An RSS feed generated from the news aggregator for CPI Financial http://www.cpifinancial.net/news Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 Fri, 24 May 2013 08:05:00 -0500 copyrights 2013 CPI Financial. All rights reserved. en State-owned Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) plans to expand its domestic presence as well as open branches in Lebanon and Turkey to tap growing trade between the countries, the bank's top executive said on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20892/iraqs-state-owned-trade-bank-eyes-lebanon-turkey net.cpifinancial.news.news-20892 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking The Bader Young Entrepreneurs Program announced that its investment fund, known as The Building Block Equity Fund (BBEF), invested $1.15 million in three Lebanese start-ups seeking to expand regionally http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20891/the-bader-fund-invests-1-1-million-in-three-lebanese-startups-seeking-expansion net.cpifinancial.news.news-20891 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance KFH-Malaysia took part in the meetings held by the Islamic Financing Services Board (IFSB) that have been hosted by the Malaysian Central Bank recently in the Malaysia capital. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20890/kfh-malaysia-takes-part-in-ifsb-meetings net.cpifinancial.news.news-20890 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance The 9th Financial Technology Summit & Meetings Middle East (FT Summit) will be held in Dubai from 27th to 28th May, 2013 and will discuss "The Bank of the Future" and how technology is reshaping both consumer behaviour and the banking business model. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20889/the-9th-financial-technology-summit-to-discuss-the-bank-of-the-future net.cpifinancial.news.news-20889 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Dubai-based retail property conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF Holding) proposes to issue subordinated perpetual notes through MAF Global Securities, unconditionally and irrevocably guaranteed on a joint and several basis by MAF Holding and Majid Al Futtaim Properties . http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20888/group-majid-al-futtaim-proposed-subordinated-perpetual-notes-assigned-bb-issue-rating net.cpifinancial.news.news-20888 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Mashreq has launched of an enhanced version of its Mobile Banking Service called 'Snapp'. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20887/mashreq-launches-of-snapp-mobile-banking net.cpifinancial.news.news-20887 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Technology NBK Capital announced today (23 May) the sale of its equity stake in DunyaGoz, Turkey's largest ophthalmology hospital chain, to the founding shareholder. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20886/nbk-capital-completes-exit-of-dunyagoz net.cpifinancial.news.news-20886 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments The CEOs Advisory Council of the UAE Banks Federation held its fourth meeting this year, today (Thursday, 23 May 2013) in Abu Dhabi, and discussed the latest developments on relevant banking issues. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20885/uae-banks-federation-advisory-council-reviews-latest-developments-on-banking net.cpifinancial.news.news-20885 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Consumer Banking Tunisia is in talks with Qatar over a deposit in Tunis' central bank "with easy conditions" Prime Minister Ali Larayedh said on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20884/tunisia-in-talks-with-qatar-over-central-bank-deposit net.cpifinancial.news.news-20884 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics NASDAQ Dubai Academy will provide a training course devoted to key corporate governance principles and best practices http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20883/nasdaq-dubai-academy-launches-course-in-corporate-governance net.cpifinancial.news.news-20883 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets According to the HSBC United Arab Emirates PMI, the UAE's non-oil producing private sector companies reported a further increase in output levels in April. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20882/hsbc-uae-output-levels-and-rate-of-job-creation-rise-in-non-oil-producing-private-sector net.cpifinancial.news.news-20882 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The Islamic Development Bank's Board of Governors (BoG) yesterday (22 May) approved to more than triple the bank's authorised capital to 100 billion Islamic dinars (about $150 billion) from 30 billion dinars, reflecting the bank's strong balance sheet and the growing economic development needs of its 56 member countries. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20881/islamic-development-bank-triples-authorised-capital-to-150-billion net.cpifinancial.news.news-20881 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Bahrain's Al Salam Bank and BMI Bank, an affiliate of Oman's Bank Muscat, have announced plans to merge, a tie-up which would create the kingdom's third-largest bank by assets, the lenders said in a statement. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20880/two-bahraini-banks-in-merger-talks-as-consolidation-picks-up net.cpifinancial.news.news-20880 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Islamic Finance RAM Ratings has reaffirmed the AA2 long-term rating of Tanjung Bin Power’s Sukuk Ijarah Programme of up to MYR 4.5 billion in nominal value with a stable outlook. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20879/ram-ratings-reaffirms-aa2-rating-of-tanjung-bin-powers-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20879 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Al Khalij Commercial Bank (al khaliji) is partnering with United Development company (UDC) to offer a range of special mortgages during Cityscape Qatar 2013 from 27-29 May. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20878/al-khaliji-offers-special-mortgage-loans-during-cityscape-qatar-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20878 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Majid Al Futtaim Holding has purchased the 25 per cent minority stake owned by Carrefour Group in Majid Al Futtaim Hypermarkets LLC for EUR 530 million. The two groups also strengthened their exclusive franchise partnership by extending its time horizon and expanding its scope. Partners since 1995, Majid Al Futtaim operates 50 hypermarkets and 44 supermarkets under the Carrefour brand in several countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20877/majid-al-futtaim-acquires-full-ownership-of-carrefour-franchise-in-mena net.cpifinancial.news.news-20877 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Many wealth management firms are using Big Data to gain new insights into their customers and prospects, discover investment opportunities, assist with risk/compliance, and provide competitive differentiation, according to the new report, Big Data in Wealth Management: The Search for Customer Insight, from Celent, the financial research and consulting firm. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20876/big-data-offers-wealth-managers-customer-insights net.cpifinancial.news.news-20876 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Technology Dubai's Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), which is buying Carrefour's stake in a regional joint venture, has picked five banks to arrange the sale of a dollar-denominated hybrid bond, a document from lead arrangers showed. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20875/dubais-maf-picks-banks-for-hybrid-bond-sale net.cpifinancial.news.news-20875 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Crude oil prices fell below $100 for the first time since mid-2012 in April on seasonal factors and softening market fundamentals. This was followed by a small rebound in early May, according to NBK’s latest Economic Update. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20874/oil-price-eases-on-softer-fundamentals net.cpifinancial.news.news-20874 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Markets The dilemma facing GCC finance ministers as they deliberate over a 100 per cent increase in duty on tobacco products is underlined by a White Paper which spotlights growth in illicit trade, beyond the control of police and customs authorities, as an inevitable consequence of a sharp overnight rise in the cost of cigarettes. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20873/gcc-tobacco-tax-plans-could-fuel-growth-of-smuggling-warn-dubai-based-experts net.cpifinancial.news.news-20873 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Lifestyle The Board of Directors of JPMorgan Chase & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of 38 cents per share on the outstanding shares of the corporation's common stock, an increase from the prior quarterly dividend of 30 cents per share. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20872/jpmorgan-chase-declares-common-stock-dividend net.cpifinancial.news.news-20872 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investment Banking Egypt's central bank kept the price of the country's currency steady against the dollar at a special $800 million foreign exchange auction on Wednesday, called to help importers pay for wheat, meat, cooking oil and other essential imports. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20871/egypt-keeps-currency-price-steady-at-special-auction net.cpifinancial.news.news-20871 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Norway and Azerbaijan and China Construction Bank have bought about 55 per cent of the new shares on offer from VTB, Russia's second-largest bank, it said on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20870/update-sovereign-funds-and-chinese-bank-buy-into-russias-vtb net.cpifinancial.news.news-20870 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments The World Bank has proposed a $150 million loan for Jordan to help it with the cost of thousands of Syrian refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria, Jordanian and World Bank board sources said on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20869/update-world-bank-proposes-150-mln-loan-to-help-jordan-with-refugees net.cpifinancial.news.news-20869 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Dubai-based contractor Arabtec , part-owned by Abu Dhabi state fund Aabar Investments, will begin subscription for a $650 million rights issue on June 9, the UAE's market regulator said on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20868/uae-builder-arabtecs-650-mln-rights-issue-to-open-on-june-9 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20868 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank will sell $300 million in a subordinated bond on Wednesday, according to the deal arranger, just over two months after its last debt markets outing. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20867/update-abu-dhabis-adcb-sells-300-mln-of-subordinated-bonds net.cpifinancial.news.news-20867 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Emirates NBD launched a $1 billion core capital-boosting bond on Wednesday, amid healthy demand, allowing the Dubai lender to tighten earlier price guidance. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20866/dubai-lender-emirates-nbd-launches-1-bln-bond-at-5-75-pct net.cpifinancial.news.news-20866 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The Boards of Directors of Bahraini retail and commercial banking institution, BMI Bank and Al-Salam Bank-Bahrain today (22 May) announced their in principle agreement to proceed with discussions to merge the two banks to create the third largest Bank in Bahrain. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20865/bmi-bank-asbb-boards-of-directors-approve-merger net.cpifinancial.news.news-20865 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Enterprise Qatar (EQ) has committed to subsidise up to 70 per cent of the costs and has partnered with international training firms and educational institutions to deliver the training. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20864/enterprise-qatar-subsidises-qatars-core-skills-programme-by-70-per-cent-for-smes net.cpifinancial.news.news-20864 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) received at his office in Riyadh HE Mr. Nick Baird, Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and an accompanying delegation that included HE Sir John Jenkins, UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Mr. Peter Broom, Deputy Director Trade and Investment, UKTI. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20863/prince-alwaleed-receives-chief-executive-of-uk-trade-investment net.cpifinancial.news.news-20863 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics HE Dr. Salem Al Ismaily, Chairman of The Public Authority for Import Promotion and Export Development (PAIPED) will lead the Omani delegation to the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and Africa (MENA) held at the Dead Sea resort of King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center in Jordan between 24th and 26th May. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20862/oman-participates-in-world-economic-forum-on-the-middle-east-africa net.cpifinancial.news.news-20862 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Vital for economic growth but facing serious challenges, Middle Eastern small and micro businesses are displaying unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, according to new research commissioned by Regus. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20861/economic-obstacles-fail-to-deter-unstoppable-entrepreneurs net.cpifinancial.news.news-20861 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, headed the UAE delegation participating at the 38th annual meeting of Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Tajikistan. The meeting took place over two days from 21- 22 May 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20860/he-obaid-humaid-al-tayer-heads-uae-delegation-at-38th-annual-meeting-of-idb-board net.cpifinancial.news.news-20860 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Yesterday marked the conclusion of the first Professional Development Session in 2013 by Dubai Women Establishment (DWE), in cooperation with Protocol School of Washington. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20859/dubai-women-establishment-organises-first-professional-development-session-in-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20859 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Economics Kuwait Finance House (KFH) took part in the 24th Engineering Design Expo for the College of Engineering and Petroleum at Kuwait University. