Banking and Finance Emirates Islamic Bank’s green sukuk orders hit $1.9bn The Islamic unit of Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest lender, has launched a $750 million green sharia-compliant sukuk. The indicative price for Emirates Islamic Bank’s (EIB) 5-year sustainability sukuk was set at 100 basis points over US Treasuries, Reuters reported, citing a document from an arranging bank. The issuance, part of EIB’s $2.5 billion certificate issuance […] May 22, 2024
Banking and Finance Investment app Sarwa fined by Dubai and Abu Dhabi regulators Investment platform Sarwa Digital Wealth has been fined AED1,151,000 ($313,500) by regulators in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for offering shares and securities without an approved prospectus. The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) said on Tuesday that it had imposed a penalty of AED701,815 on the fintech. On the same day, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority […] May 21, 2024
Banking and Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank targets Turkish lender One of Turkey’s largest corporations has confirmed it is in talks with First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) over the sale of a majority holding in the Istanbul-headquartered lender Yapı Kredi, the country’s fourth largest private bank in terms of assets. A report by Reuters on May 21 said sources told it FAB was offering around […] May 21, 2024
Banking and Finance Qatari Islamic bank buys Kazakhstan’s Bereke Bank Lesha Bank, a sharia-compliant bank in Qatar, has acquired Bereke Bank from Kazakhstan government-backed Baiterek Holding for QAR532 million ($146 million). The Qatar Stock Exchange-listed company said in a statement that the transaction is, however, subject to regulatory approvals. Last month the bank reported an all-time high quarterly net profit of QAR28.8 million in the first quarter of […] May 21, 2024
Finance PIF slashes Starbucks stake as it cuts US stocks by $15bn Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has slashed its US equity holdings by 42 percent to $20.6 billion, including its stake in Starbucks, the global coffee chain that has suffered calls for a boycott as a result of the Gaza conflict. The latest US government data highlights funding challenges facing the Saudi giga-projects. The filing […] May 17, 2024
Cybersecurity Crypto exchange Rain suffers $15m hack Rain, a cryptocurrency exchange regulated in both the UAE and Bahrain, has confirmed a serious hack resulting in losses reportedly nearing $15 million. The exchange said in a statement on its website on Tuesday that customer funds remain secure despite the incident. The security breach occurred on April 29 and was first detected by blockchain […] May 16, 2024
Analysis Real Estate Investor interest wanes as Saudi real estate trusts underperform Saudi Arabia’s publicly listed real estate investment trusts lag the kingdom’s main stock index as investor enthusiasm for the REIT asset class wanes. This is despite steady returns and an upbeat outlook in the property sector. REITs are often listed on bourses and invest in various property types such as offices, residential, education facilities and […] May 16, 2024
Analysis Finance Gulf asset managers remain wary of resurgent bitcoin Gulf asset managers and institutional investors remain reluctant to invest in bitcoin, despite the cryptocurrency’s resurgence over the past year. The Middle East and North Africa accounted for 7 percent – or $390 million – of global crypto volumes in the 12 months to June 30, 2023, according to Chainalysis. Turkey made up nearly half, […] May 16, 2024
Finance Dubai tops ‘greenfield’ FDI ranking for third year Dubai is the world’s top location for “greenfield” foreign direct investment for the third consecutive year, according to fDi Markets. A total of 1,070 greenfield FDI projects, where a company sets up in a foreign country, building its facilities from the ground up, were reported in Dubai in 2023. This was more than double the […] May 15, 2024
Markets Bahrain Bourse needs more liquidity despite 43% surge The Bahrain Bourse has surged by almost 43 percent in the past five years, but experts have warned that the Gulf state must prioritise further listings to bring more liquidity into the market. The bulk of the growth on the kingdom’s main exchange has come from a select number of liquid stocks, topped by Aluminium […] May 15, 2024
