Banking & Finance

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

Qatar commercial bank deposits rise 6.3 percent to $276.7 billion in April

Commercial banks' credit facilities rise 4.9 percent to QAR1.31 trillion in April

Valu revolutionizes luxury product acquisition with Ulter high-end payment solution

Payment solution offers flexible repayment plans spanning up to 60 months with no down payment

Beyond payments: How Mastercard is fueling transformation and driving inclusion

Great strides have been made in advancing digital transformation and building a robust payment ecosystem across the region

Enabling stablecoin growth in the MENA region: Key factors for success

Crypto assets are available 24/7, have near-zero costs and are fully programmable

How the UAE is upholding financing with robust laws

UAE Central Bank Law and Commercial Transactions Law are key legislative instruments

Most UAE consumers are financially aware, 67 percent have long-term goals: Survey

More than half of survey respondents believe that instalments would help manage finances

Central Bank of Oman joins GCC central banks’ AFAQ payments system

Oman's addition brings AFAQ's total number of participant banks from the GCC region to 67

Egypt’s central bank receives $605.6 million in offers for dollar-denominated treasury bills

Of the 19 offers it received, the central bank accepted only 17 with a value of $500.6 million

Bahrain government’s $185.68 million treasury bills oversubscribed by 112 percent

Bahrain's total outstanding value of government treasury bills stands at $5.6 billion

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed approves system for licensing stable cryptocurrencies

Board meeting also approves a series of policies that aim to support the banking and insurance sectors