#finance

Saudi Arabia’s Fannie Mae eyes debut international bond in 2021

The refinancing company was set up to buy home loans from banks and other finance companies, freeing up lenders to book more mortgages

Women’s Voice: My successful journey in a male-dominated industry

We have not yet reached gender parity – women today are still under-leveraged and undervalued in the workforce, says Invesco’s Zainab Kufaishi

Women’s Voice: How can we achieve gender equality in the financial space?

There is a lot of work that can be done by organisations to ensure more women are being considered for jobs and promotions

International Holding Company

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company reports Dhs3bn net profit for 2020

IHC’s total assets increased to Dhs14bn as of December 31, 2020, from Dhs4bn a year earlier

Etisalat du credit score

Etisalat, du to rely more heavily on UAE credit rating score for new postpaid customers

With the addition of Etisalat and du’s data, AECB’s customer information database stands at 9 million individuals and 600,000 companies

Anghami

MENA music streaming platform Anghami merges with Vistas Media, to list on Nasdaq New York

The agreement will result in Anghami becoming the first Arab technology company to list on Nasdaq New York

Dubai-listed Emaar Properties and Emaar Malls announce merger plans

As part of the transaction, the existing business of Emaar Malls will be reconstituted in a wholly owned subsidiary of Emaar Properties

NCB, Samba shareholders approve merger to create Saudi National Bank, kingdom’s biggest lender

Operations under the new name and structure are planned to start on April 1, 2021

First Abu Dhabi Bank

First Abu Dhabi Bank approves Dhs8.08bn cash dividends for 2020

The bank recorded a a full year 2020 net profit of Dhs10.6bn

Yemen

UAE provided over $6bn in assistance to Yemen since 2015, pledges another $230m

The amount will help fund international programmes that meet the medical, nutritional, and food security needs of the country

U.A.E. Financial Markets Following Veil Lift on Debt

UAE raises daily decline limit in shares back to 10% from February 28

Authorities had reduced the cap to 5 per cent in March 2020 to contain the fluctuations triggered by the pandemic

Different Arab money

Revealed: Impact of Covid-19 on GCC retail banks revenues

BCG says earnings could shrink by -2.1% annually between 2019 and 2024

Saudi to only award government contracts to firms that have an HQ in the kingdom

The new decision, which does not apply to private sector firms, will take effect from January 1, 2024

NMC Health expects UAE, Oman operations to continue in 2021, after sale of non-core assets

NMC is undertaking a complete restructuring of its balance sheet following the discovery of significant fraud and debt

Exchange house in UAE fined Dhs504,000 by Central Bank

The exchange house reportedly has a weak anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism compliance framework

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange slashes trading fees by 22%

The value of securities traded on the exchange increased 28 per cent to Dhs72.8bn in 2020 from Dhs56.8bn in 2019

Abu Dhabi Criminal Court

Two Abu Dhabi execs fined Dhs8bn, jailed for 15 years in money laundering case

The two men, who have not been named, reportedly took advantage of their position in the company and misused public funds

How can UAE businesses ensure compliance with ESR and UBO regulations?

Employing the services of certified audit firms can help companies in the country meet regulatory requirements and avoid penalties

National Bank of Fujairah posts net loss of Dhs475m for 2020

The decline was attributed to a substantial increase in impairment provisions and lower operating profit

Saudi arrests businessmen, bank employees in $3.1bn corruption scheme

Those arrested were allegedly involved in a scheme that transferred more than SAR11.5bn outside the country

AIX Dubai

Biggest investment trends to watch out for in 2021

With the pandemic upending the business landscape, what are the trends that we should look out for?

Shailesh Dash

Phi Trends: Cleantech – ideology or opportunity?

The focus on sustainability means that cleantech offers strong potential for growth, states entrepreneur and investor Shailesh Dash, who shares his market perspective in this monthly column

Emirates NBD

Dubai’s Emirates NBD reports a 52% slide in net profit for 2020

Total income of Dhs23.2bn improved 4 per cent year-on-year

Abu Dhabi lender FAB names Hana Al Rostamani as first female CEO

Al Rostamani will takes over from Andre Sayegh

LME

Saudi Arabia returns to dollar-debt market to boost finances

The price of Brent crude is still below what most of the region’s economies need to balance their budgets

Saudi Arabia replaces central bank governor

Ahmed Alkholifey is being replaced by Fahad Al-Mubarak, who was central bank governor from 2011 to 2016

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank launches one-year healthcare equities note for investors

The structured note which matures in 12 months provides 95 per cent capital protection

Kuwait MPs submit proposal to impose fee on money transfers out of country

Lawmakers have called for a 2.5 per cent fee on all money transfers out of the country

From left, Jayafar Moidu, founder and CEO of JMR Infotech and Hisham Al Gurg, CEO of SEED Group and the Private Office of Sheikh Saeed Bin Ahmed Al Maktoum

JMR Infotech signs JV with UAE’s Seed Group to enhance digital transformation within the financial sector

JMR’s Genie de Banca digital platform will enable banks and financial institutions to automate and digitise their lending departments, develop new revenue channels, and present their customers with new products and services

Stocks set to end 2020 at record high

Investors have pushed risk assets including stocks to sky-high valuations on expectations that widespread vaccine distribution in 2021 will reignite economic growth