Analysis Real Estate Dubai property market ranked among top 5 globally Prime residential property prices in Dubai rose by nearly five percent in the first half of the year, placing the emirate at number four in a new list of the world’s best performing markets. US cities including Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York dominated the leaderboard, with Dubai the only non-US city to […] August 8, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi wealth funds may invest in planned Porshe IPO Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds – Mubadala Investment Co. and ADQ – are likely to become anchor investors for the possible initial public offering (IPO) of Volkswagen-owned luxury carmaker Porsche, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. State-owned entities in other Gulf markets, including Saudi Arabia, are also being considered as potential investors in one of Europe’s […] August 8, 2022
Markets Kuwait’s Alghanim Industries mulls minority stake listing Kuwait-based Alghanim Industries’ executive chairman of Kutayba Y. Alghanim has announced plans to list a minority stake on Boursa Kuwait’s Premier Market, Kuwait Times reported. “I would like to announce my intention of exploring the possibility of publicly listing a minority interest of the Kutayba Alghanim Group (Alghanim Industries) on the Premier Market of Boursa Kuwait,” […] August 8, 2022
Economy Oman budget swings into surplus on oil price rise Oman’s budget recorded a surplus of 357 million rials ($929.7 million) by the end of the first quarter, boosted by a more than 70 percent rise in oil revenue as output and prices surged, finance ministry data showed. That compared with a deficit of 751 million rials in the same period a year earlier, the […] August 8, 2022
Banking and Finance Kuwait’s Agility signs $1.4bn credit facility with banks Kuwait’s Agility, one of the largest Gulf logistics companies, said on Sunday it had signed a new credit facility of 1.4 billion euros ($1.06 billion). The transaction is part of a financing round that is expected to total about $3.2 billion, it said. The company said the money will pay for the company’s growth plans, […] August 8, 2022
Economy Turkey’s June current account deficit set for $3.4bn, says poll Turkey’s current account is expected to record a deficit of $3.4 billion in June and end the year with a deficit of more than $40 billion, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as soaring energy prices widen the shortfall. The trade deficit, a major component of the current account balance, soared 184.5 percent in June […] August 6, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi’s PIF sets up company to invest in Egyptian sectors Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has set up a company to invest in promising Egyptian sectors, extending a policy of pumping money into the Egyptian economy. The $620 billion sovereign wealth fund said on Friday sectors in Egypt it would target through its new Saudi Egyptian Investment Co (SEIC) included infrastructure, real estate, health […] August 6, 2022
How I got to the top Nadine Mezher, co-founder, Sarwa Dubai-based Sarwa is an online investing platform for young professionals. Founded in 2017 by a team with a background in banking, finance, and communications and marketing, today the business has more than 100,000 registered users. Its technology simplifies and makes affordable the process of investing in diversified portfolios of low-cost index funds. How I go […] August 5, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Consolidation coming to Gulf fintech, warns $40bn unicorn VP Consolidation is coming to the Gulf’s fintech sector, according to Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, senior vice president for MENA at global payments processor Checkout.com. The London-headquartered fintech, which offers a full-stack platform that simplifies payments processes for large global enterprise merchants, closed a $1 billion Series D funding round in January. “In my opinion, if you’re […] August 5, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE’s Burjeel plans to raise $750m from Abu Dhabi listing UAE healthcare provider Burjeel Holdings is aiming to raise at least $750 million (AED2.76 billion) from an initial public offering (IPO) in Abu Dhabi this year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The firm is considering a dividend payout ratio of 40 percent to 70 percent of net income from 2023 on listing, […] August 5, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt’s current account deficit widens, funds flow out in Q1 Egypt’s current account deficit widened in the January-March quarter amid a surge in portfolio outflows triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the central bank said in balance of payments figures released on Thursday. The current account deficit increased to $5.79 billion (EGP110.8 billion) from $5.67 billion in January-March a year earlier as the trade deficit […] August 5, 2022
