Abu Dhabi billionaire BR Shetty’s NMC plans review after short seller attack

London-listed NMC’s stock lost 47 per cent last week after the report

Saudi Aramco stocks give up about half of gains since debut

Investors are seeking new catalysts for the stock after it was included in major emerging-market equity benchmarks

Dr B.R. Shetty, Founder and Co-Chairman of Finablr, at the London Stock Exchange[2] copy

UAE-based Shetty family lose $820m over Muddy Waters report

London-listed NMC called the Muddy Waters report “principally unfounded”

Exclusive: Boursa Kuwait CEO on its privatisation agenda

Kuwait’s stock exchange is aiming to transform the market

Kuwait stocks end year as the GCC favourite

The MSCI inclusion is expected to lead to inflows by passive investors of about $3.8bn

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala invests in Spanish food delivery platform Glovo

Mubadala was the lead investor in Glovo’s 150m euro ($167m) funding round

Abu Dhabi billionaire BR Shetty’s NMC Health says short seller attack is “baseless”

The company’s shares lost about a third of their value on Tuesday after the Muddy Waters report

Dubai Islamic Bank to acquire Noor after shareholders approve deal

The acquisition will make DIB one of the largest Islamic banks in the world

Abu Dhabi’s NMC Health shares plunge to record low after Muddy Waters report

Shares of NMC Health fell 32 per cent Tuesday in London, wiping out about 1.8bn pounds ($2.4bn) in market value

Up to 40% of UAE workers have not had a salary increase in the last 2 years – study

The study also found that 29 per cent believe that their employer isn’t transparent about how pay rises and pay levels are set

Saudi’s biggest bank NCB ends merger talks with Riyad Bank

Differences over valuation potentially contributed to the collapse of the talks

Saudi Aramco up for third session, but valuation remains below $2 trillion

MSCI will add Aramco to its benchmarks using the closing price of December 17

Lebanon turns to IMF as Fitch sounds alarm on default

The Fitch report highlighted that the central bank’s gross foreign currency reserves are expected to decline to $28bn at the end of 2019, down $4bn in the year

Regional M&A activity in 2019: fireworks or a squib?

With a blockbuster start, will recent damp M&A activity call for a quiet end?

Saudi Aramco inches closer to Crown Prince’s $2 trillion valuation

Aramco’s capitalisation jumped from $1.71 trillion to $1.88 trillion at the end of the first trading session on Wednesday

Oil giant Total gets Libya’s nod to acquire Marathon Oil concession

Total will purchase Marathon’s stake in the Waha concessions for $450m, and has committed to invest an additional $650m to boost capacity by 180,000 barrels a day

Egypt’s two state-owned firms to go public in 2020

Banque du Caire and payments firm e-Finance are gearing up for potential IPOs

What to expect in Saudi Arabia’s next budget?

Pre-budget figures announced in October see economic growth increasing to 2.3 per cent from 0.9 per cent in 2019

Turkey eases rules on $8.1bn of bad loans after banks balk

The ease will help lenders to potentially avoid adding more non-performing loans to their books

UAE’s central bank does not endorse private cryptocurrency trading platforms

The bank added that it believes that private cryptocurrencies pose potential risks related to price volatility, money laundering and terrorist financing

Oman Oil Company to sell 20-25% stake by end of 2020

It could become the second state-backed oil producer in the GCC to be listed after Saudi Aramco’s IPO this month

Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital gains Dhs40m via its divestiture in AerCap Holdings

The company has been reducing its shareholding in recent years to re-allocate capital in alternate investments

Egypt vows $6bn to support industry as part of economic revamp

The nation looks to boost private sector growth in the next phase of its economic revival program

Lebanon central bank to reduce interest rates to ease crisis

Three top banks in Lebanon were downgraded last month below the sovereign by S&P Global Ratings

Kuwait bourse IPO more than 8.5 times oversubscribed

The IPO of 50 per cent of the bourse to local citizens follows a 44 per cent sale earlier this year to a consortium of investors

Dubai’s DFSA, Luxembourg financial regulator sign agreement

This cooperation is Dubai Financial Services Authority’s eighth fintech agreement

Taking an employee-centric approach to mergers and acquisitions

As mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East continue to rise, how can companies care for the employee experience to ensure success?

Bahrain’s Bank ABC launches digital, mobile-only bank

The digital bank is to be introduced across the MENA region

Saudi Aramco IPO retail offering is fully covered with one day to go

Subscription reached SAR32.6bn ($8.7bn) with 3.7 million people signing up

Abu Dhabi said to be mulling $1.5bn stake in Saudi Aramco IPO

The emirate is seeking to make the investment through one or more state-linked entities, according to sources