Poor Service Fails GCC Banks

While regional banks are reporting good growth rates, customer service has to improve, warns a new study.

Drydocks Files For Insolvency Protection

The move is expected to force all the creditors of the Dubai-based shipbuilding unit to agree to its $2.2 billion debt-restructuring plan.

$20m Boost For ME SMEs

RED, Abraaj’s small and mid-cap investment platform, has invested $20 million in the region so far this year.

DFM Suspends Trading In Al Mazaya

Update: The Kuwaiti developer’s shares have now resumed trading on Dubai Financial Market.

Kuwait’s Bourse Suspends Trade In 19 Firms

The companies, which failed to report earnings on time, join 12 other firms suspended earlier this year.

SEC Receives $1.4bn Loan

Saudi Electricity Company will use the amount, loaned by a group of international banks, to build a power plant in Rabigh.

HSBC Buys Lloyds Assets In UAE

The acquisition includes the retail, commercial and corporate banking businesses of Lloyds in the country.

DIB Repays $750 million Sukuk

The bank said that it repaid the five-year Sukuk from its own resources.

Tracing The Money Trail

As private investors from the GCC divest large portions of their wealth offshore, Aarti Nagraj investigates where the money is headed.

Dubai Drydocks To Restructure $2.2bn Loan

Dubai’s ship building unit will ask its syndicated lenders to sign a lock-up agreement.

JAFZA Eyes Loan Launch

Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone is planning to launch a syndicated loan to partly refinance its $2 billion Sukuk maturing in November.

Pension Fund Will Benefit UAE Expats

As officials in Dubai complete the study for an expatriate pension scheme, experts say that the move will protect workers and improve the economy.

Ex-Mumtalakat Head Joins PineBridge

Talal Al Zain, who recently resigned from Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, has been appointed as the CEO of PineBridge’s MENA operations.

RBS Shares Rise After Abu Dhabi Takeover Talks

Britain is reportedly holding talks with Abu Dhabi to sell a part of its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland.

Mubadala Buys $2bn Stake In Brazil’s EBX

The move marks the first significant direct investment by the Abu Dhabi fund in Brazil and Latin America, it said.

UAE Mulls Uniform Corporate Tax Rate

A study is being conducted to check the economic impact of the move, which will introduce a single tax rate across the seven emirates.

ME Holds $500m In Start-Up Funds

Regional investors are ready to provide up to half a billion dollars to promote new businesses in the Middle East, say industry experts.

Emirates NBD Approves 20% Dividend

Emirates NBD said that its shareholders had approved a cash dividend of 20 fils per share for 2011.

Al Futtaim Gets $500m Egypt Mall Loan

The Mall of Egypt will be one of North Africa’s largest shopping centres.

DP World To Repay $3bn Loan Early

The port operator has said that it will pay off its loan, which matures in October, six months ahead of schedule.

First Gulf Lends $350mn to AKT

The UAE lender’s loan will help Indonesian coal producer AKT to meet its working capital needs.

Abraaj Buys 50% Stake In The Entertainer

Abraaj is making the acquisition through its subsidiary, Riyada Enterprise Development.

A Road Less Bleak?

After a tough couple of years, could 2012 be the year that lackluster regional stock markets regain their shine?

Bahrain’s SWF Names New CEO

Mumtalakat has appointed ALBA chairman Mahmood Hashem al-Kooheji as its new CEO.

Local Banks Increase Global Lending Slice

The debt crises in the West has spurred an upsurge in lending for local banks.

ENBD Launches $1bn Bond

The five-year bond is the third issue by Emirates NBD this year and the second by a UAE bank this week.

DIB Announces 12.5% Dividend

The lender had earlier said that it was advised by the UAE central bank to cut its dividend to 10 per cent.

Emaar Proposes 10 Fils Dividend

The property developer said that it will discuss the proposal with shareholders during its annual general meeting on April 23.

Betting On The Future

The future of the UAE’s insurance industry looks secure, say industry experts.

UAE Cuts Amlak Debt By $1.1bn

However, the UAE Economy Minister said that resuming trade in Amlak stocks will take more time.