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20858/kfh-sponsors-12-graduation-projects-of-college-of-engineering-and-petroleum-students net.cpifinancial.news.news-20858 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, the Board of Governors of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), member of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, approved in its 20th Annual Meeting, held today (22 May 2013) in Dushanbe, the Annual Report and the Financial Results for 1433H (2012). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20857/iciec-supports-member-countries-by-more-than-3-billion-in-2012 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20857 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development organised the Second Tajribaty for number of projects funded by Khalifa Fund. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20856/khalifa-fund-organises-second-tajribaty net.cpifinancial.news.news-20856 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance MARC has withdrawn its AAAIS rating on IJN Capital's MYR 209 million Sukuk Musyarakah Programme following the full redemption of the outstanding MYR 30 million on March 21, 2013 and cancellation of the programme as confirmed by the facility agent on May 20, 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20855/marc-withdraws-rating-ijn-capitals-sukuk-musyarakah-programme net.cpifinancial.news.news-20855 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance MARC has affirmed its MARC-1ID/AAAID ratings on Sime Darby Berhad's (Sime Darby) MYR 4.5 billion Islamic Medium Term Notes Programme (IMTN Programme) and MYR 500 million Islamic Commercial Papers (ICP) with a combined limit of MYR 4.5 billion (ICP/IMTN Programme); the outlook of the ratings is stable. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20854/marc-affirms-ratings-on-sime-darbys-icp-imtn-programme net.cpifinancial.news.news-20854 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Clifford Chance, in cooperation with Al-Jadaan & Partners Law Firm, is advising Savola Group (Savola) on its acquisition of shares in Savola Foods Company (SFC) and Azizia Panda United Company (APU) from Al Muhaidib Holding Company (Al Muhaidib). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20853/clifford-chance-advises-savola-group-on-acquisitions-in-saudi-arabia net.cpifinancial.news.news-20853 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Markets The World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa opens at the Dead Sea on 24 May. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20852/world-economic-forum-on-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-to-open-in-jordan net.cpifinancial.news.news-20852 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics In a first-of-its-kind transaction in post-revolution Egypt, Crowell & Moring's Cairo office has advised the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank-Egypt in connection with an Islamic finance facility extended to Maridive and Oil Services SAE. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20851/crowell-moring-cairo-advises-adib-egypt-on-islamic-finance-deal net.cpifinancial.news.news-20851 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance HSBC Middle East has signed an exclusive 10-year agreement with Zurich Insurance Middle East to distribute its personal and commercial General Insurance products in the United Arab Emirates, with other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets to be considered in the future. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20850/hsbc-and-zurich-sign-agreement-to-distribute-general-insurance-products-in-mena net.cpifinancial.news.news-20850 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Insurance The Roadshow, which starts at Muscat Grand Mall (MGM) on Thursday, May 23rd will promote services offered by the bank. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20849/bank-nizwa-prepares-for-muscat-roadshow net.cpifinancial.news.news-20849 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Peru will embark on a major international road show with the goal of promoting greater inward investment from foreign markets, starting with a visit to the UAE. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20848/peru-trade-delegation-to-visit-uae net.cpifinancial.news.news-20848 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Emirates NBD Properties, the real estate arm of Emirates NBD, recently concluded a AED 122 million deal for retail space in Index Tower, located in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The deal has been formalised through the signing of Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Emirates REIT, the first GCC Shari’ah-compliant Real Estate Investment Trust. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20847/emirates-nbd-properties-signs-agreement-with-emirates-reit net.cpifinancial.news.news-20847 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Investments Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank plans to raise at least $500 million from a benchmark-sized subordinated bond as early as Wednesday, the arranging bank for the deal said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20846/abu-dhabi-lender-adcb-to-price-subordinated-bond-wednesday net.cpifinancial.news.news-20846 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Commercial Banking EFG Hermes, Egypt's biggest investment bank, saw net profit jump 27 per cent in the first quarter from the same period a year earlier, the bank said on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20845/egypts-efg-hermes-says-q1-net-profit-jumps-27-pct net.cpifinancial.news.news-20845 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance RTS Realtime Systems Group (RTS), a global trading solutions provider, plans to open its newest data center in Dubai, the first Middle East site in its data center network.  Expected to go live in mid-July, the new hub in the RTS global trading network will offer ultra-low latency access to the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX), one of the world’s fastest growing exchanges. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20844/rts-realtime-systems-to-open-data-center-in-dubai net.cpifinancial.news.news-20844 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Technology Turkey's Capital Markets Board is working on five new types of Sukuk issues as it seeks to allow wider use of Islamic bonds, the board's Chairman said on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20843/turkey-seen-allowing-five-new-sukuk-issue-types net.cpifinancial.news.news-20843 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Islamic Finance Eighty five per cent of leading organisations in the UAE view gender diversity as a top priority, according to a study by Boston Consulting Group, Shattering the Glass Ceiling: An Analytical Approach to Advancing Women into Leadership Roles. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20842/dubai-forum-to-honour-mena-businesswomen-at-awards-ceremony net.cpifinancial.news.news-20842 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance MARC has affirmed its AAAID rating on Cagamas MBS Berhad's MYR 2,050.0 million asset-backed Sukuk Musyarakah issuance (CMBS 2005-1) with a stable outlook. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20841/marc-affirms-ratings-on-cagamas-mbs-myr-2-050-million-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20841 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Majid Al Futtaim Finance partners with MBME to launch ‘The Cube’ kiosk service for LOADnSHOP and MyNetCard prepaid cards, offering instant prepaid Visa cards and recharges across 400 locations in the UAE with 24/7 access at some locations. The Middle East is the second fastest growing prepaid market in the world. The new JV offers the ability to obtain or recharge either of the LOADnSHOP and MyNetCard prepaid cards. Revenue from prepaid sales in the UAE is expected to reach $18.4 billion by 2015. The LOADnSHOP and MyNetCard were launched by Majid Al Futtaim Finance last year. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20840/prepaid-cards-kiosk-technology-launched-in-the-uae net.cpifinancial.news.news-20840 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company has announced the launch of a SAR 2.8 billion ($750 million) International Islamic Sukuk Programme, in multiple tranches over a 12 month period. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20837/dar-al-arkan-closes-first-tranche-of-750-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20837 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance AHAB's global legal coordinators at Lewis Baach PLLC have issued a strongly worded criticism of a report being published in Washington entitled The Importance of International Standards in Managing Defaults in Islamic Finance, describing it as a paid media stunt to attack Saudi regulators and noting that the report’s financial backers are unknown. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20836/ahab-responds-to-sonecons-report-and-planned-teleconference net.cpifinancial.news.news-20836 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance The World Bank plans substantial new funds to help Jordan cope with the influx of refugees from the civil war in Syria, and hopes new funds for central Africa will cement a peace deal there, the bank's President Jim Yong Kim said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20835/world-bank-boosts-funds-for-syria-refugees-africa net.cpifinancial.news.news-20835 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Chevron Corp is in advanced talks to sell most of its downstream assets in Egypt and Pakistan, three sources said, with the planned disposals seen raising around $300 million for the U.S. oil major. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20834/chevron-nears-sale-of-egypt-pakistan-downstream-assets net.cpifinancial.news.news-20834 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Investments Egypt's central bank said on Tuesday it would offer $800 million to banks at an exceptional auction of foreign currency on Wednesday to cover the country's strategic import needs. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20833/egypts-c-bank-to-offer-800-million-at-forex-auction-on-wednesday net.cpifinancial.news.news-20833 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The World Bank plans to announce significant new funding to help Jordan cope with the Syrian refugee crisis, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told Reuters on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20832/world-bank-to-announce-funds-for-jordan-and-great-lakes-region net.cpifinancial.news.news-20832 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Qatar no longer holds the balance of power when needy banks come seeking equity; the terms of recent investments by the country's sovereign wealth fund in Russia's VTB and Germany's Deutsche Bank suggest that the emirate can no longer extract unusually favourable terms. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20830/breakingviews-qatars-leverage-over-banks-is-on-the-wane net.cpifinancial.news.news-20830 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Commercial Banking Russia's second-largest bank VTB expects to close its $3.3 billion offering of new shares by the end of the week, with three sovereign wealth funds investing about $500 million each, Chief Executive Andrei Kostin told Reuters. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20829/qatar-holding-to-invest-500-million-in-russias-vtb net.cpifinancial.news.news-20829 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Investments EU regulators confirmed on Tuesday they will cap bonuses of bankers earning more than 500,000 euros a year and added other conditions to make the pay ceiling harder to smash. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20828/eu-watchdog-unveils-cap-for-bank-bonuses net.cpifinancial.news.news-20828 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Investment Banking Luxembourg has agreed to automatically exchange information with United States tax authorities about the bank accounts held by U.S. citizens and residents, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20827/luxembourg-agrees-to-end-bank-secrecy-with-us-authorities net.cpifinancial.news.news-20827 Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Consumer Banking Egypt's worsening fiscal gap is a concern but the International Monetary Fund is still ready to continue talks on a $4.8 billion loan once Cairo completes a review of its economic program, a senior IMF official said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20826/imf-says-egypt-budget-gap-worrying-urges-yemen-to-finalise-economic-programme net.cpifinancial.news.news-20826 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Doha Bank announced its intentions to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and corporate clients in the UAE through the bank’s fully licensed branches in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including support for companies in the infrastructure development and construction sectors. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20825/doha-bank-keen-to-partner-with-corporates-and-smes-in-abu-dhabi-and-dubai net.cpifinancial.news.news-20825 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking SME Finance Network International, one of the leading payment solutions providers in the Middle East, has announced that the recently launched Mercury prepaid payment programme will use its information security framework. “Mercury,” is the first UAE-focused closed loop prepaid programme, which will facilitate the direct issuance of a wide range of domestic prepaid payment alternatives. The Mercury platform will enable the acceptance of these cards at all Network International POS terminals, and ATM’s of participating member banks, across the UAE. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20824/mercury-prepaid-cards-to-use-network-internationals-information-security-framework net.cpifinancial.news.news-20824 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Technology Tamkeen Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al Kooheji addressed an audience at Bab Al Bahrain on Monday afternoon (May 20) during a public session arranged in coordination with the Bahrain Businesswomen Society and Edamah Real Estate Company, owner of Souq Bab Al Bahrain. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20823/tamkeen-engages-business-community-in-bab-al-bahrain net.cpifinancial.news.news-20823 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Fitch Ratings expects the Qatari economy to continue to provide a strong operating environment for Qatari banks in 2013. Fitch expects Qatar's GDP growth to be a healthy 7% for 2013 with the public sector driving credit growth related to the USD95bn of planned infrastructure spending between 2011 and 2016. