Finance Mubadala backs UAE startup Moove’s $100m funding round Moove, a UAE-headquartered vehicle-financing startup, has secured $100 million in a new funding round backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, an existing investor. The Series B round, which saw investments from US ride-hailing app Uber, valued the Nigeria-founded startup at $750 million. The new funding will allow Moove to expand its vehicle financing offering […] March 20, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Liquidity strain set to push Saudi banks to seek more funds Saudi Arabian banks’ loan books are set to expand faster than their deposits again in 2024, raising costs and pushing lenders to seek additional funding sources. However, the kingdom’s banks are expected to increase their annual profits this year as government-led infrastructure projects and likely cuts to benchmark interest rates boost margins for its two […] March 20, 2024
Health NMC and Dubai Islamic Bank end legal dispute NMC Healthcare has reached an out-of-court settlement with Dubai Islamic Bank, ending the long-running legal dispute between the two businesses. The healthcare operator had borrowed around $400 million from DIB, which is the largest Islamic bank in the UAE. The loan used collateral known as insurance receivables, which are payments by insurance companies for medical […] March 19, 2024
Banking & Finance Morocco signs $109m loan deal with African bank Morocco has received a loan worth €100 million ($109 million) from the African Development Bank to fund new investment and sustainable infrastructure projects across the country. The loan agreement was signed with Fonds d’Equipement Communal, a bank dedicated to financing investment projects and development programmes in Morocco. Funds will be used to improve public services, […] March 19, 2024
Finance Egypt gets $6bn from World Bank to spur growth The World Bank Group will offer more than $6 billion over the next three years to support Egypt’s economic recovery amid its foreign currency crunch. The Washington-headquartered group will allocate $3 billion for financial support to government programmes and the remaining $3 billion to the private sector, subject to board approval. The announcement comes after […] March 19, 2024
Finance UAE tourist tax refunds rise 14% to 4.2m in 2023 The UAE reported a 14.4 percent rise in tourist tax refund transactions, totalling 4.18 million in 2023. The average transaction processed reached 11,460 per day, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) said. No details were given on the total amount refunded. Tourists and visitors can claim refund on VAT paid on purchases they made during their […] March 19, 2024
Finance Saudi PIF ‘interested’ in buying stake in UK Selfridges Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to buy a stake in British luxury department store Selfridges after the collapse of one of its owners, as it seeks ways to improve funding flows to Saudi giga-projects. Austrian company Signa faces insolvency, opening up its 50 percent share in Selfridges to acquisition. The other owner […] March 18, 2024
Opinion Lifestyle Abu Dhabi is getting serious in its bid to lure the wealthy Competition with Dubai is about more than country club fees March 18, 2024
Banking & Finance PIF’s debt plans to ease funding strain on local banks Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) aims to regularly tap debt markets or secure bank loans to alleviate funding pressure on local banks to fulfill the kingdom’s ambitious diversification plan. The $940 billion sovereign fund also intends to divest stakes in its portfolio companies to bolster the economic transformation under Vision 2030, Bloomberg reported, citing […] March 15, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance UAE banks struggling to match 2023’s record profits Banks in the UAE will struggle to repeat last year’s record annual profits in 2024, after the introduction of corporate tax, expected US interest rate cuts and the likely absence of the bumper one-off gains that bolstered their bottom line in 2023. However, a slight decline in profitability would still represent a strong performance by […] March 15, 2024
Economy Germany commits $282m in low-cost funding to Egypt Germany has pledged to commit €258 million ($282 million) to Egypt in the form of debt swaps, grants and concessional financing, Egyptian minister of international cooperation Rania Al Mashat said. The government has approved €54 million from Germany to finance the smart energy project within the national platform of the Nexus of Water, Food and […] March 14, 2024
Finance UAE banks add 2.5m new loans and credit cards in 2023 The number of bank loans and credit cards issued by banks and financial institutions in the UAE last year grew by 3 percent year on year, driven by increased confidence in borrowers’ capacity to fulfil their financial obligations. The number of contracts reached 2.52 million in 2023, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, citing […] March 14, 2024
Finance ADIA backs $832m European real estate debt fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, will pump additional capital into Cheyne Capital’s European real estate debt fund, increasing the total investment to £650 million ($832 million). The investment by a Gulf state-owned fund subsidiary marks the ninth round of the London-based Cheyne Real Estate Credit Holdings programme, called the […] March 13, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Mergers drive growth in Bahrain’s Islamic finance sector When Al Salam Bank, one of the largest Islamic banks in Bahrain, became majority shareholder of its Algerian subsidiary last June, CEO Rafik Nayed made clear that the shopping spree was not over. Mergers and acquisitions “will remain an important pillar of our growth plans”, Nayed said – and last month Al Salam announced a […] March 13, 2024
Finance Bahraini fund hires bank to find buyer for McLaren stake Bahrain’s sovereign fund has hired bankers to find a potential buyer for its stake in the British carmaker McLaren Group, according to a UK media report. Mumtalakat Holdings, which holds a 50 percent stake in McLaren, has hired JP Morgan following an order from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, The Sunday Times reported. JP […] March 12, 2024
Banking & Finance India is top Asian target for Middle East investors India is more than twice as important as China as a target for Middle East investment, an industry report has revealed. Since 2020, private capital deal value from the Middle East into Asia has soared more than sixfold, from $14 billion between 2016 and 2019 to $83 billion since 2020, data from the Global Private […] March 11, 2024
Banking & Finance Dubai ends double taxation for foreign banks Foreign banks including HSBC, Banque Misr and Arab Bank operating in Dubai will no longer face double taxation after a change in the emirate’s banking laws. A 9 percent corporate tax, introduced in June last year for corporations and businesses that have a taxable profit above AED375,000 ($100,000) was being applied on top of the […] March 8, 2024
Banking & Finance Gulf wealth funds put investing in US well ahead of China Most sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf remain heavily invested in the US, while China represents a much smaller part of their portfolios, data from the consultancy Global SWF shows. The data also shows that the portfolios of Gulf sovereign wealth funds vary widely in terms of their geographical distribution. This is partly a result […] March 8, 2024
Tech Oman’s growing space sector attracts $52m in investments Oman has attracted investments worth OMR20 million ($52 million) in its growing space sector over the past two years, a senior government official said. The investments have increased after the issuance of the executive space programme last year, Dr. Ali Al Shidhani, under-secretary of communications and IT at the ministry of transport, communications, and information […] March 8, 2024
Oil & Gas PIF doubles stake in Saudi Aramco to 16% Saudi Arabia has completed the transfer of an 8 percent stake in Aramco to the sovereign Public Investment Fund ahead of a planned flotation of the oil major. “The transfer is a continuation of Saudi Arabia’s long-term initiatives to boost and diversify the national economy and expand investment opportunities in line with Vision 2030,” state-owned […] March 8, 2024
Finance Abu Dhabi Global Market reports rapid growth Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) said that over 125 companies are in the pipeline to be registered, as the international financial centre reported continued growth. Assets under management (AUM) grew by 35 percent in 2023, with 102 asset managers managing 141 funds, ADGM said in a statement. While it did not give the total value […] March 7, 2024
Economy Egypt secures expanded $8bn loan from IMF Egypt will receive an expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after agreeing to implement a set of reforms and policies. The country is experiencing significant macroeconomic challenges due to the impact of the Gaza conflict on tourism and lower Suez Canal receipts, the IMF said in a statement. “The authorities are […] March 7, 2024
