UAE Credit Card Cold Calls On Rise Again

As consumer lending perks up in the UAE, unsolicited calls from various banks pushing credit have reached pre-crisis levels.

Qatar Government Spending Growth Slows Sharply In 2012/13

Total state spending stood at QAR178.2 billion, slightly below the initial plan of QAR178.6 billion for the fiscal year ended in March.

32% Of UAE Firms ‘Definitely Hiring’ In Next 3 Months

The Bayt.com index survey found that 30 per cent of MENA companies are hiring in the next three months.

UAE Ranks Third Most Popular Hub For British Expats

Tumbling bonuses in the west and improved employment prospects in the UAE are attracting British expats to the country.

GCC Insurance Industry To Reach $40bn By 2017

The industry is growing because of increased business activity in the region.

Bahrain’s Investcorp Sells Skrill Group For $800m

Skrill, an online payment system in Europe, was sold to funds advised by CVC Capital Partners.

Dubai’s Union Properties Shares Jump 11% On Trading

Emirates NBD, a majority stake-holder in UP, sold down its stake from around 48 per cent to around 31.4 per cent in the first half of this year.

Political Turmoil Lowers M&A Deals Outlook In ME

Political unrest and sectarian conflicts in countries like Egypt and Syria have deterred potential investments in the region.

India’s Attempt To Curtail Gold Imports Faces Backlash

Bullion imports are plunging as an increase in tax on financing shipments boosts costs for jewellers. But can the move really save the country’s economy?

Arabtec Reports 114% H1 Profit Rise

The contractor revealed second quarter net profit of Dhs92.4 million, up from a loss of Dhs11.6 million on the same period in 2012.

Qatar Central Bank Sends Draft On Basel III

Banks in Qatar have been waiting for the central bank’s guidance on how debt instruments will be treated under the new Basel standards.

Eurozone Out Of Recession – ME Still Stronger

The announcement papers over the economic cracks still seen on a country-by-country basis as Spain saw its economic output fall 0.1 per cent.

Dubai’s Gold And Currency Exchange Growth Up 55%

The surge in currency volumes trade was driven mainly by Indian Rupee futures and trading in other currencies such as the Euro and Yen.

Barclays Reviewing UAE Retail Business For Potential Sale

The bank’s corporate banking, private banking and investment banking activities in the UAE are not part of the review.

Saudi Inflation Expected To Stabilise At 4.5% In 2013

Saudi’s inflation rate has been dropping for the last four months after touching a 14-month high in February.

UAE’s Abraaj and UK’s CDC Invest $17.5m In India’s Rainbow Hospitals

Rainbow Hospitals, a specialised maternity and paediatric healthcare chain, is based in Hyderabad, India.

UAE Lifts Ban On Loan Transfers For Nationals

Conditions involve the extension of personal loans, the size of each loan relative to the borrower’s income, and a maximum 48-month maturity for loans.

Abu Dhabi Doubles Development Fund Capital To Dhs16bn

The activities of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) will also cover the entire nation of the UAE, as per a new ruling.

Deutsche, HSBC Face Deadlock With Saudi’s STC On $1.2bn Loan

Saudi Telecom wants the banks to restructure a $1.2 billion loan taken for Axis Telekom.

Noor Islamic Bank Reports Dhs100m H1 Net Profit

The Dubai-based bank also announced an increase in customer deposits of 22 per cent while its customer base rose by 14 per cent.

Emirates Investment Bank Sees Q2 Profit Rise 48%

The Dubai-based private investment bank reported net profit for the first half of the year was up 28 per cent on 2012.

RAKBANK Appoints New CEO – Sources

Peter England, previously a senior banker at Malaysia’s CIMB Group, will take up the role.

Turkey’s Lira Defence A Lesson For India

India and Turkey’s central banks have taken contrasting approaches to the devaluing of their respective currencies.

S&P Downgrades Al Baraka Bank To Junk Status

The Islamic lender’s rating was reduced from BBB- to BB+ with a negative outlook on the back of increased sovereign and economic risk in the regions where it operates.

Kuwait’s KIPCO Reports 11% Q2 Net Profit Rise

Net profit in the three months to June 30 was 9.5 million dinars compared with 8.6 million dinars in the same period last year.

Aldar’s Q2 Profit Jumps On Sorouh Merger Deal

Aldar said quarterly earnings included a one-time gain of Dhs2.6 billion principally driven by the acquisition of Sorouh’s assets.

Standard Chartered Income Up 4% In H1 2013

Standard Chartered UAE recorded single digit growth in income during the first half of 2013.

Business Confidence Riding High In Dubai

The majority of businessmen in Dubai expect a profitable third quarter this year, find two official surveys.

Job Creation Up In Saudi’s Non-Oil Private Sector

Despite a rise in raw material prices, the Kingdom’s non-oil sector has seen slight growth.

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital Swings To Small Profit In Q2

The bank made a net profit of Dhs1.3 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of Dhs15.9 million for the same period last year.