Top Dubai, Israeli banks seek to cooperate after peace deal

Discussions between Bank Leumi and Emirates NBD Bank are at an early stage and no final decisions have been made

State of the global Islamic economy: Eyeing new frontiers

With Muslim consumers across the world seeking out faith-based products and services, the Islamic economy is seeing robust growth among all its different verticals

Abu Dhabi’s Yas Theme Parks to accept Alipay

Chinese tourists can pay using the highly popular digital payment platform

Saudi Aramco appoints new CEO for $500m investment arm

Mahdi Aladel, who formerly led the state energy producer’s base oils and lubricants division, will take over

Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Ithmaar Holding discuss acquisition plans

The plans, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, are still in the preliminary discussions phase

Abu Dhabi hedge fund makes $300m emerging-market wager

The manager has already moved about 90 per cent of that money into markets such as China and India, after cutting some positions in developed markets

Top UAE banks signal slow recovery for Q3 2020 – report

Second-quarter net profit for UAE-based top banks jumps 21 per cent

Abu Dhabi returns to dollar bond market with multi-tranche deal

Abu Dhabi raised $7bn in April also through a three-tranche bond offering

UAE exchanges, financial centres partner with Aurora50 to drive gender diversity

Aurora50 is initiating the discussion around board-level gender diversity with a virtual event

Adeeb Ahamed New

LuLu Financial Holdings’ MD Adeeb Ahamed on the Covid crisis, remittances and plans ahead

UAE-based LuLu Exchange contributes to nearly 1.7 per cent of the global remittance inflows, reveals Ahamed

Mideast equity markets mixed with oil prices in focus

Kuwait’s main equity index led losses in the region

Dubai Financial Services Authority

Technology, operational resilience critical to the future of financial services

A stable financial sector is key to sustainable growth

Market cap of UAE-listed companies crosses Dhs1 trillion mark

On August 19, the listed public joint stock companies booked Dhs11.7bn in gains

Sheikh-Mohammed Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed outlines new law for family-owned businesses in Dubai

The validity of a family ownership contract can extend up to 15 years, after which it must be renewed

Kuwait can’t pay salaries beyond October, minister tells Parliament

The government estimates a budget deficit of KD14bn in the current fiscal year

Fitch follows Moody’s by downgrading Oman deeper into junk again

Fitch’s latest downgrade brings its ranking of Oman to the same level as that of Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings.

Fintech industry growing by 18% annually in Saudi Arabia: report

Fintech transactions in the kingdom amounted to over $20bn by the end of 2019

DIFC-gate

DIFC launches new license starting at $1,500 for startups and entrepreneurs in Dubai

Businesses can secure up to four visas when renting a desk space within the freezone

Finablr founder Shetty resigns as Indian court closes net on NMC Health

Finablr and NMC Health were both listed on the London Stock Exchange before being suspended

Saudi Arabia’s inflation rate surged to 6.1% in July on VAT hike

Saudi Arabia increased its value-added tax from 5 per cent to 15 per cent on July 1

Abu Dhabi insurance company Daman appoints new CEO

Al Mehyas has been leading the company following a major reorganisation last year

Saudi wealth fund is said to repay $10bn bridge loan

PIF has shifted its focus from being mostly a domestic holding company to an international investment vehicle with stakes in Citigroup, Facebook and Boeing Co

Regional startups on a ‘growth’ trajectory amid Covid-19 crisis

While the pandemic may have rattled industries, the regional startup ecosystem remains resilient

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank records 52% decrease in net profit for H1 2020

Its net revenue also declined nearly 11.5 per cent year-on-year to Dhs2.5bn

Kuwait pension fund plans to triple infrastructure investments

PIFSS had a record investment profit of $7.3bn in the three months through June

Dubai’s DIFC FinTech Hive accelerator programme attracts record entrants

Fourth cohort attracts 620 fintech startups from all over the world

Dubai's DMCC welcomes 15 companies through their impact scale-up programme

Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange to run on Nasdaq trading technology

Nasdaq’s clearing solution will provide DGCX with multi-asset class clearing and settlement

UAE Central Bank ramps up TESS scheme to support banking sector

The directive will encourage banks to strengthen the TESS scheme and support customers in overcoming the impact of the pandemic

UAE’s RAKBANK reports 44.7% dip in net profit for H1 2020

The bank’s total income for H1 2020 declined by 4.5 per cent compared to H1 2019