Investcorp buys apartments in $330m bet on suburbs

Investcorp confirmed the purchase in a stock market filing

AIX Dubai

Biggest investment trends to watch out for in 2021

With the pandemic upending the business landscape, what are the trends that we should look out for?

Emirates NBD

Dubai’s Emirates NBD reports a 52% slide in net profit for 2020

Total income of Dhs23.2bn improved 4 per cent year-on-year

Abu Dhabi lender FAB names Hana Al Rostamani as first female CEO

Al Rostamani will takes over from Andre Sayegh

LME

Saudi Arabia returns to dollar-debt market to boost finances

The price of Brent crude is still below what most of the region’s economies need to balance their budgets

Bahrain’s Investcorp launches fintech investment platform

Customers can browse, assess and invest in Investcorp’s investment offerings

Abraham Accords: Impact on talent synergies between the UAE and Israel

The relations between Israel and the UAE will have omnipresent long-term benefits through their similarities

Saudi Arabia replaces central bank governor

Ahmed Alkholifey is being replaced by Fahad Al-Mubarak, who was central bank governor from 2011 to 2016

Power Letters 2021: Adeeb Ahamed, managing director, LuLu Financial Group

Amidst the many challenges of 2020, Lulu Financial Group is determined to advance its objective of financial inclusion through technology and collaborative partnerships

Saudi’s Public Investment Fund launches 5-year strategy; assets treble to $400bn

PIF aims to grow its assets under management to over $1.07 trillion by the end of 2025

Investment bank Moelis & Company appointed for restructuring of UAE’s Finablr

In December 2020, Finablr agreed to sell off its business to an Israeli-UAE consortium for $1

cryptocurrency

Central Bank of Bahrain licences Sharia-compliant cryptocurrency exchange CoinMENA

At launch, CoinMENA’s platform will be available to residents of Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman

Kuwait Central Bank allows lenders to distribute 2020 dividends

The Kuwait Banking Association said in June that there would be no distribution of dividends to shareholders for 2020

How open banking can foster innovation in the financial landscape

Open banking offers potential for better customer experience and additional revenue streams

First Abu Dhabi Bank acquires 100% of Bank Audi Egypt’s share capital

The proceeds will help strengthen Bank Audi group’s capitalisation and financial resilience

Bahrain plans to sell dollar bonds to plug budget deficit

The Gulf Arab kingdom is selling benchmark-size seven-year debt, 12-year securities and/or notes maturing in 30 years

Qatar wealth fund plans Asia push to diversify from Europe, US

The wealth fund holds stakes in some of the world’s top companies

Citi UAE expects to triple assets under management to $15bn by 2025

Bank plans to quadruple wealth clients in five years

Over $1bn piled into MENA-based startups in 2020

The UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia accounted for 68 per cent of the total deals disclosed in 2020

Binance

Digital transformation: What are the key challenges that regional banks continue to face?

Digitisation is underway and accelerating in the Middle East – but what are the key technologies being deployed?

Mubadala

Abu Dhabi’s $232bn Mubadala wants to take crack at Top 10

The fund is reshaping its structure to focus on four business platforms: UAE investments, disruptive investments, direct investments and real estate and infrastructure

First Abu Dhabi Bank

Abu Dhabi bank follows Dubai peer to dollar bond market

First Abu Dhabi Bank opened books on a $500m five-year sukuk

Mashreq-Bank

Dubai bank Mashreq may move nearly half its jobs to cheaper hubs

The relocation plan is expected to be completed in three phases by October this year

Shailesh Dash main

Phi Trends: The standout performers in the stock market

The 26 stocks recommended over the past five months have seen stellar returns, states entrepreneur and investor Shailesh Dash, who shares his market perspective in this monthly column

Oman expected to add $779m in revenue from VAT this year

The country last year announced it would impose a 5 per cent VAT in an effort to bolster the economy

Stocks set to end 2020 at record high

Investors have pushed risk assets including stocks to sky-high valuations on expectations that widespread vaccine distribution in 2021 will reignite economic growth

How fintech innovations are helping the unbanked across the GCC

As societies adopt more digital payment tools, it is important to bring along the 25 million locally who are still living in cash mode

Bahrain-Manama

Bahrain central bank extends loan repayment deferrals on Covid crisis

The option to postpone installments is to be offered to all customers residing in the kingdom, whether individuals or companies

Oman banks get more flexibility in financing stock investments

Oman’s central bank also said banking sector in the sultanate was “comfortably placed”

Bahrain’s Investcorp buys stake in private equity firm Centre Lane

Centre Lane plans to use the capital to expand its private-credit and special-opportunities platforms and to increase capital commitment