Exclusive Banking & Finance Mena is Binance’s fastest growing region for institutional investors Binance reported a 34 percent rise in the number of new Middle East and North Africa institutional investors adopting its cryptocurrency technology during the last quarter of 2022, the highest growth of all regions. The world’s largest crypto exchange attributed the results to strong appetite for digital banking and financial solutions in the region. This […] January 20, 2023
Di Caprio-backed fintech to set up offices in Abu Dhabi California-based fintech company Aspiration Inc. will be setting up offices at Abu Dhabi Global Market. Aspiration is supported by Access Abu Dhabi, the business expansion program by Maven Global Access and Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), which serves as a conduit to fast-track entry to the UAE capital, the company said in a statement. The […] January 20, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Rising global interest sets Dubai IPOs on course for strong 2023 Global stock markets may have suffered heavy losses but bourses in the Middle East and North Africa are thriving, recording 42 listings in 2022 and with a healthy pipeline of activity planned for the year ahead. According to Bloomberg data, Mena initial public offerings (IPOs) raised over $18 billion in 2022. This represents 47 percent […] January 20, 2023
Banking & Finance Russia adds Egyptian pound and UAE dirham to exchange rate list Russia’s central bank has added nine currencies to its list of exchange rates against the ruble, including the UAE dirham, Qatari riyal and Egyptian pound (EGP), from January 18, Ahram Online reported. The other six are Thai baht, Vietnamese dong, Serbian dinar, New Zealand dollar, Georgian lari and Indonesian rupiah, the news portal said, citing a […] January 20, 2023
Banking & Finance Israel’s Playtika offers $738m for Angry Birds maker Playtika Holding Corp on Thursday sweetened its offer for Finnish game maker Rovio, best known for its “Angry Birds” franchise, to €683 million ($737.50 million), as a consolidation in the industry gathers pace. The offer values each share of Rovio at €9.05, about 60 percent higher than the company’s closing price on January 19. It […] January 20, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s central bank holds interest rate at 9% Turkey’s central bank held interest rates at nine percent for a second straight month on Thursday, and analysts said it could return to easing in the run-up to May elections given inflation is expected to drift lower from 64 percent last month. The central bank (CBRT) said the inflation level and trend have improved due […] January 20, 2023
Opinion Banking & Finance 6 reasons why so many UAE residents trade stocks and shares It's official: the UAE is among the countries most obsessed with trading stocks and shares January 19, 2023
Banking & Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank raises $600m via unsecured bonds First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the largest lender in the UAE, sold $600 million in senior unsecured bonds maturing in 5-1/4 years, a bank document showed on Wednesday. FAB sold the bonds at a spread of 105 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries from initial guidance of around 130 bps over the same benchmark after […] January 19, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Rise of UAE foundations as wealth management sector matures The UAE’s richest people are increasingly setting up foundations to structure and preserve their wealth for the future. Regional wealth managers told AGBI they have noticed a “significant increase” in the number of foundations being established in the UAE, and in the volume of enquiries they are receiving about setting one up. Bradley Moran, an […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt’s banks can cope with sharp currency drop, say experts Egyptian banks can withstand the impact of further currency depreciation as they are supported by “healthy internal capital generation”, analysts say. Fitch Ratings report that large private sector banks are better placed to deal with a weaker pound than the two largest public banks, National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr, due to their higher […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Anti-money laundering order in UAE to tackle stolen IDs The UAE’s latest anti-money laundering guidance aims to tighten up rules related to digital IDs. While it will have little impact for traditional banks, it may weed out some of the weaker players in the fast-growing fintech sector. The advice issued by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) last week focused on the use […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE telco increases stake in UK’s Vodafone to 12% UAE telecom operator e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, has increased its stake in the UK’s Vodafone Group. In a statement published on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the telco said it had purchased a total of 3.272 billion shares, representing 12 percent of Vodafone’s issued share capital, excluding treasury shares. The financial details of the […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Scaramucci’s SkyBridge expects bitcoin at $35,000 this year SkyBridge Capital is betting on a sustained turnaround in cryptocurrency markets in 2023, the firm’s founder Anthony Scaramucci said, while admitting this view was “overly bullish”. “If bitcoin could trade back to $35,000, SkyBridge is going to have an amazing year,” Scaramucci told the Reuters Global Markets Forum in Davos, Switzerland. January’s crypto rally could be sustained as […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia open to trade in currencies other than US dollar Saudi Arabia is open to exploring trade in currencies other than the US dollar, Bloomberg TV reported, citing finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan. “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,” he added. […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Tesla and Musk face trial over 2018 tweets on ‘secured’ funding Elon Musk and Tesla Inc are set to go to trial in San Francisco in a case where the company’s shareholders claim they were defrauded by Musk’s 2018 statement that funding was “secured” to take the electric car maker private. The lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who bought or sold Tesla stock in the days […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkish firm acquires Whirlpool’s Middle East and Africa business US home appliances maker Whirlpool is folding its European business into a new company controlled by Turkish rival Arcelik, reducing its exposure to a market where it had warned attractive profit margins could be some way off. Whirlpool also said it had agreed to sell its Middle Eastern and African businesses to Arcelik, which the […] January 18, 2023
Banking & Finance Qatari bank Dukhan set to list on Doha’s main market Dukhan Bank, Qatar’s fifth-largest bank, is planning to go public and list on the Doha stock exchange. The bank, which has total assets in excess of QR100 billion ($27.5 billion), agreed the proposal at an extraordinary general assembly meeting on Sunday. Its share capital will be listed on the main market of the Qatar Stock Exchange […] January 17, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE’s Mashreq obtains digital banking license in Pakistan UAE’s Mashreq has acquired a digital banking license under the digital regulatory framework issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the bank said in a statement. Ahmed Abdelaal, group CEO, Mashreq, said the move will act as a catalyst in leading the evolution of digital finance and the wider digital economy in Pakistan through […] January 17, 2023
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala acquires US-based Dental Care Alliance Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala Investment Company has acquired US-based Dental Care Alliance (DCA), a dental services organisation with nearly 390 allied practices, state-run WAM news agency reported. The investment was made in collaboration with funds managed by Harvest Partners, a US-based private equity firm focused on middle-market companies. DCA is one of the largest […] January 17, 2023
Banking & Finance Israel worried looser fiscal policy could stop inflation from easing Bank of Israel policymakers expressed concern that the new government will boost spending too much and harm its ability to return inflation to its one to three percent annual target. Minutes from the January 2 rates decision showed that the monetary policy committee was mostly upbeat that price pressures were starting to ease, saying some […] January 17, 2023
Banking & Finance Manchester United set up shop with luxury lounge in Swiss Alps Manchester United set out a dazzling Davos shop front this week, but insisted its lounge was to entertain clients and partners rather than to attract buyers for the English soccer club. United said in November it was looking at options to either get new investment or explore a potential sale, 17 years after the Glazer […] January 17, 2023
Banking & Finance Bahrain’s Investcorp to expand southeast Asia footprint Bahrain-based Investcorp is working on multiple initiatives in Indonesia, including one in partnership with the nation’s sovereign wealth fund as it seeks to expand its footprint in southeast Asia, the firm’s co-chief executive officer said. “We have two terrific initiatives in Indonesia right now, and hopefully, a third very soon in partnership with the local […] January 17, 2023
