Abu Dhabi sovereign fund ADIA buys full ownership of New York office block

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought a 25 per cent stake in 330 Madison Avenue from Vornado Realty Trust

New insolvency law enacted by Dubai’s DIFC, lawyers say move will boost confidence

The new law is hoped to facilitate a more “efficient and effective” bankruptcy restructuring regime

Saudi stocks rise for the fourth day, UAE markets retreat

The Saudi index has gained over 13 per cent year-to-date, outperforming other major Gulf peers

Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital parts way with CEO, names board member as MD

The senior management shake up comes as Waha is coping with changes and challenging market conditions

Dubai Islamic Bank board approves plan to acquire Noor Bank

The deal is expected to create “one of the largest Islamic banks in the world” with combined assets of nearly Dhs275bn

Emirates NBD hires Japan’s Mizuho to arrange $200m syndicated loan

The loan has tranches with three- and five-year maturities and a $200m greenshoe option

Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital CEO leaves

Michael Raynes was appointed to lead the company in late March 2018

Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires 11 US properties for $370m

The deal marks Investcorp’s largest US real estate portfolio acquired in the past decade

Oman to levy 100% tax on tobacco, alcohol, energy drinks from June 15

The sultanate expects the selective tax to generate around OMR100m a year

IMF expects global financial turnout at US-led Palestinian conference

The efficacy of the June 25-26 meeting in Bahrain has been in doubt

Bahrain, Manama, Cityscape view of Bahrain World Trade Center and Bahrain Financial Harbor

Bahrain wealth fund Mumtalakat’s 2018 profit falls 73.5%

Mumtalakat’s revenue totalled $5.5bn in 2018, up 38 per cent over the previous year

Abraaj founder Naqvi released on bail from UK court

Naqvi was released after paying the 15m pound conditional bail – the largest ever ordered by a court in the UK

Commercial Bank of Dubai responds to reports of merger

The bank said there are no discussions concerning “mergers, acquisitions or activities of a similar nature”

UAE’s Gulf Capital eyes acquisitions, plans new fund

The private equity firm bought a 70 per cent stake in health aesthetics firm Medica

Saudi index falls on profit taking, other markets mixed

Saudi’s stock market fell 8.6 per cent from the beginning of May until Thursday’s close

Indonesia lists two green sukuk valued at $2bn on Nasdaq Dubai

Sukuk listings in Dubai now total $61.5bn, the largest amount of any listing centre in the world

UAE’s tax authority to start penalising violators of tobacco scheme

Penalties have been set for nine types of violations, with fines reaching up to Dhs50,000

Most GCC stock markets fall as banking shares drop

Dubai’s index is down 7.4 per cent this month, though still up 1.3 per cent year-to-date

gavel

Saudi court accepts AHAB’s bankruptcy filing, rejects liquidation

The bankruptcy filing was seen as a key test of Saudi Arabia’s new law for handling insolvency disputes

UAE investors are among the world’s most optimistic – survey

UAE investors were found to be extremely bullish on equities, according to the survey by UBS

Saudi mall operator Arabian Centres falls below IPO price in first trading

Arabian Centres’ share sale was the kingdom’s third biggest since Saudi lender NCB raised $6bn in 2014

Developer Arada gets $1bn loan for two major Sharjah projects

The two Islamic facilities will be used to finance the Aljada and Nasma Residences projects

Property props up Dubai stock market

The index has risen only 0.3 per cent this year, while it has lost 7.7 per cent since the beginning of May

Saudi fines 16 banks, including Dubai lender for ‘violations of responsible finance’

The violations related to the percentage of debt that individuals had to bear in proportion to their monthly income

Saudi imposes tax on e-cigarettes and sugary drinks

The kingdom will levy a 100 per cent tax on electronic cigarettes and products used in them, and a 50 per cent tax on sugared drinks

Finding investment opportunities in the education sector

At an exclusive event hosted by Gulf Business and Allied Investment Partners, leading experts discussed investment within the education sector

IMF urges Saudi to consider raising VAT rate

The IMF said the introduction of a value-added tax has been very successful, but the rate is low by global standards

Goldman Sachs bought Commerzbank’s claim in Saudi’s biggest debt saga

The US investment bank bought $100m of Bahraini bank International Bank Corporation’s debt

MSCI adds Saudi Arabia to emerging markets index

A total of 30 Saudi Arabian securities would be added to the index

UAE’s Finablr extends IPO closing by a day to May 14

The company has been seeking to raise $200m from the sale of new stock ahead of a flotation on the London Stock Exchange