By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates Central Bank (CBUAE) said on August 9 that it had revoked the licences of foreign exchange broker Dirham Exchange and remittance specialist RMB Commercial Brokers for “serious regulatory misconduct”. The delicensing was a penalty for offences “including AML [anti-money laundering] misconduct”, the CBUAE said in an English-language statement.… Continue Reading
Ministry: Alleged scammers made to pay back Emiratisation allowances
By Andrei Skvarsky. An Emirati ministry said on August 9 that 107 Emiratis were made to pay back an equivalent of a total of $632,700 they were accused of obtaining fraudulently as allowances under the Emiratisation programme, a scheme aiming to promote local talent and skills in a country where expatriates make up 88.5 per… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Events in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Florida on Oct 12-13, Nov 6-8, Dec 6-8
The following financial summits are planned to be hosted by event management company marcusevans in the last three months of 2023: Hong Kong, The Ritz-Carlton, Kowloon: ~ Private Wealth Management APAC Summit, October 12-13, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Hotel Okura: ~ European Pensions & Investments Summit, November 6-8, ~ Elite Summit, November 6-8, Palm Beach, Florida, USA, all at Eau Palm… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Four marcusevans-hosted summits in Dallas in September
Event management company marcusevans is going to host four investment summits in Dallas, Texas, this September. The conferences, all of which will take place on September 18-20, are: Venture Capital Investors Summit Private Equity Investors Summit Private Wealth Management Summit Real Estate Investors Summit. All the summits will be held at the Las Colinas Resort,… Continue Reading
S. Korea’s MBK Partners creating fund to target China home market
By Andrei Skvarsky. South Korean private equity firm MBK Partners, which has $25.6bn in assets under management, is putting together a 10-trillion-won ($7.6bn) buyout fund to target the Chinese domestic market. MBK co-founder and partner Michael Kim has been in talks with South Korean pension institutions in seeking inputs from them into what would be… Continue Reading
Sotheby’s uses Dubai bourse to unveil arguably unique ruby, diamond
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) was the venue for the recent unveiling by Sotheby’s of what are considered the largest ruby and the most vivid pink diamond in world auction history and are expected to be offered at a planned Sotheby’s auction in New York on June 8. The 55.22-carat (11.04-gram) Estrela… Continue Reading
India withdrawing 2,000-rupee notes, says they will remain legal tender provisionally
By Andrei Skvarsky. India is withdrawing its 2,000-rupee ($24) note from circulation, but this highest-denomination banknote is going to remain legal tender for four months. The central bank said in a statement on June 19 that the measure is part of its “clean note policy”, a strategy to keep India’s paper cash clean, undamaged and… Continue Reading
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank to provide numerous services for SMEs in Dubai free-trade zone
By Andrei Skvarsky. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and the authority of one of Dubai’s free-trade zones (FTZs) are planning an agreement that would make a wide range of ADIB services available to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) doing business in the zone. The services would include digital solutions tailored to SME needs, ADIB said… Continue Reading
Applying online to speed up account opening at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
By Andrei Skvarsky. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) and an Abu Dhabi government agency are planning a deal to simplify and speed up setting up an account with ADIB for investors and companies by digitising the account application procedure. It would take between three and five business days to open an account with ADIB via… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Boston to host venture capital, private equity, real estate investment forums on June 5-7
The marcusevans business intelligence company will host the following U.S.-focused invitation-only conferences in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 5-7, 2023: Venture Capital Investors Summit. The agenda covers subjects such as the future of the venture capital market, opportunities in a “new normal”, alternative investments, ESG compliance and ways of finding the best sources of market information,… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Africa – Africa’s Premier Telecom Summit, Johannesburg, July 25, 2023
This conference, part of the Connected Africa series organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (Intercsa), will bring together Vodafone and key African telecom companies. Themed “transforming to telcos of the future”, Connected Africa – Africa’s Premier Telecom Summit will discuss technologies such as 4G LTE, VoLTE and EDGE. It will also take up… Continue Reading
UAE GDP growth pace doubles in 2022 – central bank
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates’ central bank estimates that gross domestic product grew by nearly 7.6 per cent in 2022 or at double the 2021 pace, CBUAE said on May 10. Inflation in the UAE closed at 4.8 per cent by the end of 2022 compared with the global average of 8.8 per… Continue Reading
EVENT REMINDER: Connected Banking Southern Africa, Johannesburg, May 24
More than 270 companies – banks, insurers, fintechs, non-banking financial organisations, investment funds, asset managers and others – are expected to take part in Connected Banking Southern Africa, a summit in Johannesburg on May 24 that will focus on digital inclusion and sustainable transformation. The agenda includes decentralised finance, the zero trust cybersecurity model and… Continue Reading
Shamsa Al-Falasi takes the helm at Citibank’s UAE division
Citi has appointed Shamsa Al-Falasi chief executive of Citibank’s onshore branch in the United Arab Emirates and chief administrative officer for all on- and offshore Citi entities in the UAE, Emirati newspapers The National, Gulf News and Khaleej Times and other sources cited Citi as saying. After joining Citi in 2004, Al-Falasi had postings in… Continue Reading
UAE’s GDP doubles since 2006 – PM
