By Andrei Skvarsky. Tabby, a Dubai-based fintech providing a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service, – making easy-term point-of-sale instalment loans, – has raised $58m in its latest round of funding, which boosted its valuation to $660m. Tabby’s 2022 revenue was five times the sum it made in 2021, the company said in a statement.… Continue Reading
UAE banking sector’s assets hit $986bn mark by end of October – central bank
By Andrei Skvarsky. The total assets of the United Arab Emirates’ banking sector, including bankers’ acceptances, reached AED 3.62tn (about $986bn) by the end of October 2022, having gone up 0.9 per cent month-on-month, the central bank said in a report made public last week. Gross credit rose by 0.2 per cent to AED 1.88tn… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, March 7
Connected Banking East Africa, a conference themed “Accelerating Digital Inclusion Through Sustainable Transformation”, is the seventh event in the Africa-focused Connected Banking Summit series organised by the International Center for Strategic Alliances (ICSA), an event management company based in Bengaluru, India. The previous conferences in the series, which is entitled “Africa Digital Banking Summit –… Continue Reading
UAE fines companies failing to meet Emiratisation quota
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates, a country with expatriates making up about 89 per cent of the population, has slapped fines on private companies for failing to meet the 2022 target for hiring Emirati nationals that was part of a 15-year-old policy of promoting the recruitment of Emiratis. A 2022 decree, part of… Continue Reading
India makes three arrests in ICICI Bank fraud probe
By Andrei Skvarsky. India’s top crime detection agency made three arrests late in December in connection with an alleged fraud scheme of over a decade ago in which ICICI Bank, one of the country’s biggest lenders, made loans that ran against its rules and ultimately caused it to suffer heavy losses. One of those arrested… Continue Reading
Bangladeshi expat driver scoops $9.53m bounty in UAE draw
By Andrei Skvarsky. A cash-strapped Bangladeshi working as a pick-up driver in Abu Dhabi became a millionaire instantly on January 4 by winning 35m Emirati dirhams ($9.53m) in a major United Arab Emirates draw, according to Gulf, Bangladeshi and Indian media. Mohammed Rayful, 39,was going to share what was the biggest-ever grand prize in Abu… Continue Reading
ActivTrades analyst: Jan 2 European share rise may be short-lived
According to an analyst at the ActivTrades global brokerage, it is too early to see a remarkable rise in European shares during this year’s first trading session on January 2 as a stable long-term situation. A “lack of any major macro news” suggests the share price surge with the FTSE 100, EURO DAX 50 and… Continue Reading
Sumsub: Identity fraud in world economy up 50 pct between 2021 and 2022
By Andrei Skvarsky. Global verification statistics published by London-based compliance-as-a-service firm Sumsub late last year suggest that online identity fraud attempts in the world economy grew in number by more than 50 per cent between 2021 and 2022. Sumsub said in a report that 1.7 per cent of millions of verified online transaction attempts or… Continue Reading
Tempo remittance firm to get verification services from Sumsub
By Andrei Skvarsky. Tempo France, a Paris-headquartered digital money transfer company, has become a client of London-based compliance-as-a-service and verification firm Sumsub. Tempo, which is licensed by French financial services regulator ACPR, has gained access to the full range of Sumsub’s know-your-customer and anti-money laundering (KYC/AML) services, according to a statement from the London firm,… Continue Reading
BCG: UAE retail banking revenues to grow by leaps and bounds
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates’ retail banking sector is going to have revenues growing at a pace 64 times as fast for the period from 2021 to 2026 as was the case between 2016 and 2021, according to calculations by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). BCQ forecasts in a report that the sector’s revenues… Continue Reading
New UAE legislation on business taxation: exemption for some, 9 pct for the rest
By Andrei Skvarsky. The United Arab Emirates would exempt smaller and some other types of firms from profit tax and levy a flat tax of 9 per cent on all other businesses under a taxation regime to take effect on June 1, 2023. Annual profits of a maximum of 375,000 dirhams ($102,000) would be exempt… Continue Reading
Prop trader The Trading Pit hires Daniela Egli as CEO
Proprietary trading company The Trading Pit has hired Daniela Egli as its chief executive officer. Egli will be based at The Trading Pit’s business headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus, according to a statement from the company. The firm is formally domiciled in Liechtenstein, where its office is headed by Thomas Heyden. Egli comes to The Trading… Continue Reading
World Bank expects migrants’ 2022 remittances to home countries to reach $626bn
By Andrei Skvarsky. Remittances from migrant workers play a serious role in their homelands’ economies, according to the World Bank, which estimates that earnings sent by migrants to low- and middle-income countries for the whole of 2022 will reach $626bn, an amount larger than the gross domestic product of Denmark or Ireland. Money that has… Continue Reading
UAE firm launching $100m sharia-compliant VC fund to invest in Gulf, Indian companies
Emirati company Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), which keeps its business in line with sharia (Islamic law), is launching a $100m venture capital fund to invest in Gulf and Indian companies. The new facility, GII Debt Fund-I, will focus on Gulf companies in “resilient sectors” such as healthcare, education, logistics and technology and on Indian companies… Continue Reading
UK experts give advice on how to steer clear of crypto scammers
By Andrei Skvarsky. An online guide to British online casinos has published several tips on how to avoid falling victim to increasingly frequent cryptocurrency scams, mentioning a variety of fraud types some of which may be less familiar than others. One trick used in touting fraudulent proposals is citing alleged recommendations by some celebrity, according… Continue Reading