Analysis Banking and Finance GCC debt market on way to trillion-dollar milestone The total debt capital market in the GCC is likely to cross $1 trillion this year, after reaching $940 billion in the first quarter of 2024. New research from Fitch Ratings shows that more than a third of GCC debt issued last year was in the form of sukuk, also known as an Islamic bond. […] May 14, 2024
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi-backed Egyptian bank doubles profits Commercial International Bank, the Egyptian lender backed by Abu Dhabi, has doubled its consolidated net profits for the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2023. In an earnings release published on Sunday, CIB posted a net income of EGP11.9 billion ($253 million) at the start of this year, up from […] May 14, 2024
Video length: 08:25 exclusive Banking and Finance Rate of debt skipping falls 90% at Dubai’s biggest bank There has been a dramatic decline in the number of people leaving the country to avoid debt obligations to UAE banks. The fall in so-called “skips” is a result of the Gulf state’s introduction of legal reforms such as the decriminalisation of bounced cheques, and new insolvency and bankruptcy laws, experts said. In the past […] May 14, 2024
Banking and Finance Demand is high for Alrajhi bank’s first green sukuk Saudi Arabia’s Alrajhi Bank has completed its $1 billion sukuk – having raised $3.5 billion in subscriptions from local and international investors – as the kingdom’s lenders push to raise funds for the government’s expensive giga-projects. Sukuk are sharia-compliant bonds that were developed as an alternative to conventional bonds, which are not considered permissible by […] May 13, 2024
Finance Dubai financial watchdog reports 25% rise in licences The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the emirate’s financial regulator, reported a 25 percent year-on-year increase in the number of licensed companies in 2023, amounting to nearly 800 in total. The number of applications across all business models within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the emirate’s main financial hub, rose 50 percent annually, the […] May 13, 2024
Video length: 04:15 VIDEO Finance Unicorn SWVL survives share slump to turn a profit Scaling back operations, chasing profitability over investor funding and divesting from acquisitions has resulted in the Middle East’s first unicorn finally turning profitable. Egypt-born ride hailing app SWVL has survived a turbulent time during which the Nasdaq-listed startup faced the possibility of being delisted. SWVL was valued at $1.5 billion when it went public in […] May 10, 2024
Opinion Banking and Finance Catastrophic floods are a wake-up call for insurers Regional insurance penetration needs to be higher and policies must be overhauled May 10, 2024
Opinion Finance Strong regional deal growth underpinned by wealth funds Middle Eastern markets have remained resilient, due to supportive government policies May 8, 2024
Finance Aldar prepares for new 10-year green Islamic bonds Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, has appointed banks for its US-dollar-denominated 10-year green Islamic bond, according to a news report. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank will lead as joint global coordinators, Reuters reported, citing a bank document. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, First […] May 8, 2024
INTERVIEW Banking and Finance Wealth manager seeks Gulf growth despite setbacks in UK St James’s Place, the UK’s largest wealth manager, plans to target local customers to expand its one-year-old Gulf operation as it seeks to brush off reputational setbacks in its home market. In February SJP disclosed that it had set aside more than $500 million for potential client refunds after an increase in complaints about its […] May 7, 2024
Banking and Finance Card payments market in UAE to be worth $139bn in 2024 Card payment transactions in the UAE are expected to grow 13 percent to AED511 billion ($139 billion) this year, thanks to a constant consumer shift towards e-payments and an increase in consumer spending. The London-based analytics company GlobalData has forecast that the UAE card payments market will increase at a compound annual growth rate of […] May 6, 2024
Banking and Finance Alpha Dhabi explores buyouts despite profit drop Alpha Dhabi Holding, the fourth most valuable listed company in Abu Dhabi, reported a net profit of AED4.6 billion ($1.3 billion) for the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 37 percent year on year. Revenue rose 11 percent annually to AED14.2 billion and total assets rose 5 percent year on year at AED147 billion at […] May 6, 2024
