Insight Markets DEWA IPO bodes well for Dubai’s asset sale A further nine government and state-owned companies are now set to be listed on the DFM Optimism is growing over government plans to monetise state assets following the hugely successful Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) initial public offering (IPO). DEWA debuted on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) on April 12 in the UAE’s largest […] May 9, 2022
Exclusive Banking and Finance High-growth firms set to fly with $250m “venture debt” boost Natasha Hannoun, head of debt at SHUAA Capital, tells AGBI why the investor’s alternative capital solution is a game changer for the region’s startup ecosystem Fintech is the number one target for SHUAA Venture Partners, a new $250 million (AED 918 million) Shari’ah fund, focused on venture debt investments. Other sectors being eyed include healthtech […] May 9, 2022
How new GCC tax laws will affect your business To tax or not to tax… That is one of the key questions facing leaders in the Gulf region as they prepare their countries for a post-oil future. Although Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade, went on record in February to say “income tax is not on […] May 9, 2022
Banking and Finance Buffett says inflation an issue for Berkshire, it ‘swindles almost everybody’ Warren Buffett said on Saturday that inflation “swindles almost everybody” and that it was “extraordinary” how much inflation had been seen in Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s own businesses. Inflation has surged in the United States, hitting a new 40-year annualized high of 6.6% in March, and U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers appear set to deliver a series […] May 6, 2022
Real Estate Oman’s wealth fund splits assets into two portfolios The Oman Investment Authority has split its assets into local and foreign portfolios, the state news agency said on Sunday. Abdulsalam al-Murshidi, head of the Omani Investment Authority, said the “Generation Portfolio”, which consists of foreign assets and some local assets in various instruments including public and private markets, in addition to realestate, aims at […] May 4, 2022
Banking and Finance Citi to sell Bahrain consumer business Citigroup Inc agreed to sell its consumer banking business in Bahrain to Ahli United Bank (AUB) for an undisclosed sum, the US bank said, as it exits retail operations in 13 markets across the globe. The deal includes Citi’s retail banking, credit card and unsecured lending businesses in Bahrain but excludes institutional businesses. Citi said […] May 4, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt’s urban inflation accelerates to 10.5% Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated in March to 10.5 percent, its highest in nearly three years and faster than analysts had expected, data from the state statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Sunday. The inflation figure, up from 8.8 percent in February, was greater than a median forecast of 10 percent in a Reuters […] May 4, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt gets Gulf aid as eyes turn to currency flexibility The central bank allowed Egypt’s pound, which had been stable since November 2020, to drop by 14 percent against the dollar on March 21 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted investors to withdraw billions of dollars from Egyptian treasury markets. Last week Saudi Arabia said it had deposited $5 billion with Egypt’s central bank and […] May 4, 2022
Real Estate UAE’s Aldar Properties reports 26.5% Q1 jump UAE-based developer Aldar Properties on Wednesday reported a 26.5 percent increase in first-quarter profit driven by record quarterly sales and the inclusion of the financial results of Egypt developer SODIC, in which it co-owns a majority share. The company made AED 688 million ($187 million) in the quarter, up from 544 million a year earlier, […] May 4, 2022
Analysis Russia-Ukraine fallout puts fragile ‘frontier’ economies in MENA at risk The fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war has just helped tip two of world’s poorest countries, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, into full-blown crises, and the list of those at risk – and the queue at the International Monetary Fund’s door – will only get longer from here. Countries such as Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt are at […] May 3, 2022
Finance UAE, Pakistan in push for stronger trade ties Leaders of the UAE and Pakistan have reaffirmed earlier commitments made by the two countries to boost bilateral trade. Pakistan imports from the UAE stood at £5.9 billion in 2021, according to the United Nations’ Comtrade database on international trade, but there is currently no formal free trade agreement between the two countries. A free […] May 3, 2022
Afghan economy ‘dire’ as household incomes shrink The outlook for Afghanistan’s economy is dire with per capita income having fallen by over a third in the last four months of 2021 after the Islamist Taliban seizedpower and foreign forces withdrew, the World Bank said. “One of the poorest countries in the world has become much poorer,” said Tobias Haque, World Bank senior […] May 3, 2022
Shopify’s revenue growth slowest in seven years, shares plunge Canada’s Shopify Inc reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public in 2015 and delivered a big miss on profit, sending the company’s U.S.-listed shares tumbling 17 percent on Thursday. Easing global e-commerce growth from the frenetic pace seen during the peak of the pandemic has hit Shopify, which provides merchants tools and service […] May 2, 2022
Analysis Erdogan heads home from Riyadh, hoping to have mended ties Three-and-a-half years after accusing Saudi Arabia of murder and running a sham trial over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has made a trip to the Gulf kingdom to mend ties. Turkey and Saudi Arabia have a common will to “reactivate a great economic potential” between the two countries, Erdogan said after […] May 2, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE top lender FAB posts record profit First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, reported on Thursday its highest ever quarterly net profit, helped by the sale of a majority stake in its payments business. The UAE banking sector is improving on the back of a further easing in COVID-19-related restrictions and a rebound in oil prices, boosting […] May 2, 2022
Turkey, Saudi to revive great economic potential, Erdogan says Turkey and Saudi Arabia have a common will to “reactivate a great economic potential” between the two countries, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, after his first trip to the kingdom since 2017. Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Saudi Arabia, where he sought to mend frayed ties, Erdogan said the sides […] April 30, 2022
Pearson maintains momentum after rejecting takeover Pearson beat first-quarter forecasts and said it would benefit from a lowertax rate this year, underscoring confidence at the education group after it rejected a private equity offer in March. The British company, emerging from years of turbulence sparked by the US education market moving online, reported a better-than-expected 7 percent rise in first-quarter underlying […] April 29, 2022
Energy Turkey hikes gas prices, as inflation tops 60% in March Turkish state-owned energy importer BOTAS said it had raised natural gas prices for industrial facilities by 50 percent and those for households by 35 percent, raising the prospect of further stoking inflation, which is expected to top 60 percent in March. BOTAS also said natural gas prices for electricity production were going up by 44.3 […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Al Rajhi Bank reports 24% rise in Q1 profit Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s second-biggest lender, reported a nearly 24 percent rise in quarterly earnings, fuelled by a jump in net financing for customers, and higher investment income and fees from banking services. The bank reported a net profit of SR 4.1 billion ($1.09 billion) for first quarter ended March 31, up SR 3.34 billion in the […] April 29, 2022
Tunisia’s dinar hits record low versus dollar Tunisia’s dinar currency has fallen to record lows versus the dollar, driven down by high inflation, a worsening trade deficit and the severe impact of the Ukraine crisis on public finances. It traded at 3.074 against the dollar on Thursday, central bank data showed on Friday. Earlier this month, the state statistics institute said Tunisia’s […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar Airways suffers setback in feud with Airbus A British judge has denied a bid by Qatar Airways to reinstate a jet contractcancelled by Europe’s Airbus in the latest twist to a dramatic feud playing out in UK courts. The companies have been locked in a safety dispute for months on Europe’s A350 long-haul jet. Their unprecedented bust-up widened in January when Airbus revoked a separate deal for […] April 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Americana selects banks for Saudi and UAE listings The Middle East and North Africa franchisee of fast-food restaurants KFC and Pizza Hut has hired banks for a potential dual listing in Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, a source with knowledge of the matter said. Americana Group has selected Goldman Sachs, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Saudi National Bank (SNB) for the deal, said the source, declining […] April 29, 2022
