UAE startup Tabby secures $7m funding, partners with Apparel Group

The investment will support the company’s entry into Saudi Arabia and fund further growth in the UAE

Revealed: Top 10 companies in the Middle East in 2020

In this year’s Forbes list of the Middle East’s Top 100 Companies 2020, Saudi Arabia led the pack with 33 entries

Emirates NBD and Visa commit to a 5-year partnership agreement

Visa has secured exclusivity over Emirates NBD’s debit card for personal, priority, private and business banking customers, and the debit card programme for Liv.

Revealed: All the stimulus measures taken by Dubai’s DIFC to support businesses

From waiving certain fees to offering rental relief, DIFC is implementing several steps to help firms during the current Covid-19 crisis

Mubadala

Ambani’s Jio platforms sells $1.2bn stake to Mubadala

Facebook invested $5.7bn in Jio in April for a roughly 10 per cent stake

Dubai’s Shuaa Capital supports businesses via its corporate restructuring and financial services

In the past few years, the firm has structured and invested over $4bn of debt deals

Sharjah initiates Dhs4bn liquidity support to offset virus impact

The move aims to provide additional financial assistance to all businesses impacted by the pandemic

How can UAE wealth managers stay relevant in the current economic situation?

Wealth managers need to adopt sophisticated tools such as robo-advisors to stay relevant and offer the best service to their clients, says IT firm Comarch

Sheikh Mohammed

Sheikh Mohammed enacts new data protection law for Dubai International Financial Centre

The law will come into effect from July 1, 2020

Saudi Arabia to inject $13.3bn into banking system

The programme is aimed at helping banks amend and restructure loans without additional fees and support private sector employment

Saudi reserves fall more slowly after transfer to sovereign fund

The government is looking to its largest-ever debt programme to keep the depletion of reserves limited to SAR120bn

Sharjah hires banks for $1bn sukuk sale

A sale could happen as soon as this week and proceeds will be used for general budgetary needs, sources said

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank CEO Manna resigns after a year on job

The bank’s chief operating officer, Sandeep Chouhan, has been appointed acting CEO

Samsung Money

Samsung Money debit card readies for summer launch

Reward points can be exchanged for cash which will be deposited into the customer’s Samsung Money by SoFi account

Saudi moved $40bn in reserves to sovereign wealth fund PIF

The sovereign fund has spent billions of dollars this year buying equities, including stakes in BP, Boeing, Citigroup and Facebook

Millennials prefer robot bankers to humans – Nordic data

Banks are trying to find ways to accommodate growing investment demands from cash-rich clients

UAE Exchange starts issuing refunds – report

UAE Exchange, which operates more than 100 branches across the country, stopped all transactions in March

Saudi suspends two mortgage-support programmes amid crisis

An interest-free loan programme for military personnel which covers 20 per cent of a property will be suspended from May 31

Abu Dhabi wealth fund sees U-shaped global rebound next year

As the pandemic forced factories all over the world to shutter and people to stay home, the global economy has plummeted and oil prices have dropped by almost half since the start of the year

Dubai’s ICD reports 16.9% rise in 2019 profits

Its 2019 revenues dipped 1.9 per cent to Dhs228bn

Global downturn risks becoming prolonged recession – WEF

High unemployment, lack of progress in reducing carbon emissions and exacerbated inequalities are all possible side effects of the pandemic

Abu Dhabi City United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi offers more bonds to stockpile cash

The fall in oil prices has put a strain on the finances of Middle Eastern energy-producing countries

Saudi wealth fund said to be seeking $10bn margin loan

PIF is in need of capital as it embarks on an investment spree that has seen it build stakes in some of the world’s largest companies since the start of the coronavirus pandemic

Saudi wealth fund PIF buys Boeing, Citi, Facebook, Disney stakes

The PIF is looking into “any opportunity” arising from the economic wreckage of the crisis, its governor said in April

What role do GCC banks play in the current economic crisis?

Although the Covid-19 situation is straining financial institutions, banks have a major role to play in keeping economies buoyant during the current crisis and beyond

Saudi Aramco seeks to restructure $69.1bn SABIC deal

Aramco is weighing pushing out payments for the 70 per cent holding in SABIC and reducing the size of the initial installment to PIF

UAE’s ADCB posts 82% drop in Q1 net profit on NMC impairment charges

Its net loans stood at Dhs247bn and customer deposits at Dhs263bn as of the end of Q1 2020

Kuwait leader urges curbing oil reliance to strengthen economy

Kuwait imposed a 24-hour curfew on Friday for the next 20 days to contain the spread of the pandemic

Abu Dhabi’s ADQ to buy Jordanian firm from founders, Carlyle

Last week, the company acquired 30 per cent of shares in National Petroleum Construction Co. it didn’t already own

UAE’s yallacompare raises $4.25m in new funding round

The comparison website accounts for more than 75 per cent of online insurance transactions in the UAE