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20822/rpt-fitch-qatari-banks-state-support-and-public-sector-spending-highly-beneficial net.cpifinancial.news.news-20822 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics UAE lender Emirates NBD has begun marketing a Tier 1 perpetual non-call six year bond at low six per cent on Tuesday, according to a source and lead manager. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20821/emirates-nbd-markets-tier-1-perp-nc6-at-low-six-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20821 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Qatar's Doha Bank could issue a capital-boosting bond instead of shares as planned, although it was evaluating the best route to help raise core capital, its chief executive said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20820/qatars-doha-bank-may-sell-bonds-to-raise-capital-ceo net.cpifinancial.news.news-20820 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Etisalat's Nigeria affilate has signed a $1.2 billion loan with 13 Nigerian banks, the United Arab Emirates' No.1 telecom operator said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20819/etisalats-nigeria-affiliate-signs-1-2-billion-loan net.cpifinancial.news.news-20819 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Lebanese farmland investor GLB Invest plans to invest up to $800 million in Sudan to produce animal feed to be sold to Saudi Arabia, its president said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20818/lebanese-farmland-firm-to-invest-up-to-800-million-in-sudan net.cpifinancial.news.news-20818 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Qatar and other Gulf states should consider moving to a more flexible exchange rate from long-entrenched pegs to the U.S. dollar, to better manage inflation risk in the next decade, a senior Qatar central bank official said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20817/qatar-should-consider-more-flexible-exchange-rate-central-banker net.cpifinancial.news.news-20817 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan has launched a $450 million five-year Islamic bond offering, a document from lead managers said on Tuesday, in the real estate firm's first international bond sale in more than three years. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20816/saudis-dar-al-arkan-launches-450-million-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20816 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance At a seminar hosted today (21 May) by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Centre for Research at Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance (BIBF), Dr. Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economist at the Bahrain EDB, argued that productivity growth - particularly in tradable sectors such as manufacturing - should be at the centre of sustained economic growth in the Kingdom. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20815/productivity-growth-and-trade-will-deliver-long-term-economic-growth-in-bahrain net.cpifinancial.news.news-20815 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Mohammad Al-Omar, CEO of Kuwait Finance House, said that KFH had sold one of its investment real estate logging KWD 26.3 million as a net profit. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20814/kfh-makes-kwd-26-3-million-net-profit-from-investment-real-estate net.cpifinancial.news.news-20814 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Investment Banking Xpress Money has launched the industry's first free life insurance cover scheme for its GCC remitters in partnership with Union Insurance http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20813/xpress-money-union-insurance-to-offer-free-life-insurance-cover-to-gcc-remitters net.cpifinancial.news.news-20813 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Insurance ITS (International Turnkey Systems) Group has announced a 'transformative' restructuring of its business focus, organization model, processes and product positioning to meet new macroeconomic realities and prepare the company to embark on a profitable growth journey from 2013 onwards. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20812/its-restructures-to-face-new-macroeconomic-and-business-dynamics net.cpifinancial.news.news-20812 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has signed a financing agreement with a Joint Venture led by Associated Construction Co (ASCO) to finance Al Amiri Hospital Expansion project. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20811/nbk-to-finance-al-amiri-hospital-expansion-project net.cpifinancial.news.news-20811 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Islamic Banking Division (ADCB-IBD) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Omeir Travel Agency, to provide eligible customers of Omeir Travel Agency with its newly launched Service Ijarah Travel Finance. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20810/adcb-ibd-signs-mou-with-omeir-travel-agency net.cpifinancial.news.news-20810 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Emirates NBD has launched RISE, a new initiative from its Business Banking division that aims to provide small and medium business owners in the UAE with a comprehensive platform to learn, connect and grow their businesses further. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20809/emirates-nbd-launches-new-initiative-for-uae-based-smes net.cpifinancial.news.news-20809 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance The Egyptian Government is facing an increasingly difficult set of economic circumstances that could raise inflationary pressures and lead to further social unrest, says a report by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20808/egypts-reliance-on-central-bank-funding-may-add-to-inflationary-pressures net.cpifinancial.news.news-20808 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics RAM Ratings has received confirmation that Malayan Banking (Maybank) fully redeemed its MYR 1.5 billion Islamic Subordinated Bonds (2006/2018) on the first call date of 15 May 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20807/maybank-fully-redeems-myr-1-5-billion-islamic-subordinated-bonds net.cpifinancial.news.news-20807 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Markets Barclays revealed today (21 May) Compass, the Wealth and Investment Management monthly flagship research dedicated to providing investment advice and recommendation to investors across the globe. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20806/barclays-bullish-on-equities-expectations-of-recovery-on-gold-are-mixed net.cpifinancial.news.news-20806 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Saxo Bank has launched Saxo TV, led by the former Bloomberg TV News anchor, Owen Thomas, to provide on-demand business and financial analysis. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20805/saxo-bank-launches-saxo-tv net.cpifinancial.news.news-20805 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has launched a discounted corporate membership package for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UAE http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20804/emirates-green-building-council-launches-discounted-corporate-membership-for-smes net.cpifinancial.news.news-20804 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Thomson Reuters today (21 May) launched an Islamic Finance Development Indicator in collaboration with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector development arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20803/thomson-reuters-icd-launch-islamic-finance-indicator net.cpifinancial.news.news-20803 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance The Business Excellence Department at the Department of Economic Development (DED) recently hosted a seminar to create awareness among Emiratis working in the public and private sector on bringing about an excellence transformation in their organisations using the 2013 EFQM Model. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20802/ded-hosts-seminar-on-efqm-2013-model net.cpifinancial.news.news-20802 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance CSR is becoming increasingly more important in the region. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20801/csr-increasingly-more-important-in-the-gcc net.cpifinancial.news.news-20801 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Markets Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) will host an Internship Open Day for UAE-based students from 8:30am - 5pm on Wednesday, 22 May 2013,at the DIFC Conference Centre. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20800/difc-hosts-internship-open-day net.cpifinancial.news.news-20800 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics BlackRock has announced the appointment of Andrew MacKenzie as Managing Director and Head of iShares Middle East and Africa. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20799/blackrock-names-new-head-of-ishares-middle-east-and-africa net.cpifinancial.news.news-20799 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Arqaam Capital has announced that it acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Cairo-based Magrabi Retail in the purchase of a controlling stake in the Turkish optical retailer, Şişli Optik Ticaret A.Ş. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20798/arqaam-capital-acts-as-exclusive-financial-adviser-to-magrabi-retail net.cpifinancial.news.news-20798 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investment Banking The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Norway and Azerbaijan will each get about $500 million of the new shares being issued by VTB, the Russian bank's chief executive Andrei Kostin said on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20797/qatar-norway-azerbaijan-to-each-get-about-500-mln-of-vtb-shares net.cpifinancial.news.news-20797 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Economics Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan has lowered price guidance on its planned Islamic bond issue, a document from lead bankers on the issue showed on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20796/saudis-dar-al-arkan-tightens-guidance-on-planned-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20796 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance The International Monetary Fund is not worried about Dubai's ability to meet its upcoming debt obligations, Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia department, told reporters on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20795/imf-official-says-not-worried-about-dubais-debt-obligations net.cpifinancial.news.news-20795 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Deloitte: Low number of IPOs in GCC due to stricter regulatory measures and lack of liquidity http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20794/deloitte-saudi-arabia-leads-equity-issuances-with-listings-over-100-million net.cpifinancial.news.news-20794 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Hospitality, followed by education leads all industry sectors in annual growth http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20793/monster-employment-index-middle-east-declines-26-per-cent-on-annual-basis net.cpifinancial.news.news-20793 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Jordan Ahli Bank recently introduced its flagship "Go Green Loan" programme. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20792/jordan-ahli-bank-launches-environmentally-friendly-programme net.cpifinancial.news.news-20792 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Xerox- will embark on an intensive Middle East Customer Innovation Tour from 13th to 24th May 2013 across the region. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20791/xerox-encourages-regional-businesses-to-drive-for-digital net.cpifinancial.news.news-20791 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology du has announced its latest additions to its tailored mobile plans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs): the International Business Plan and National Business Plan. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20790/calling-made-easier-for-smes-with-dus-new-business-plans net.cpifinancial.news.news-20790 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Citi has announced Hotel Privileges, a programme designed to give Citi card members access to tangible benefits at top hotels including best available rates and services such as complimentary breakfast for two, free internet and late check-out. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20789/citi-invites-its-cardholders-to-upgrade-with-hotel-privileges net.cpifinancial.news.news-20789 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Inflation in Egypt is expected to climb to 10.9 percent this year, the highest level since 2010, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, more than it expected in April. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20788/imf-raises-egypt-2013-cpi-forecast-to-10-9-per-cent-highest-since-2010 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20788 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC), Qatar Petroleum International (QPI), and Qatar Holding (QH) signed a Shareholders' Agreement to incorporate a new Qatari shareholding company that would invest in international power and water sectors. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20787/qatar-forms-1-billion-company-to-invest-in-power-and-water-sector net.cpifinancial.news.news-20787 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Investments The US Justice Department on Monday asked a federal judge to deny Standard & Poor's motion to dismiss a government lawsuit against the ratings agency, saying its statements on certain financial products were fraudulent and not mere "puffery". http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20786/us-asks-judge-to-deny-s-ps-motion-to-dismiss-lawsuit net.cpifinancial.news.news-20786 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Budget airline Air Arabia , the only publicly-listed carrier in the United Arab Emirates, signed a $350 million loan to finance its purchase of 10 new Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said in a statement on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20785/air-arabia-raises-350-million-loan-to-fund-aircraft-purchases net.cpifinancial.news.news-20785 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and SIO Asset Management Company (SIOAM) have announced that they have completed the purchase of The Investment Dar KSC's (TID) and associated companies shareholding of 51.6 per cent in Bahrain Islamic Bank BSC (BisB). