Dubai road-toll operator Salik to seek about $1bn in IPO

Plans unveiled to list Salik road toll system on Dubai Financial Market

There are currently eight Salik toll gates in the city, with three million vehicles registered in the system

Everyone has the right to invest in financial markets

The online trading revolution has long started in other parts of the world

Singapore’s The Social Loan Company secures investment from Abu Dhabi’s ARI Holding

The new capital will be used to fuel the growth of its digital lending operations, deepen its AI and predictive analytics capabilities and grow its global talent pool

ClearTax expands its operations into the Middle East, raises $75m

The tax and compliance technology solution provider is looking to enter the UAE by mid-2022 with e-invoicing and VAT offerings within the country

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Bahrain Bourse sign strategic partnership agreement

The two entities will introduce products and services including exchange-traded funds, smart order routing and cross-border direct trading

Saudi economy grows at fastest rate in nearly a decade

Gross domestic product expanded by 6.8 per cent compared to the same quarter of 2020

UAE’s Mashreq posts 24.7% dip in net profit for first nine months of 2021

The bank’s operating profit for nine months of the year rose by 14.3 per cent to Dhs2.4bn

Abu-Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange proposes SPAC regulatory framework

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Economic Development have submitted a proposal to the Securities and Commodities Authority

Shailesh Dash

Charting the growth of SPACs

Are special purpose acquisitions companies becoming a serious alternate funding avenue for private companies?

Dubai Financial Market appoints new CEO

Hamed Ahmed Ali was previously appointed as deputy CEO and chief markets officer in July 2020

Visa Dubai

Visa opens its new flagship regional headquarters in Dubai

Spanning 100,000 sq ft, the new HQ will serve almost 90 countries across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region

Investcorp

Bahrain’s Investcorp builds EUR1bn European real estate portfolio

It recently acquired ten UK industrial assets for a combined purchase price of GBP56.7m

Saudi stock exchange set for December trading debut, CEO says

The offering could value the bourse at between $3bn and $4bn

Abu Dhabi UAE government

Indonesia fund lets UAE invest in its high-yield instruments

The investment framework deal was signed with the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund

Crypto is failing as money. Regulators can save it

Surging innovation is already driving competition, both private and public, to upgrade a financial system that can certainly stand some improvement

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange launches derivatives market

The derivatives market is using the marketplace technology delivered by Nasdaq

Saudi bourse Tadawul ends IPO wait, plans to list 30% stake

The offering could value it at between $3bn and $4bn

Biggest Abu Dhabi developer is shopping for large property deals

The company, armed with $1.85bn in capital, has the resources to make purchases both in its home market and around the UAE

Dubai Financial Market

New board of directors announced for Dubai Financial Market

The new board will be headed by Helal Al Marri

Former Abraaj managing partner Mustafa Abdel-Wadood fined $1.9m by Dubai’s DFSA

Abraaj, which was one of the biggest private equity firms in the MENA region, went into liquidation in 2019

Dubai announces plans to list utility DEWA in the ‘coming months’

The utility has projects valued at around Dhs86bn that are planned to be commissioned in the next five years

New Arcapita venture to invest $2bn in US warehouses

The goal is to grow the portfolio to as much as $2bn in gross asset value across the top 25 US industrial markets

Dubai announces listing of 10 govt, state-owned companies on DFM

The move is part of accelerating new listings in various sectors

UAE’s amended law on the decriminalisation of bounced cheques to take effect in Jan 2022

The scope for criminalisation of returned cheques due to insufficient funds has been narrowed and confined to cases of bad faith and other cheque crimes

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank

Abu Dhabi’s biggest Islamic bank weighs merger deals outside UAE

The lender reported third-quarter net income fell 7.7 per cent from a year ago to Dhs492.9m

How should GCC economies manage public finances

Governments can use sovereign asset liability management as a financial tool to manage public sector balance sheet risks

Bahrain plans $30bn investment as it balances its budget

The kingdom aims to create more than 20,000 jobs annually for citizens by 2024

Saudi budget sees first quarterly surplus since 2019 on high oil

Oil revenue was about SAR148bn, an increase of 60 per cent from the same period last year

Abu Dhabi

UAE’s Emirates Food Industries to undertake secondary listing on ADX

The company is working on expanding its operations

Sajwani’s Maple extends offer to acquire 100% of Damac Properties

Arqaam Capital is acting as receiving agent with respect to the offer