On the Move

Leading sports lawyers in middle east join firm in Dubai

Withers welcomes Middle East-focused tax and estate planning partner

PwC Middle East welcomes 326 new graduates

Knight Frank Middle East strengthens its UAE Industrial and Logistics team with senior hires

Saxo Bank appoints CEO of MENA region

Mashreq Bank Egypt appoints Ragia Samir as senior vice president, marketing head

Legal, Tax, Regulation & Compliance

Tech companies shape UAE data law

New Saudi committee tasked to regulate foreign investments as Kingdom opens up

Lebanon signs central bank audit contract with A&M

UAE central bank looking to replace benchmark rates: Reuters

Central Bank of Bahrain prepares for the second phase of Open Banking

Exclusive UAE central bank working to replace interbank rates - sources

Retail Banking

Commercial Bank of Dubai recognized with "Excellence in Innovation - Retail Banking" at the 2021 Finnovex Awards

QIB expands Direct Remit service to Philippines and Pakistan

NBK succeeded in pricing USD1.0bln in senior unsecured bonds

Mashreq, DAFZA sign MoU to boost SME growth

Al Salam Bank unveils its newly formed brand DNA

Mastercard recognises Doha Bank as fastest growing MPGS partner in Qatar

Alternative Investments

Wataniya Insurance board recommends $53.3m capital increase

Saudi Real Estate Co. to raise $426.4mln to finance Qiddiya, Roshan projects

Number of Israeli companies in UAE to grow 100% by 2022: UIBC chief

UAE pledges to expand investment in Britain

Kuwait's Burgan Bank gets approval to issue up to $500mln unsecured bonds

QFC, Rwanda Finance sign agreement to promote mutual collaboration

Wealth & Asset Management

Schroders and Bank Muscat announce long-term strategic partnership

Aster launches digital-first wealth management platform for MENA

Asia and Middle East Assets Triple in Five Years

45% of Bahrain’s wealth ‘with super-rich’

Level Up Client Communication In 2021, And Beyond

Definite trends emerging in the Middle East investment landscape

FinTech

American-Ukrainian tech consultancy SoftServe launches in Middle East

UAE startup Supy raises $1.5mln in latest funding

3 companies revolutionizing the Kuwait FinTech space

More Qatari banks likely to launch Apple Pay soon

Bilingual robots join Jordan’s Capital Bank retail workforce

A never before opportunity to transform the world’s oldest and most relevant banking system

Islamic Finance

SoftBank ventures into Saudi Arabia in a deal with wealth fund

ADIB Partners with DenekB, a UAE based FinTech company, to expand digital payment choices for consumers in the UAE

IsDB Institute wins 'Best Islamic Research & Development' award for 2021

Egypt accounts for EGP 347bn of global Islamic banking of $2.7trn: Finance Ministry

Sukuk issuance will drop in 2021 as finances of Gulf countries improve

GCC sukuk issuance set to decline in 2021

Research, Comment and Analysis

Global banking sector market cap grows 40% from Q2 2020

Abu Dhabi leads major Gulf bourses higher; Egypt falls

AM Best affirms credit ratings of Bahrain Kuwait insurance company B.S.C. And Takaful international company BSC

Market sentiment indicates return to normal as Covid fears subside

Dubai among world's top cities for residence-by-investment programmes

The future of the art world could be closer than we think

Investment Bank

StanChart to add bankers in sustainable finance, capital markets in Saudi Arabia

First Abu Dhabi to Sell Stake in $1B Payments Unit

First Abu Dhabi Bank expected to sell $344mln in 5-year bonds - document

Standard Chartered H1 profit surges on strong business momentum

EFG Hermes closes fifth issuance for premium international for credit services in an EGP 211mln securitization transaction

Saudi Investment Bank adopts Cisco SDN Architecture

Covid-19

DHA announces reducing quarantine period for certain COVID-19 and close contact cases

Pandemic speeds up UAE’s transition to cashless ecosystem

Ten Ways Covid-19 Has Changed the World Economy Forever

COVID-19 sees 36,447 new online stores launched in Saudi Arabia

Economic outlook improves; UAE, Bahrain to get a boost from COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Eight ways how Covid-19 is impacting the future of mobility

Planet SOS

Standard Chartered’s first green trade finance facility inaugurated in the UAE

EBRD promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy in Egypt

Get Ready for ESG on a Global Scale

Boursa Kuwait launches ESG reporting guide to drive corporate sustainability in financial markets

Beyond COVID-19: Towards a Net Zero World

Abu Dhabi wealth fund to focus on tech, climate change after COVID-19