Economy Exporters cut year-end targets in blow to government plans Turkish exporters are revising down year-end targets in a move that could derail the government’s economic plans as new orders drop amid signs of a global slowdown and inflationary pressure. Turkey’s exports rose by 19 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2022 to $144.4 billion, but deteriorating global conditions, exacerbated by the war […] August 5, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish central bank’s net forex reserves rise to $9.12bn The Turkish central bank’s net international reserves rose around $2.4 billion to $9.12 billion in the week to July 29, rising to their highest level in two months, data from the central bank showed on Thursday. The exchange rate used by Reuters on Thursday was 17.9044. The net forex reserves dropped to $6.07 billion on […] August 5, 2022
Economy Saudi Arabia posts almost $21bn Q2 surplus on high oil prices Saudi Arabia has registered a budget surplus of nearly SAR78 billion ($21 billion) in the second quarter of 2022, the finance ministry said on Thursday, an almost 50 percent rise from a year earlier, bolstered by high oil prices. Revenue in the second quarter reached SAR370.37 billion and expenditure was SAR292.46 billion, the ministry said. […] August 5, 2022
Analysis Dubai crypto chief predicts a $200k Bitcoin by 2024 “It might get worse,” Vineet Budki, managing partner and CEO at Cypher Capital, told AGBI when asked: Just how bad is the crypto market crash? Yet, the UAE-based venture capital (VC) firm has been deploying millions in Bitcoin, even as cryptocurrencies suffered their most brutal collapse this year. A major sell-off in cryptocurrencies in May […] August 4, 2022
Economy UAE and Saudi ‘bright spots’ in challenging global IPO market The UAE and Saudi Arabia bucked the global downturn in initial public offering (IPO) activity in the first half of 2022. According to the EY MENA IPO Eye report, both countries – and the wider MENA region – remain a “bright spot in a challenging market”. It witnessed a 500 percent year-on-year increase in the […] August 4, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE’s Al Ansari Exchange mulls IPO early next year UAE-based foreign exchange and remittance firm Al Ansari Exchange plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) early next year, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The company has held initial talks with potential advisers about the Dubai listing, which may happen in the first quarter of 2023, the sources said. Nevertheless, details […] August 4, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Gulf’s $2bn buy-now-pay-later sector shrugs off global slump Despite the global pessimism surrounding buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) finance providers, the Gulf region continues to push forward with related acquisitions and expansion plans. The recent string of big ticket global BNPL casualties highlights several companies with direct links to the UAE. Abu Dhabi-backed Swedish operator Klarna last month managed to raise $800 million in new funding, […] August 4, 2022
Banking and Finance World Bank accuses Lebanese politicians of ‘cruelty’ over deposits The World Bank has said that assertions by Lebanese politicians that deposits kept in the country’s collapsed banking sector are sacred are “cruel” because they “flagrantly contradict the reality.” Lebanon is in the third year of a financial meltdown that has left eight in ten people poor and which the World Bank says is both […] August 4, 2022
Economy Turkey’s inflation surges to 70%, putting Erdogan in bind Turkey’s annual inflation jumped to a two-decade high of 69.97 percent in April, according to data on Thursday, fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising energy and commodity prices after last year’s lira crash. The surge in prices has badly strained households just over a year before presidential and parliamentary elections that could bring the […] August 4, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai’s TECOM profit jumps 55% in Q2 2022 on economic rebound Dubai business park operator TECOM Group reported a net profit of AED 237.7 million ($64.72 million) in the second quarter of 2022, up 54.5 percent, from AED153.9 million a year ago, thanks to buoyancy in the emirate’s economy and improving business sentiment. Revenues for the three-month period ending June 30, 2022, jumped 18.5 percent year-on-year […] August 3, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia sets up investment promotion agency Saudi Arabia has set up an agency to promote investment in the country, a key goal of an ambitious economic reform agenda, the investment minister and state media said on Twitter, citing a cabinet decision. The Saudi Investment Promotion Authority “will be a strong supporter of the investment system in its quest to achieve the […] August 3, 2022