UAE banking sector’s assets up 1,200 pct since 2000 – senior banker
The assets of the United Arab Emirates’ banking sector have surged to more than $900bn from $75bn since 2000, the head of a major Emirati banking association said, forecasting further massive revenue growth in the sector. The total revenues of the UAE’s banks are likely to swell by 50 per cent by 2030, reaching more… Continue Reading
Prop trader The Trading Pit raises 10m euros in funding round
By Andrei Skvarsky. The Trading Pit (TTP), a Liechtenstein-based proprietary trading fintech startup, has raised 10m euros ($10.4m) in its latest round of growth funding. TTP now has the goal of achieving global access to all key asset classes, including foreign exchange, stocks, futures and cryptocurrencies, within the next six months, the firm said in… Continue Reading
Emirates NBD opens two more branches in India
By Andrei Skvarsky. Dubai’s Emirates NBD, one of the largest banks in the Middle East, has opened two full-service branches in India in addition to a five-year-old branch in Mumbai in fostering what it calls strategic ties with the homeland of the United Arab Emirates’ largest expatriate community. One of the new branches is located… Continue Reading
EVENT UPDATE: Connected Banking West Africa, Accra, Nov 15-16, 2022
(Conference to be a purely in-person event – no online streaming) This is to remind you of Connected Banking West Africa, an in-person conference in Accra, Ghana, on November 15-16 on digitalisation in banking. The conference will be a purely in-person event with none of the sessions being streamed online. More than 250 companies are… Continue Reading
EVENTS: marcusevans’s Private Equity Investors Summit, Venture Capital Investors Summit, Dec 7-9, 2022
On December 7-9 2022, Palm Beach, Florida, is again going to host the annual Private Equity Investors Summit and Venture Capital Investors Summit, invitation-only conferences organised by business intelligence and event company marcusevans. The two forums are mainly going to be attended by chief investment officers, fund managers and consultants. Entities the attendees will represent… Continue Reading
EVENTS: Connected Banking West Africa, hybrid forum, Accra, Nov 15-16, 2022
Bankers, investors, asset managers, insurers and other financial sector professionals are going to meet in Accra, Ghana, on November 15 and 16 for Connected Banking West Africa, a hybrid in-person/virtual conference on digitalisation in banking. The event is the sixth in the Connected Banking series of conferences that was formerly called Africa Digital Banking Summit… Continue Reading
M4Markets brokerage gets go-ahead to Europe trade from Cyprus regulator
By Andrei Skvarsky. Seychelles-headquartered foreign exchange and contract for differences (CFD) broker M4Markets has obtained a licence from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) authorising it to cater to European traders. The authorisation came via the acquisition by The Oryx Group, the Belgian-based company behind M4Markets, of CySEC-licensed investment firm ICC Intercertus Capital, which… Continue Reading
The Top 8 Mistakes Made When Measuring Operational Metrics
Operational metrics help you observe the day-to-day functionality of your business and determine whether you’re on the right path to achieve your long-term goals. However, it’s easy to make mistakes when measuring and reporting on operational metrics. The Basics of Operational Metrics Before diving deeper into the topic of operational metrics, consider reading an introductory… Continue Reading
Corporate uni of Russia’s Sberbank to teach Islamic finance
By Andrei Skvarsky. The corporate university of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, plans to launch a course on Islamic finance in a few months’ time, one of the bank’s top managers has announced. Oleg Ganeyev, senior vice-president of Sberbank, made the announcement at a Russian annual Islamic economic forum in Kaspiysk, a city in Russia’s predominantly… Continue Reading
Aussie investment firm Laguna Bay outsources fund admin to Bermuda-based Apex
By Andrei Skvarsky. Australian investment firm Laguna Bay has hired Apex Group, a Bermuda-headquartered financial services provider, to manage a fund for investing in food and agricultural projects in Australia and New Zealand. Laguna Bay Fund 2, the vehicle Apex will manage, is planned to raise and invest up to 1bn Australian dollars (US$672m), according… Continue Reading
Deal enables Apex to use Inveniam blockchain for asset valuation
By Andrei Skvarsky. U.S. fintech company Inveniam has clinched a deal with UK-based financial services firm Apex Group to enable the latter to use blockchain technology patented by the American company and its data operating system for asset valuation. “Using data that is verified on blockchain, through our innovative partnership with Inveniam, will … deliver… Continue Reading
Ampersand, private investor buy out Australian biopharma firm
By Andrei Skvarsky. Global health care private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners and private investor Glenn Haifer have bought out Australian biopharmaceutical company Luina Bio, rebranding it as AcuraBio, according to a joint statement from Ampersand and AcuraBio. Haifer is board chairman of AcuraBio. He is an Australian medical practitioner and entrepreneur. The statement did… Continue Reading
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority hires Michael Steliaros from Goldman Sachs for senior equity portfolio job
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the emirate’s sovereign investment fund, has hired Michael Steliaros from Goldman Sachs as global head of equity portfolio engineering and trading in its Core Portfolio Department. At Goldman Sachs, Steliaros was global head of quantitative execution services, which is a research and development division. Previously, he held senior London-… Continue Reading
Permira, Ampersand, Abu Dhabi govt co-acquire, merge two biopharma firms
By Andrei Skvarsky. Private equity investment firms Permira and Ampersand, based in London and Boston respectively, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) have jointly acquired and merged two global pharmaceutical companies making remedies from human blood plasma. The merger of Kedrion Biophama, which is headquartered in Tuscany, Italy, and Bio Products Laboratory (BPL), which… Continue Reading