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20784/national-bank-of-bahrain-sio-asset-management-complete-purchase-of-bahrain-islamic-bank-shares net.cpifinancial.news.news-20784 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking The International Monetary Fund’s latest Regional Economic Outlook Update says differences in economic growth across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are expected to narrow in 2013, though economic conditions in the oil exporters and importers are still quite different; predicts growth will reach about 3.1 per cent this year. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20783/imf-update-predicts-economic-growth-to-moderate-across-middle-east net.cpifinancial.news.news-20783 Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics “Saudi Arabia has been one of the best performing economies of the G-20 in recent years, with the average rate of real GDP growth during 2008-12 third behind China and India," the International Monetary Fund said in a statement. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Tim Callen, IMF Mission Chief to Saudi Arabia, held discussions during May 5-18 on the 2013 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20782/saudi-arabia-one-of-the-best-performing-economies-of-the-g-20-imf net.cpifinancial.news.news-20782 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Commenting on the UAE's economic performance, Emirates NBD Research said, "The UAE’s real GDP growth reached 4.4 per cent in 2012, higher than our forecast 3.7 per cent, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics.  2011 real growth was revised down to 3.9 per cent from 4.2 per cent previously. The main driver of growth last year was the oil sector, which expanded 6.3 per cent.  Oil still accounts for almost one-third of the UAE’s economy, and is thus a key determinant of the overall growth rate. Non-oil GDP grew 3.5 per cent, up from 2.6 per cent in 2011, driven mainly by services sectors rather than industry. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20781/uae-economy-outperforms-says-emirates-nbd-research net.cpifinancial.news.news-20781 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to 'BB-'. At the same time, it affirmed the short-term sovereign credit ratings at 'B'. The outlook remains negative. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20780/s-p-cuts-long-term-ratings-on-jordan-to-bb-outlook-remains-negative net.cpifinancial.news.news-20780 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) expects to receive $4 billion in cash for a crude pipeline it built in the Gulf state, enabling it to repay some upcoming debt maturities, it said in an investor call on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20779/abu-dhabis-ipic-to-use-4bn-pipeline-payment-to-repay-debt net.cpifinancial.news.news-20779 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Commercial Banking Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) said on Monday it was looking at ways to improve the liquidity of its shares but had not taken any steps to remove a barrier to foreigners holding its stock. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20778/uaes-taqa-looking-at-share-options-after-dual-listing-report net.cpifinancial.news.news-20778 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Burj Al Arab has introduced bespoke 24-carat gold iPads for its in-house guests. The exclusive launch makes Burj Al Arab the first hotel in the world to offer the Interactive Customer Experience (ICE) software available on the 24-carat gold iPads. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20776/gold-ipads-for-burj-al-arab-in-house-guests net.cpifinancial.news.news-20776 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Lifestyle Barclays Bank Egypt announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2012 where profit after tax grew to reach EGP 368 million, 301 per cent ahead of same period in 2011. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20775/barclays-bank-egypt-fy2012-profit-surges-301-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20775 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Bank Sohar partnered with the Directorate General of Health Services in organising an immunization drive in the North Batinah Region. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20774/bank-sohar-participates-in-immunization-week net.cpifinancial.news.news-20774 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking QNB Group has received all regulatory approvals to establish a fully owned subsidiary under the name of QNB (India) Private Limited, which is expected to commence its operations during the 3rd quarter of 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20773/qnb-group-gets-nod-for-indian-subsidiary net.cpifinancial.news.news-20773 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management MARC has assigned a final rating of AAAIS to TNB Northern Energy Berhad's (TNB Northern Energy) issuance of Islamic securities (Sukuk) of up to MYR 2.0 billion with a stable outlook. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20772/marc-assigns-final-ratings-to-tnb-northern-energys-myr-2-billion-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20772 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Major sovereign governments and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the Middle East are increasingly considering new private equity models for investment, according to the fourth annual Invesco Middle East Asset Management Study. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20771/increasing-shift-into-private-equity-by-middle-eastern-sovereign-wealth-funds net.cpifinancial.news.news-20771 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments In a new study, Visa revealed that MENA is the fastest growing e-commerce region worldwide with 45 per cent year-on-year growth http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20770/visa-mena-fastest-growing-e-commerce-region-worldwide net.cpifinancial.news.news-20770 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the key beneficiary of private capital flow into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, according to the fourth annual Invesco Middle East Asset Management Study, with capital from emerging markets, most notably from India, Russia and China, overtaking those from developed markets. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20769/uae-leads-gcc-recovery-with-influx-of-capital-from-emerging-markets net.cpifinancial.news.news-20769 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Experts and senior analysts from HSBC discussed how China's businesses and Renminbi currency (RMB) are playing an increasingly important role in world trade during a seminar organised for HSBC Bank Oman's corporate clients. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20768/hsbc-bank-oman-corporate-clients-explore-chinese-currencys-increasing-role net.cpifinancial.news.news-20768 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Senior executive leaders from the Islamic banking and finance industry representing high-growth markets across Asia, the Middle East and beyond to gather in Singapore at the 4th Annual World Islamic Banking Conference: Asia Summit (WIBC Asia 2013) to address the challenges and opportunities in the increasingly global footprint of Islamic finance. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20767/international-connectivity-vital-for-further-growth-of-the-islamic-banking-industry net.cpifinancial.news.news-20767 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Gulf Capital has announced that one of its portfolio companies, Gulf Marine Services (GMS), is working with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) on finalising the syndication of a AED 1.32 billion ($360 million) http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20766/gulf-marine-services-announces-aed-1-32-billion-islamic-financing-facility net.cpifinancial.news.news-20766 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Ahli United Bank is expanding Point of Sale (POS) Acquiring in Bahrain with systems and terminals to meet the growing needs and expectations of retail chains, hospitality, travel, telecom, utility services, commercial establishments and other sectors. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20765/ahli-united-bank-enhances-merchant-profitability-from-point-of-sale-terminals net.cpifinancial.news.news-20765 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in association with the Embassy of Algeria, organised the Doing Business in Algeria seminar at its premises on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20764/dubai-algeria-explore-joint-investment-opportunities net.cpifinancial.news.news-20764 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The fall in oil prices to below $100 per barrel over the past few weeks has triggered some concerns over the potential impact on the Gulf region’s economy, said a recent report from NBK. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20763/nbk-gcc-outlook-positive-despite-oil-price-drop net.cpifinancial.news.news-20763 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has launched a historical TV documentary entitled Story of Watani in celebration of its 61st anniversary, narrating its establishment in 1952 as the first indigenous bank and shareholders company in the GCC. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20762/nbk-launches-historical-tv-documentary-celebrating-61st-anniversary net.cpifinancial.news.news-20762 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking 2012 net profits rise over three per cent from 2011 to reach $109 million, the highest in APICORP’s 37 year history http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20761/apicorp-achieves-record-profits-in-2012 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20761 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Egypt's central bank said it would offer $40 million to banks at its auction of foreign currency on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20759/egypts-central-bank-offers-40-mln-at-mondays-forex-auction net.cpifinancial.news.news-20759 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Libya will have to pay Kuwait's Kharafi group $930 million in damages for former leader Muammar Gaddafi's cancelling of the construction of a vacation resort, Kuwaiti newspapers reported on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20758/kuwaits-kharafi-group-wins-930-mln-from-libya net.cpifinancial.news.news-20758 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Three Qatari state-backed entities, including the Gulf Arab nation's acquisitive sovereign wealth fund, are to establish a new overseas fund which will look to invest in energy infrastructure, a statement said on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20757/qatar-to-announce-new-overseas-energy-infrastructure-fund net.cpifinancial.news.news-20757 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Saudi contractor Mohammad Al Mojil Group (MMG) said on Monday it had appointed the investment banking arm of Gulf International Bank to advise it on a restructuring of its debts. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20756/saudi-contractor-mmg-appoints-advisor-for-debt-restructuring net.cpifinancial.news.news-20756 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Turkey will increase its $1 billion credit line to Egypt by $250 million, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said on Monday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20755/turkey-to-increase-1-billion-credit-line-to-egypt-by-250-million net.cpifinancial.news.news-20755 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Sasol and the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Guidance have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on providing technical business support to Small and Medium Enterprise development in the chemical, energy and related sectors in Qatar. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20754/sasol-and-bedaya-center-sign-mou-to-support-entrepreneurship-in-qatar net.cpifinancial.news.news-20754 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Andrew Stevens, Group Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Bank of Qatar, recently hosted the inaugural monthly meeting of the Chief Executives of Commercial Bank's Alliance banks, designed to identify and discuss the best way to deliver benefits to customers and shareholders from the emerging network. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20753/commercial-bank-of-qatar-holds-inaugural-alliance-ceo-meeting net.cpifinancial.news.news-20753 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Grant recipients from the first cycle of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival's SANAD Fund for 2013 have been announced at the Cannes Film Festival with 16 projects chosen to receive grants, out of the 112 who applied. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20752/abu-dhabi-film-festival-announces-first-recipients-of-500-000-sanad-fund-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20752 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Saudi real estate developer Dar Al Arkan aims to return to global debt markets after more than three years this week with an Islamic bond, aiming to take advantage of low borrowing costs to finance future growth. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20751/saudis-dar-al-arkan-to-sell-benchmark-sized-sukuk-this-week net.cpifinancial.news.news-20751 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Thousands of workers employed by Dubai's largest construction firm, Arabtec, stayed away from work on Sunday to back wage demands, a rare labour protest in the Gulf emirate, where trade unions are banned, staff said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20750/dubai-labourers-stage-rare-strike-for-more-pay net.cpifinancial.news.news-20750 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Gulf Bank announced that it has donated KWD 6000 to the Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospitals (KACCH) as part of its ongoing commitment to provide charitable support to medical institutions across Kuwait. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20749/gulf-bank-visits-kuwait-association-for-the-care-of-children-in-hospitals net.cpifinancial.news.news-20749 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Compono Strategia, a credit risk services provider, has leveraged risk analytics from RiskMetrics, an MSCI brand. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20748/new-counterparty-credit-risk-management-system-launched-in-dubai net.cpifinancial.news.news-20748 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Yields on Egyptian three- and nine-month treasury bills climbed on Sunday and the auction's size was reduced after a new central bank decree limited the amount of funds that banks can channel into money market funds to buy T-bills. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20747/egypt-t-bills-yields-climb-after-c-bank-decree net.cpifinancial.news.news-20747 Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Private equity focus shifts to western hemisphere as Europe’s austerity and Asia’s uncertainty weaken their deal markets, finds Bain & Co’s 2013 Global Private Equity Report http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20746/private-equity-focus-shifts-to-western-hemisphere net.cpifinancial.news.news-20746 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Ahli Bank said that it is still in the negotiation process and has sought an extension of end-June 2013 to complete the remaining formalities http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20745/ahli-bank-looks-to-complete-tageer-finance-acquisition-by-end-june net.cpifinancial.news.news-20745 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Bank Muscat has informed the market that the private placement of shares with IFC and IFC Capitalisation Fund is complete http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20744/bank-muscat-completes-private-placement-transaction-with-ifc net.cpifinancial.news.news-20744 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Economic growth in the United Arab Emirates accelerated to 4.4 percent in inflation-adjusted terms in 2012, the fastest clip since 2006, as activity picked up across all sectors, its statistics office said on Sunday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20743/update-uae-economy-grows-at-fastest-rate-since-2006 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20743 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Dubai Financial Market (DFM) announced that its UAE listed companies have showed a 100 per cent compliance to disclose their Q1- 2013 results within the deadline of 45 days from the end of the first quarter. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20742/dfm-achieves-100-per-cent-compliance-in-q1-results-disclosure-of-uae-companies net.cpifinancial.news.news-20742 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets EIFB will focus on opportunities for trading Shari'ah-compliant shares listed on NASDAQ Dubai, as well as other Shari'ah securities that become listed in due course. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20741/nasdaq-dubai-welcomes-emirates-islamic-financial-brokerage-as-member net.cpifinancial.news.news-20741 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Markets Gatehouse Bank (Gatehouse) has launched a number of new products which it says are designed to add value for the benefit of its international client base. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20740/gatehouse-bank-launches-new-products net.cpifinancial.news.news-20740 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Al Watany Bank of Egypt (AWB), the subsidiary of National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK) in Egypt, reported net profits of EGP 86.6 million in the first quarter of 2013 compared with EGP 75.1 million in the same period last year, an increase of 15.3 per cent year-on-year. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20739/al-watany-bank-of-egypt-posts-15-3-per-cent-growth-in-q1-profits net.cpifinancial.news.news-20739 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Ahlibank recently supported Littered Landscapes Clean up Oman- photography competition as the main sponsor of the event.  http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20738/ahlibank-main-sponsor-of-littered-landscapes-clean-up-oman-photography-competition net.cpifinancial.news.news-20738 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has concluded a number of meetings with representatives from the UAE's national banks discussing the preparations for the upcoming meeting in Washington DC set to take place on October 11, 2013, at the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (October 11-13 2013). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20737/mof-to-receive-uaes-national-banks-in-washington net.cpifinancial.news.news-20737 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Dubai Financial Market (DFM) today (19 May) announced the conclusion of its 11th Annual Stock Game, the most popular educational initiative amongst school and university students in the UAE, aiming at fostering the new generation's investment culture. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20736/dubai-financial-market-honours-the-winners-of-its-annual-stock-game net.cpifinancial.news.news-20736 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The Board of Directors of Barwa Bank Group held its Board Meeting chaired by H.E Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani, Chairman and Managing Director of Barwa Bank. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20735/barwa-bank-group-board-of-directors-holds-its-meeting net.cpifinancial.news.news-20735 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) today (19 May) announced the appointment of Brett Schafer as Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Properties. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20734/difc-investments-names-chief-executive-of-difc-properties net.cpifinancial.news.news-20734 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) has become the first Bank in the Middle East and North Africa region to implement Misys' trade finance system on Software as a Service (SaaS) model. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20733/commercial-bank-of-dubai-completes-live-deployment-of-misys-trade-finance-system net.cpifinancial.news.news-20733 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Barclays announced the appointment of Haidar Hammoud as Head of Wealth and Investment Management for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20732/barclays-hires-abu-dhabi-head-of-wealth-and-investment-management net.cpifinancial.news.news-20732 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Standard Chartered’s Transaction Banking team organised a Trade Finance Seminar for financial institution clients of the bank in Dubai. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20731/standard-chartered-hosts-financial-institutions-trade-finance-seminar net.cpifinancial.news.news-20731 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) announced that it has succeeded in achieving a 100 per cent compliance rate in financial disclosure statements of its listed public joint stock companies within the deadline of 45 days from the end of the financial period. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20730/adx-achieves-100-per-cent-in-company-disclosure-compliance net.cpifinancial.news.news-20730 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Dubai real estate market has had a spectacular Q1 2013 where the sale and rental prices have continued to record impressive hikes, according to Bayut.com. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20729/dubai-real-estate-market-is-back-on-its-feet-reports-bayut-com net.cpifinancial.news.news-20729 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Economics US and EMEA issuance trends diverged in the first quarter of 2013, according to Fitch Ratings' research. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20728/fitch-emea-us-issuance-volumes-diverge-as-coupons-hit-new-low net.cpifinancial.news.news-20728 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Egypt's central bank, worried that banks are investing too much of their cash in local money market and fixed income funds, is imposing stricter limits on such investments, a move asset managers say could cripple their industry. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20727/new-egypt-central-bank-ruling-a-blow-for-local-money-market-funds net.cpifinancial.news.news-20727 Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Qatar Holding and an Italian state-controlled investment fund are interested in investing in Italian fashion house Versace, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20726/qatar-holding-italy-fund-eyeing-versace-paper net.cpifinancial.news.news-20726 Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Lifestyle The banking system in Qatar has been robust, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20 per cent in assets from March 2008 - March 2012 and another 20 per cent in the year to March 2013. Higher energy prices and increased gas production have funded a large public spending program, which has driven credit growth and resulted in overall asset gains, according to QNB Group's report, Qatar Economic Insight 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20725/qatars-banking-system-robust-asset-quality-good-qnb-group net.cpifinancial.news.news-20725 Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) has launched a ‘Win back your Personal Finance,’ campaign that offers customers the opportunity to win three prizes of up to a maximum of AED 100,000 each, which will be adjusted against the outstanding  personal finance facility. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20724/emirates-islamic-bank-launches-win-back-your-personal-finance net.cpifinancial.news.news-20724 Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Consumer Banking A.M. Best Europe – Rating Services Limited has revised the outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the issuer credit rating (ICR) of “bbb” and the financial strength rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) of Dubai Insurance Company PSC (DIC) (United Arab Emirates). The outlook for the FSR is stable. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20722/a-m-best-revises-outlook-for-dubai-insurance-company-to-positive net.cpifinancial.news.news-20722 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Insurance The Kingdom of Bahrain has maintained its position as a key insurance hub and continues to post growth in its insurance market despite a prolonged period of political turbulence, according to a new report from A.M. Best Co. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20721/political-uncertainties-overshadow-bahrains-regional-insurance-hub-status-a-m-best net.cpifinancial.news.news-20721 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Insurance The International Islamic Liquidity Management Corp (IILM), which plans to issue its maiden sukuk by June this year, is facing its final hurdle as it aims to secure a network of distributors. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20720/iilm-seeks-to-secure-primary-dealers-ahead-of-maiden-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20720 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Shares in state-backed Lloyds Banking Group rose above the level which the government sees as its break-even price after its 20.5 billion pound ($31.4 billion) rescue of the bank, raising hopes of a sale this year. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20719/shares-in-lloyds-bank-hit-uk-government-break-even-price net.cpifinancial.news.news-20719 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Commercial Banking Saving pocket change may not end the euro zone crisis, but the European Commission hopes that scrapping the smallest coins could help penny-pinching governments cut costs. The European Commission outlined proposals this week for the 17 euro zone countries to scrap their 1 and 2 cent coins, leaving 5-cent pieces as the smallest in circulation. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20718/euro-zone-explores-scrapping-smallest-coins net.cpifinancial.news.news-20718 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Consumer Banking Economics On the second day of the 10th IFSB Summit, key leaders in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI) deliberated on the role of innovation and inclusion to further develop the industry and support economic growth. Themed, “The Future of the Islamic Financial Services Industry: Resilience, Stability and Inclusive Growth”, the Summit took place on 16 and 17 May 2013 at Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur. Bank Negara Malaysia is the host of the Summit. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20717/final-sessions-of-10th-ifsb-summit-on-the-future-of-islamic-financial-services net.cpifinancial.news.news-20717 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance In the first part of the 10th IFSB Summit, key leaders in the Islamic financial services industry (IFSI) shared their thoughts on the industry’s developments following the global financial crisis, namely in the areas of regulatory reforms, cross-sectoral approach to the regulation of Islamic finance, and prospects and challenges for new jurisdictions. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20716/10th-ifsb-summit-discusses-outlook-for-islamic-finance-following-the-global-financial-crisis net.cpifinancial.news.news-20716 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Central banks got it right when they saved the world economy, but their unprecedented actions risk disruptive cross-border spillovers and potentially heavy losses when the time comes to reverse course, the IMF said on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20715/central-banks-saved-the-world-economy-now-beware-the-fall-out net.cpifinancial.news.news-20715 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The Bank of London and The Middle East (BLME), Britain's largest standalone Islamic bank, is targeting 15 percent growth in assets this year, with plans for a Dubai office to help boost its capital markets and wealth management offerings. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20714/blme-eyes-15-per-cent-asset-growth-stronger-gulf-ties net.cpifinancial.news.news-20714 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Wealth Management State-owned Kuwait Airways said it had signed an initial agreement with Airbus to buy 25 new aircraft and take an option on 10 more in the biggest overhaul of its fleet since the 1990 Iraqi invasion. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20713/kuwait-airways-says-signs-initial-deal-with-airbus net.cpifinancial.news.news-20713 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) kick-started its 10th Annual Summit with a Keynote Address by the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), H.E. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani. Themed, “The Future of the Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI): Resilience, Stability and Inclusive Growth”, the Summit’s proceedings are taking place on 16 and 17 May 2013 at Sasana Kijang, Kuala Lumpur. Bank Negara Malaysia is the host of this tenth edition of the Summit. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20711/idb-president-delivers-keynote-address-at-10th-islamic-financial-services-board-summit net.cpifinancial.news.news-20711 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Egypt's central bank cancelled an auction of 182- and 364-day treasury bills on Thursday, a move one analyst said was linked to a decree limiting the amount of Egyptian pounds that banks can channel into money market funds to buy T-bills. