Banking and Finance Goldman Sachs expects Turkey rates to hit 40% Goldman Sachs said on Friday the appointments of Mehmet Simsek as Turkish finance minister and Hafize Gaye Erkan as central bank governor suggested a widespread understanding in the new administration that monetary and fiscal adjustments were needed. The Wall Street bank, in an overhaul to a number of its forecasts for Turkey, said stabilising the […] June 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Pakistan seeks to restructure debt with bilateral lenders Pakistan is working on the possibility of restructuring its bilateral debt regardless of whether it successfully completes its International Monetary Fund (IMF) review, the country’s finance minister said on Saturday, but reiterated it would not approach Paris club nation creditors or seek haircuts. “We’ll see how things go,” Ishaq Dar told reporters, a day after […] June 11, 2023
Banking and Finance Brookfield offers $2.76bn for UAE payment provider Brookfield Asset Management is set to buy digital payments provider Network International in a deal worth £2.2 billion ($2.76 billion), as part of its expansion across the Middle East and Africa. The Canadian investment firm has tabled an offer of 400 pence per share for the UAE-based company – a premium of 64 percent from […] June 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Erdogan names ex-Goldman Sachs MD to head central bank President Tayyip Erdogan has appointed Hafize Gaye Erkan, a finance executive in the United States, to head Turkey’s central bank as it prepares to reverse course and tighten policy after years of rate cuts and a simmering cost-of-living crisis. Erkan, former co-CEO at First Republic Bank and managing director at Goldman Sachs, takes the reins […] June 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia tops regional billionaires list Saudi Arabia’s growing community of billionaires is the biggest in the Middle East, despite a drop in the number of super-rich across the region as a whole, the latest industry data shows. There are 71 billionaires living in the kingdom, with a combined wealth of $205 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent, according to […] June 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Vodafone and Hutchison to announce UK merger soon Vodafone and CK Hutchison are in the final stage of agreeing to merge their British operations, with an announcement expected as soon as Friday or early next week, three sources have told Reuters. Vodafone will own 51 percent and Hutchison 49 percent of the combined group, which could be worth around £15 billion ($18.6 billion) including debt, […] June 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Lira plunges 7% as Turkey edges towards free market Turkey’s lira plunged 7.6 percent to a record low on Wednesday in its biggest selloff since the historic 2021 crash, and traders called it a “strong signal” that Ankara is moving away from state controls toward a freely traded currency. The lira has come under increasing pressure since President Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected on May […] June 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Egypt finds it tough to raise capital after borrowing spree Egypt faces an increasingly tough task raising cash for foreign debt repayments after external borrowing quadrupled over the past eight years to help fund a new capital, build infrastructure, buy weapons and support an overvalued currency. Few of its grand projects are generating additional hard currency inflows, while foreign investors have added to its woes […] June 7, 2023
Banking and Finance Binance offshore trading firms at heart of US lawsuit Binance said it would “vigorously defend” itself against the SEC charges and that all user assets were “safe and secure.” Two offshore trading firms controlled by Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao lie at the centre of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit launched against the world’s largest crypto exchange, which highlights concerns over […] June 7, 2023
Banking and Finance Smaller UK firms attractive targets for PE buyouts Even as higher costs of borrowing continue to choke dealmaking, fund managers and bankers believe smaller UK-listed firms remain attractive to private equity players flush with unspent funds of nearly a trillion dollars. Central banks have been battling high prices by hiking borrowing costs for more than a year now and market participants expect the […] June 6, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey rate hike to 25% in June is ‘on the table’ An interest rate hike to 25 percent from the current 8.5 percent is on the cards for Turkey’s monetary policy committee’s upcoming meeting on June 22, “if not earlier,” JPMorgan economists said on Monday. “A policy rate hike to 25 percent, from the current level of 8.5 percent, is on the table for June 22 […] June 6, 2023
Banking and Finance Mergers bloom in Mena with deals worth $26bn The acquisition by Floranow, an online florist based in the UAE, of Bloomax, the largest wholesale distributor of fresh-cut flowers in Saudi Arabia, is among the latest mergers in the Mena region. The deal, announced on Monday, is funded by a combination of debt and equity and makes Floranow the largest importer and distributor of […] June 5, 2023
Banking and Finance Goldman Sachs says Turkish lira will weaken further Goldman Sachs revised its Turkish lira forecast in the wake of President Tayyip Erdoğan’s cabinet revamp, saying it now expected the currency to weaken to 28 to the dollar in 12 months compared with a previous prediction of 22. Erdoğan signalled on Saturday his newly-elected government would return to more orthodox economic policies when he […] June 5, 2023
Banking and Finance Fintech Tabby doubles debt facility Buy now, pay later company Tabby has doubled its existing debt facility as it looks to maintain triple-digit growth recorded in recent years. The fintech is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala and secured $350 million in funding through key global credit investors. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) allows consumers to order and take […] June 2, 2023
Analysis Banking and Finance Mid-cap stocks offer best dividend yields in Gulf Dividend-seeking Gulf investors are likely to find little value among the region’s blue-chip stocks and should instead target mid-cap companies with steady cash flows and low debt, experts suggest. When interest rates hovered near zero and average dividend yields on GCC stocks were around 4 percent, the difference with the risk-free rate – the return […] June 2, 2023
Banking and Finance Mexico in exploratory talks to issue Islamic bonds Mexico is in exploratory talks to issue sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in an effort to tap new investors, Mexican deputy finance minister Gabriel Yorio said. “We have started exploratory talks to expand our investor base via potential entry into the sukuk market, aiming for greater financial ties,” Yorio said while on a visit to Kuwait, […] June 2, 2023
Retail Saudi PIF to acquire 30% of supermarket chain Tamimi Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed a share subscription agreement to acquire a 30 percent stake in the local store chain Tamimi Markets Company. The transaction will involve a capital increase and subscription for new shares, said the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund in a statement. The investment is aimed at transforming Tamimi Markets […] June 2, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey’s net forex reserves at lowest on record The Turkish central bank’s net forex reserves dropped to their lowest level on record, standing at $-4.4 billion on May 26, data showed on Thursday, as it sought to counter forex demand ahead of and during parliamentary and presidential elections. The bank’s net reserves dropped by some $4.25 billion last week, to their lowest level […] June 2, 2023
Transport Shares in Saudi-backed EV maker Lucid tumble Shares in electric car manufacturer Lucid Group tumbled in pre-market trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia-backed, loss-making company said it would issue further stock to bolster its ailing finances. Saudi Arabia has bet big on Lucid as part of its economic diversification programme, with plans afoot to build a manufacturing plant in the kingdom. Yet […] June 1, 2023
Logistics Adnoc Logistics & Services shares surge on debut Shares in Adnoc Logistics & Services rose 44.8 percent above their listing price on Thursday as the company made its debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The initial public offering (IPO) for 19 percent of the business drew the highest demand globally for any listing so far in 2023, raising $769 million. Shares […] June 1, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkish central bank ready to soften certain measures Turkey’s central bank signaled at a meeting with senior bankers that it would respond positively to the banks’ requests to soften some measures which it has taken recently, three participants in the meeting said on Wednesday. A government-backed scheme to protect lira deposits from depreciation, known as KKM accounts, was among the issues discussed, the […] June 1, 2023
Banking and Finance Italy to create $1.1bn fund for local strategic firms Italy’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill to create a fund to support domestic firms, the industry minister said in a statement, in a move aimed at shoring up strategic supply chains. The upcoming national strategic fund for “Made in Italy” products will have an initial endowment of €1 billion ($1.10 billion) in state cash, […] June 1, 2023
