Governments from Dubai to Malaysia are seeking to promote Shariah-compliant bonds and become centers for Islamic finance.
A look at the GCC’s performance this year and expectations coming into 2014.
The Dubai developer gained three per cent to reach Dhs7.57 at the close of trading, its highest since September 2008.
Brent is forecast to average $104 next year, down from about $110 in 2013, Jadwa said.
Experts expect issuances to reach $40-45 billion next year, compared to $28.97 billion in 2013.
Next year’s 4.3 per cent rise in planned spending is far smaller than the 19 per cent leap envisaged by the 2013 budget plan.
The deal, valued at $2.9 million, is Hayaat Group’s first investment in East African oil exploration.
Technological expertise dominated LinkedIn’s list of skills that were in demand among professionals in 2013.
The two-year loan facility will be used to fund the lender’s general business.
Digitalisation and regulation took centre stage in GCC banking in 2013, according to Farhad Irani, EVP and head of retail banking at Mashreq.
Mesaieed Petrochemical, a unit of Qatar Petroleum, plans to launch an $880 million IPO In January.
M&A activity in the UAE has been picking up pace as market conditions improve.
Investors must step up the risk ladder to see gains, says the private bank.
Proceeds from the three-year loan will be used for general business purposes.
Abraaj bought 80 per cent of dairy producer Yorsan Gida Mamulleri AS for an undisclosed price this month.
Backed by rising economic confidence in the Gulf, tenors of newly issued sukuk will tend to become longer, says BLME CEO.
Dabdoub helped transform NBK from a local bank into a major regional lender with offices in 16 countries.
The Islamic bond has a lifespan of seven years, with a clause allowing the bank to redeem the paper after five years.
A merger between the two lenders will create the second-largest bank in Oman with assets of about $10 billion.
The conversion of all the bonds is estimated to lead to the creation of around 420 million shares.
The centre will work towards promoting Dubai as a centre of Islamic finance.
he US is the largest source of remittances, sending $123.3 billion in 2012, the Pew analysis of World Bank data shows.
Selected employees will receive salary hikes of between 30 to 100 per cent, the government has said.
Hisham Al Rayes had been acting CEO since March 2012.
The lender plans to boost its share capital to SAR4.76 billion to help support its growth and capital base.
The loan will act as a bridge financing until the company launches a sukuk issue in 2014.
The survey found that low-income earners saved two per cent more than the UAE’s general population.
Dubai’s benchmark index declined 1.6 per cent, paring the surge for the year to 93 per cent.
The lender, which recently bought a 74.2 per cent stake in Turkey’s Alternatifbank, is also open to further foreign acquisitions, says CEO.
The bank benefited this year from lower bad loan provisioning and the writing back of existing impairments.