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20710/egypt-cancels-t-bill-auction-after-decree-hits-funds net.cpifinancial.news.news-20710 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Investments Atlantis, The Palm, is raising an $850 million syndicated loan to refinance existing debt and provide new funds, banking sources said on Thursday. Dubai's iconic island resort is refinancing a $700 million, 12-year term loan that was signed in July 2005 and priced at 160 basis points (bps) over LIBOR. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20709/atlantis-the-palm-seeks-850-million-loan net.cpifinancial.news.news-20709 Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking The World Economic Forum (WEF) MENA will be held at the Dead Sea resort in Jordan on 24-26 May 2013. The meeting will bring together more than 800 participants from 60 countries, including 430 participants from MENA region, more than 550 business leaders, including 260 top executives and 50 global growth companies and more than 70 Public figures, including 25 government ministers. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20708/world-economic-forum-on-the-middle-east-and-north-africa net.cpifinancial.news.news-20708 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The Development and Research Unit Manager at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) Adnan Al-Mulla stated that KFH is holding training courses in Islamic basics and Islamic economy to its employees http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20707/kfh-organises-islamic-training-courses-for-its-employees net.cpifinancial.news.news-20707 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance NBK Capital MENA’s analysts says the rise in fair value for Doha Bank is mainly due to a higher dividend payout in their forecast horizon (68 per cent versus 49 per cent previously), following the QAR 1.55 billion capital injection (through a 25 per cent rights issue that was completed in March 2013). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20706/nbk-capital-mena-increases-fair-value-of-doha-bank-by-seven-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20706 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Investment Banking Kuwait's bourse resumed a rally in heavy trading on Thursday as upbeat expectations of an improving economy outweighed renewed political woes, while other regional markets were mixed. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20705/mideast-stocks-kuwait-resumes-rally-gulf-mkts-mixed net.cpifinancial.news.news-20705 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets ADCB Finance (Cayman) Limited, guaranteed by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (rated A1/A/A+ and 58 percent owned by the Abu Dhabi government through ADIC) has mandated Barclays and RBS to lead a 150 million Swiss franc ($155.01 million) minimum 10-year non-call five year lower tier 2 deal. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20704/adcb-finance-mandates-banks-for-chf-150-million-bond net.cpifinancial.news.news-20704 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The Pitch for Investment competition, part of Izdehar SME to be held 19-21 May, 2013, at the Jeddah Hilton Hotel, under the patronage of HRH Prince Misha'al bin Majed bin Abdulaziz, has attracted huge interest from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and budding entrepreneurs. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20703/pitch-for-investment-gives-businesses-chance-to-win-project-funding net.cpifinancial.news.news-20703 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Saxo Bank has launched Trade Navigator on TradingFloor.com, a new trading tool that provides daily technical insight into around 200 instruments. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20702/saxo-bank-provides-trading-insight-through-trade-navigator net.cpifinancial.news.news-20702 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets New alliance to explore potential development of $1.5 billion in carbon capture, renewable energy, desalination and cleantech venture capital projects http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20701/masdar-and-ifc-join-forces-on-renewable-energy-investment net.cpifinancial.news.news-20701 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Dnata, the airlines services arm of Emirates, has bought out Air France-KLM's stake in an Italian joint venture catering business, Dnata said in a statement on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20700/dnata-buys-air-frances-stake-in-italian-catering-venture net.cpifinancial.news.news-20700 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments In the last twelve years the bilateral trade between Korea and Jafza has quadrupled but we would like the trade volume to grow in multiples in the next five years. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20699/jafza-seeks-to-strengthen-bilateral-trade-ties-with-korea net.cpifinancial.news.news-20699 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Moody's Investors Service has today (16 May) downgraded Kuwait Finance House's (KFH) long term ratings by one notch to A1 from Aa3. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20698/moodys-downgrades-kuwait-finance-house-outlook-negative net.cpifinancial.news.news-20698 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance In line with its commitment to achieve higher Emiratisation rates, Emirates Islamic Bank participated in the Employment Expo 2013 recently hosted by Abu Dhabi Men's College. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20697/emirates-islamic-bank-participates-at-campus-career-fairs net.cpifinancial.news.news-20697 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Hisham El-Khazindar, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Citadel Capital, took part in a panel on emerging market opportunities and trends at the IFC-EMPEA annual gathering in Washington D.C, outlining the strong upside potential for sustainable, high-growth investments in Africa and the Middle East. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20696/citadel-capitals-md-talks-emerging-markets-opportunities-at-ifc-empea-global-private-equity-confere net.cpifinancial.news.news-20696 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Emerging markets have become the engines of global growth as their global influence increases, leaving developed markets in their shade, according to HSBC Global Asset Management. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20695/hsbc-global-asset-management-has-the-developed-world-gone-ex-growth net.cpifinancial.news.news-20695 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), a Jeddah-based multilateral institution, has called for the creation of a global shari'ah advisory board that can offer greater uniformity for the Islamic finance industry, its president said on Thursday.<!--[if gte vml 1]> http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20694/islamic-finance-needs-global-shariah-board-idb-president net.cpifinancial.news.news-20694 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Al Hilal continues to leverage its investment in Test Automation, upgrading its core banking system from T24 R8 to R12 using the regression testing capabilities of the TestManager™ solution. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20693/automated-regression-testing-is-core-to-al-hilal-banks-t24-program net.cpifinancial.news.news-20693 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Technology London-based firm Cobalt has developed a sharia-compliant insurance platform that uses a syndication model to help spread risk across a panel of underwriters, a novel format that could boost capacity in the sector. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20692/london-firm-cobalt-unveils-islamic-insurance-platform net.cpifinancial.news.news-20692 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Insurance Islamic Development Bank, a Jeddah-based multilateral institution, has picked eight banks to arrange a series of meetings with fixed income investors ahead of a potential sukuk issue, lead managers said on Thursday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20691/islamic-development-bank-picks-banks-for-potential-sukuk-sale net.cpifinancial.news.news-20691 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Tamkeen has announced its support for the 'Bahrain Training before Work' Expo which is taking place at the Gulf Hotel on 15 and 16 May 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20690/tamkeen-supports-22-enterprises-in-bahrain-training-and-education-before-work-expo net.cpifinancial.news.news-20690 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance A group of Executive Masters students specialising in Islamic finance from Dauphine University in Paris visited Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) last week, engaging in a lively discussion about the future of Islamic banking with executives from the bank. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20689/adib-hosts-dauphine-university-students-to-discuss-future-of-islamic-banking net.cpifinancial.news.news-20689 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance SAP today (16 May) announced a unified strategy and vision for its cloud portfolio, combining the enterprise solutions with cloud on SAP HANA Cloud Platform. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20688/sap-unifies-cloud-portfolio-with-sap-hana-cloud-platform net.cpifinancial.news.news-20688 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Credit Agricole Egypt (CAE) reported 1Q2013 net profit of EGP 146 million, up 15 per cent YoY and 47 per cent QoQ. The key reason for the YoY increase in net profit was due to higher operating income (+17 per cent), although it was slightly offset by higher provisioning (+44 per cent). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20687/credit-agricole-egypt-q1-profit-egp-146-million-up-15-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20687 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Investors in UAE may be looking to book profits ahead of the weekend following three sessions of sharp gains, while thin news flow could cap bets in regional markets, analysts say. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20686/stocks-news-mideast-uae-small-caps-seen-stretched-egypts-cib-in-focus net.cpifinancial.news.news-20686 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Qatar National Bank (QNB) has announced its Platinum sponsorship of the third National Conference on Internal Auditing 2013 to be held at the College of the North Atlantic Qatar from the 18th to 20th of May. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20685/qnb-platinum-sponsor-of-3rd-national-conference-on-internal-auditing-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20685 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking iCreate Software has gone into partnership with Fortune Technology Solutions of Oman, aiming to offer pre-built, ready to deploy banking decision enablement solutions for Oman’s banking sector. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20684/icreate-jv-with-fortune-technology-solutions-in-oman net.cpifinancial.news.news-20684 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology A senior Egyptian Finance Ministry adviser involved in talks on a vital IMF loan has resigned, suggesting that newly appointed bureaucrats loyal to President Mohamed Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood had meddled in his work. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20683/egyptian-finance-ministry-man-quits-over-friction-with-islamists net.cpifinancial.news.news-20683 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest review of Bahrain recommends the buildup of additional cushions in vulnerable banks to reduce risks. The size of the financial sector remains a key structural vulnerability of the banking sector. Wholesale banks’ assets equal 480 pe rcent of GDP and retail banks’ assets total 270 per cent. To date, swings in international banking flows, especially the contraction of wholesale banks, have only affected Bahrain via associated job losses. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20682/bahrains-banking-sector-is-in-good-health-says-imf-but-needs-capital net.cpifinancial.news.news-20682 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Consumer Banking Investment Banking Commercial Banking Bank Negara Malaysia has accorded Emas status for the issuance of the Sime Darby’s $800 million Sukuk. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20681/sime-darbys-sukuk-achieves-emas-status net.cpifinancial.news.news-20681 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance MARC has withdrawn its AA+IS(bg) rating on Aras Sejagat Sdn Bhd's (Aras Sejagat) MYR 500 million Bank Guaranteed Sukuk Ijarah (Sukuk Ijarah) programme. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20680/marc-withdraws-rating-on-aras-sejagat-sdns-myr-500-million-sukuk net.cpifinancial.news.news-20680 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance The Turkish Central Bank is set to cut key interest rates on Thursday to boost the faltering economy and stop cash from stimulus measures in Japan and other rich economies fuelling a further rise in the lira. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20679/turkish-central-bank-seen-cutting-rates-to-spur-growth-tame-lira net.cpifinancial.news.news-20679 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Emirates NBD (ENBD), Dubai's biggest lender, plans to tap global debt markets for its first capital-boosting bond issue, as Gulf banks take advantage of tight pricing and high investor demand to shore up capital ratios. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20677/emirates-nbd-mandates-for-potential-tier-1-bond net.cpifinancial.news.news-20677 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Commercial Banking UK Prime Minister David Cameron is "open to all ideas" for returning Royal Bank of Scotland to private ownership but its finances must improve first, he told reporters on the last day of a three-day visit to the United States. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20676/uks-cameron-open-to-ideas-on-rbs-stake-disposal net.cpifinancial.news.news-20676 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Markets Dubai Islamic Bank Group (DIB) has announced that its Long Term Issuer ratings have been affirmed by Moody’s at Baa1. The bank ratings, put on a review late last year when Moody’s took action on all major Dubai-based banks, have now been affirmed and the outlook has been moved to “Stable” indicating no further pressure on the ratings. