Banking and Finance Lebanon passes new banking secrecy law after IMF concerns Lebanon’s parliament on Thursday passed another round of amendments to a banking secrecy law after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said a previous draft retained key deficiencies. The IMF has laid out a list of reforms, including amending its banking secrecy law, that Lebanon must implement before it can gain access to $3 billion to […] October 19, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s ADQ takes ownership of Etihad Aviation Group Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ said on Tuesday the government had transferred full ownership of Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) to the fund. “The transfer of EAG complements ADQ’s efforts to transform Abu Dhabi into a global aviation hub anchored in end-to-end airport service excellence,” ADQ said in a statement. The smallest of Abu Dhabi’s […] October 19, 2022
Markets Gulf countries defy global gloom with bond sale plans Saudi Arabia, Mubadala and Emirates NBD are preparing to sell bonds and sukuk, despite market volatility that has put off other issuers October 18, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish central bank takes more steps to boost lira deposits Turkey’s central bank took fresh steps to boost lira deposits on Tuesday, raising the ratio of bonds that banks must hold for foreign exchange deposits and requiring those with less than 50 percent lira deposits to hold even more bonds from next year. The central bank raised the securities maintenance ratio required for forex deposits […] October 18, 2022
Opinion Ethereum has switched. Your move, bitcoin It's been more than a month since the ethereum switch, and while its market cap has fallen and bitcoin's has stayed flat, many think it's only a matter of time October 18, 2022
Banking and Finance Credit Suisse seeks capital top-up from Middle East wealth funds Credit Suisse Group has approached at least one Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund for a capital injection, a source said, while some funds are looking at the scandal-hit Swiss bank’s businesses as potential investment opportunities. Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia were weighing up, through their sovereign wealth funds, whether to put money into Credit Suisse’s […] October 18, 2022
Economy King Salman hails Saudi’s ‘renaissance’ in annual speech The king pointed to a $53.2bn infrastructure spend, praised 'unique' projects such as NEOM and discussed oil markets and the role of women October 18, 2022
Analysis MENA startup valuations take a hit as funding tightens Funding for startups in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has continued to decline this year, in line with global trends, but industry experts remain optimistic that the end of the year will see a resurgence. The tightening of cash has also meant investors are looking for increasingly bigger stakes, resulting in startup valuations […] October 18, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai’s TECOM board proposes $54m interim cash dividend Dubai business park operator TECOM Group’s board has proposed an interim dividend payment of AED 200 million ($54.45 million), subject to shareholder approval at its upcoming annual general meeting. The proposed AED 200 million payout is in line with its previously announced dividend policy of distributing AED 800 million annually through to October 2025. The […] October 18, 2022
Banking and Finance ‘Economic diplomacy’: how ADQ is bolstering UAE goals The ADQ fund’s investments across the Middle East and North Africa are part of an “economic diplomacy” strategy designed to build the UAE’s alliances with the likes of Turkey, Israel and Egypt, three sources have said. ADQ, the smallest of Abu Dhabi’s three main sovereign wealth funds, began in 2018 as a vehicle for holding […] October 17, 2022
Trade UK drinks firms raise glass to Morocco and Tunisia trade deal British drinks companies have raised a glass after the UK removed trade barriers that deterred alcohol sales to Morocco and Tunisia. The changes in the countries, which extends to Argentina and Angola as well, will help the UK’s products to reach millions of new potential customers and boost alcohol exports, which reached £6.5 billion last […] October 17, 2022
Analysis Economy Egypt aims to double private sector to tackle economic woes Weakened by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Egypt has been forced to negotiate a new loan from the International Monetary Fund and wants to double the private sector’s share in its economy. By 2025 Egypt’s government wants the country’s private sector’s investment contribution to more than double to 65 percent from the current […] October 17, 2022
Economy Saudi Arabia launches index to gauge private sector performance Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Economy and Planning has launched an economic analysis index, MEPX, to monitor performance in the kingdom’s private sector. The index has been designed to track 10 factors in four categories: consumers, firms, the financial sector and the trade sector. The ministry said it would provide regular, in-depth analysis of private sector […] October 17, 2022
Economy China’s Xi talks up security, COVID stance as congress opens Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating the building of a world-class military while touting the fight against COVID-19 as he kicked off a Communist Party Congress by focussing heavily on security and reiterating policy priorities. Xi, 69, is widely expected to win a third leadership term at the conclusion of the week-long congress that […] October 17, 2022
Banking and Finance IMF and Egypt agreement set to finalise ‘very soon’ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Egyptian authorities have agreed to finalise work to reach a staff-level agreement ‘very soon’, the multilateral lender said on Saturday. “IMF staff and the Egyptian authorities have held very productive in-person discussions on the margins of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings and made substantial progress on […] October 16, 2022
Retail Lulu Group targets Iraq and Africa ahead of Abu Dhabi IPO Lulu Group International is planning a listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in 2023 and has hired investment bank Moelis & Co to advise it. The supermarket chain, which has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, also confirmed to AGBI that it will add new outlets to its network as it consolidates in the Middle […] October 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Twitter says Musk is under federal investigations over $44bn deal Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct in his $44 billion takeover deal for Twitter Inc, the social media company said in a court filing released on Thursday. While the filing said he was under investigations, it did not say what the exact focus of the probes was and which federal […] October 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey plans to write off nearly $1.6bn of debt under draft law A Turkish parliamentary commission began discussing on Thursday a draft bill that would write off nearly 30 billion lira ($1.61 billion) of debt, according to an impact report. Under the draft prepared by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party (AKP), the government will waive nearly 27 billion lira of debt used for student housing, as well […] October 14, 2022
Economy Lebanon president accepts maritime border deal with Israel Lebanon’s president, Michel Aoun, announced on Thursday his country’s acceptance of the US-brokered maritime border deal with Israel, saying talks had come to “a positive end.” Aoun said the deal represented an “historic achievement” in which Lebanon regained 860 square kilometres (km) of disputed maritime territory but insisted it did not pave the way to […] October 14, 2022
Economy Inflation in Saudi Arabia rises to 3.1% on higher food prices Saudi Arabia’s inflation rose to 3.1 percent in September, driven mainly by higher food prices, rents, and the rising cost of utilities, the General Authority for Statistics said on Thursday. Compared to the previous month, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September was marginally higher, up 0.3 percent, it added. Food and beverage prices rose […] October 14, 2022
Economy IMF sees MENA 2022 growth at 5%, as GCC outperforms peers The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Middle East and North African GDP will grow by five percent this year, up from 4.1 percent in 2021, before slowing to 3.6 percent in 2023 as global conditions worsen, a senior official said on Thursday. Inflation in MENA was projected to average 14.2 percent in 2022 and to […] October 14, 2022
Economy US national security seeks to contain China’s rise The White House rolled out a long-delayed national security strategy on Wednesday that seeks to contain China’s rise while re-emphasising the importance of working with allies to tackle challenges confronting democratic nations. The 48-page document, which was delayed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, includes no major shifts in thinking and introduces no major new foreign […] October 13, 2022
