Goldman banker moving from Dubai to London in latest change to Mideast lineup

Fabrice Francois will join Goldman’s mid-market advisory franchise, known as the cross markets group

Careem

Careem launches ‘super app’ to offer ride-hailing, delivery and payments on one platform

The roll-out of the super app started in March 2020 and is expected to complete by the end of June 2020

UAE’s Emirates Islamic offers free Business Banking debit cards to SMEs

The initiative will grant an alternative channel to customers seeking access to cash

Amlak International announces intent to list on Saudi bourse

The offering will comprise of 27,180,000 ordinary shares

Abu Dhabi service marketplace Rizek raises $3.5m in seed funding

The startup also plans to invest in upskilling its freelancers and SME service providers to help them garner more opportunities

sheikh hamdan

Islamic Economy accounted for Dhs41.8bn of Dubai’s GDP in 2018

It contributed 9.9 per cent to Dubai’s GDP in 2018

Abraaj ex-CEO’s alleged theft cost the firm $385m – liquidators

Naqvi is one of six former Abraaj executives who face charges stemming from the private equity’s firm’s 2018 collapse

Explainer: Have contactless payments taken off in the GCC?

The Covid-19 pandemic has made contactless payments more relevant than ever before. Khalid Elgibali, MENA division president at Mastercard, discusses whether adoption in the GCC grown significantly

No acquisition by US-based bank, clarifies Dubai lender Emirates NBD

The bank stated that 101,731,408 of its shares were purchased by 254 unique investors on May 28

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala posts 324% increase in 2019 income

At end of 2019, its assets under management (AUM) stood at Dhs853bn, compared to Dhs840bn in 2018

Founder of Bahrain’s Investcorp Nemir Kirdar dies

Kirdar founded the company in 1982 and led it for over three decades

Outward personal remittances from the UAE in Q1 2020 increased 7.8% y-on-y

The top five destination countries for remittances were India, Pakistan, Philippines, Egypt and the US

Four MENA IPO deals raise $814.2m in Q1 2020

Globally, 235 IPOs raised $28.5bn in Q1 2020, compared to $15.1bn in Q1 2019

Bahrain’s GFH Financial Group lists $200m sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

This marks GFH’s second sukuk listing on Nasdaq Dubai, following the listing of a $300m sukuk in February this year

Deutsche Bank’s head of EMEA to exit the company

Ashok Aram, who also heads the firm’s international private and commercial bank operations, is departing for personal reasons

Bank of America acquires stake in Dubai’s Emirates NBD

The acquisition of a 100 million shares is worth around Dhs900m

Aramco backs New York fintech firm offering Islamic investments

Wahed Invest got the financing from Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Ventures unit as part of a $25m funding round

Dubai’s DIFC invests in four fintech startups via its $100m fund

The investment, part of its $100m FinTech Fund to help establish and upscale fintech companies, reinforces DIFC’s commitment to drive advancements in the financial services sector

UAE startup Tabby secures $7m funding, partners with Apparel Group

The investment will support the company’s entry into Saudi Arabia and fund further growth in the UAE

Revealed: Top 10 companies in the Middle East in 2020

In this year’s Forbes list of the Middle East’s Top 100 Companies 2020, Saudi Arabia led the pack with 33 entries

Emirates NBD and Visa commit to a 5-year partnership agreement

Visa has secured exclusivity over Emirates NBD’s debit card for personal, priority, private and business banking customers, and the debit card programme for Liv.

Revealed: All the stimulus measures taken by Dubai’s DIFC to support businesses

From waiving certain fees to offering rental relief, DIFC is implementing several steps to help firms during the current Covid-19 crisis

Mubadala

Ambani’s Jio platforms sells $1.2bn stake to Mubadala

Facebook invested $5.7bn in Jio in April for a roughly 10 per cent stake

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital supports businesses via its corporate restructuring and financial services

In the past few years, the firm has structured and invested over $4bn of debt deals

Sharjah initiates Dhs4bn liquidity support to offset virus impact

The move aims to provide additional financial assistance to all businesses impacted by the pandemic

How can UAE wealth managers stay relevant in the current economic situation?

Wealth managers need to adopt sophisticated tools such as robo-advisors to stay relevant and offer the best service to their clients, says IT firm Comarch

Sheikh Mohammed

Sheikh Mohammed enacts new data protection law for Dubai International Financial Centre

The law will come into effect from July 1, 2020

Saudi Arabia to inject $13.3bn into banking system

The programme is aimed at helping banks amend and restructure loans without additional fees and support private sector employment

Saudi reserves fall more slowly after transfer to sovereign fund

The government is looking to its largest-ever debt programme to keep the depletion of reserves limited to SAR120bn

Sharjah hires banks for $1bn sukuk sale

A sale could happen as soon as this week and proceeds will be used for general budgetary needs, sources said