#finance

Sharjah Islamic Bank

Sharjah Islamic Bank’s 2021 net profit up 27% to Dhs514.1m

Its general and administrative expenses at the end of last year stood at Dhs576.8m, compared to Dhs561.5m in 2020

Nasdaq Dubai

Nasdaq Dubai records $23.1bn sukuk and bond listings in 2021

The 30 listings undertaken in 2021 were 15.5 per cent higher than the number of listings the previous year

Warba Bank nasdaq dubai

Warba Bank lists $250m sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

The total value of the Kuwaiti bank’s sukuk on the exchange stands at $898m

UAE’s new digital bank Zand set to launch ‘imminently’ after Dubai Bank acquisition

Dubai Bank, acquired from Emirates NBD, will be relaunched as Zand

UAE looks to attract Asian firms to bolster crypto sector

The UAE has intensified its push to adopt the use of blockchain in recent years

Dubai World Trade Centre to become regulator for virtual assets and crypto

DWTC will be designing a comprehensive ecosystem for this sector within Dubai

Saudi food delivery company Jahez prices IPO at top of range

The company plans to sell just over two million shares to raise about SAR1.8bn.

Bank of America, Societe Generale to follow new weekend in the UAE

From January, the UAE will adopt a Monday-Thursday work week with Friday being a half day

dirhams

UAE Central Bank extends economic support measures until June 30

Prudential relief measures regarding banks’ capital buffers and liquidity and stable funding requirements will be extended by six months

Voices from the top: Josette Rizk, director of institutional clients, MEA, Invesco

Invesco’s client-centric approach has enabled its EMEA business to grow in assets under management

RAKBank appoints new CEO

Raheel Ahmed succeeds Peter England, who will retire after leading the bank for over eight years

Reddit says it filed confidentially for US IPO

The number of shares and proposed price range for an IPO haven’t been determined

UAE Central Bank mulls emiratisation of some banking and insurance roles

The board also endorsed the criteria that govern banks’ loan exposure to the real estate sector

Abu Dhabi’s IHC approves merger of its real estate firm Al Tamouh with Al Qudra Holding

Investment holding company Al Qudra’s board has approved a new foreign ownership limit of 30 per cent of outstanding shares

Saudi wealth fund PIF raises $3.2bn from sale of STC stake

The Public Investment Fund offered 120 million shares in Saudi Telecom at SAR100 each

Dubai plans to list district cooling firm Empower in IPO push

The government said last month it wants to sell shares in 10 companies, and it has been encouraging private and family-owned businesses to follow suit

UAE stock market

UAE stock exchanges to begin operating Mondays-Fridays

The banking and financial sectors are expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries of the newly structured weekends

Khalifa University

UAE’s Khalifa University launches investment arm with Dhs100m endowment

The newly formed Khalifa University Enterprises Company will act as the business and investment arm of the university

Saudi Arabia

Moelis plans Saudi hires as it seeks to open Riyadh office

The Saudi economy, the biggest in the Middle East, is growing at its fastest pace in almost a decade

Dubai

State-owned Bank Syariah Indonesia to open representative office in Dubai in 2022

It will work across three key business areas: global sukuk, remittance, and trade finance

Dubai UAE

Dubai issues 55,194 new business licences during the first 10 months of 2021

The figure marks a 69 per cent increase over the same period in 2020 when 32,626 licenses were issued

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE MOCCAE, Eugene Willemsen, and Aamer Sheikh

PepsiCo launches MENA edition of Greenhouse Accelerator programme

It has partnered with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for the initiative

fintech

VentureSouq launches MENA region’s first fintech fund

The $50m fund will invest in early-stage fintech and SaaS companies across the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan

Emirati employee

Emirati members of Dubai SME to get up to seven-year exemption on licence fee

The fee exemption applies to registered Emirati members who have not completed the five-year period

Up to 66% of Indian expats plan to increase their investments in the UAE – HSBC

Property is seen as the most important investment class for Indians in the UAE

DubaiDubai Future District Fund

New Dhs1bn fund to support tech startups in Dubai

Sharif El-Badawi has been appointed as CEO of the Dubai Future District Fund

UAE’s Century Financial to launch new funds, AI trading platform and property crowdfunding site

The investment firm is diversifying its business with plans to also launch in Saudi soon, says Ali AbdulKareem Ali, senior executive director at Century Financial

ClearTax expands its operations into the Middle East, raises $75m

The tax and compliance technology solution provider is looking to enter the UAE by mid-2022 with e-invoicing and VAT offerings within the country

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Bahrain Bourse sign strategic partnership agreement

The two entities will introduce products and services including exchange-traded funds, smart order routing and cross-border direct trading

Visa Dubai

Visa opens its new flagship regional headquarters in Dubai

Spanning 100,000 sq ft, the new HQ will serve almost 90 countries across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region