been even greater. The pressure on the currency prompted the central bank to devalue the pound by 14 […] April 7, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt private sector activity shrinks as Ukraine war takes toll Activity in Egypt’s non-oil private sector shrank in March at its fastest since the earlymonths of the coronavirus pandemic as fallout from the Russian invasion of Ukraine hit businesses and fuelled costs, a survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index slid to 46.5 from February’s 48.1, its 16th month below the […] April 5, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi non-oil private sector maintains solid growth Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector kept up its solid pace of growth in March as output expanded at the fastest rate in over four years, a survey showedon Tuesday. The headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the whole economy rose to 56.8 in March from 56.2 in February, exactly […] April 5, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt’s net foreign assets turned sharply negative in February Egyptian net foreign assets (NFAs) went sharply negative in February, declining by 60 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.29 billion) to minus EP 50.3 billion, central bank data showed on Sunday. It was their fifth month of declines. An outflow of foreign currency helped prompt the central bank to devalue the pound by 14 percent on March […] April 3, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt plans to issue first sovereign sukuk Egypt plans to issue its first sovereign sukuk before the end of the current fiscal year ending in June, Finance Minister Mohamed Maiit said in a statement onSaturday. Maait also said that Egypt plans to tap the Japanese market by offering new issues in the future. Last month, Egypt issued 60 billion yen ($489.84 million) […] April 2, 2022
