National Bank of Abu Dhabi secures $2bn loan

The loan comes ahead of the bank’s merger with First Gulf Bank, expected in the first quarter of 2017

Dubai’s Emirates Islamic launches Dhs1.5bn rights issue

The allocation of the new shares will be made on December 29

Kuwait Energy aims to close $100m loan facility by year-end

The company is likely to obtain the financing on a bilateral basis from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires majority stake in Spain’s Agromillora

Under the deal, the founders and management of the company will maintain a minority stake

DP World, Canadian pension fund to create $3.8bn investment vehicle

Dubai’s DP World will have a 55 per cent stake in the partnership

Sharjah’s economy is slowing, deficit is rising – Moody’s

Moody’s considers that VAT will increase the stability of Sharjah’s government revenue

Qatar’s Mejda Group set to develop $220m Tunisian tourism project

The tourism complex will be located just north of the Tunisian capital at Raoued

Saudi king allocates SAR100bn to wealth fund PIF

The funds will be used to support both foreign and local investments

Expat income tax will boost GCC revenues, but hit region’s ‘attractiveness’ – IMF

The International Monetary Fund has also warned the GCC against taxing expats’ remittances

Saudi wealth fund to buy 50% of investment firm Adeptio from Dubai’s Alabbar

Last month, a subsidiary of Adeptio completed the acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in Americana

Saudi central bank’s net foreign assets shrink to lowest level since Dec 2011

Assets shrank by $10.8bn from a month earlier to $535.9bn in October

Abu Dhabi fund Mubadala, China’s HNA to partner on investments

The funds plan to invest together in tourism, logistics and financial services

Qatar, Spain to sign deal for $1bn Latam investment fund in 2017

Negotiations on the agreement have been stalled for almost a year

Saudi’s 30-year bonds outperform other Gulf debt after Trump win

There is an unsatisfied demand for Saudi debt in the market

GCC governments enlist export credit agencies to help fund mega projects

Low oil prices have squeezed liquidity in the Gulf region

Saudi wealth fund hires HSBC for potential buy of ACWA Power stake

The Public Investment Fund already owns a 13.7 per cent stake in ACWA

National Bank of Bahrain appoints new CEO

Jean-Christophe Durand takes over from current CEO Abdul Razak al-Qassim, who is retiring

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank confirms Egypt CEO found dead

Nevine Loutfy was found with stab wounds, according to local reports

Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires US real estate assets worth $250m

The purchases include properties in the Boston and Denver metropolitan areas

Bank of Singapore to open branch in Dubai’s DIFC

The licence will allow the bank to conduct private banking

Bahrain’s Arcapita buys US senior citizen housing for $110m

The communities are located in the metropolitan areas surrounding Washington D.C. and Atlanta

Saudi stock exchange to flag companies with losses exceeding 20%

Flags will be placed beside company names on the Saudi Stock Exchange website when they exceed 20, 35 and 50 per cent losses

Abu Dhabi banks deny merger talks, shares fall

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank denied merger plans

Abu Dhabi Financial Group, GFH appoint CEO for $100m Islamic finance firm

ADCorp has been established with $100m of authorised capital

Blom Bank to acquire HSBC’s Lebanese business

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017

Saudi wealth fund PIF denies plans to sell its stakes in local firms

A report claimed the PIF is reviewing the sale of stakes in local companies as it seeks to diversify its portfolio

China’s ICBC becomes Dubai commodities exchange settlement bank

The move will allow more investors to clear transactions in yuan

Indians cannot exchange demonetised currency notes in the UAE

NRIs in the UAE will only be able to exchange their 1,000 and 500 rupee notes in India

Emirates NBD expects sharp drop in retail loan growth in 2017

The bank expects retail lending growth to halve to around 5 per cent as the market slows

GCC banks could lose access to dollar clearing- official

U.S. and European banks are continuing to scale back their relationships with Gulf banks