08/10/2022
A new player has joined the market: SAMA certifies Marta as payment institution
The Saudi Central Bank has approved Marta as a payment aggregator, allowing it to provide merchants with POS terminals across the kingdom
Legal, Tax, Regulation & Compliance
08/09/2022
UAE issues new reporting rules for real estate transactions to combat money laundering
Transactions made with $15,000 or more in cash have to be reported to country’s Financial Intelligence Unit
08/09/2022
Alvarez & Marsal launches new offices in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh
Alvarez & Marsal is also increasingly benefitting from growing scrutiny on the role of the Big Four in the restructuring scene.
08/05/2022
Banque Misr to set up representative office in Kenya
The office will be set up under the name of Banque Misr- S.A.E – Kenya Representative Office
08/04/2022
First Abu Dhabi Bank subsidiary FAB Securities raises Saudi National Bank's target price
Kingdom’s largest lender to benefit from post-merger revenue, cost synergies
08/03/2022
UAE Central Bank issues new guidelines on anti-money laundering
Licensed financial institutions have one month to comply with the rules
08/02/2022
Qatar's Investment Promotion Agency inks double deal with PwC
PwC already has a base in Doha, with the second pillar of the memorandum of understanding empowering PwC to add 100 new staff (including Qatari nationals) to its local headcount over the coming period.
08/01/2022
The CBUAE issues new instructions regarding the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme
The debt burden ratio of the beneficiaries of the Home Finance Program of SZHP in monthly installments out of their total salary or any income from a known specific source has been increased from 50% to a maximum 60%
07/29/2022
UAE Central Bank imposes financial sanctions on six banks
They did not follow the common reporting standards
07/29/2022
UAE, Kenya to commence talks over comprehensive economic partnership
The UAE-Kenya CEPA will be the first bilateral trade deal that the UAE seeks to sign with an African nation
07/28/2022
CBK raises discount rate by quarter percentage point
CBK will also change the rates of monetary policy instruments by varying percentages for the entire interest rate yield curve including repurchases
07/28/2022
African Development Bank adopts new Country Strategy paper for Egypt covering 2022-2026
The new strategy sets out two priority areas: strengthening Egypt’s competitiveness to support strong private sector-led growth and job creation.
07/27/2022
DCO whitepaper calls for multilateral dialogue on international digital economy taxation plans
The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) launches whitepaper discussing current proposals for global tax solutions for digital economy, initiates discussions with international tax community
07/26/2022
Saudi Central Bank launches Joint Operations Center to combat financial fraud
In coordination with government entities, the Tanfeeth program seeks to promote operational efficiency by overcoming procedural hurdles.
07/25/2022
National Bank of Bahrain signs an extended partnership with Mastercard
To enhance portfolio through new premium offerings
07/22/2022
UnionPay International Reaches Cooperation Deal with Bank Albilad in Saudi Arabia
BAB is UnionPay's fifth partnership in the country and the first to sign up since 2018, giving UPI customers full access to all BAB's points of sale (POS), ATMs and online merchants moving forward.
07/21/2022
How investors will benefit from Dubai’s new law on real estate funds
The move is expected to attract liquidity into specialised commercial segments of the property market, experts say
07/20/2022
Commercial Bank of Dubai arranges AED530mln syndicated financing for Gulf Data Hub
Commercial Bank of Dubai acted as the Initial Mandated Lead Arranger and Bookrunner on the facility and was joined by The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah, Emirates Development Bank and Gulf International Bank.
07/19/2022
UAE employers must comply with new Emiratisation rules to avoid hefty fines
The programme applies across all of mainland UAE but does not apply in the freezones including the DIFC and ADGM.
07/15/2022
Norton Rose Fulbright advises OKX on market entry into Dubai
OKX is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world by trading volume