#finance

DIFC FIntech week 2022

DIFC to host the region’s most comprehensive fintech event in June

More than 1,000 attendees, including fintech startups, investment firms, banks and service providers, are expected to attend DIFC FinTech Week on June 28 and 29

Mastercard digital payments HyperPay

HyperPay, Mastercard partner to grow digital payment rails across MENA

The collaboration will offer advanced new technologies so businesses, governments and SMEs can move from cash-based payments to a seamless ecosystem

EFG Karim Awad

EFG Hermes Holding posts net profit of EGP345m in Q1 2022

EFG Hermes Holding’s sell-side revenues grew by 61 per cent y-o-y to EGP494m supported by revenues from the investment banking and brokerage divisions

flydubai

UAE’s flydubai, Standard Chartered ink SLB deal for five Boeing aircraft

The deal was structured, financed and arranged exclusively by Standard Chartered

Mastercard, OPay partner to grow cashless ecosystem

OPay customers from countries such as Egypt, Nigeria, Ethiopia and the UAE will benefit from Mastercard’s virtual payment solution linked to their ewallet

SPID Houlihan Lokey Imperial Avenue

Houlihan Lokey raises around $200m for Shapoorji Pallonji for project in Downtown Dubai

Imperial Avenue, a 45-floor residential tower, is Shapoorji Pallonji’s flagship real estate project in the UAE

Oman posts $927m quarterly surplus after oil prices rose

The Finance Ministry expects the economy to grow 5.6 per cent in 2022, in line with IMF predictions

Debt management office

Government of Dubai establishes a debt management office

Rashid Ali bin Obood Al-Falasi has been appointed as the chief executive officer of the debt management office

The SME Story: Mark Zubov, founder and CFO of Iman

Iman offers a halal book-now-pay-later solution to retailers

Kuwait

Kuwait seeks to invest $750m in Pakistan projects

Kuwait Investment Authority’s Enertech Holding Co. and Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company have applied for a digital bank license and proposed a hydrogen plant and two smart cities

EFG HERMES - gcc economy - sector

UAE, London IPOs planned for Africa Finance’s infrastructure projects

The Nigerian banking group aims to combine assets in renewables, ports and industrial parks and offer them to investors through initial public offerings

Kraken joins ADGM

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken joins ADGM’s virtual assets community

Kraken has received a Financial Services Permission license to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in ADGM

DIFC-based Tarabut gateway

DIFC-based fintech Tarabut Gateway receives DFSA licence

This licence marks the first time the DFSA has authorised a firm to provide account information services and payment initiation services activities

uae central bank

UAE gross bank assets increase 0.8% to Dhs3,321.5bn at end of December 2021

Total bank deposits increased by 1.5 per cent, rising from Dhs1,966.8bn at the end of November 2021 to Dhs1,996.5bn at the end of December 2021

Investcorp sets up infrastructure investment platform in North America

Investcorp’s new platform will enable investments in critical infrastructure companies and projects across North America

UAE’s ADX rebrands ‘growth market’ to boost private sector listings

The growth market will enable companies to directly list their shares on ADX, without the need for an initial public offering

Interview: EFG Hermes’ Karim Awad shares the strategy driving the company’s success

The group CEO, chairman of the executive committee, and member of the board of EFG Hermes Holding, shares the company’s key milestones

Dubai’s Mashreq and noon.com launch VIP savings account

The account provides customers competitive interest rates on their savings, cashback on all spends and a free noon VIP membership among other features

Emirates Development Bank

Emirates Development Bank contributes Dhs1.91bn to UAE’s GDP

The bank’s strategy involved direct and indirect financing of 1,350 SMEs across priority sectors

UAE’s DEWA IPO subscription period opens today

The price range is set between Dhs2.25 and Dhs2.48 per share, implying a market capitalisation of between Dhs112.5bn and Dhs124bn

First Abu Dhabi Bank to open representative office in Iraq

The UAE is one of Iraq’s most important trading partners, with the value of exported goods totalling over $13.11bn in 2020

UAE’s First Abu Dhabi Bank and ADCB deny report of potential merger

The banks issued separate filings to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) denying the report

Nasdaq Dubai

Jordan’s Capital Bank lists $100m bond on Nasdaq Dubai

The bond is the first issuance of its kind for a Jordanian bank on the exchange

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs

UAE Central Bank approves creation of 5,000 jobs for Emiratis by 2026

The Emiratisation plan will apply to managerial positions across the country’s banking and insurance sectors

NAsdaq New York

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital lists $100m SPAC on Nasdaq New York

It has priced its initial public offering of 10,000,000 units of Shuaa Partners Acquisition Corp I at $10 per unit

Here’s how UAE banks can protect real-time payments from fraud

Jeremy Wilmot, chief product officer at ACI Worldwide tells Gulf Business how the company is preparing to help UAE banks connect to the nation’s central real-time payments infrastructure

Dubai International Financial Centre achieves record company registrations in 2021

Last year, the financial centre also recorded its highest ever annual revenue and operating profit

Brazil

UAE’s Mubadala Capital raises $322m in first investment fund in Brazil

Mubadala Capital manages over $10bn of assets in third-party managed funds across its Brazil, private equity, public equities and venture capital businesses

Cover story: Investment is a level playing field, says Dubai’s AIX

The Covid-19 pandemic has effectively broadened the investment landscape, explains AIX Investment Group’s board advisor Fadi Dabbagh

ADNOC

UAE’s ADNOC mulls sale of green bonds as it seek ESG funds

The UAE became the first Gulf state to commit to neutralising planet-warming emissions within its borders, which it aims to do by 2050