Banking and Finance UAE banks to increase green financing to $272bn Major national banks in the UAE are to boost their green financing commitments, aiming to exceed a collective AED1 trillion ($272 billion), sources have told AGBI. The banks aim to accelerate financing in areas such as assisting businesses in transitioning to zero carbon emissions, particularly in harder to abate and small and medium-sized enterprise sectors. […] December 4, 2023
Trade UAE and Philippines kick off Cepa talks to expand trade The UAE and the Philippines have started preliminary talks to establish a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) to strengthen existing bilateral and economic ties. “The Philippines is a key strategic partner for the UAE and a high-growth economy in the heart of a rapidly growing region,” UAE minister of state for foreign trade Thani bin […] December 4, 2023
Analysis Trade Coffee fuels growth plans for UAE-Colombia trade The UAE finalised the terms of a trade deal with Colombia on Saturday as a Dubai free zone is also targeting growth with the commodities-rich nation. The comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) is the first bilateral trade deal between the Gulf and South America. Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC) brought its Made for Trade Live roadshow […] December 4, 2023
Tech Tax-friendly UAE beckons blockchain businesses The UAE is becoming a preferred destination for blockchain technology companies, ranking third globally as a crypto centre, according to a survey. Immigration consultancy Henley & Partners used six criteria to arrive at a global ranking and placed Singapore first because of its government’s close cooperation with banks, businesses and the public in developing its […] December 2, 2023
Retail Food inflation leads to rise of Gulf discount operators Rising food costs in the Gulf over the last two years have spurred an increase in the number of discount operators entering the market. The food and beverage category of the UAE’s consumer price index rose from 100.3 in 2021 to 107.5 in 2022, and is forecast to rise further to 111.8 in 2023, according […] December 2, 2023
Economy UAE pledges to kickstart ‘new climate economy’ The UAE has announced a package of funding initiatives aimed at mobilising finance reform to create a “climate economy” – one of the main aims of Cop28. In a speech to delegates of the UN climate summit, Cop28 president Sultan Al Jaber launched the official UAE Declaration on a Global Climate Finance Framework – an […] December 1, 2023
Sustainability BlackRock targets ‘repair and prepare’ climate investments BlackRock, one of the largest fund managers in the world, has identified investment opportunities in companies that are preparing for or repairing climate-related damage. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed has also announced that the government is to launch a $30 billion climate-related investment fund with asset management companies BlackRock, TPG and Brookfield announced as inaugural […] December 1, 2023
Economy Turkey’s GDP grows 5.9% on strong household spending Turkey’s economy grew by 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023 – the highest since the second quarter of last year – driven by strong household spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) reached 7.68 trillion liras ($295.82 billion) at current prices, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute revealed. The construction and industrial sectors rose by […] December 1, 2023
Finance UAE extends $1bn deposit with Egypt until 2026 The UAE has renewed its $1 billion deposit with the Central Bank of Egypt for an additional three years. The deposit, which matured in June this year, has been extended until June 2026, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing a central bank report. Deposits of Arab countries with the central bank accounted for more than half […] December 1, 2023
Finance Saudi Arabia studies battery materials trading platform Saudi Arabia is exploring the potential launch of a new commodity trading platform for battery materials, including graphite and rare earths, its vice minister of industry and mineral resources said. Riyadh’s efforts to build an economy that is not dependent on oil include a shift towards mining the country’s untapped mineral resources – worth about […] December 1, 2023
Economy UAE’s $100m leads climate disaster fund Cop28 pledges Negotiators at Cop28 in Dubai struck the first deal of the summit on Thursday evening, officially agreeing to set up a fund to help vulnerable countries recover from damage caused by climate change. The plan to create a United Nations-led “loss and damage” fund was hailed as a breakthrough for negotiations at Cop27 in Egypt […] November 30, 2023
