Banking and Finance Turkish SMEs grab their highest ever share of bank loans Targeted credit policies adopted by Turkey’s central bank have this year enabled small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to grab their highest ever share of banking sector loans, its deputy governor said. The SMEs took 558 billion lira ($30 billion) of the 1.2 trillion lira in total corporate loans extended by commercial banks in the nine […] October 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Swiss crypto firm 21Shares lists bitcoin ETP on Nasdaq Dubai Crypto investment products firm 21.co said on Wednesday its subsidiary 21Shares AG has listed a bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) on Nasdaq Dubai, making it the Middle East’s first physically-backed bitcoin ETP. The 21Shares Bitcoin ETP trades, under the ticker ABTC, in the same way as the 21Shares Bitcoin ETP in Europe, 21.co said in a […] October 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi’s PIF braves market tumult in green bonds debut Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) faced little scrutiny over its green credentials when it sold $3 billion in green bonds last week in its maiden debt issue, according to people familiar with the transaction. While the region’s other issuers remain wary of market volatility, the sale – the first green bond issue by any […] October 13, 2022
Banking and Finance UK firm launches fund to invest Lebanon’s ‘trapped dollars’ A British asset management firm has launched a fund that enables Lebanese bank customers to reinvest their trapped savings in local exporters, generating new dollars that will be repaid to investors and help ease the country’s yawning current account deficit. Several Lebanese citizens have taken up arms to withdraw their own savings from local banks […] October 13, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Energy Britain ‘just scratching the surface’ of Saudi trade potential More big ticket Saudi investments are likely in the UK as the two countries seek closer clean energy collaboration to feed into their net zero ambitions. The announcement by Saudi Arabia’s Alfanar Group that it will invest £1 billion in a sustainable aviation fuel project on Teesside in the north of the UK could act […] October 12, 2022
Dubai funds Indian VC raising $225m to back domestic growth Indian VC firm Fireside Ventures has raised $225 million for its third fund to back domestic consumer brands, with backers including Investment Corp of Dubai (ICD). The investment in 25 to 30 Indian startups is the latest bet on Asia’s third largest economy, as startup funding dries up globally. The early-stage investor said the new […] October 12, 2022
Markets Saudi oilfield services firm Arabian Drilling eyes $710m IPO Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi oilfield services firm, said on Tuesday it will price its initial public offering at SAR 100 a share and is set to raise SAR 2.67 billion ($710.58 million). The final price is at the top end of a price range announced last month, which would value it at SAR 8.9 […] October 12, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance UAE government’s IPO juggernaut raises $13.3bn and counting A flurry of government-backed initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets has helped rejuvenate UAE bourses, as local and international investors seek exposure to the country’s buoyant economy. While Europe and the US fret over soaring inflation and likely recession, and most emerging market currencies wilt versus the dollar, Gulf […] October 12, 2022
Banking and Finance Zand CEO quits just months after UAE licence win Zand, the digital banking platform that secured its licence from the Central Bank of the UAE in July, is on the hunt for a new CEO. The bank, which has launched corporate services with personal banking to follow soon, announced a leadership change on Tuesday with Olivier Crespin, co-founder and CEO, moving on “to pursue […] October 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar National Bank’s Q3 profit up 14% on higher interest income Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Gulf’s largest lender by assets, said on Monday its third-quarter net profit was up nearly 14 percent as net interest income jumped nearly a third. Net profit attributable to QNB’s equity holders in the three months to the end of September was QR 3.97 billion ($1.09 billion) from QR 3.48 […] October 11, 2022
Economy Sri Lanka approves downgrade to ‘low income country’ Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to downgrade the island nation’s economic status to “low income country”, in order to get access to concessional funding from international organisations, the cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s economy is in a deep slump, shrinking at an annual 8.4 percent in the June quarter in one […] October 11, 2022
