UAE Has No Plans To Tax Individuals – Finance Minister

The country is mulling the imposition of tax on companies, Sheikh Hamdan cofirmed.

France’s AXA To Take Major Stake In UAE’s Green Crescent Insurance

The sizes of the stake and details of the nature of the alliance have not been disclosed.

Blackrock Says Cut Exposure To UAE Stocks On Signs Of Excess

The fund’s largest equity investments include Emaar Properties and London-listed UAE firm NMC Health.

Gulf Islamic Banks’ Extra Product Costs Shrinking, Study Finds

The cost gap for Gulf banks rated by S&P seems to be narrowing to as little as 30 basis points in the first half of 2013 from a high of 110 bps in 2009.

Private Equity And SWF Investments Rising In MENA

The region witnessed a strong rise in deal value and volume, aided by rising business confidence and improved liquidity.

London’s Lord Mayor Concerned Over Lack Of Women In Top Jobs In The GCC

Ambassador for the UK’s financial sector wants to see more women at senior management and board level.

Saudi Arabia, Malaysia Exchanges To Boost Islamic Finance Ties

An agreement will see the exchanges share expertise and develop human capital.

Mashreq, Visa Launch 2014 FIFA World Cup Branded Cards

The branded credit and debit cards will introduce a new rewards programme for users.

StanChart Singapore Head To Join Bahrain-Based Arab Banking Corp

Ray Ferguson joins the ABC Group after working with Standard Chartered for 28 years.

Dubai’s Inflation Rate Edges Up In January

Dubai’s inflation rate rose month-on-month by 0.49 per cent in January, driven by housing and utility costs.

UAE Firm Eyeing ‘Big’ IPO On Nasdaq Dubai In 2014

The new listing could revive the struggling platform, says senior lawyer.

Dubai Agrees Roll-Over Of $10bn Crisis Debt To UAE – Sources

The emirate borrowed the money five years ago and the debt is due to mature next month.

Kuwait’s KIPCO Q4 Net Profit Up 75%, Helped By Pay-TV Asset

Net profit in the three months to the end of December was 14 million Kuwaiti dinars ($49.7 million).

Different Arab money

Islamic Development Bank Picks Banks For Potential Sukuk

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has picked seven lenders to arrange meetings with fixed income investors.

Saudi To Lend $57.8m To Pakistan For Hydro Power Project

The Kingdom will also provide Pakistan a credit facility of $125 million for the import of urea.

Qatar’s Doha Insurance Gets Shareholder Nod For $120m Rights Issue

The plan will see 24,260,000 new shares offered to shareholders at a price of QAR18 per share.

New Abu Dhabi Finance Centre Appoints DFSA COO As Advisor

Jan Bladen has been appointed executive adviser and programme lead at Abu Dhabi Global Market.

Saudi Hardware Retailer Picks HSBC’s Saudi Arm As Listing Adviser

The firm will list 30 per cent of its shares on the Kingdom’s stock exchange.

Dubai’s Mashreq Hikes Foreign Ownership Limit To 49%

Foreigners currently own two percent of the bank’s shares.

Morgan Stanley Appoints New MENA Investment Banking Head

Patrick Delivanis replaces Klaus Froehlich, who is relocating to Frankfurt for a senior investment banking role.

UAE’s Gulf Marine Services Plans London IPO

GMS plans to sell new shares worth $100 million, as well as an undisclosed number of shares currently held by private equity backers.

Dubai’s Emaar Q4 Net Profit Up 48%, Beats Estimates

The developer, which launched several new projects last year, said its total value of sales in Dubai for 2013 was Dhs12 billion.

Bahrain’s Al Baraka Islamic Bank Sees New Scope To Expand

The bank’s growth in 2014 will be fuelled by the company’s entry into the Moroccan and Libyan markets and expansion in Tunisia.

UAE Telco Du Agrees Terms On $720m Loan Financing

Du’s new loan will replace two existing debt facilities.

Kuwait’s NBK Appoints Isam Al Sager As New Group CEO

Al Sager, deputy group CEO at National Bank of Kuwait, replaces Ibrahim Dabdoub who is retiring after three decades.

UAE Stock Markets Should Unify Back Offices – Abu Dhabi Bourse CEO

Rashed al-Baloushi, CEO of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, did not specify a timeframe for the proposal.

Dubai’s Deyaar To Allow Up To 25% Foreign Ownership

At present, nationals from GCC countries can own up to 49 per cent of Deyaar’s shares while foreigners from outside the GCC have been prohibited.

Dubai Remains Bullish; Global Mkts Support

Emaar Properties is expected to report its earnings in the coming days.

Bahrain: Banking On Consolidation

The global financial crisis and political instability dented Bahrain’s banking sector but will a recent wave of M&A activity burn around its fortunes?

Empower

Dubai’s Empower $600m Acquisition Loan Starts Syndication -Sources

The loan, which was initially provided by four banks, is now being offered to other lenders interested in joining the deal, according to sources.