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20674/dubai-islamic-bank-ratings-affirmed-by-moodys net.cpifinancial.news.news-20674 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Commercial Banking Egypt's biggest listed bank, CIB , said on Wednesday that first-quarter consolidated net income rose 30 percent from a year earlier to 658 million Egyptian pounds ($94.4 million) as its interest margin widened. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20673/cib-q1-net-profit-up-30-per-cent-interest-margin-widens net.cpifinancial.news.news-20673 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results The United States blacklisted two Dubai-based trading companies on Wednesday, accusing them of helping Iran evade financial sanctions and effectively cutting them off from the U.S. financial system. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20672/us-targets-two-uae-firms-over-dealings-with-blacklisted-iran-banks net.cpifinancial.news.news-20672 Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Economics MARC has downgraded its ratings on Kinsteel Berhad's (Kinsteel) MYR 100.0 million Murabahah Commercial Papers/Medium Term Notes (CP/MTN) Programme and MYR 100.0 million Murabahah Medium Term Notes (MTN) Programme to MARC-3ID/BBBID and BBBID from MARC-2ID/A-ID and A-ID respectively. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20671/marc-downgrades-kinsteels-myr-200-million-islamic-debt-programme net.cpifinancial.news.news-20671 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance TAKAUD has launched its Individual Savings Plan which aims to diversify personal savings and widen the investment horizon for long term savers. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20670/takaud-launches-individual-savings-plan net.cpifinancial.news.news-20670 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking Ernst & Young has launched new training courses which aim to provide business communities across MENA with a one-stop-shop for their training needs. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20669/ernst-young-launches-new-training-courses-for-mena-businesses net.cpifinancial.news.news-20669 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance In preparation for the launch of the second edition of the "Women Leadership Exchange Program" by Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) in collaboration with Women 4 Sustainable Growth and MiL Institute; DWE - represented by Hessa Tahlak, Director of Research and Development in DWE - is scheduled to attend a special workshop in Sweden, on the topic of 'The Role of Women Leadership & Sustainable Development', organised by WIESD - Women in forefront of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20668/dubai-women-establishment-at-women-entrepreneurship-workshop-in-sweden net.cpifinancial.news.news-20668 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics HSBC Bank Oman recently hosted HSBC Bank Middle East's (HBME) Board of Directors' meeting at its Head Office in Al Khuwair. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20667/hsbc-bank-oman-hosts-hsbc-middle-easts-board-meeting net.cpifinancial.news.news-20667 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Consumer Banking Rashid bin Ali Al Mansoori, CEO of Qatar Exchange, highlighted QE's support to the efforts made by the General Secretariat of the Arab Federation of Exchanges (AFE) aiming at promoting joint efforts of the Arab exchanges and financial institutions and thus contributing to support the Arab economies. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20666/ceo-of-qatar-exchange-participates-in-annual-meetings-of-arab-federation-of-exchanges-in-tunisia net.cpifinancial.news.news-20666 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The Ministry of Finance (MoF) recently signed an agreement at its Abu Dhabi premises with the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (GAIAE), where GAIAE will be adopting the G2 e- Dirham system to collect fees for services being provided to the local community. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20665/mof-and-gaiae-sign-mou-to-adopt-the-g2-e-dirham-system-for-collecting-fees net.cpifinancial.news.news-20665 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance A session introducing ‘My Savings’, a new initiative announced by the Government of Dubai in collaboration with National Bonds Corporation was attended by senior officials, human resource directors and employees from Dubai Public Prosecution. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20664/dubai-public-prosecution-to-adopt-my-savings-initiative net.cpifinancial.news.news-20664 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Investments Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable-energy company, and the Export Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) – the official export credit agency of the United States – today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities to structure and deploy up to $2bn worth of Ex-Im Bank’s finance supporting US exports to Masdar’s future projects. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20663/masdar-and-ex-im-bank-sign-mou-on-us-clean-technology net.cpifinancial.news.news-20663 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Ghana plans to issue a Eurobond worth up to $1 billion to refinance existing debt and fund infrastructure projects, its vice president said on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20662/ghana-plans-up-to-1-billion-eurobond-in-2013-vp net.cpifinancial.news.news-20662 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Economics Markets <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--> Dubai-based investment bank Arqaam Capital plans to expand into sub-Saharan Africa by the fourth quarter this year and may look at acquisitions in Saudi Arabia as part of its push into fast-growing emerging markets, its chief executive said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20661/dubais-arqaam-capital-eyes-south-africa-saudi-expansion net.cpifinancial.news.news-20661 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investment Banking Dubai's inflation remained muted in April compared to the previous month despite a jump in rents, data showed on Wednesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20660/dubai-inflation-remains-low-in-april-despite-jump-in-rents net.cpifinancial.news.news-20660 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics Egypt's central bank sold $38.3 million to banks in a foreign exchange auction on Wednesday at a cut-off price of 6.9591 Egyptian pounds to the dollar. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20659/egypt-c-bank-sells-38-3-mln-at-forex-auction net.cpifinancial.news.news-20659 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Kuwait's bourse eases off its 43-month high but it largely unaffected by political tensions in the Gulf state. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20658/stocks-news-mideast-kuwait-slips-off-43-mth-high-resilient-to-politics net.cpifinancial.news.news-20658 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets ABC Islamic Bank has announced a net profit of $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2013 compared to $1.6million for the first quarter of last year. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20657/abc-islamic-bank-q1-net-profit-surges-106-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20657 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Results Qtel International Finance Limited will pay its Global Medium Term Note holders interest payments on 10 June 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20656/ooredoo-announces-date-to-pay-interest-to-bondholders net.cpifinancial.news.news-20656 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Turkey is finally standing on its own two feet. That's the message Ankara is sending to international investors with the payment this week of its last loan instalment the International Monetary Fund - all $422 million of it. It is the first time in 19 years that Turkey is free from debt to the fund, and it crowns a decade of reform under Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20654/turkeys-imf-emancipation-deserves-cautious-cheer net.cpifinancial.news.news-20654 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, has hired a senior Deutsche Bank AG executive to head its division that handles global infrastructure investments. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20653/abu-dhabi-fund-names-ex-deutsche-bank-exec-as-infrastructure-head net.cpifinancial.news.news-20653 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Wealth Management ForexTime (FXTM) has announced the launch of its new Arabic language website as part of the company’s plans on global expansion and its ongoing commitment to Middle Eastern traders. Arabic-speaking clients can now enjoy fast and easy access to the website in their native language. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20652/forextime-launches-arabic-language-website net.cpifinancial.news.news-20652 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Technology The Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) today announced that CQG, Inc. a global provider of financial market data and trading software, has become an approved independent software vendor (ISV) on the Exchange. CQG has connected its hosted infrastructure to DGCX to deliver low-latency trade execution and market data service to the Exchange’s members. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20651/cqg-becomes-approved-independent-software-vendor-on-dgcx net.cpifinancial.news.news-20651 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Technology SmartStream Technologies, the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management specialist, has announced the global roll-out of its TLM Accounts Receivable solution to help banks deliver a holistic receivables management solution to their corporate clients. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20650/new-accounts-receivable-solution-from-smartstream net.cpifinancial.news.news-20650 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Commercial Banking Misys and Al Dhabi Investment (ADI), a UAE private investment firm, have unveiled plans for ADI to extend its coverage into new asset classes and financial instruments, made possible with the implementation of Misys Sophis VALUE. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20649/al-dhabi-investment-selects-misys-sophis-value net.cpifinancial.news.news-20649 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology PineBridge Investments has appointed Wael Aburida as Chief Investment Officer (CIO). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20648/pinebridge-investments-middle-east-appoints-chief-investment-officer net.cpifinancial.news.news-20648 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Al Khaliji Commercial Bank (al khaliji) has announced its third consecutive year as Platinum sponsorship for the series of activities, organised by the International Academy for Intercultural Development (IAID) in association with the Friends of the Environment Centre to mark the World Environment Day (WED) celebrations in Qatar from May 25 to June 5. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20646/al-khaliji-platinum-sponsor-of-wed-2013-celebrations net.cpifinancial.news.news-20646 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Arif Naqvi, Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Abraaj Group, has received the 2013 Oslo Business for Peace Award at a ceremony in the Oslo City Hall, Norway. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20645/abraaj-founder-receives-2013-oslo-business-for-peace-award net.cpifinancial.news.news-20645 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management The Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) plans to issue a guidance note for Islamic banks on the adoption of liquidity standards, warning lenders lack high-quality assets to meet new regulatory requirements under Basel III. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20644/ifsb-prepares-liquidity-guidance-for-islamic-banks-warns-of-risks net.cpifinancial.news.news-20644 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance More than 400 international Islamic funds and investment leaders to gather at the 9th Annual World Islamic Funds and Financial Markets Conference to discuss new strategies on boosting the international growth of Islamic capital markets and investments http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20643/global-sukuk-market-expected-to-grow-more-than-140-per-cent-by-2016 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20643 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Oman’s Capital Market Authority has granted a licence for additional activities to Ahli Bank http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20642/ahli-bank-gets-licence-for-custodian-and-margin-financing net.cpifinancial.news.news-20642 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Markets in the United Arab Emirates hit new multi-year highs on Tuesday, delaying an expected bout of profit-taking as upbeat earnings added fuel to the bullish sentiment, while Saudi Arabia and Egypt fell. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20641/mideast-stocks-uae-mkts-hit-fresh-multi-yr-highs-no-sign-of-abating net.cpifinancial.news.news-20641 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets HSBC said on Wednesday that the bank would target an additional $2 billion to $3 billion in cost savings between 2014 and 2016, as the bank axes jobs and sells noncore businesses with less than a year left in the first phase of its restructuring plan. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20640/hsbc-targets-an-extra-2-3-billion-in-cost-savings-by-2016 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20640 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday warned it could cut Lebanon's government bond rating on potential spillover effects from Syria's civil war, including suppressed growth and political instability. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20639/moodys-warns-it-could-cut-lebanons-govt-rating-on-syria-effects net.cpifinancial.news.news-20639 Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics In its latest analysis of Qatar National Bank, NBK Capital MENA said, “Our fair value of QNB remains broadly unchanged at QAR 156.80 per share, implying modest upside potential of 10 per cent, thus we maintain our ‘Hold’ recommendation on the stock. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20637/nbk-capital-mena-says-fair-value-of-qnb-broadly-unchanged net.cpifinancial.news.news-20637 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Markets The IMF on Tuesday forecast economic growth of 5.4 per cent in 2013 and 5.7 per cent in 2014 for the economies of sub-Saharan Africa on the back of rising investment and booming extractive industries. