UAE cabinet approves slightly smaller federal budget for 2016

Next year’s budget has been set at Dhs 48.56bn with a zero deficit

Oil at $80 seen as ideal in next phase -UAE economy minister

The minister said the world could not afford to let oil stay at its current level, which is roughly $50 a barrel for Brent crude

UAE SMEs lower growth outlook as economy slows

Small and medium enterprises have reported difficulties in collecting payments and raising finance, both signs of tightening liquidity

Dubai’s Mashreq Q3 net profit slips 7.6% as fee incomes fall

A rise in expenses meant net fee and commission income dropped by 4 per cent in the third quarter

Abu Dhabi’s new financial freezone begins operations

Abu Dhabi Global Market will initially focus on sectors such as wealth management, asset management and private banking

Revealed: Top 10 countries with the most number of millionaires

The United States tops the list while the UAE and Saudi Arabia feature among the top 15

Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding reports 10% increase in Q3 net profit

Kingdom Holding made a net profit of SAR 291.55m in the third quarter of 2015, up from SAR 265m in the same period a year earlier

Saudis looking at wide range of fiscal reforms -IMF official

The IMF estimates Riyadh faces a record budget deficit of well over $100bn this year, amounting to 21.6 per cent of gross domestic product

PineBridge Investments to close Middle East business -sources

The company’s Middle East headquarters in Bahrain will close and a process is underway to wind down the business, the sources said

Saudi CMA may relax investor rules to join world indices

Limitations on market access are frowned upon by index compliers such as MSCI and FTSE, whose indices are tracked by trillions of dollars of institutional wealth globally

Almost 70% of UAE customers trust their banks

The UAE’s banking customers are five times more likely to say that their view of their banks has improved rather than worsened in the last six months

UAE to see 62% rise in number of millionaires by 2020 – Credit Suisse

The number of millionaires in the country is expected to increase from 59,000 in 2015 to 96,000 by 2020

Qatar’s Ezdan Holding closes $500m 5-year Islamic loan – arranger

The amount was more than 2.5 times covered by contributions from banks

Saudi Aramco says fraud foiled between trading unit and India’s ONGC

Cyber criminals had duped Aramco into making a payment for an order of naphtha from ONGC into their own bank account

UAE bank ADCB meets estimates with 18.3% Q3 net profit gain

The lender’s earnings were boosted by an 10 per cent year on year gain in net interest income, made from traditional banking operations

Saudi’s SABIC eyes joint-ventures in China, U.S.

SABIC could make an announcement regarding the potential joint ventures in the first quarter of 2016, a senior official said

Middle East banks facing rare domestic currency drought

With oil prices, governments are having to shore up their finances by borrowing in the capital markets and investing less money in their banking systems

Saudi bourse regulator tightens curbs on anonymous investors

The Capital Market Authority told licensed brokers that they would have to open an account in the name of each client rather than using the name of the broker or someone else

Bahrain Investcorp’s U.S. unit buys eight residential properties for $400m

Investcorp acquired properties in the metropolitan areas of Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Atlanta and Dallas, it said in a statement

GCC’s insurance industry to reach $62.1bn by 2020

Oil price volatility and a slowdown in economic growth could hit the GCC insurance industry’s growth this year, a new report shows

Saudi brings forward state spending deadline in budget clampdown

The kingdom is grappling with a budget deficit which economists estimate could total $120bn or more this year

gender gap 2022

GCC family businesses generate $100bn in annual revenues – report

Almost 70 per cent of Middle East businesses are family-owned, a new report shows

Kuwait sovereign fund may sell assets to cover deficit – report

The fund, which is estimated to have more than $500bn of assets, is studying whether to liquidate assets that generate annual returns of below 9 per cent

France to agree aerospace deals with Saudi Arabia – sources

Saudi Arabia has shown interest recently in purchasing flexible assault naval vessels like the Mistral helicopter carriers sold to Egypt as well as multi-purpose Fremm frigates

Refugee crisis, oil price slump to hit Middle East’s economic growth – IMF

Export earnings of oil producing countries in the Middle East and North Africa region fell by $360bn in 2015

Gulf governments maintain spending to drive growth despite oil price slump – report

The report, however, warned that GCC governments’ capital spending levels could dip if oil prices continue to fall

Abu Dhabi’s IPIC to make interest payments on $3.5bn 1MDB debt

The interest payments which IPIC said on Thursday it would be paying are on bonds belonging to 1MDB Energy Limited And 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited

Bahrain’s Investcorp buys sports gear maker POC for $65m

Investcorp’s latest deal complements other companies in its portfolio that have similar interests

Qatar National Bank Q3 net profit rises 6.1%

The bank reported a net profit of QAR 3.11bn in the third quarter of this year

UAE’s Abraaj partners with Aditya Birla Group to invest in India’s solar power

Both companies will bid for solar power projects that will be tendered at national and state levels, a statement said