Bahraini dinar touches 17-year low against dollar

Hedge funds dumped Bahraini bonds because of concern about the country’s rising public debt

Abraaj founder Naqvi faces criminal charges for bounced cheque

A judge in Sharjah is reportedly scheduled to rule on the case on Thursday

Dubai bourse hits its lowest since Jan 2016

The slump was led by losses in contractor Drake & Scull

Abraaj investment management business co-CEOs resign from board

Omar Lodhi and Selcuk Yorgancioglu will no longer serve as directors of the board of AIML

Abu Dhabi finance hub ADGM to regulate crypto assets

The framework aims to aid governance, oversight and transparency over crypto asset activities

JPMorgan subsidiary to sell Saudi Investment Bank stake for $203m

JPMorgan International Finance will divest its holding by selling its shares back to Saudi Investment Bank

UAE regulator asks listed companies to declare exposure to Abraaj

Abraaj filed for provisional liquidation last week

Dubai’s Abraaj sells part of its fund business to US firm Colony Capital

Colony Capital will acquire Abraaj’s Latin America, Sub Saharan Africa, North Africa and Turkey Funds management business

Saudi added to MSCI emerging markets index, huge inflows expected

MSCI said 32 major Saudi stocks will gain emerging market status

UAE central bank sets new caps on customer banking fees

The fee caps apply to charges for services such as home loans and late fees for credit cards

Dubai’s financial centre partners with Startupbootcamp to expand fintech offering

The potential incubators will expand upon the financial free zone’s existing FinTech Hive accelerator

Abu Dhabi firm offers to buy Abraaj’s investment management arm

Abu Dhabi Capital Management has reportedly offered $50m for the business

Franklin Templeton funds get Saudi QFI status ahead of MSCI decision

MSCI is expected to announce whether it will include Saudi in its emerging market index later this week

Emirates Islamic appoints new CEO

Salah Amin replaces Jamal Bin Ghalaita, who is retiring.

Different Arab money

UAE, Saudi central banks hike repo rates

The move came after the US Federal Reserve raised its target range for the federal funds interest rate by a quarter point

UAE’s Abraaj sells entire stake in Orascom Construction

The company sold its 5.4 per cent stake for about $52m

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to launch $400m European tech fund

Japan’s Softbank Group will participate in the fund as a strategic investor

Dubai cryptocurrency exchange becomes region’s first to get sandbox licence

Palmex received the licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain

Creditor starts legal proceedings for Abraaj restructuring

Auctus is the second creditor, after Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security, to start legal action in the Cayman Islands

Abu Dhabi’s Waha Capital abandons plans for $300m PE fund

Demand for Middle East private equity funds has been hurt by allegations that Dubai’s Abraaj misused investor money

UAE Central Bank halts remittances at seven exchanges

The affected firms failed to regularise their activities during a grace period given by the bank

UAE securities regulator examines Abraaj investor impact

Abraaj, which bankers estimate has debt of about $1bn, is grappling with allegations that it misused investor money

Kuwaiti creditor refuses Abraaj deal, may prompt provisional liquidation

Kuwait’s Public Institution for Social Security has reportedly refused to join other creditors in the debt freeze

Up to 85% of UAE residents not saving enough for their future – report

Survey finds that 41 per cent of UAE respondents plan to start saving in 2018

Dubai’s Mashreq applies for Saudi banking licence

Mashreq sees opportunities in consumer and corporate banking, sources said

Dubai’s Abraaj expects deal on secured debt, Kuwaiti creditor holds out

The standstill will see Abraaj’s $1bn debt frozen for around 90 to 120 days, sources said

Dubai’s Abraaj to meet with creditors this week to discuss debt – sources

Abraaj is being advised on the matter by US investment bank Houlihan Lokey

Court rules Saudi firm complicit in ponzi scheme ‘worse than Madoff’

Cayman Islands chief justice Anthony Smellie described the AHAB dispute as “one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history”

UAE Exchange now authorised to accept VAT payments

Companies can now make their VAT payments in any of the 150 UAE Exchange branches in the country

UAE cracks down on insurance consultants

Recently introduced qualification and indemnity requirements are expected to significantly reduce number of consultants