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Markets news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Drake & Scull's projects include Louvre Abu Dhabi. Its revenues grew AED13 million in 2023

Auditors raise concerns over Drake & Scull as losses mount

Auditors reviewing the finances of Drake & Scull International have issued a heavily qualified disclaimer in which they appear to distance themselves from the UAE construction contractor. A filing on Dubai Financial Market for Drake & Scull revealed revenues of AED94 million ($26 million) for the year to December 31 2023, up from AED81 million […]

The Kuwait Boursa trading hall in Kuwait city. ETFs are more closely aligned to weightings of Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE

Emerging market ETFs look light on Saudi engagement

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index are underexposed to Saudi Arabia but are more closely aligned to weightings of the other three Gulf countries included in the benchmark, an AGBI analysis shows. The inclusion of four Gulf countries in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index over the past decade has led to […]

In this photo illustration, the MSCI Inc. logo is displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images/Sipa USA) No Use Germany.

Gulf weightings increase on MSCI Emerging Markets

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has increased the weightings of Gulf countries since their inclusion on the benchmark, as regulators loosened rules and companies ease foreign ownership restrictions to make it easier to invest. According to MSCI, more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AuM) was benchmarked against its emerging markets indexes as of […]

The holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai will reduce its stake in Nasdaq from 15.5% to 10.8%

Borse Dubai to sell $1.6bn stake in Nasdaq

State-owned Borse Dubai will sell nearly 27 million shares in the US stock exchange operator Nasdaq for $1.6 billion. The holding company for Dubai Financial Market and Nasdaq Dubai will reduce its stake from 15.5 percent to 10.8 percent, or 62.4 million shares, making it the second largest shareholder in Nasdaq, the US bourse operator […]

Body Part, Finger, Hand Founder and CEO of Telegram Pavel Durov delivers a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Hong Kong most likely for IPO listing of Dubai’s Telegram

Telegram, the Dubai-based messaging app known for its encryption features and large group chats, is most likely to target Hong Kong for its potential listing, experts have said. This preference stems from the challenges its founder, Pavel Durov, might face in Western markets due to his Russian nationality. Durov said in a Financial Times interview […]

Parkin controls more than 90 percent of Dubai's paid parking provision

Parkin raises $428m as IPO oversubscribed 165 times

Parkin, the Dubai government’s parking management company, has raised AED1.6 billion ($427.5 million) after pricing its initial public offering (IPO) at the upper end of its range at AED2.1 per share. The offering was oversubscribed 165 times as the order book hit AED259 billion at the final offer price, the UAE state-run Wam news agency […]

Parkin IPO car park

Parkin expands IPO retail tranche after high demand

Parkin, the Dubai government’s parking management company, has increased the UAE tranche of its initial public offering (IPO) from 10 percent to 12 percent, after high demand for its shares . After approval from the Securities and Exchange Authority, the retail offer rose to just under 90 million ordinary shares, from 75 million. The retail […]

The CMA's Mohammed El Kuwaiz, left – pictured with Khalid Al Hussan, Tadawul CEO – says IPO applications are up 30%

Tadawul 2023 profit falls as trading values drop 22%

Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company, the operator of the Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul), posted a decline in 2023 profits as trading value dropped sharply. Net profit for the full year fell 8 percent year on year to SAR390 million ($104 million). Revenue fell 1.6 percent year on year to just over SAR1 billion due to […]

Drake & Scull's projects include the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Drake & Scull gains approval to resume trading on Dubai bourse

Drake & Scull International has been given the green light to resume trading on the Dubai Financial Market, after an absence of more than five years. The decision from the Securities and Commodities Authority follows the Dubai contractor agreeing to increase its share capital by up to AED600 million ($163 million), as part of a […]

Egyptian pound banknotes

Egyptian pound plunges 55% to match black market dollar

The Egyptian pound plunged by 55 percent on Wednesday to a record official low of 48 against the US dollar, bringing it almost in line with the parallel market rate.  The Egyptian central bank (CBE) said in a statement that it planned to allow the exchange rate to be determined by market forces. At 2pm […]

Parkin will offer a 25 percent stake on the Dubai Financial Market, which is the emirate’s first privatisation deal this year

Dubai’s Parkin valued at $1.7bn on listing

Parkin, the Dubai government’s parking management company, has set the price range for its proposed initial public offering (IPO) at AED2 to AED2.1 ($0.54–0.57) per share. The company will offer a 25 percent stake, which is the emirate’s first privatisation deal this year, giving it a valuation of between AED6 billion and AED6.30 billion ($1.6 […]

Etihad Airways is opening new routes to Boston and Nairobi in 2024

ADQ explores potential listing of Etihad Airways

ADQ, the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund, is considering a potential listing of Etihad Airways, making it the first publicly traded airline in the GCC.  The fund has held discussions with banks on a possible floatation deal as soon as this year, Bloomberg reported, citing a source familiar with the deal. ADQ has been weighing the […]

Parkin controls more than 90 percent of Dubai's paid parking provision

Dubai parking operator IPO will fund EV expansion plans

Parkin, the Dubai government’s parking management company, plans to channel proceeds from its initial public offering into technological upgrades, including expansion of its electric vehicle services.  The company will release nearly 25 percent of its shares on the Dubai Financial Market next month.  The offering begins on March 5, with a price range to be […]

Dubai Financial Market, where trading in Drake & Scull shares was suspended in November 2018

Drake & Scull to issue sukuk for return to Dubai market

The directors of Drake & Scull International are looking to recapitalise the troubled construction giant via a sukuk, with a view to resuming trading on the Dubai Financial Market. A general assembly meeting will be held “as soon as possible” to increase the company’s share capital, which will be done through a mandatory convertible sukuk, […]

The value of the Egyptian pound has halved since 2022, leading to reduced investment

Egyptian economic woes to prolong startup funding slump

Egyptian startups face another tough year finding funding, as the prospect of further currency devaluations and stubbornly high inflation deter investors, despite the attractive demographics of the Arab world’s most populous nation. The number of venture capital deals in Egypt in the first nine months of 2023 was 47, down by nearly two thirds on […]

Abdullah Binghannam, deputy head of financing and investment at the Capital Market Authority, spoke on the second day of the forum in Riyadh

Saudi Arabia prods blue chips to list more shares

Saudi Arabia is prodding blue-chip companies on its stock exchange to offer more shares to the public as part of a drive to become a global financial centre.  Abdullah Binghannam, deputy head of financing and investment at the kingdom’s Capital Market Authority, told a markets forum in Riyadh on Tuesday that a regulatory framework was […]

Abu Dhabi-listed e& owned 20% of the UK’s Vodafone as of August 2023

Vodafone dividend helps push e& to record profit

Telecommunications company e&, formerly known as Etisalat, reported record net profit in 2023. The Abu Dhabi-listed company said profit was driven by higher dividends from Vodafone Group, higher income from associates and lower tax expenses. Net profit for the full year reached AED10.3 billion ($2.80 billion), up three percent year on year, as revenue rose […]

Saudi Hong Kong stock exchange

Saudi stock exchange to hold Hong Kong forum in May

The Saudi stock exchange operator Tadawul has chosen Hong Kong for its first capital market forum outside the country, part of a drive to make the Gulf state a global financial centre for attracting foreign capital.   “For the first time we’re taking the Saudi Capital Market Forum beyond Saudi borders in collaboration with the Hong […]