Gulf Banks Eye European Rivals

Regional banks are on the prowl to snap up Middle Eastern arms of European banks looking to sell.

Kuwaiti Royal Sues UBS For $21.4m

The Suisse bank returns to court today in lawsuit over alleged failure of payment in $10.7 billion Zain deal.

UAE Not Pressured To Issue Bonds

The country has adequate financial resources to bridge its budget gap, a senior minister has said.

ENOC Unit Gets $100m Financing

The amount will be partly used to construct a fuel pipeline from Jebel Ali to the Dubai Airport.

Fitch Cuts HSBC VR Rating

The rating agency has cut the bank’s Middle Eastern arm’s rating from BBB+ to BBB, due to flat NPL ratio.

Bahrain Plans Bond Roadshows

The Gulf state is starting investor meetings this week for a planned dollar-denominated bond issue.

Dubai’s Tamweel Eyes Sukuk Issue

The Islamic mortgage lender picks ADCB, Emirates NBD and UBS for meetings on asset-backed Sukuk.

DIFC Unit Repays $1.25bn Sukuk

DIFC Investments raised money through a syndicated facility to help repay the Islamic bond.

Another False Start?

It’s unclear whether a recent surge in Islamic finance activity will lead to much-needed change.

Kuwait To Invest $150m In Asian IPO

Kuwait Investment Authority is reportedly planning to invest in Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare’s $2 billion IPO.

JAFZA Prices $650m Sukuk

The seven-year Islamic bond was launched at a profit rate of seven per cent, arranging banks said.

Vote On Bahrain’s Triple Bank Merger

Capivest, Elaf Bank and Capital Management House are in talks to form one new bank with larger assets.

New UAE Stock Ownership Rules

The market regulator has implemented new rules on stock ownership in a bid for greater transparency.

MENA Stocks Could Double By 2014

Arqaam Capital says that the regional corporate bond market will also grow substantially by 2014.

UAE Banks May Exclude Bonds

The central bank has said it may allow banks to ignore lending limits when dealing with state-linked entities.

Kingdom Holding Picks Banks

Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding has reportedly chosen two banks to manage its debut bond.

Spain Receives 100bn Boost

Eurozone ministers have agreed to lend the amount to help Spain revive its struggling banks.

DGCX Trading Up 259% In May

Trading volumes at the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange amounted to $32.67 billion in May this year.

Mashreq: “Dubai Will Be Back”

Exclusive full interview: Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair reveals why he’s going back to basics.

Bank Of Palestine Launches In Dubai

Exclusive: Palestine’s largest bank to launch Dubai office in 2013 to serve 200,000 Palestinians.

Damas Delists From Nasdaq Dubai

Nasdaq Dubai’s future looks bleak as another stock delists ahead of MSCI’s upgrade announcement.

Kuwait’s Global In Bond Delay

The investment house is expected to get a five-month added window to repay bonds of $338.6 million.

Islamic Finance Innovation “Slow”

The Islamic finance industry needs to create new and diverse products to grow, says Noor CEO Hussain Al Qemzi.

Soros: 90 Days To Save Euro

Billionaire investor George Soros warns European authorities to act quickly or risk the Euro collapsing.

DIFC Unit Gets $1.04bn Loan

DIFC Investments has secured a five-year syndicated loan to repay its Sukuk maturing this month.

HSBC Gets Nod For Oman Merger

The European lender has received approval to merge its Omani business with Oman International Bank.

DIFC Unit To Sign $1bn Loan

The loan will be partly guaranteed by the Dubai government, according to sources.

Abu Dhabi Bank Opens UK Branch

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s UK branch, located in an upscale development, hopes to target wealthy Gulf clients in Britain.

Top 10 IPOs In The GCC

Gulf Business rounds up the top IPOs issued in the region in terms of capital raised, as revealed by Ernst and Young.

Kuwait’s Global Posts Q1 Loss

Kuwait’s Global Investment House saw its net loss narrow to $39.3 million in the first quarter of 2012.