Barclays To Sell UAE Retail Ops To Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank For $177m

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank said it would acquire 110,000 customers through the deal.

Alpen To Advise On $3bn Of GCC-India M&A Deals In 2014

GCC and India focussed investment bank expects significant interest from Indian investors this year.

UniCredit CEO Says Etihad Good Partner For Alitalia

UniCredit, which is one of Alitalia’s creditor banks, owns a 13 per cent stake in the airline after it took part in a 500 million euro share issue.

Etihad’s Proposal For Alitalia Not Seen Before Monday-Sources

Etihad has finished reviewing Alitalia’s books as it considers whether to invest as much as 300 million euros via a capital increase, sources say.

Dubai’s Deyaar Approves 25% Foreign Ownership

The company said the shareholders approved the allocation at a meeting on Thursday.

Saudi’s Maaden Says Secures $2 Billion Loan For Phosphate Plan

The loan will be for 17 years and will be repaid in twice yearly instalments after a five-year grace period, Maaden said in a bourse statement.

New Dubai Sukuk Standards Seek To Clarify Liability, Rights

The Dubai Financial Market’s new rules are part of broader efforts to develop Islamic business in the emirate.

Dubai Buys Stake In Luxury Hotel Manager Kerzner

Dubai’s ICD has agreed to buy about 46 per cent of Kerzner International, sources say.

Commercial Bank Of Kuwait To Convert To Islamic Banking

Around 85 per cent of shareholders had approved the lender’s new move, the bank’s chairman said.

Saudi March Business Activity Growth At Five-Month Low

Output growth slowed to 60.0 points while new orders growth slowed to 65.8 points, a new survey shows.

Dubai World Hires Blackstone To Look At Debt Options

The conglomerate ran into trouble after Dubai’s 2009 property market crash and had to restructure $25 billion of debt.

Sudan Says Qatar To Deposit $1bn As Part Of Aid Package

A sudanese official declined to disclose the total value of aid that Qatar had agreed to offer Sudan.

Dubai To Challenge London With Islamic Financing Platform

The NASDAQ Dubai bourse now hopes to grab some of that business with its own murabaha trading system.

Dubai’s DAMAC Launches Sukuk At Tight End Of Guidance

The size of the issue was expanded to $650 million from the originally planned $500 million.

Bahrain Batelco’s Bond Buy-Back Ends, $131m Purchased

Debt holders tendered $136.1 million of bonds and Batelco agreed to buy back $131.4 million of them, a statement said.

Bahrain Eyes New Rules For Islamic Financing Contracts

The move comes as part of a broader push to revamp Bahrain’s efforts in Islamic finance.

UAE Exchange Remittances Up 6% In 2013

UAE Exchange estimates that robust economic growth in the UAE will lead to a hike in remittances from the region in 2014.

Gulf States To Invest Over $730m In Tourism Infrastructure In Morocco

The states will use their Wessal Capital joint venture to make the investment.

Oman Central Bank Sets Foreign Exposure Caps For Banks

Aggregate funded credit exposures to non-resident borrowers other than banks are capped at 20 per cent of the bank’s local net worth.

Dubai’s DAMAC Tightens Guidance On Sukuk Issue

The sukuk is expected to launch and price on Wednesday.

UAE’s MAF Reports 11% Growth In Pre-Tax Profits

The company reported that its EBITDA grew 11 per cent to reach Dhs3.3 billion in 2013.

Saudi Arabia’s NCB Plans Capital Hike Before IPO

The government said it planned to float 15 per cent of the bank on the stock exchange later this year in an initial public offer.

Saudi’s Algosaibi Estimates Assets At A Fraction Of Claims Against It

The company has invited more than 70 financial institutions to a meeting in Dubai to propose “a comprehensive settlement” with creditors.

National Bank of Fujairah May Tap Capital Markets In Medium Term – CEO

The Abu Dhabi-listed bank received investment grade ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

Slowdown In Asian Markets Might Hamper GCC Growth

A sharp slowdown in major emerging economies will affect GCC countries through falling oil market prices, a report says.

Dubai’s Damac Sets Price Thoughts For USD Sukuk

The proceeds will be used for Damac’s general corporate purposes.

HSBC Bank Oman Appoints Andrew Long As CEO

Long joins from HSBC Bank Egypt and replaces Ewan Stirling.

Dubai World Sees More Early Debt Payments

Dubai World would be able to meet a $4.4 billion loan maturity in May 2015 and to make some other repayments early, a senior official said.

Bahrain Banks Get Clean Bill Of Health, But Statistics Go Missing

Bahrain has weathered the most recent bout of volatility in global financial markets, the IMF said last week.

Saudi Arabia’s Algosaibi Calls May Creditor Meeting -Bankers

The 2009 collapse of Algosaibi’s Bahrain unit, The International Banking Corp, and Awal Bank, owned by Saad Group, left an estimated $22 billion bank debt.