Banking and Finance Algeria to issue its first sukuk in June Algeria intends to issue its first sovereign Islamic bonds or sukuk next month to fund infrastructure and other domestic projects, according to an official. Arrangements for the first such issue by have reached “very advanced stages”, said Ruzaika Mikatli, director of the public debt office at the Algerian finance ministry, according to the Al-Khabr newspaper. […] May 22, 2025
Analysis Finance ‘Protection gap’ is growing in the Gulf as insurance costs rise It is perhaps no surprise that, after the heaviest rains 13 months ago since records began and billions of dollars in flood damage, the cost of insuring homes in Dubai and Abu Dhabi has jumped. But it is the so-called protection gap in the Gulf insurance market, which the average 10 to 15 percent rise […] May 22, 2025
Banking and Finance Egypt’s EFG Holding revenue falls on previous forex gain Egyptian financial services company EFG Holding’s revenue declined by an annualised 34 percent in the first quarter, due to an exceptional foreign currency gain in the same period of 2024, the company said on Wednesday. Revenue fell to EGP5.6 billion ($112.5 million), while net profit after taxes and minority interests fell 34 percent to EGP1.2 billion […] May 22, 2025
Banking and Finance Turkish bank secures $1bn to support women-led businesses Türk Eximbank, a state-backed export credit institution, has secured $1 billion in new funding to support small businesses. The funds will be used to support women-led small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in low-income regions and provide financial support to SMEs exporting green products, the bank said in a post on the social media platform […] May 22, 2025
Banking and Finance Emirates NBD gets nod to set up Indian subsidiary India’s central bank has given an “in-principle” approval to Emirates NBD Bank, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India. The Dubai-listed lender currently offers banking services through branches in Chennai, Gurugram and Mumbai, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in a statement. The approval allows Emirates NBD […] May 20, 2025
Finance PIF set to double European investments with Paris office Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is to open its first subsidiary company office in France as it targets doubling its investment in Europe by 2030. The new office underscores the fund’s aim to foster close collaboration with local partners, top companies and institutional investors in Europe, the fund said in a statement. French President […] May 20, 2025
EXCLUSIVE Finance Qatari state faces UK legal action over $6bn debt Swifthold Foundation, a Panama-registered Anglo-Spanish family office, is mounting legal action against the state of Qatar over a $6 billion debt owed by a member of its royal family, the latest stage in a dispute that dates back more than a decade. Swifthold, whose individual founders or beneficiaries are not publicly known due to the […] May 19, 2025
Finance Jordan gets $2bn to support national projects Jordan has secured more than $2 billion in grants and concessional loans to build a series of development projects, according to local media. The agreements were signed last month with the World Bank, Germany’s KfW Development Bank, the Netherlands embassy and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), Jordan Times newspaper reported, quoting […] May 19, 2025
Finance Turkey gets $219m to develop projects in quake-hit cities The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide €195 million ($219 million) to two infrastructure projects in Turkey’s earthquake-hit cities of Adiyaman and Hatay. The development bank will provide €95 million ($106 million) to cover the construction of wastewater and stormwater networks and facilities in Adiyaman, it said in a statement. Another €100 million […] May 16, 2025
Banking and Finance Jordan’s Bank al Etihad buys smaller Investbank Jordan’s Bank al Etihad has acquired smaller peer Investbank in a deal that will create one of the kingdom’s biggest lenders, bank officials said on Thursday. The two banks’ boards agreed to a stock-for-stock acquisition that will create an entity with a total equity value of over $1.4 billion, Bank al Etihad chairman Basem Salfiti […] May 16, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance Rise of Middle East fintechs gives banks a run for their money The growth of fintech in the Middle East is driving traditional banks to refocus on better serving their customers and invest in their own dedicated subsidiaries as the sector eats into their market share, industry experts say. In the three months to March 31, fintech funding accounted for almost 60 percent of all venture capital […] May 13, 2025
Banking and Finance Egypt renews warning over dealing in cryptocurrencies Egypt has issued a fresh warning against dealing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies following a surge in local online advertisements for investment in these tools. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said these currencies lack official financial backing that guarantees their stability and that they could be used in terror funding. In a weekend statement on […] May 12, 2025
Analysis Finance VC funding in decline for female-led Mena startups Startups led by women in the Middle East and North Africa are at risk of being left far behind when it comes to raising venture capital funds, data shows. Since 2020 their share of the total has declined every year from 2.2 percent to less than 0.5 percent in 2023, before bouncing back up – […] May 12, 2025
Finance IHC enters reinsurance business with BlackRock Abu Dhabi-listed IHC plans to establish a $1 billion local artificial intelligence (AI)-driven reinsurance platform with New York-based asset manager BlackRock. The venture will target more than $10 billion in liabilities through a buy-and-build strategy, with Lunate, the alternative investment manager based in Abu Dhabi, also joining as a partner, IHC said in a statement. […] May 12, 2025
Banking and Finance Profit falls as staffing costs rise at Oman’s Sohar bank Sohar International Bank, Oman’s second-biggest bank by assets, reported a decline in first-quarter profit on lower net interest income and higher staffing costs. The bank registered a net profit of OR21.5 million ($56 million) in the three months to March 31, a decline of 15 percent over the same period last year. “Compared to the […] May 9, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance US treasuries: why it’s buy, buy, buy for the UAE as Saudi sells Saudi Arabia and the UAE are following divergent investment strategies around US government bonds, which have long been a safe haven for sovereign and institutional investors worldwide. The two countries are among the world’s top 20 biggest holders of the bonds, with a combined value of almost $250 billion. The UAE acquired almost $43 billion […] May 9, 2025
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala reveals 34% rise in 2024 spending Mubadala deployed AED119 billion ($32 billion) of capital last year, a rise of nearly 34 percent on 2023, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has revealed in its latest earnings report. The fund, which is thought to have been the world’s most active sovereign investor in 2024, has not released data on its annual revenues […] May 8, 2025
Banking and Finance UAE plans to double Islamic bank assets The UAE has approved a new strategy that aims to more than double the assets of its Islamic banks in the next six years. The government aims to increase the assets of Islamic banks from AED986 billion ($268 billion) to AED2.56 trillion by 2031, state-run news agency Wam quoted vice president and prime minister Sheikh […] May 8, 2025
Opinion Banking and Finance From ice baths to yacht parties, crypto bros descend on Dubai The first Token2049 of the year drew a record 15,000 attendees to Madinat Jumeirah May 7, 2025
Finance Crypto payment provider Ripple plans UAE growth Cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs has outlined plans to expand in the UAE after winning approval to operate in Dubai. Based in San Francisco, Ripple was the first blockchain payments provider to be licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in March, the company said in a statement. One in five Ripple customers is based […] May 7, 2025
Banking and Finance Egypt fintech Money Fellows to expand across North Africa Money Fellows, a Cairo-based startup that digitises the so-called Middle East jamiyya savings model, has raised $13 million to expand across North Africa and beyond, the company has announced. Jamiyya, which is also known as sanduk, is part of the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (Rosca) technique whereby a group of people agrees to contribute […] May 7, 2025
Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia to ‘roll with the punches’ on oil price Saudi Arabia may have to tighten its reins on spending on the back of a decline in international oil prices, analysts have said. The country’s first-quarter budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion), reported this week, was the biggest in three years. “A deficit was broadly expected, says Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial […] May 7, 2025