Agriculture RedSea to dig further into Egypt’s agricultural market RedSea, an agtech business based in Saudi Arabia, is prioritising Egypt to transform the North African nation’s agricultural industry. The company has also announced the appointment of Bruno De Oliveira as vice president of Egypt and East Africa as a result of increasing customer demand for its products. RedSea has already installed heat-blocking roofing materials […] November 30, 2023
Finance Saudi Arabia extends term of $3bn deposit to Pakistan The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has extended the period for its deposit of $3 billion to Pakistan for another year. The agreement, signed in 2021, was rolled over in 2022, the State Bank of Pakistan said in a statement. The deposit into Pakistan’s central bank was intended to boost its foreign exchange reserves and […] November 30, 2023
Finance Dubai Taxi IPO order book hits $41bn on strong demand Dubai Taxi Company said the order book for its initial public offering (IPO) swelled to over AED150 billion ($41 billion), as it was covered 130 times. “This represents the highest oversubscription level achieved by an IPO on the Dubai Financial Market,” the company, a unit of the state-owned Roads and Transport Authority, said in a statement. […] November 30, 2023
Finance Turkey says interest rate hikes ‘cooled’ inflation Turkey’s interest rate hikes have helped lower inflation expectations and improved visibility on prices, attracting Western fund inflows that have boosted depleted FX reserves, central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan said on Wednesday. Interest in Turkish lira deposit accounts and assets has increased since June, Erkan told the Istanbul Chamber of Industry, after years of […] November 30, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Sustainability Opec Fund piles up financing for wheat, wind and water The Opec Fund for International Development is on track to meet its pledges to increase grants and loans to climate-related projects, its Middle East and North Africa head has told AGBI. Musab Alomar, the fund’s director of public sector operations for Mena, said climate financing made up 33 percent of all Opec Fund approvals in […] November 30, 2023
Markets Abu Dhabi IPO Fund plans up to four listings by 2024-end Abu Dhabi can expect up to four further listings of private companies by the end of 2024, according to Bassel Khawaja, advisory head of the Abu Dhabi IPO Fund. Speaking on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW), Khawaja told AGBI the fund is currently assisting three unnamed companies with their IPO readiness. He […] November 29, 2023
Banking and Finance Brevan Howard to double Abu Dhabi headcount Brevan Howard, one of the world’s biggest hedge funds with assets exceeding $33 billion, is to double its workforce in Abu Dhabi next year. The UK company initiated its Middle East expansion by opening an office in Abu Dhabi Global Market in February, joining an increasing number of hedge funds drawn to the region’s substantial […] November 29, 2023
Finance Kingdom Holding ups stake in Citigroup with Alwaleed deal Kingdom Holding Company has increased its investment in Citigroup after buying a $450 million stake from its Saudi Arabian billionaire chairman, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The deal has raised Kingdom’s stake to 2.2 percent from 1.63 percent, according to a filing on the Saudi Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The company did not disclose any further […] November 29, 2023
Finance US private equity giant General Atlantic opens Gulf offices Global private equity firm General Atlantic, which manages $77 billion in assets, is opening offices in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The company has been investing in the Middle East since 2015 without a local base, but is now establishing a stronger foothold as it nears the completion of new investment deals in the region. […] November 29, 2023
Trade UAE and China renew $4.9bn currency swap deal The UAE and China have renewed their currency swap agreement to settle cross-border financial and trade transactions in local currencies. The Central Bank of the UAE and the People’s Bank of China signed a currency swap agreement with a nominal value of AED18 billion ($4.9 billion) for the next five years, UAE state-owned Wam news […] November 29, 2023
Banking and Finance PIF buys 10% stake in UK’s Heathrow airport Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will acquire a 10 percent stake in the parent company of London Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport. Spanish infrastructure major Ferrovial will sell its entire 25 percent stake in FGP Topco for £2.37 billion ($3.01 billion), the company said in a statement. Paris-based private equity fund Ardian will buy the remaining […] November 29, 2023
