#finance

Investcorp

Bahrain’s Investcorp builds EUR1bn European real estate portfolio

It recently acquired ten UK industrial assets for a combined purchase price of GBP56.7m

Dubai Financial Market

New board of directors announced for Dubai Financial Market

The new board will be headed by Helal Al Marri

Dubai announces plans to list utility DEWA in the ‘coming months’

The utility has projects valued at around Dhs86bn that are planned to be commissioned in the next five years

UAE’s amended law on the decriminalisation of bounced cheques to take effect in Jan 2022

The scope for criminalisation of returned cheques due to insufficient funds has been narrowed and confined to cases of bad faith and other cheque crimes

Nasdaq Dubai Islamic Development Bank

Saudi’s Islamic Development Bank lists $1.7bn sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

IsDB is now the largest supranational sukuk issuer on Nasdaq Dubai with a total value of $18.8bn through 13 issuances listed on the exchange since 2016

Abu Dhabi fertilizer firm Fertiglobe raises $800m in IPO backed by Singapore

The company will be valued at $5.8bn and the stock will start trading in Abu Dhabi on October 27

Different Arab money

Saudi VC firm STV looking to raise $1bn for Middle East tech fund

Interest in the technology industry in the Middle East has increased the past few years

Emirates NBD

Dubai’s Emirates NBD nine-month profit rose an annual 29% to Dhs7.3bn

The bank reported a nine-month total income of Dhs17.3bn as compared to Dhs18.3bn in the previous year

Fertiglobe set to price Abu Dhabi IPO at top end of price range

ADNOC and OCI are offering 13.8 per cent of Fertiglobe in the IPO

Saudi oil discovery

Aramco oil pipeline investors ready multi-billion dollar bond

The consortium, led by Washington-based EIG Global Energy Partners, may raise at least $4.5bn

Dubai-world-trade-centre-DWTC

CoinMENA partners with DWTC to set up crypto asset and blockchain hub in Dubai

The MoU was signed during the opening day of the Future Blockchain Summit at GITEX Global 2021

Etihad

Etihad raises $1.2bn in aviation’s first sustainability-linked ESG loan

Loan terms tied to targets to reduce CO2 emissions, increase corporate governance and promote female participation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Sheikh Mohammed approves Dhs290bn UAE general budget for 2022-2026

It includes a budget of Dhs58.931bn for 2022, of which 41.2 per cent will be allocated for the development and social benefits sector

YAP

Dubai-based fintech YAP launches region’s ‘first’ virtual card

YAP, which launched earlier this year, claims it is now “onboarding hundreds per day”

Abu Dhabi’s wealth funds weigh Turkey investments worth billions

Among funds eyeing Turkish investments are Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and ADQ

UAE Central Bank

UAE Central Bank gives in-principle approval for Wizz Financial to acquire UAE Exchange

Once finalised, UAE Exchange is expected to relaunch its branch network in the UAE

Sheikh Hamdan announces restructuring of Dubai Municipality

Dubai forecasts 3.1% economic growth in 2021, 3.4% in 2022

The total cost of the five stimulus packages announced by the emirate’s government since the start of the pandemic amounted to Dhs7.1bn, or 1.6 per cent of Dubai’s GDP

Emirates Development Bank

UAE’s Emirates Development Bank partners with YAP to launch business banking app for SMEs

The EDB Business Banking app is free to open and has no minimum balance criteria

National Bank of Fujairah

UAE’s National Bank of Fujairah launches electronic trading platform

The new platform is available for both conventional and Shariah-compliant banking customers

Saudi conglomerate Algosaibi’s $7.5bn default settled after decade

The plan involves Algosaibi contributing 90 per cent of its assets to paying off debts, with the rest restructured in order to carry on operating

Biggest Saudi IPO since Aramco draws strong investor interest

The $1.2bn IPO by ACWA Power International had initial demand amounting to several billion dollars

UAE Central Bank

UAE Central Bank issues new guidance on transaction monitoring and sanctions screening

The guidance came into effect on Monday, September 13, with licensed financial institutions being given a month to demonstrate compliance

Dubai Chamber

Dubai Chamber exports, re-exports grew 21.8% to Dhs147bn in January-August 2021

Chamber members’ exports and re-exports to the GCC countries during the first eight months of the year increased 16.4 per cent year-on-year to Dhs79.6bn

Resilience

This UAE accountancy and advisory firm provides services ranging from auditing to forensics

Khalid Farooq and Farhan Ali are at the helm of Resilience which provides a range of finance and IT services to several public and private sector businesses

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital closes private equity Fund III with commitments of $1.6bn

Fund III raised capital commitments from leading pension plans, endowments, insurance plans, government institutions, family offices and private equity firms

How technology can play a crucial role in mitigating financial crimes

While financial crimes may be complex and difficult to track, the Effiya Compliance suite ensures that risk assessment is conducted seamlessly, asserts Abhishek Gupta, managing director at Effiya Technologies

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi reduces requirements for starting new commercial businesses

It follows the establishment of a task force led by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development which coordinated its efforts with over 20 government entities

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank net profit at Dhs1.1bn in H1 2021, up 89% y-on-y

Its total revenue grew 3.4 per cent to Dhs2.644bn compared to Dhs2.557bn in H1 2020

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi slashes private sector business setup fees by over 90%

Business setup and licence renewal fees have been reduced to Dhs1,000

Bitcoin

Bitcoin hovers around $32,000 after boost from Musk

Musk said Bitcoin mining is “shifting towards renewable energy” and his company will likely resume accepting it as payment for electric cars