Economy Egypt’s inflation rate rises to near four-year high Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rose to a slightly faster-than-expected 15 percent in September, its highest in almost four years, data from the country’s statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday. The inflation rate sped up from August’s 14.6 percent year on year, according to CAPMAS data, to the highest level since November 2018, when it […] October 11, 2022
Economy Turkish unemployment rate falls on economic woes Turkey’s unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points month-on-month to 9.6 percent in August, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labour under-utilisation fell to 19.8 percent, data showed on Monday. The labour under-utilisation measure, which stood at 22.4 percent in July, has been on a falling trend since peaking at 29.6 percent in January 2021 due […] October 11, 2022
Economy UAE approves 2023-2026 budget; spending up 4% to $69bn The United Arab Emirates government approved the federal budget for 2023 to 2026 on Monday, with a total expenditure of AED 252.3 billion ($68.69bn). Total revenue over the period is estimated at AED 255.7bn, marginally more than spending. In 2023, revenue is seen to grow 11 percent while spending will increase just under four percent. […] October 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Egyptian banks tighten foreign currency withdrawals Egyptian banks have tightened limits on foreign currency withdrawals from local currency accounts as they seek to conserve scarce dollars. Though no industry-wide rules have been announced, in recent days a number of banks have sent notifications instructing clients with Egyptian pound accounts of new monthly limits on how much foreign currency they can withdraw […] October 11, 2022
Analysis Oil to outer space: the changing face of UAE-Japan trade When the Emirates lunar mission is launched next month, the trade relationship between the UAE and Japan will be taken to a whole new level – approximately 384,400km higher. The Rashid rover will be transported to the moon on a lunar lander made by Japanese company ispace. The exact date has yet to be confirmed, […] October 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s IHC invests $200m in Colombian digital bank Lulo International Holding Company, the Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate, has announced a capital investment of $200 million in Lulo Colombia, the holding company of Colombia’s first regulated digital bank, Lulo Bank. Lulo Bank is Columbia’s first fully digitalised bank and has signed up more than 120,000 active users since it was launched in June and is set […] October 10, 2022
Analysis Construction Dubai developers relaunch stalled projects as demand surges The number of new residential real estate project launches in Dubai is soaring and has exceeded pre-pandemic levels in the third quarter of 2022. Developers are relaunching previously on-hold projects to capitalise on favourable market conditions, according to real estate consultancy CORE. It said about 5,700 units were delivered in Dubai in Q3, taking the […] October 10, 2022
Economy Morocco’s economic growth slows as agriculture slumps Morocco’s economic growth is projected at 1.8 percent in the third quarter of 2022, compared to 2 percent in the previous year, Morocco World News has reported, citing the country’s Higher Commission for Planning. The agriculture sector’s contribution fell by 15.2 percent and is expected to decrease further by almost 16 percent at the end of 2022, […] October 10, 2022
Economy Qatar population rises 13.2% in World Cup hiring surge Qatar’s population has surged by 13.2 percent in a year, official data shows, as the tiny Gulf state recruits thousands of overseas workers ahead of hosting the World Cup in November and December. The wealthy gas producer’s population stood at 2.94 million after some 370,000 additional people moved to Qatar in the 12 months to […] October 10, 2022
LONG READ Banking and Finance Lebanon’s banking crisis can only be solved with political reforms Lebanon’s banking sector is in ruins, with little progress made in reforming the ailing industry, whose collapse has helped plunge four-fifths of the country’s population into poverty and forced many citizens to take up arms to withdraw their own savings from banks. Having imposed unofficial capital controls following an unravelling of the Lebanese pound’s longstanding […] October 10, 2022
Markets Oman to list state-owned entities to boost sultanate’s capital market State-owned enterprises that are part of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) are gearing up for privatisation through listing on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), the Oman Daily Observer said, citing bourse CEO Haitham bin Salim Al Salmi. The proposals are aimed at boosting the growth of the country’s capital market over the next five years. The […] October 9, 2022
