How the Gulf region will witness a vigorous recovery in 2021/22

The recent recovery of the crude oil price to the pre-pandemic level of $60-65 per barrel is a huge relief for all the Gulf states

Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank recommends Dhs1.878bn in cash dividends for 2020

The dividend payout equals to 49 per cent of the lender’s net profit for 2020

UAE Indonesia

UAE to invest $10bn in Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund

The investments will focus on strategic sectors in Indonesia, including infrastructure, roads, ports, tourism and agriculture, among others

Abu Dhabi private equity firm buys two US healthtech companies

Besides health care, Gulf Capital focuses on sectors such as technology and payments, business services and sustainability

Banque Saudi Fransi picks Finastra to automate treasury and trading ops

Bank can connect to Finastra’s open platform which is in line with SAMA’s Open Banking initiative

International reserves increase Dhs12.6bn in UAE banking system during Nov-Jan

Cumulative balance of the country’s international reserves amounted to over Dhs519bn at the end of January 2021

Arabtec Holding

Arabtec confirms filing for bankruptcy in Dubai Court

The bankruptcy judge decided to appoint a panel consisting of seven experts to examine the application

Cryptocurrency Dubai DMCC

Cryptocurrency businesses can now open offices within DMCC freezone in Dubai

Cryptocurrency businesses will be offered bespoke licences by the DMCC Crypto Centre in Dubai

EToro nears $10bn merger with Betsy Cohen SPAC

EToro became a member of the US Financial Industry Regulatory Authority last year

UAE money laundering prosecution office

UAE gross bank assets at Dhs3.172 trillion at the end of January

Gross credit in the banking system grew from Dhs1.779 trillion by the end of December 2020 to Dhs1.779.2 trillion in January 2021

Citigroup names key banker on Aramco IPO as Saudi CEO

Wassim Al Khatib will lead Citigroup’s investment banking and markets business in Saudi Arabia

ADNOC Distribution

UAE’s ADNOC Distribution changes share dividend policy

It confirmed a minimum Dhs2.57bn dividend for 2022

UAE Central Bank

Overall liquidity in UAE banking system back to pre-Covid levels – Central Bank

The Central Bank of the UAE projects the country’s real GDP to increase by 2.5 per cent in 2021

Online insurance platform PolicyBazaar raises $75m to fund UAE, Middle East expansion

PolicyBazaar allows users to purchase life and general insurance online

Pure Harvest Smart Farms

UAE-based Pure Harvest Smart Farms raises $60m in new funding round

Shuaa Capital led a $50m structured sukuk for Pure Harvest co-investing with Franklin Templeton and Sancta Capital

Dubai’s DIFC Investments full-year profit declines 74%

Full-year profit net income fell to $31m

Cover story: The key regional investment trends focusing on the wealth of the future

The pandemic has further emphasised the need for diversification among investors, reveal AIX Investment Group’s board advisor Fadi Dabbagh and senior financial advisor Khalid El-Mikhi

Saudi wealth fund raises year’s third-biggest loan for new deals

The $400bn sovereign investor is key to the kingdom’s efforts to revive economic growth

Bahrain

Bahrain bank waives loan fees for vaccinated customers

Al Salam Bank is waiving administrative fees for personal and property facilities

Investcorp is said to raise $1bn for North American deals

The money manager is the Gulf’s largest private investor in US real estate

UAE’s Arrow Capital backs $240m tech-centric SPAC listing on Nasdaq

Tribe Capital Growth Corp I will target the tech sector

Women’s Voice: My successful journey in a male-dominated industry

We have not yet reached gender parity – women today are still under-leveraged and undervalued in the workforce, says Invesco’s Zainab Kufaishi

Women’s Voice: How can we achieve gender equality in the financial space?

There is a lot of work that can be done by organisations to ensure more women are being considered for jobs and promotions

International Holding Company

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company reports Dhs3bn net profit for 2020

IHC’s total assets increased to Dhs14bn as of December 31, 2020, from Dhs4bn a year earlier

UAE’s first independent digital banking platform launched

Over 25,000 applicants pre-registered in the past two months to use the app

Akshay Chopra, Vice-President, Head of Product Innovation and Design for CEMEA and Africa copy

How mobile network operators can drive the next wave of financial inclusion in MENA

Mobile network operators have direct access to a large customer base that includes the harder-to-reach segments of the underbanked and unbanked

Bitcoin jumps above $50,000 in recovery from latest rout

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are also driving growing interest from mainstream investors in Canada

Etisalat du credit score

Etisalat, du to rely more heavily on UAE credit rating score for new postpaid customers

With the addition of Etisalat and du’s data, AECB’s customer information database stands at 9 million individuals and 600,000 companies

Anghami

MENA music streaming platform Anghami merges with Vistas Media, to list on Nasdaq New York

The agreement will result in Anghami becoming the first Arab technology company to list on Nasdaq New York

Shailesh Dash

Phi Trends: Are digital currencies the next big thing?

The reward from hopping onto the digital currency bandwagon is imminent, states entrepreneur and investor Shailesh Dash