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20636/imf-sees-sub-saharan-africa-growth-at-5-7-per-cent-in-2014 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20636 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrived in South Sudan on Monday to open a new bank, marking, reported the Sudan Tribune, a rare return to the financial world. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20635/ex-imf-chief-strauss-kahn-in-juba-south-sudan-to-open-bank net.cpifinancial.news.news-20635 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term counterparty credit ratings on National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr (BM), and Commercial International Bank (Egypt) S.A.E. (CIB) to 'CCC+' from 'B-'. The agency affirmed the short-term counterparty credit ratings on the three banks at 'C'. The outlook on the three banks is stable. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20634/s-p-cuts-rating-on-egyptian-banks-after-action-on-sovereign-outlook-stable net.cpifinancial.news.news-20634 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Shares in Severn Trent surged to all-time highs after the British water company confirmed it had received a takeover approach from a consortium including Borealis Infrastructure and the Kuwait Investment Office. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20633/shares-in-uk-water-firm-leap-on-kuwait-takeover-approach net.cpifinancial.news.news-20633 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Investments Markets RAK Petroleum, which owns 42.8 percent of Norwegian oil firm DNO International, said it would transfer all its assets to a newly created company as part of a restructuring plan, and seek an international bourse listing for the new firm's parent. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20632/rak-petroleum-restructures-dno-stake net.cpifinancial.news.news-20632 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) launched the Islamic Financial Services Industry Stability (IFSI) Report 2013 during the Meet the Members Lunch session that was held on 14 May 2013 at Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. The programme was the first pre-Summit event that was held preceding the 10th IFSB Summit that will be held on 16 and 17 May 2013. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20631/islamic-financial-services-industry-stability-report-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20631 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Emirates NBD and Gemalto celebrated the success of the Go4it card product. The successful partnership between Emirates NBD and Gemalto, was commemorated at an award ceremony, which took place alongside Dubai’s Cards & Payment conference on May 14 2013. The Go4it card, the first-of-its-kind in the Middle East, is a unique all-in-one banking card combining both payment and contactless transit functionalities for seamless access to Dubai’s RTA public transport network. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20630/emirates-nbd-gemalto-celebrate-the-success-of-go4it net.cpifinancial.news.news-20630 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Consumer Banking The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the Number One Bank in the UAE, will sponsor the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum (ADIF) to take place May 22 2013 in Paris, France. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20629/nbad-sponsors-abu-dhabi-investment-forum-in-paris net.cpifinancial.news.news-20629 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics NBK Capital MENA reports that Credit Agricole Egypt (CAE) grew its loans by 13 per cent in FY2012, significantly outperforming the sector, however NBK Capital MENA’s analysts do not believe the market share gain is sustainable. “We expect growth to slow this year both versus last year and its peers to 8.4 per cent due to reduced demand for corporate credit and the bank’s weaker capital base,” they said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20628/credit-agricole-egypt-lending-market-share-gains-unsustainable-nbk-capital-mena net.cpifinancial.news.news-20628 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Dubai's non-oil trade jumped 16 per cent in the first quarter and recovery in the emirate's property sector will help keep the pace up this year despite a plunge in trade with Iran and global economic weakness, the Dubai customs head said on Tuesday (14 May). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20626/dubai-trade-jumps-in-q1-pace-seen-holding-up net.cpifinancial.news.news-20626 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Economics The new version introduces an innovative approach to the operation of banking platforms, constituting a major technological upgrade of PROFILE's international banking system. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20625/profiles-fms-next-universal-banking-launched-in-new-technological-platform net.cpifinancial.news.news-20625 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology United Gulf Bank (UGB) has announced a net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent of $6.5 million for the first quarter of 2013 compared to $9.1 million in the first three months of 2012, a decrease of 28.9 per cent. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20624/ugbs-q1-net-profit-attributable-to-shareholders-drops-28-9-per-cent net.cpifinancial.news.news-20624 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Deloitte Corporate Finance (Deloitte) acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Al-Nabil Food Industries Co. Ltd. on the sale of a significant minority equity stake to Carlyle MENA Partners. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20623/deloitte-advises-on-global-private-equity-investment-in-middle-east-food-industry net.cpifinancial.news.news-20623 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Wealth Management Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development presents during the WSIS in Geneva number of its electronic initiatives which aim to enhance the spirit of entrepreneurship among local society as well as creating the appropriate environment to develop the small and medium sized enterprises in the United Arab Emirates. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20622/khalifa-fund-presents-its-electronic-initiatives-at-world-summit-on-the-information-society net.cpifinancial.news.news-20622 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Technology BNP Paribas and Les Amis de la Sorbonne Abu Dhabi have renewed their partnership for the third year in a row and jointly host a Banking and Finance Lecture on the 13th May at Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20621/bnp-paribas-les-amis-de-la-sorbonne-abu-dhabi-deliver-banking-and-finance-lecture net.cpifinancial.news.news-20621 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Saudi banks are one the of main sources of financing for the Kingdom's SME sector and their role has been enhanced by success of the Kafalah programme, which was introduced by the Industrial Development Fund seven years ago. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20620/saudi-banks-participating-in-saudi-international-sme-forum net.cpifinancial.news.news-20620 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Kuwaiti investment house Investment Dar said on Tuesday it had offered to give creditors a stake in a portfolio of assets in exchange for their debt as an alternative to an offer made under a 1 billion dinar ($3.5 billion) debt restructuring plan agreed in 2011. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20619/kuwaits-investment-dar-offers-new-settlement-to-creditors net.cpifinancial.news.news-20619 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking UAE markets extend gains with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) buoying the emirate's benchmark after the lender acquired mortgage lender Tamweel. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20618/stocks-news-mideast-dubai-islamic-bank-boosts-emirates-stock-rally net.cpifinancial.news.news-20618 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Partnership to provide financial assistance to handpicked students and train them for careers in financial services http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20617/national-bank-of-fujairah-launches-sponsorship-programme-for-emirati-nationals-from-hct net.cpifinancial.news.news-20617 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) announced a net profit of KWD 2.56 million for the first quarter ending 31 March 2013, a net profit of 5 fils per share as compared with a net profit of KWD 2.82 during the same period in 2012. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20616/markaz-profits-reach-kwd-2-56-million-in-q1-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20616 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises recently addressed the Forbes Women’s Summit in New York. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20615/male-ceo-of-crescent-enterprises-addresses-forbes-womens-summit net.cpifinancial.news.news-20615 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Economics UNB has been a regular sponsor of the Abu Dhabi Industry Award organised by Higher Colleges of Technology. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20614/union-national-bank-sponsors-abu-dhabi-industry-award-2013 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20614 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking EFG Hermes, Egypt's biggest investment bank, is seeking to raise its capital to 2.87 billion Egyptian pounds ($412.1 million) from 2.39 billion by issuing bonus shares, the bank said in a statement to the bourse on Tuesday. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20613/egypts-efg-to-raise-capital-through-bonus-shares net.cpifinancial.news.news-20613 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) will price its debut international bond on Tuesday after releasing final price guidance for a $500 million deal, a statement from lead managers said. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20612/dubais-cbd-to-price-500-million-bond-tues-sets-final-guidance net.cpifinancial.news.news-20612 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Markets If you're an SME looking for capital or an investor looking for yield, a new crowdinvesting website www.eureeca.com could be the answer. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20611/eureeca-brings-crowdinvesting-to-the-middle-east net.cpifinancial.news.news-20611 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Investments Technology ‘Bank in Your Hand’ App offers customers access to Noor’s retail banking services on iPhone and iPad http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20610/noor-islamic-bank-launches-reality-mobile-banking-app net.cpifinancial.news.news-20610 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Islamic Finance Technology HID Global is sponsoring the Temenos Community Forum (TCF) being held from 14 to 16 May in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC). http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20609/hid-global-joins-forces-with-temenos net.cpifinancial.news.news-20609 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Technology Fitch Ratings, the international credit rating agency, has affirmed Ahli Bank’s long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'A-' with 'Stable Outlook'. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20608/fitch-affirms-ahli-banks-credit-rating-at-a- net.cpifinancial.news.news-20608 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking Citadel Capital has announced that core platform company Mashreq Petroleum has signed a 25-year concession agreement (extendable for a further five years) with the East Port Said Port Authority that will allow it to build the first independent tank terminal in Egypt. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20607/mashreq-inks-agreement-to-build-fuel-bunkering-terminal-and-logistics-hub net.cpifinancial.news.news-20607 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking The Job Fair took place at GUST's Main Hall at its campus in Mishref whereby 35 companies participated. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20606/gulf-bank-concludes-platinum-sponsorship-of-gust-spring-job-fair net.cpifinancial.news.news-20606 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking The company recorded a net profit of KWD 0.703 million with earnings-per-share (EPS) of 2.95 fils in Q1 2013, compared to KWD 0.404 million with EPS of 1.68 fils during the same period of 2012. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20605/kamco-sees-net-profit-grow-60-per-cent-in-q1 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20605 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Net loss reduced 31 per cent to AED 5.9 million in Q1 2013 from a net loss of AED 8.5 million in Q1 2012, and 71 per cent improvement versus Q4 2012 net loss of AED 20.7 million. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20604/shuaa-shrinks-net-loss-31-per-cent-in-q1 net.cpifinancial.news.news-20604 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Some developed nations are still dragging their economies down with far higher corporation tax rates than emerging economies, according to research by accounting and consultancy network UHY. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20603/developed-nations-drag-down-businesses-with-higher-corporation-taxes-than-brics net.cpifinancial.news.news-20603 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Economics Wamda in partnership with Tamkeen, Bahrain Development Bank and Tenmou set a platform for budding entrepreneurs to connect with industry experts http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20602/successful-mix-n-mentor-event-held-for-entrepreneurs net.cpifinancial.news.news-20602 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel SME Finance Shuaa Capital, the Dubai-based investment bank, said on Tuesday that its first-quarter net loss narrowed as it reduced operating costs by a third amid shrinking revenues. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20600/shuaa-capital-q1-loss-narrows net.cpifinancial.news.news-20600 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Results Barclays Plc, the first bank to settle with authorities over alleged manipulation of the Libor interest rate, on Monday won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit by shareholders who claimed they lost money because of the British bank's activity. http://www.cpifinancial.net/news/post/20599/barclays-wins-dismissal-of-us-shareholder-lawsuit-over-libor net.cpifinancial.news.news-20599 Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500 CPI Financial News Channel Commercial Banking