Banking & Finance

UAE-based startups lead MENA region in funding in June, securing $82.5 million across 15 deals

MENA startups raised $116 million in June 2024, bringing H1 total to $882 million

Commercial Bank of Dubai, Visa ink agreement to accelerate digital payments in UAE

Under the agreement, CBD and Visa will collaborate on establishing a ‘Center of Excellence’

Financial position of Egypt’s banks crosses $373 billion in Q1 2024

Net open foreign currency positions rose to 5.7 percent of banks' total capital base in March 2024

Saudi banks post $1.95 billion in aggregate profits for May 2024, reaching 14-month high

Cumulatively, banks recorded a total profit of $9.27 billion in the first five months of 2024

Kuwait projects $61.7 billion budget revenues over next four years

Kuwait needs economic reforms for fiscal sustainability and diversifying non-oil revenues, says Minister

Saudi Arabia’s PIF expands Middle East-Asia Investments, invests $500 million in Hong Kong conglomerate

The investment includes $100 million in five-year convertible debentures and $400 million in a five-year loan

Dubai’s DFSA completes record number of inspections to ensure audit quality at DIFC

The DFSA recorded its highest number of authorizations, licensing over 100 new firms in 2022-2023

World Bank approves $700 million grant to Jordan to boost human capital, education

The $400 million MASAR Program aims to equip Jordanian youth with skills for the labor market and economic transformation

Top Gulf sovereign wealth funds invest $38.2 billion in 58 deals in H1 2024: Report

Sovereign wealth funds globally invested $64.2 billion in 135 deals while PPFs spent $31.9 billion on 101 deals in H1 2024

Egypt’s net foreign assets record surplus of $14.3 billion in May, first positive reading in 2 years

Egypt's net foreign assets have risen by $43 billion since January due mainly to international support

Saudi PIF’s revenues soar 100 percent to $88.22 billion in 2023

The fund swung to a profit of $36.81 billion in 2023, after posting a loss of $15.6 billion a year earlier

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