Banking & Finance Turkey and Syria quake: Nations extend support and aid Governments and international organisations from around the world have responded with offers of support after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria. Below is a list of some of those announcements of support: UAE The UAE said it would set up a field hospital in Turkey and dispatch search and rescue […] February 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Emerging market currencies to gain on better economic outlook Emerging market currencies are expected to drift higher in coming months thanks to improved global growth prospects, boosted in part by the reopening of China’s economy, a Reuters poll of 40 foreign exchange strategists found. After a good start to the year for emerging market forex, the US dollar has gained over the past two […] February 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Iraq revalues currency and sets new exchange rate Iraq’s cabinet approved a currency revaluation on Tuesday and set the exchange rate at 1,300 dinars per US dollar, a cabinet statement said on Tuesday. The Iraqi dinar had been selling at 1,470 dinars against the dollar before the New York Federal Reserve introduced tighter controls on international dollar transactions by commercial Iraqi banks in […] February 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Jazeera Airways cuts bank funding needs for Airbus deal to $1bn Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways aims to secure $1 billion from banks to help finance the purchase of new Airbus aircraft, its chairman said on Tuesday, half the amount it had initially planned to seek. The airline placed a multi-billion dollar order with Airbus for 28 single aisle A320neo family passenger jets in November 2021. […] February 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi PIF to raise $5.5bn with second green bond sale Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to raise $5.5 billion through its second sale of green bonds in four months, for which orders topped $32.5 billion, one the banks running the deal said on Tuesday. The wealth fund was set to raise $1.75 billion in seven-year paper at 115 basis points (bps) […] February 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Central Bank grants first licence to a foreign insurer US healthcare giant Cigna is to become the first international insurer operating in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom seeks to increase foreign direct investment. Cigna has been granted a health insurer licence by the Saudi Central Bank (Sama), it revealed on Monday. Jason Sadler, president of international markets at Cigna, described the branch licence as […] February 7, 2023
Banking & Finance The new Switzerland: diplomacy is key to UAE’s trade success The UAE is “the new Switzerland” and poised to reap the benefits of its good relationships with both East and West, the investment boss of one of the Gulf’s leading banks has said. Maurice Gravier, chief investment officer at Emirates NBD Group, said he believed the world needed neutral powers, “a place to speak between […] February 7, 2023
Banking & Finance Sharjah hires banks for debut dollar sustainable bonds The government of Sharjah in the UAE has hired banks to arrange a sale of dollar-denominated debut sustainable bonds, a bank document showed. HSBC was hired as sole global coordinator and ESG structuring agent. It is joined by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citi, Gulf International Bank, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Invest Bank and SMBC Nikko as joint […] February 7, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s lira hits record low but rebounds after earthquake Turkey’s lira briefly dipped to a record low and its main stock market fell 1.35 percent on Monday as the major earthquake added to pressures from a strong dollar and the war in Ukraine, as well as a surprise inflation reading. The lira slipped to 18.85 in early trade before retracing its losses to end […] February 7, 2023
Banking & Finance Lebanese banks to start open-ended strike for judicial reforms Banks in Lebanon will start an open-ended strike from Tuesday but will keep ATMs operating for basic services, the Lebanese Banks Association said, urging authorities to pass overdue measures to deal with a deep financial crisis. The decision came after a meeting by the association to discuss judicial measures against banks that have snowballed since […] February 7, 2023
Banking & Finance Central bank approves HSBC Oman and Sohar International merger HSBC Bank Oman and Sohar International have received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) approval for their merger proposal, the banks said in separate statements to the Muscat Stock Exchange. The merger is likely to be completed in the second half of 2023 following approvals from regulators and shareholders of the two banks. In previous […] February 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Major central banks rekindle rate hike push after dry January Major central bank interest rates moves were off to a tepid start in January with a single hike by Canada but the pace will speed up again in February with policy makers in the US, Britain and the euro zone out of the starting blocks already. January saw just three meetings by central banks overseeing […] February 5, 2023
Opinion Banking & Finance Crypto will emerge stronger from recent challenges The latest milestones for digital assets will define the ultimate success of the cryptocurrency ecosystem February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia sees cashless payments up 25% in January Saudi Arabia saw the number of digital point-of-sale (Pos) transactions increase by nearly a quarter year-on-year during January, as the kingdom’s drive towards becoming a cashless economy takes hold. Figures from the Saudi Central Bank showed there were 598,861 transactions last month for both ATM cash withdrawals and credit card transactions at retail outlets and […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE telco buys more Vodafone shares to up stake to 13% UAE telecom operator e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, has upped its stake in the UK’s Vodafone Group for the second time this year. In a statement published on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the telco said it had purchased a total of 3.537 billion shares, representing 13 percent of Vodafone’s issued share capital, excluding […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey said to keep interest rates low post-election Finance minister Nureddin Nebati said Turkey would keep interest rates low after elections expected in May and not reverse course on monetary policy, according to an interview published by Bloomberg. Contrary to some analyst expectations that President Tayyip Erdogan will roll back his stimulus programme after the vote, Nebati was quoted as saying the central […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance King Salman names new Saudi central bank governor Saudi Arabia’s King Salman appointed Ayman Al-Sayari as central bank governor replacing Fahad Al-Mubarak, a decree carried on the state media said. Al-Sayari was vice-governor for investment and research at the central bank and is a member of the board of directors of Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Center. Al-Mubarak would now become an adviser […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance HSBC embarks on Saudi hiring spree amid deals boom HSBC is hiring dealmakers “as fast as it can” in Saudi Arabia to capitalise on a wave of financing activity in the country, the global head of its investment bank told Reuters. The lender aims to increase headcount in its global banking and markets business in Saudi Arabia by 10-15 percent this year, Greg Guyett, […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance US crypto exchange Kraken shuts Abu Dhabi office Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has shut its Abu Dhabi office less than a year after securing a license in the region, a spokesperson said, as the company seeks to sharpen its focus after FTX’s bankruptcy shook the digital assets sector. The US-based company had said last year it would reduce its workforce by 30 percent, or […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt’s central bank leaves key interest rates unchanged Egypt’s central bank kept its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying in a statement that steep rate increases put in place over the last year should help to tame inflation, now running at 21.3 percent. The hold had been unexpected by many analysts. A poll of 13 analysts forecast the bank would raise rates […] February 3, 2023
Banking & Finance US Fed Reserve suggests ‘couple’ more hikes coming The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it had turned a key corner in the fight against high inflation, but that “victory” would still require its benchmark overnight interest rate to be increased further and remain elevated at least through 2023. In announcing its latest policy decision, the US central bank scaled back to a quarter-percentage-point rate […] February 2, 2023
Banking & Finance Citigroup stops margin loans against India Adani’s securities Citigroup’s wealth unit has stopped extending margin loans to its clients against securities of India’s embattled Adani group, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the conglomerate reels from a short-seller attack. The group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises shelved its $2.5 billion share sale in a dramatic reversal on Wednesday as a […] February 2, 2023
