Sharjah makes enhanced offer for struggling Invest Bank

Shareholders will vote on the deal on January 8

Sharjah government plans to invest $517m in Invest Bank

The government will buy 1.59 billion shares in the bank, which has struggled due to high levels of bad loans

Saudi Riyad bank shares rally after it begins merger talks with NCB

Analysts said Riyad could benefit from NCB’s strong balance sheet

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

Bahrain prepares for VAT introduction next year

Everything you need to know about VAT in Bahrain

Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank NCB in merger talks with rival Riyad

Both banks have a common shareholder in sovereign fund Public Investment Fund

Proposed bank merger in Abu Dhabi could lead to 1,000 job cuts – report

Merger talks between Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al Hilal Bank are reportedly at an advanced stage

Saudi bank stocks plunge on tax payments, Wall Street’s decline weighs on GCC markets

Saudi banks said they had reached a deal with tax authorities to resolve a dispute that would still result in big one-off payments

Standard Chartered appoints new Middle East CEO

New senior appointments also announced in Jordan and Oman

Dubai bank Emirates NBD to support Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay

The UAE is seeing a rise in the use of contactless payment solutions

UAE, Bahrain follow US move to raise interest rates

The US Federal Reserve Board decided to hike rates by 25 basis points

Different Arab money

Franklin Templeton grabs more GCC corporate debt after downturn

The company’s GCC strategy generated total returns of 1 per cent this year

Foreign investment in Saudi more than doubled in 2018

Five sectors of the Saudi economy are prepared for privatisation in the first quarter of 2019

Nasdaq Dubai to launch MSCI UAE futures trading from mid-January

The benchmark index currently comprises 11 UAE companies including some of the largest ones

UAE lenders unaffected by troubles at Sharjah’s Invest Bank

The loss-making Sharjah bank has been hit by exposure to the UAE’s troubled real estate and construction markets.

UAE Central Bank says ready to provide liquidity to Sharjah’s Invest Bank

Invest Bank has approved a capital injection by the government of Sharjah

Kuwait allows foreign investors to own and trade in local banks’ shares

The ownership of a foreign investor shall not exceed 5 per cent in any Kuwaiti bank

Sharjah government to take stake in struggling Invest Bank

Invest has been hit by recent high levels of bad loans

Finablr’s UAE Exchange, Ripple to begin blockchain payments by Q1

UAE Exchange and Ripple announced a partnership to process cross-border payments in February

Binance

UAE, Saudi Arabia to test digital currency for cross-border settlements

The UAE’s central bank governor said fintech could play a major role in improving financial inclusion

Abu Dhabi’s Goldilocks acquires 29.49% stake in insurer Takaful Emarat

The deal marks the fund’s third major Dubai stake buy in recent days

UAE clears $6.5bn in yuan transactions

President Xi Jinping in July made the first visit by a Chinese leader to the UAE in 29 years

Saudi banks close to deal with authorities on Islamic tax

Banks have been at loggerheads with authorities over additional payments of zakat going back as far as 2002

Abu Dhabi’s Goldilocks fund acquires 18% stake in Dubai-listed Gulf Nav

Goldilocks was launched in 2015 with the goal of becoming an activist investor in listed equities

Standard Chartered cuts jobs in UAE retail bank

The bank has also reduced headcount within other sectors, according to sources

Saudi’s AHAB turns to new bankruptcy law to settle with creditors

AHAB and Saad Group defaulted on about $22bn of debt in 2009

Founder of UAE’s Abraaj pitches last-ditch rescue bid to investors

Abraaj Holdings filed for provisional liquidation in the Cayman Islands in June

Singapore bank DBS to ‘almost double’ Dubai private banking staff by 2023

The Singapore bank is joining Citibank and other global lenders expanding wealth management operations in the region

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

Bahrain central bank considers new guidance for Islamic banks

The Bahraini regulator already requires Islamic banks to undergo independent external audits

UAE’s Al Hilal Bank executes ‘world’s first’ sukuk transaction using blockchain

The size of the deal was $1m, sold by Al Hilal to a private investor

UAE’s Finablr hires banks for IPO, listing in London

The payments and foreign exchange company plans to sell at least 30 per cent of its shares to the public