Banking & Finance Turkey cancels required reserves for longer maturity lira deposits Turkey’s central bank has cut the required reserves of Turkish lira deposits to zero percent with maturities longer than three months, from varying percentages between three and eight percent, the bank said on Sunday. “To encourage maturity extension of lira deposits, the bank has decided to set reserve requirement ratios for lira deposit accounts with […] January 15, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia tops list of largest borrowers with $10bn bond issues Developing countries have sold a huge $39 billion of international bonds since the start of the year, with investors happy to pile into riskier debt as they bet global interest rates are nearing a peak. The first half of January saw 11 countries launch more than 20 dollar- and euro-denominated bond issues. The scale of […] January 15, 2023
Economy Record deficit: Tunisia’s trade deals in numbers Tunisia posted a record 55 percent increase in its trade deficit in 2022, reaching TND 25.2 billion ($8.18 billion), according to figures released by the National Institute of Statistics. As the North African country battles an economic crisis, the deficit increase was attributed largely to the loss of trade with several key countries, including China, […] January 13, 2023
Economy Oman-UK trade dips but optimism remains UK trade with Oman saw a drop of 5.5 percent through the first 10 months of 2022, compared to the corresponding period the previous year, despite an overall uptick in the UK’s global trade. Latest figures available from UNComtrade, the UN Statistics Agency, up to October 2022 show total trade between the two countries reached […] January 13, 2023
Retail Dubai customs law will ‘level playing field’ for local retailers Dubai’s decision to lower the tax threshold for goods imported from overseas has been hailed by local retailers. Industry insiders see it as a positive step to protect businesses from global ecommerce giants and say it is already having a positive effect. Under Dubai Customs Notice No. 5 of 2022, which was announced in June […] January 13, 2023
Economy Jordan truckers’ strike exposes woes of impoverished south Striking Jordanian trucker Suleiman Abu Al-Zait spent several long nights on a national highway along his native city of Maan, manning a picket line that created havoc to overland trade. “Diesel is my lifeline,” said 54-year-old Abu Al-Zait, who has seen his livelihood thrown into jeopardy by high fuel price rises since Russia invaded Ukraine. […] January 13, 2023
Banking & Finance Israel central bank backs steps to ease inflation and cost of living Bank of Israel governor Amir Yaron has said a series of government steps aimed at easing inflation and the cost of living were reasonable, but that short term interest rates still could rise further. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel would cancel or cut back recent hikes in property taxes, water and energy […] January 13, 2023
Banking & Finance Dollars flow into Egypt’s forex market after pound depreciation Hundreds of millions of dollars have flowed through Egypt’s interbank market since the central bank allowed the Egyptian pound to depreciate by 13 percent to a historic low, bankers said. The Egyptian pound weakened to as low as 32.20 to the dollar on Wednesday from 27.60 at the opening of trade. It since rebounded to […] January 13, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE to loan $1bn and roll over another $2bn to Pakistan The UAE has agreed to lend $1 billion to Pakistan and roll over an existing $2 billion loan, Pakistan’s information minister said, as the country’s central bank foreign reserves fell to just three weeks’ worth of imports. The UAE’s financial support offered some respite to the South Asian nation of 220 million, which is still […] January 13, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Agtech startups and Egypt are hot prospects for Mena funding Startups across the Middle East and North Africa region raised $125 million in funding in December last year, with Egyptian companies leading the pack, ahead of regional powerhouses the UAE and Saudi Arabia. A joint report by Wamda and Digital Digest showed that Egyptian startups secured $45.7 million across 11 deals in December, more than […] January 13, 2023
Opinion Banking & Finance To report is to trust: How to navigate the crypto winter Transparency drives trust, and it's time that crypto exchanges report and comply just like other investible asset classes January 12, 2023
Economy Egypt’s pound hits new lows after shift to more flexible forex regime Egypt’s pound weakened by more than 13 percent to a new low below 32 to the US dollar on Wednesday as the central bank moved to a more flexible exchange rate under the terms of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial support package. The pound’s decline prompted speculation as to how far the currency might […] January 12, 2023
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
Opinion Economy Maharashtra looks to Mena for investment and partnerships The Indian state is pledging to become a $1 trillion economy – and strengthening relationships with the Middle East is at the forefront of these plans 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
Economy Israel to trim taxes, water and energy costs to fight inflation Israel will cancel or cut back recent hikes in property taxes, water and energy costs, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, unveiling preliminary measures to ease inflation. Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, speaking alongside Netanyahu at a televised news conference, said the government would maintain fiscal responsibility while pursuing the plan. “Our economy has entered […] 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
