By Andrei Skvarsky. Société Générale, Standard Chartered and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporaton (SMBC) were among banks that have arranged a $1.16bn syndicated loan for Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in a United Arab Emirates project aiming to give a boost to African economies. The total amount to be raised was initially set at $1bn but was… Continue Reading
Uzum becomes Uzbekistan’s first tech start-up valued at over $1bn
By Andrei Skvarsky. Uzum, an Uzbek provider of digital services including e-commerce and online banking, has become Uzbekistan’s first technology start-up with a value of more than $1bn through a recent round of financing. Uzum raised $114m in a combination of Series A funding, which was led by Bengaluru-based venture capital firm FinSight Ventures, and… Continue Reading
Arab Energy Fund reports highest annual income in half-century existence
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF), an energy-focused financial services company formerly known as APICORP, has reported that in 2023 it earned what has been its highest net annual income in its half-century existence, $225m. The amount was 51 per cent up on 2022, the Riyadh-headquartered multinational company, which follows environmental, social and… Continue Reading
Dubai police make two arrests in $49,000 burglary probe – Khaleej Times
By Andrei Skvarsky. Two suspected burglars accused of stealing valuables to a total of 180,000 Emirati dirhams ($49,000) from the house of an expat couple in a Dubai community were arrested hard on the heels of the crime, according to a Dubai-based newspaper. The couple were away on holiday when their villa in a non-gated… Continue Reading
UAE’s United Arab Bank reports 65 pct. net profit growth for 2023
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates’ United Arab Bank (UAB) has reported a net profit increase of 65 per cent for 2023. UAB’s net profit for the year was 255m dirhams ($69.52m). Its total income for 2023 was 576m dirhams ($156.84m) or 15 per cent up on 2022 and its investments portfolio grew by… Continue Reading
Dubai hosts outsourcing event for Uzbekistan
DUBAI, UAE, February 16, 2024 (IT Park, Uzbekistan) – On February 15th, the Uzbekistan Outsourcing Conference in Dubai was held with great success, organized by the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan and IT Park. The event proved to be a significant gathering, hosting over 100 leading experts and members of the… Continue Reading
Optima compliance advisory firm hires ex-SEC official Michele Foldenauer as a director
By Andrei Skvarsky. Financial regulatory compliance advisory firm Optima Partners has hired Michele Foldenauer, a former senior official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as a director. Foldenauer will focus on hedge funds, private equity funds, investment advisers, broker-dealers and global financial services firms, corporate communication company PRNewswire cited Optima as saying. Immediately… Continue Reading
ActivTrades: U.S. economy slowdown, $80 oil, more expensive gold likely 2024 highlights
An economic slowdown in the United States with potential depreciation of the dollar, a generally stable oil price of around $80 a barrel and higher gold prices are among global economic highlights predicted by the ActivTrades brokerage for 2024. Falling inflation in the United States, which plunged to 3.4 per cent by the end of… Continue Reading
Renaissance Capital foresees 1pc growth for Russian economy in ’24
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow-based investment bank Renaissance Capital forecasts 1 per cent growth for the Russian economy in 2024, relative near-term stability for the rouble and the reduction of a prohibitive key interest rate this year but argues that inflation tops Russia’s macroeconomic agenda. In 2023, Russia’s economy grew by 3.2 per cent, RenCap estimates.… Continue Reading
Prop trader The Trading Pit hires Hakam Thalji as head of dealing
Multi-asset proprietary trading firm The Trading Pit has hired Hakam Thalji as head of dealing in the risk department. Thalji has had a financial markets career of more than 20 years, the firm, which is based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, said in a statement without naming any of his previous jobs. Continue Reading
Gate.io-Aquanow deal to facilitate ‘access to crypto markets’
By Andrei Skvarsky. Gate.io, one of world’s top-ranking cryptocurrency exchanges, has entered into a partnership with digital assets infrastructure provider Aquanow with the aim of building up liquidity in global crypto markets in anticipation of new blockchain projects. The deal “will help increase access to crypto markets”, a statement from Aquanow quoted the company’s chief… Continue Reading
Permira reports appointments in credit, healthcare units
By Andrei Skvarsky. Investment firm Permira has promoted David Hirschmann and Ariadna Stefanescu to the roles of co-heads of the Permira Credit unit while Jon Serbousek was hired as a senior adviser to Permira’s global healthcare team and Jon Marschmeyer joined the firm’s New York healthcare division as a partner. Hirschmann and Stefanescu will retain… Continue Reading
UAE plans investing in India’s renewable energy, food, healthcare sectors
By Andrei Skvarsky. India’s renewable energy, food processing and healthcare sectors are going to receive substantial investments from the United Arab Emirates, according to memorandums of understanding signed a week ago. The renewable energy investments would fund projects with a combined generation capacity of 60 gigawatts, Emirates News Agency (WAM) cited one of the memorandums,… Continue Reading
Saudi Arabia eases visa rules for investors, professionals
By Andrei Skvarsky. Saudi Arabia has eased residency application rules for foreign investors, entrepreneurs and professionals via five new eligibility-based types of visas. The five eligibility categories are investors; entrepreneurs; professionals including doctors and scientists; individuals owning real estate in Saudi Arabia; and individuals involved in cultural and sports activities, according to a statement from… Continue Reading
UAE’s Al Habtoor to take action vs Lebanon govt over alleged breaches of investment treaty
By Andrei Skvarsky. Al Habtoor Group, a United Arab Emirates conglomerate with interests ranging from real estate to publishing, has announced it planned to confront the Lebanese government in a legal “dispute” over alleged breaches by Beirut of a UAE-Lebanese investment treaty. Al Habtoor accuses Lebanon’s government and central bank of illegitimate restrictions on the… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Can IT Services Be a Growth Driver for the Uzbek Economy?
