Omani lender Bank Nizwa attracts 681 million rials of bids for shares

Omani lender Bank Nizwa, the sultanate’s first Islamic bank, attracted 681 million rials ($1.77 billion) of bids in its initial public offer of shares, 11 times the sum which it was raising, the lead manager for the IPO said on Saturday. The bank will be listed on the Muscat Securities Market on June 12, Oman Arab Bank said. Bank Nizwa raised 60 million rials by

Qatar plans to boost government spending by 27 percent in 2012 and 2013

Qatar plans to boost government spending by 27 percent in 2012 and 2013, including wages, social services and infrastructure, but it expects to see a comfortable surplus, state news agency QNA reported. Tuesday’s report comes amid concerns over saf

Saudi Arabia’s stock market gets hit by broad sell off on lower oil price

On its first trading session in June, the Saudi Arabian Tadawul All-Share Index was hit by a broad sell off Saturday, after the price of oil fell to a nine ...

UAE banks will not be affected by recent turmoil in international markets

UAE banks won’t be adversely impacted by the recent turmoil roiling international markets, the country’s central bank said yesterday. “The Board reviewed report of the Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy and ...

Israeli shekel foreign exchange rate stable against US dollar and euro

The Israeli shekel’s foreign exchange rate is stable against the US dollar and euro in morning inter bank trading today, amid declines on global stock markets. After losing ground against ...

Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank teams with Sungard for improved credit risk management

Jordan Dubai Islamic Bank, an Islamic bank based in Jordan has selected SunGard’s Ambit for credit assessment and credit portfolio monitoring to help lay the foundation for risk based decision ...

Kuwait’s GDP for 2011 expected to be 5.7 percent, according to the IMF

Kuwait’s real GDP in 2011 is expected to have grown by 5.7 percent according to IMF estimates, however, due to the political situation, development plans did not show the planned ...

Lebanese government owed the National Social Security Fund 825 billion Lebanese pounds

The Lebanese government owed the National Social Security Fund 825 billion Lebanese pounds ($550 million) as of the end of February 2012 in accumulated obligations since 2009, figures released by ...

Central bank of Oman rate cut to put pressure of commercial banks

The recent decision of the Central Bank of Oman to reduce interest rate ceiling on personal loans to 7 percent is seen to put pressure on the profit margin of ...

Qatar’s economy grew a big 14 percent on 2011 on energy exports

Qatar’s economy expanded 14 percent in inflation adjusted terms in 2011 as energy exports gave it one of the highest growth rates in the world, although the pace was slower ...

Saudi Arabia rejects a move to tax the incomes of expat workers

The Saudi Shoura Council of Saudi Arabia have rejected a move to tax the incomes of individual expat workers in the public and private sectors at its 18th regular session. Secretary ...

HSBC Middle East unit to buy UAE based assets from Lloyds Banking Group

HSBC says its Middle East unit has agreed to buy UAE based assets worth $US769 million that belonged to its part-nationalised rival Lloyds Banking Group. “HSBC Bank Middle East has entered ...

Israeli shekel foreign exchange rate moves higher against US dollar

The Israeli shekel’s foreign exchange rate moved higher against the dollar and euro in morning inter bank trading. Continuing yesterday’s trend, the shekel to US dollar exchange rate is down ...

Jordan Capital Bank and Saudi Fund for Development in $10m loan deal

The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) granted a $10 million loan to Jordan Capital Bank for financing the bank’s clients commercial operations between the two countries, according to a statement ...

Kuwait is a key opinion maker within the World Bank – VP of MENA

Since joining the World Bank in 1962, Kuwait has been an important opinion maker and significant shareholder, said Vice President of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the ...

Qatari banks to delay or stop plans for brokerage services after Central Bank directive

Several Qatari banks may delay or even stop plans to offer brokerage services following a recent directive from Qatar’s central bank about the activities they would be allowed to carry ...

S&P rates proposed US dollar Saudi Electric trust certificates to AA-

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that it assigned its ‘AA-’ long-term issue rating to the proposed US dollar ijara trust certificates to be launched by Saudi Electricity Global ...

UAE Central Bank steps in to reduce debt burden of Emiratis

The UAE’s central bank has stepped in to direct lenders in the Gulf state to help reduce the debt burden of UAE nationals (Emiratis), with some bankers saying banks may ...

Bank Sohar hosts Oman Banking Compliance Forum in Qurum, Muscat

Bank Sohar successfully hosted the Oman Banking Compliance Forum at its Learning Centre in Qurum, Muscat. Financial Crime and Anti Money Laundering (AML) was a key area of focus at ...

Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait to provide up to $50 million financing for housing project

Manama based Arabic language newspaper Al Wasat says Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait will provide $35-50 million in financing to a local housing project being undertaking by Bahraini developer Naseej ...

Head of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund quits over differences of strategy with board

The head of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund quit over differences of strategy with the board, disappointed by its lack of deal making as it focuses on reviving loss-making domestic assets, ...

Shekel foreign exchange rate rises over US dollar after Bank of Israel holds interest rates

The Israeli shekel’s foreign exchange rate rose higher against the US dollar in trading on Wednesday after the Bank of Israel left its benchmark interest rate at 2.5 percent for ...

Lebanese banks halt regional growth plan due to the Arab awakening

Lebanon’s well capitalised banks have halted plans for regional growth, after the Arab awakening closed off the window for expansion opened by the global financial crisis. The country’s banking sector is ...

Oman records one of its largest fiscal surpluses for 2011 on higher oil prices

Higher crude output coupled with a sharp rise in oil prices allowed Oman to record one of its largest fiscal surpluses in the first 11 months of 2011 despite an ...

Qatar sells treasury bills as it strives to develop local currency debt market

Qatar has been selling as much as US$1.1 billion in treasury bills each month since May as it strives to be the first GCC state to develop a local currency ...
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