Banking & Finance New investor app taps Gulf’s appetite for stocks and shares InvestSky, a social investing platform, has raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by venture capital fund Emkan Capital. The Dubai startup aims to use the cash to make investing more inclusive for a “new generation of investors in the GCC”, it said. InvestSky’s commission-free platform is aimed at retail investors – non-professional […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Bahrain’s GFH co-invests with Equitix in Europe’s infra sector Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group’s (GFH) sustainable infrastructure platform Infracorp has announced its first co-investment in the European infrastructure sector with London-based fund manager Equitix. The two entities will invest in Aurora Infrastructure Oy (Aurora), a monopoly electricity distribution network operating in Finland. Aurora serves a blue-chip international industrial client base and has invested more than […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance StanChart eyes sale of $3.7bn aircraft leasing unit Standard Chartered is considering a sale, among several options, of its aviation unit, which according to an industry publication owns a fleet worth around $3.7 billion. The UK-headquartered bank said on Wednesday the aircraft leasing business represented around two percent of its group income. The unit, based in Ireland, owns and manages more than 120 […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Qatar National Bank profit rises 9% to $3.9bn in 2022 Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Gulf’s biggest bank by assets, has reported a nine percent rise in annual net profit after adjusting for hyperinflation related to its business in Turkey. Net profit for 2022 was QR14.3 billion ($3.91 billion) from QR13.2 billion in 2021. Full-year net profit before the impact of hyperinflation was QR16.1 billion, […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi-backed $1bn venture to invest in blockchain firms Blockchain firm Venom Foundation and Abu Dhabi-based investment manager Iceberg Capital Ltd have launched a $1 billion crypto venture fund and said it was leading a $20 million funding round in virtual world platform Nümi Metaverse. The fund, called Venom Ventures Fund (VVF), aims to invest in early-stage startups focused on payments, asset management, banking […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi PIF among funds said to invest in South Korea’s Kakao South Korean tech conglomerate Kakao Corp said on Thursday unit Kakao Entertainment secured a 1.2 trillion won ($966.27 million) investment from leading sovereign wealth funds. The move, which Kakao said was the largest overseas investment in a South Korean content company, signals investors’ bullish outlook for the growth potential of Korean content and its “recession-proof” […] January 12, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt commits to IMF to slow projects and increase fuel prices Egypt committed to a flexible currency, a greater role for the private sector and a range of monetary and fiscal reforms when it agreed to a $3 billion financial support package with the International Monetary Fund, according to an IMF staff report. In a letter of intent to the IMF dated November 30, the government […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt orders ministries to curb spending amid forex crunch Egypt’s government has instructed ministries to cut non-essential spending until the end of the fiscal year in June as it tries to cope with continuing pressure on its currency and rising inflation. The decision, dated January 4 and published in the official gazette this week, includes the postponement of any new national project heavily reliant […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Yemen raises customs duties by 50% on non-essential goods Yemen’s recognised government has raised the US dollar exchange rate used to calculate customs duties on non-essential goods by 50 percent, effective Tuesday, a document and traders said. The decision applies only to south Yemen, which the government controls, including the port city of Aden. The country’s main entry point for commodities, Hodeidah port, is […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia taps debt market with $10bn 3-part bond issue Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, sold $10 billion in a three-part bond issue on Tuesday, taking advantage of a window of opportunity to tap debt markets amid strong investor appetite for Gulf credits. Pricing on all three tranches of the bond was tightened from initial guidance earlier in the day, as investors piled […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Israel sells $2bn of 10-year green bonds in global offering Israel sold $2 billion of 10-year “green” bonds in an international bond offering, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The bonds, it said, were sold at 95 basis points over the benchmark US government bond yield and received $12 billion of demand from some 200 investors in 35 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, […] January 11, 2023
Opinion The Gulf’s battle to tackle the spread of ‘dirty’ money The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is partnering with the authorities of GCC countries to support their anti-money laundering efforts and combat crime and corruption January 10, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi takes fintech to ‘new level’ with Open Banking Lab The launch of a new Open Banking Lab in Saudi Arabia is set to take the fintech sector to a “new level” in the kingdom, according to industry experts. Saudi Central Bank, also known as Sama, is tracking the readiness of banks and fintechs with a view to launch open banking services by the end […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s Ziraat Bank says capital boost to help drive economy An expected capital increase will help Turkey’s Ziraat Bank to spearhead President Tayyip Erdogan’s drive to boost economic growth and tackle chronic current account deficits this year, the head of the country’s largest lender told Reuters. Chief executive Alpaslan Cakar, who is also chairman of the Turkish Banks Association, said state banks like Ziraat were […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Microsoft said to be in talks to invest $10bn in ChatGPT owner Microsoft Corp is in talks to invest $10 billion into OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, which will value the San Francisco-based firm at $29 billion, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The funding includes other venture firms and deal documents were sent to prospective investors in recent weeks, with the initial aim to […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank launches $500m 5-year Islamic bond First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched a $500 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, a document reviewed by Reuters showed, pricing tighter than guidance on strong demand for the issue. The spread on the five-year sukuk was set at 90 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries at […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Mena to host first IPO summit with listings in high demand The Middle East’s first IPO-focused summit will take place in Dubai later this month after recent listings in the emirate proved a huge draw for international investors. Dubai Financial Market and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) have partnered to host the Mena IPO Summit – Dubai, which aims to unite the entire IPO value […] January 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Goldman Sachs to start cutting thousands of jobs Goldman Sachs Group will start cutting thousands of jobs across the firm from Wednesday, two sources familiar with the move said, as it prepares for a tough economic environment. The job cuts are expected to be just over 3,000, one of the sources said, but the final number is yet to be determined. The sources […] January 9, 2023
Banking & Finance China’s Alibaba planning $1bn investment in Turkey Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is planning a logistics hub at Istanbul Airport and a data centre near the Turkish capital Ankara with an investment of more than $1 billion, its president, Michael Evans, was cited as saying. Turkey’s Sabah newspaper reported Evans as saying in an interview that the company was looking […] January 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Qatar’s forex reserves rise 12.4% to $63bn in 2022 Qatar’s international reserves and foreign currency levels increased by 9.6 percent to QR 230.026 billion ($63.18 billion) in 2022, compared to QR 209.932 billion in 2021, state-run Qatar News Agency reported, citing figures from the central bank. December recorded a monthly growth of 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter. The bank’s official international reserves stood at QR 172.092 […] January 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Tesla owners in China demand rebate after surprise price cuts Hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the automaker’s showrooms and distribution centres in China over the weekend, demanding rebates and credit after sudden price cuts they said meant they had overpaid for electric cars they bought earlier. On Saturday, about 200 recent buyers of the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 gathered at a Tesla […] January 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s stake in ADIB Egypt reaches over 52% Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has announced the increase of its ownership in ADIB Egypt to more than 52 percent, the UAE state-run WAM news agency reported. In a disclosure to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, ADIB stated that it had acquired 9.6 million shares from National Investment Bank (NIB), representing 2.4 percent of ADIB […] January 8, 2023