The United Arab Emirates’ gross domestic product has doubled over the past 17 years, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said. GDP has reached 1.8tn dirhams ($490.1bn) since he became the UAE’s prime minister in February 2006, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, was cited by… Continue Reading
UAE payment services firm MBME listed on Abu Dhabi exchange
Emirati payment services provider MBME Group began to trade on April 17 on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), becoming the United Arab Emirates’ first family-owned fintech to list on the bourse, Dubai-based English language daily Khaleej Times said. MBME shares, which were listed on the Growth Market, the ADX platform tailored to privately owned… Continue Reading
Citi: While offering benefits, CBDCs threaten more competition, big brother practices
By Andrei Skvarsky. Citi warns that, along with major technical and social advantages, there are potential serious downsides to central bank digital currencies (CDBCs), an electronic form of national currencies that more than 100 central banks are developing. One problem is that transactions in CBDC may force central banks to compete with private companies that… Continue Reading
UAE steps up involvement in international project to digitise cross-border payments
By Andrei Skvarsky. The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) last week took a major formal step in implementing a plan to create a digital version of the dirham and thereby step up the UAE’s role in an international project to digitise international payments. At a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, the CBUAE signed… Continue Reading
Prop trader The Trading Pit makes deal with futures broker Edge Clear
Liechtenstein-headquartered proprietary trader The Trading Pit has announced it has formed a partnership with Chicago-based futures broker Edge Clear. A proprietary (or prop) trader is a bank or financial services company that earns its income by investing its own capital rather than through commission on investing client money. Continue Reading
Central banks of UAE, India to join forces to boost digitalisation
By Andrei Skvarsky. The central banks of the United Arab Emirates and India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the digitalisation of financial products and services. At the centre of the MoU is a plan to test the cross-border use by the two countries of their developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking Summit Southern Africa, Johannesburg, May 24
The conference will focus on Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Transformation in the south of Africa and take up other matters such as decentralised finance, the zero trust security model, and ESG-compliant business. The forum will bring together banks, non-banking financial organisations, fintechs, investment funds, and asset management companies. It will be the eighth conference in… Continue Reading
Connected Banking Summit East Africa discusses digitalisation, cybersecurity, risk management
Connected Banking Summit East Africa, an international conference in Nairobi, on March 7, brought together numerous banks and financial services companies and addressed issues in fields such as digitalisation, cybersecurity and risk management. The forum was the seventh conference in the Africa-focused Connected Banking Summit series organised by International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), which… Continue Reading
UAE’s Al Ansari Financial Services planning IPO
By Andrei Skvarsky. United Arab Emirates company Al Ansari Financial Services expects to raise about $2m by selling 750m ordinary shares through an initial public offering (IPO) it plans to launch early next month with subscriptions due to start on March 16. The shares, to represent 10 per cent of Al Ansari, will be floated… Continue Reading
Mubadala buying into Truist Insurance Holdings, world’s 7th-largest insurance broker
By Andrei Skvarsky. Mubadala, an Emirati state-owned investment company, has struck a deal with U.S. private equity firm Stone Point Capital and other investors to jointly buy a $1.95bn 20 per cent stake in Truist Insurance Holdings, the world’s seventh-largest insurance broker. Truist Insurance Holdings is valued at $14.75bn by its parent company, investment bank… Continue Reading
UAE’s ADIB bank reports 2022 ROE of 21.4 pc, to pay $462.9m in dividends
By Andrei Skvarsky. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has reported robust performance for 2022 with a 21.4 per cent return on equity (ROE), which it called “one of the highest” in the United Arab Emirates’ banking sector, and has approved cash dividends making up nearly half of the bank’s net profit for the year. A… Continue Reading
UAE’s RAKBank to put up to $163m into 4-year diversification strategy
RAKBank, a lender based in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates, plans to put between 400m and 600m UAE dirhams (between $108.9m and $163.4m) into a four-year strategy to diversify its business, its chief executive said. RAKBank – the trading name of the National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah – is… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Family Office Winter Forum, New York, March 9
The Family Office Winter Forum is a conference in New York on March 9 organised by event management company Opal Group to discuss topics such as family governance, alternative investments and impact investing and hear speakers some of whom are Wall Street’s most sought-after managers and advisers. Only stand-alone speakers will be allowed to use… Continue Reading
EDB bank, Abu Dhabi financial centre admin to help companies get established
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned Emirates Development Bank (EDB) and the authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), an international financial centre in UAE capital Abu Dhabi, have announced a joint plan to provide better facilities for companies seeking ADGM licensing. EDB and the ADGM authority would provide services such as the… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Four conferences in San Diego on March 6-8
Event management company marcus evans is going to host four invitation-only U.S.-focused financial conferences next month, all of them to be held at the same venue in San Diego, California, and on the same dates, March 6-8, 2023: Venture Capital Investors Summit. The agenda includes opportunities in a “new normal”, ESG-compliant investment, and ways to… Continue Reading