Banking & Finance

Dubai launches new mixed-use development project ‘DIFC Square’

The project will expand DIFC's real estate with offices and retail, meeting the demand for prime office space in Dubai's financial district

GCC banks continue to outperform global peers, remain poised for strong 2024: Report

GCC banks' revenue-to-assets ratio is 3.2 percent, well above the global average of 2.3 percent

Sharjah Islamic Bank’s sukuk offering oversubscribed 3 times, raising $1.5 billion

The oversubscription highlighted the bank's financial strength and prudent management

Remittance flows to low-middle-income countries moderated in 2023, reaching $656 billion: World Bank

Remittances to LMICs are expected to grow 2.3 percent in 2024, but unevenly across regions

OPEC fund approves $605 million in new development financing for over 14 countries

Fund approves $3 million grant to establish the OPEC Fund Food Security and Climate Adaptation Facility

UAE’s MoF issues Public-Private Partnership Manual, defines priority sectors for first phase

The manual aims to leverage private sector expertise to benefit the government

Kuwait Central Bank issues bonds, tawarruq worth $782.8 million

In a statement, CBK explained that the issuance period is three months, with a return rate of 4.375 percent

CBUAE issues Sandbox Conditions Regulation to boost innovation in financial services sector

The regulation will also help consolidate the financial sector's competitiveness and support the UAE's economic growth

ADNOC Drilling’s new dividend policy to channel $4.79 billion to shareholders by 2028

The expected cumulative minimum yield from this new dividend policy during the 2024-2028 period is more than 27 percent

Egypt’s Islamic banking transactions reach $14.5 billion in March 2024

Islamic banking now constitutes 5 percent of the total banking sector in Egypt

Egypt secures $2 billion in budget support from key development partners to boost private sector

During the Egyptian-European Investment Conference, Egypt secured a $1.069 billion agreement with the EU

Saudi Arabia’s M&A deal volume surges to $955 million in Q1 2024

The chemicals sector accounted for 52.4 percent of the total

CBUAE’s gross written premiums up 18.5 percent YoY in Q1 2024 to $5.74 billion

Gross paid claims of all types of insurance plans increased by 18.3 percent YoY to AED8.4 billion in Q1 2024

What is an ETF? Explaining exchange traded funds

ETFs are investment vehicles that track the performance of a specific market index, such as the STI or the S&P 500

UAE national banks provided $4.24 billion in credit facilities to business, industrial sectors in Q1 2024

Cumulative credit balance for these two sectors rose by 2.1 percent to $206.2 billion by the end of March 2024

Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem ranked fastest growing in MENA, raises $1.06 billion in VC: Report

The emirate was also recognized for its strengths in the FinTech, AgTech and New Food, and ClimateTech sectors

UAE banking sector attracts $3.8 billion in new savings deposits in Q1 2024

Deposits reached AED286.67 billion ($78 billion) at the end of March 2024

U.S. pledges $130 million to support Egypt’s development efforts

This partnership will contribute to stimulating Egypt’s private sector participation in diverse projects

US Federal Reserve keeps interest rates steady

The Fed had set the benchmark policy rate in the 5.25-5.50 percent range last July

Egypt reports $17.23 billion primary budget surplus, reaching 5.87 percent of GDP from July 2023 to May 2024

This represents a significant increase compared to the previous fiscal year, when the surplus was only $2.43 billion

Kuwait’s construction sector bank financing rises by $400 million in April

Kuwait's construction sector to grow to $13.94 billion in 2024

Saudi finance companies sector reports 13 percent growth in total assets, reaching $17.1 billion in 2023

The paid-up share capital for the finance companies sector increased by 6 percent to reach $4.13 billion

Sharjah rises to 4th in GCC region, 7th in MENA in 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Rankings

Sharjah also featured in the Top 15 rankings for both the Knowledge and Performance categories

Oman cuts down public debt from $39.75 billion to $37.67 billion in first half of 2024

Oman's public debt to GDP declines from 36.5 percent by the end of 2023 to 33.9 percent during H1 of 2024