Dubai / Reuters Bahrain’s central bank ordered banks operating in the kingdom to freeze assets and bank accounts of the Qatar-linked 59 individuals and 12 entities that a group of Saudi-led Arab countries have accused of links to terrorism, the state news agency BNA reported in a statement. The move came after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, who ...

Bloomberg Global bank regulators have been toiling for a decade on capital rules intended to help prevent another financial crisis. Now they’re within touching distance of a final deal, with one main obstacle standing in their way: France. The U.S. and Europe have long been at loggerheads over measures to stop banks from gaming the capital rules known as Basel ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Total gross bond issuance in the GCC has already surpassed 2016’s total value in the first five months of this year, according to Fisch Asset Management, a global leader in convertible and corporate bond strategies. Current market conditions have created a favourable landscape for new bond issuances, with the GCC Sukuk market issuing up to USD ...

Abu Dhabi / WAM Foreign investors’ buy value of shares in ADX amounted to around AED 2.282 billion during May, claiming 60.9 percent of the total value of traded stocks, with foreign sales for the same period valued at AED2.077 billion, accounting for 55.4 percent of total trading, resulting in a net foreign investment value of around AED204 million. As ...

DUBAI / Emirates Business FIVE Holdings, the Dubai-based real estate development and hospitality group previously known as SKAI Holdings, has launched a AED2.10bn (USD570m) real estate investment trust (REIT), the region’s first hospitality focused REIT and the largest to date. The REIT, to be regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), will include ...

Dubai / Emirates Business May data highlighted a robust improvement in the health of the non-oil private sector, with output and new orders expanding at a sharp rate. The respective rates of expansion eased since April. This was highlighted by the seasonally adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker Index — a composite indicator designed to give an accurate overview of ...

Bloomberg Emaar Properties PJSC hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to manage the sale of shares in its United Arab Emirates real estate development business in Dubai, Chairman Mohamed Alabbar said. The developer of the world’s tallest tower expects to complete the initial public offering by November with a size similar to its Emaar Malls PJSC offering, Alabbar said in an ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Emirates Islamic, one of the leading Islamic financial institutions in the UAE, announced that it will introduce blockchain technology into its cheques as a fraud prevention measure. Termed ‘Cheque Chain’, Emirates Islamic is the first Islamic bank in UAE to undertake this initiative to enhance security in the popular payment method. Emirates Islamic will issue new ...

Dubai / Reuters Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare is looking at acquisition opportunities in Saudi Arabia, its managing director told Reuters in an interview. This is despite previous delays in payments from the Saudi government, which could have pushed the company to default on a syndicated loan, he said. Aster, which operates hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in the Gulf and India, ...

Dubai / Emirates Business Majid Al Futtaim—the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia— announced on Sunday its new up-coming neighborhood shopping destination in Ras Al Khaimah: My City Centre Al Dhait. The retail pioneer’s expansion into the Northern Emirate comes as part of the company’s strategy to increase its total investment ...