Finance Turkey gets $219m to develop projects in quake-hit cities The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide €195 million ($219 million) to two infrastructure projects in Turkey’s earthquake-hit cities of Adiyaman and Hatay. The development bank will provide €95 million ($106 million) to cover the construction of wastewater and stormwater networks and facilities in Adiyaman, it said in a statement. Another €100 million […] May 16, 2025
Banking and Finance Jordan’s Bank al Etihad buys smaller Investbank Jordan’s Bank al Etihad has acquired smaller peer Investbank in a deal that will create one of the kingdom’s biggest lenders, bank officials said on Thursday. The two banks’ boards agreed to a stock-for-stock acquisition that will create an entity with a total equity value of over $1.4 billion, Bank al Etihad chairman Basem Salfiti […] May 16, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance Rise of Middle East fintechs gives banks a run for their money The growth of fintech in the Middle East is driving traditional banks to refocus on better serving their customers and invest in their own dedicated subsidiaries as the sector eats into their market share, industry experts say. In the three months to March 31, fintech funding accounted for almost 60 percent of all venture capital […] May 13, 2025
Banking and Finance Egypt renews warning over dealing in cryptocurrencies Egypt has issued a fresh warning against dealing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies following a surge in local online advertisements for investment in these tools. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said these currencies lack official financial backing that guarantees their stability and that they could be used in terror funding. In a weekend statement on […] May 12, 2025
Analysis Finance VC funding in decline for female-led Mena startups Startups led by women in the Middle East and North Africa are at risk of being left far behind when it comes to raising venture capital funds, data shows. Since 2020 their share of the total has declined every year from 2.2 percent to less than 0.5 percent in 2023, before bouncing back up – […] May 12, 2025
Finance IHC enters reinsurance business with BlackRock Abu Dhabi-listed IHC plans to establish a $1 billion local artificial intelligence (AI)-driven reinsurance platform with New York-based asset manager BlackRock. The venture will target more than $10 billion in liabilities through a buy-and-build strategy, with Lunate, the alternative investment manager based in Abu Dhabi, also joining as a partner, IHC said in a statement. […] May 12, 2025
Banking and Finance Profit falls as staffing costs rise at Oman’s Sohar bank Sohar International Bank, Oman’s second-biggest bank by assets, reported a decline in first-quarter profit on lower net interest income and higher staffing costs. The bank registered a net profit of OR21.5 million ($56 million) in the three months to March 31, a decline of 15 percent over the same period last year. “Compared to the […] May 9, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance US treasuries: why it’s buy, buy, buy for the UAE as Saudi sells Saudi Arabia and the UAE are following divergent investment strategies around US government bonds, which have long been a safe haven for sovereign and institutional investors worldwide. The two countries are among the world’s top 20 biggest holders of the bonds, with a combined value of almost $250 billion. The UAE acquired almost $43 billion […] May 9, 2025
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala reveals 34% rise in 2024 spending Mubadala deployed AED119 billion ($32 billion) of capital last year, a rise of nearly 34 percent on 2023, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has revealed in its latest earnings report. The fund, which is thought to have been the world’s most active sovereign investor in 2024, has not released data on its annual revenues […] May 8, 2025
Banking and Finance UAE plans to double Islamic bank assets The UAE has approved a new strategy that aims to more than double the assets of its Islamic banks in the next six years. The government aims to increase the assets of Islamic banks from AED986 billion ($268 billion) to AED2.56 trillion by 2031, state-run news agency Wam quoted vice president and prime minister Sheikh […] May 8, 2025
Opinion Banking and Finance From ice baths to yacht parties, crypto bros descend on Dubai The first Token2049 of the year drew a record 15,000 attendees to Madinat Jumeirah May 7, 2025
Finance Crypto payment provider Ripple plans UAE growth Cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs has outlined plans to expand in the UAE after winning approval to operate in Dubai. Based in San Francisco, Ripple was the first blockchain payments provider to be licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in March, the company said in a statement. One in five Ripple customers is based […] May 7, 2025
Banking and Finance Egypt fintech Money Fellows to expand across North Africa Money Fellows, a Cairo-based startup that digitises the so-called Middle East jamiyya savings model, has raised $13 million to expand across North Africa and beyond, the company has announced. Jamiyya, which is also known as sanduk, is part of the Rotating Savings and Credit Association (Rosca) technique whereby a group of people agrees to contribute […] May 7, 2025
Analysis Economy Saudi Arabia to ‘roll with the punches’ on oil price Saudi Arabia may have to tighten its reins on spending on the back of a decline in international oil prices, analysts have said. The country’s first-quarter budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion), reported this week, was the biggest in three years. “A deficit was broadly expected, says Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial […] May 7, 2025
Banking and Finance Bahrain’s Mumtalakat reports biggest profit in its history Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has posted the biggest profit in its 19-year history, reversing a loss in 2023, according to the Bahrain News Agency. Its consolidated net profit reached BD363 million ($963 million) in 2024, versus a net loss of BD497 million the year before, the state-run agency reported. “The past year marked a […] May 7, 2025
Analysis Employment Oman steps up efforts to curb rising unemployment The IMF may laud Oman for cutting its debt and bringing its budget deficit under control but unemployment in the Gulf’s third most populous country is growing, posing a policy challenge to the government. In January, the month for which the latest data is available, unemployment rose to 3.6 percent, compared with 3.3 percent the month […] May 7, 2025
Economy Bahrain’s current account surplus shrinks on high debt servicing Bahrain’s current account surplus narrowed last year on the back of lower oil revenue and higher external debt servicing, a ministry of finance report shows. The update may add to concerns around Bahrain’s fiscal challenges. A country’s current account balance is a record of its transactions with the rest of the world. Bahrain, the Gulf’s […] May 6, 2025
Banking and Finance Oman’s $83m treasury bonds snapped up by investors Yield hungry investors have snapped up OR32 million ($83 million) in short-term Omani treasury bills. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) auctioned the six-month T-bills on Wednesday offering a coupon of 5 percent. The CBO said the offer was oversubscribed by more than 10 times. Analysts said the rates on offer through the treasury bills […] May 6, 2025
Economy IMF to review Egypt’s economic reforms this week The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will begin the fifth review of Egypt’s $8 billion economic reform programme, with a team scheduled to arrive in Cairo this week, the IMF said in a statement on Monday. The IMF board approved the fourth review on March 11, unlocking a disbursement of $1.2 billion in a 46-month IMF […] May 6, 2025
Economy Saudi budget deficit jumps fourfold as oil slumps Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit rose nearly fourfold in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year, driven by a sharp drop in oil revenues. The kingdom reported a budget deficit of SAR59 billion ($16 billion) in the quarter ended March 2025 from $3.3 billion a year before. Total revenues fell 10 percent to […] May 6, 2025
Banking and Finance Egyptian fintech Bokra arranges $60m sukuk Egyptian financial technology startup Bokra and Aman Holding have arranged a near $60 million bond to help finance credit to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, Aman said. The Cairo-based startup arranged EGP 3 billion ($59 million) worth of shariah-compliant debt in partnership with Egypt’s Aman Project Finance, a unit of Aman Holding. […] May 6, 2025
Trade Morocco’s trade deficit widens on import surge Morocco’s trade deficit widened in the first quarter after a surge in imports, the economy and finance ministry reported. The shortfall grew by nearly a fifth, or 17 percent, to MAD71.6 billion ($7.8 billion) in the three months to March 31, compared with MAD61 billion in the same period last year, ministry data this week […] May 6, 2025