By Peter Margetts,managing partner,Room Seven Capital Partners.* Unlike most emerging markets, Uzbekistan is blessed with a highly diversified economy. Food production is a significant economic driver. The country is a top-10 global grower of cotton. It produces more than 150,000 tons of copper per year. Perhaps most importantly, industry is significant: Uzbekistan makes stuff! The… Continue Reading
Rewilding can be profitable business – UK financier
By Andrei Skvarsky. Rewilding, the practice of returning land to its natural state, can bring serious financial profits, a British financier and environmentalist argued at a conference earlier this month. A recent project to rewild marshes and forest land in Somerset was one example cited at the Sustainable Finance Week conference in Guernsey by Ben… Continue Reading
Gresham House fund raises £450m for environmental, social projects in UK
A fund run by alternative asset manager Gresham House has raised a little less than £450m ($574m) for financing environmental and social projects in Britain. The Guernsey-domiciled British Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (BSIF) II obtained the money from eight local government pension schemes and four family offices, the London-based asset manager said in a statement. Portfolio… Continue Reading
Prop trader The Trading Pit offers 30 pct Black Friday discount
Proprietary trading firm The Trading Pit is granting a discount of 30 per cent on all of what it calls “challenges” for the period from November 24 to December 3 as a Black Friday offer. The discount applies to all challenges. It is not limited to any one of the challenges in The Trading Pit’s… Continue Reading
Fed’s rates policy likely to make 2024 ‘the year of the dollar dive’ – deVere CEO
The U.S. dollar is likely to weaken “consistently” in 2024, the head of global financial consultancy deVere argues, citing large-scale current sell-offs of greenbacks by investors in the expectation of multiple rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve. “Investors increasingly believe that the Federal Reserve’s most aggressive interest rate hiking campaign in a generation is… Continue Reading
FX & CFD broker ActivTrades hires Matteo Paganini as chief commercial officer
ActivTrades, a global foreign exchange (FX) and contract-for-differences (CFD) broker, has hired Matteo Paganini as chief commercial officer. In his new role Paganini, who had a series of jobs at brokerages before joining ActivTrades, will, among other things, work to develop new products such as an investor profile account with zero commissions and zero swaps on CFDs… Continue Reading
Some UAE insurance premiums up by 35 pct. since August – newspaper
By Andrei Skvarsky. About a dozen Emirati insurance companies have raised their premiums significantly since August, some of them by 35 per cent, a Dubai-based newspaper said. Since the Covid pandemic the cost of insurance in the United Arab Emirates has been going up steadily by between 15 and 20 per cent a year, but… Continue Reading
Miracle on the Chirchiq: Uzbekistan Goes All In on IT
by Anthony Deckoff. Global IT spending climbed a negligible 0.8% in 2022 – a rate that’s expected to tick up to a sturdier 5% in the current year. But it can’t hold a candle to the rapid growth now taking place in one of the world’s hottest new tech sectors. The Central Asian nation of… Continue Reading
Oman’s Bank Muscat says preliminary stats show 9-month net profit of $412.5m
By Andrei Skvarsky. Bank Muscat, Oman’s biggest lender, said preliminary unaudited statistics for the period from January to September 2023 show a net profit of 158.9m rials ($412.5m), marking a year-over-year increase of 7.1 per cent. The bank’s net interest income from conventional banking and net income from Islamic financing together amounted to 281m rials… Continue Reading
GUEST POST: Breaking the mold: Innovative guerrilla marketing techniques
By Angie Stafford. You’ve been tasked with promoting your business’s new product launch, but your marketing budget is limited. How do you spread the word and create buzz when you can’t afford expensive ad campaigns or flashy commercials? It’s time to think outside the box with some guerrilla marketing techniques. Forget everything you know about… Continue Reading
Arab Bank gets $250m bond issue listed on London Stock Exchange
By Andrei Skvarsky. Jordan’s Arab Bank, one of the Arab world’s biggest lenders, has issued bonds to a total of $250m as a private placement project and has had the issue listed on the London Stock Exchange. The additional tier 1 (AT1) securities, which offer 8 per cent interest, have attracted institutional and individual investors… Continue Reading
OMAN NEWS
Oman’s Sohar International Bank launching business in Saudi Arabia By Andrei Skvarsky. Oman’s Sohar International Bank has been given the go-ahead by the Saudi central bank to launch operations in Saudi Arabia, an Omani newspaper said. Sohar International’s branch in Riyadh will offer a comprehensive range of corporate and retail services, according to Oman Daily… Continue Reading
Kuwait banks’ investing in public services plunges by two-thirds YoY – newspaper
By Andrei Skvarsky. Kuwaiti banks cut investing in public services by 68.8 per cent year-over-year by September 1, a Kuwaiti newspaper said, largely attributing the decline to extensive state control of the public services sector. Kuwait’s banking community put 21.7m dinars ($70.5m) into education, healthcare and other public services in the period from January to… Continue Reading
Agency says 25 states in default on sovereign loans from Kuwait
By Andrei Skvarsky. Twenty-five nations are delaying instalment repayments of sovereign loans from Kuwait, having built up arrears totalling 118m Kuwaiti dinars ($380.24m), a Kuwaiti government agency said. Ninety per cent of the sum are the debts of five countries – Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Cuba and North Korea, – Kuwaiti English-language daily Arab Times cited… Continue Reading