Middle East

Both Egypt and Turkey have recently been able to tap dollars more cheaply through sukuk.

First Abu Dhabi Bank’s recent interest in a bid for Standard Chartered and an ill-fated investment in Credit Suisse by Saudi National Bank have put the spotlight on Middle East banks as potential acquirers of international firms.

SLLs offer more flexibility for borrowers targeting sustainability, but the structure is coming under scrutiny around the world for potential greenwashing concerns.

A month ago, First Abu Dhabi Bank said it had looked at Standard Chartered but decided against a bid. Now, it is believed to have changed its mind. What has changed?

Across the Middle East and North Africa, Egypt and its banks boast august credentials when it comes to climate and sustainability. But frameworks and agreements are one thing, creating substantive change across an entire financial sector is quite another.

First Abu Dhabi Bank looked long and hard at Standard Chartered, and others will do the same so long as it’s cheap. But any suitor must win the approval of Temasek.

The Middle East’s capital markets were awash with plus-sized IPOs in 2022, with a growing belief in its future.

Noor Sweid, founder of Global Ventures – a young Dubai-based venture capital fund with $200 million of AuM – sees company founders with great businesses starved of finance.

Qatari banks are eager to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable banking amid growing public scrutiny of the environmental cost of hosting the World Cup.

Three-quarters of a century ago, the state of Israel didn’t exist. Today, it is a leader in technologies ranging from plant-based meat to cybersecurity. Huge sums of new wealth are being created by ambitious entrepreneurs, much of it recycled into new ideas by risk-taking investors.

Qatar has spent 12 years and more than $200 billion preparing for the World Cup, which kicks off on November 20. What happens when the games end and the tourists leave?

The World Cup is set to kick off in Doha on November 20 against the backdrop of recession, war, inflation and rising interest rates elsewhere.

Islamic finance has a choice: continue on its existing path and consolidate its hard-earned gains in market share, or shake the whole thing up. One proposal calls for an end to the fractional-reserve banking system.

As European and Chinese banks scale back in Africa to cut costs and redeploy capital to core markets, Middle East lenders are happily jumping in to fill the gap, buying assets and putting more boots on the ground as bilateral trade between the regions increases.

War-induced instability in commodity markets has been a boon for Kuwait and its banking sector. But it only serves to underscore how reliant the country still is on hydrocarbons.

Banks in the Gulf are embracing blockchain, fintech, cryptocurrencies and AI as they look to cater to changing consumer demands and a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Egypt’s supportive regulation, together with the impact of Covid, saw cashless payments in the country grow by more than 230% last year. Now fintechs, banks and state-owned platforms all want a piece of the action.

Rate rises, combined with the soaring price of oil, mean that Saudi banks enjoy unprecedented liquidity. This will accelerate the change already under way in the sector.

The event was a showcase for both sustainability and trade agreements.

Why do Saudi Arabia and Malaysia still overwhelm every other state in Islamic asset management?

It’s rare to see a sovereign fund backing a digital bank before its launch.

Investment banking underpinned a strong year for First Abu Dhabi Bank, as the UAE-based lender benefited from its long-standing investment in digital and led the way on a host of big-ticket capital market transactions.

At the end of each year, Euromoney takes a close look at the performance of 25 key institutions that we cover. Speaking to senior executives at these firms, we assess what went right and what didn’t, together with what might lie ahead. This year, we have also examined the views of those at the top on two important factors for 2022: their own and others’ asset quality, and the disruptive threat of China. Their observations are discussed in the two features below, followed by our reports for 2021 on the Euromoney 25.

The tie up between Masraf Al Rayan and Al Khalij Commercial Bank could be the first of many as cost cutting and profitability top the banking agenda.

Ahmed Abdelaal is the first non-Ghurair family member to lead Mashreq Bank. His first two Covid-marred years in charge as chief executive were a baptism of fire, but he has hired well and decisively, putting in place a cosmopolitan management team that is transforming the Dubai-based lender.

Sovereign wealth involvement in football clubs has a chequered history. Saudi’s intentions with Newcastle are clearly about more than investment, but can these deals ever work?

Can multilateral development banks fight climate change while still promoting economic development in emerging markets? The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the first to set out concrete plans on how to do this.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s latest annual report has some unusually precise detail in it. It tells us about positions, internal structures, use of external managers and views around infrastructure and private equity at one of the world’s most powerful institutional investors.

Ajmal Ahmady, governor of Da Afghanistan Bank, Afghanistan’s central bank, gives Euromoney the inside story on his escape from the stricken country.

The $15 billion merger that created Saudi National Bank is tipped to kick-start a cycle of consolidation in the Kingdom’s banking sector.

Norway pulls out of West Bank-linked companies; Mubadala and Temasek invest in tech and energy.

The country’s model of financing relentless consumption from dwindling oil revenues is under attack from all sides. Covid-related credit relief has hit the banks’ bottom lines and they are joining the call for diversification.

The UAE was already a fintech pioneer but Covid turned it into a leader. Banks and government agencies are furiously rolling out blockchain-backed services that do everything from seamless KYC checks to detecting fraud in supply chain financing.

The Israeli fintech grew fast through the pandemic turmoil. As it prepares a full launch in the US, it will be listed on Nasdaq, but not through an IPO.

A corporate restructuring is one of the final steps in readying Tadawul for an IPO this year. CEO Khalid Al-Hussan says the moment for listing is almost at hand.

Ever since the launch of Vision 2030, housing has been a key priority for Saudi Arabia. Along with the home building has come a vibrant mortgage market, the formation of a secondary liquidity provider and the building blocks that will lead to a new securitized asset class in global markets.

Outwardly different, Singapore and Dubai have transformed themselves into international wealth management hubs, overseen by clear-minded regulators. They are now starting to compete for business with Europe’s far older private wealth centres.

As Lebanon’s dollar reserves disappear, time is running out. Central bank governor Riad Salamé’s tweaks to the banking sector will have little effect and commercial bankers’ attempts to resurrect dollar inflows sound deluded. Is recovery possible without a change in financial leadership?

Fears over greenwashing claims have often dissuaded issuers from the Middle East from entering the sustainable bond markets. That could be set to change.

Donald Trump reversed a deal that would have brought Iran back into the international fold. Now Joe Biden intends to reverse Trump’s reversal. Does that mean good times ahead for Iran’s banks?

If you want to see what a strong economic and financial recovery might look like in 2021, you’ll find it in Dubai.

The pacts will normalise relations between Israel and the UAE, but it aims to do much more. The potential for regional détente and investment across real estate, energy and technology is great.

FAB’s status as a national champion means it is even better positioned after Covid-19 to facilitate regional growth.

There are interesting titbits on Africa, private debt and renewable energy at the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.

The Public Investment Fund is unrecognizable from the sleepy vehicle it was until 2015. More risk has led to some bad investments, but the crown prince says overall returns are good. Can they stay that way?

The Egyptian bank is to launch a digital bank as Covid-19 accelerates the government’s push for a cashless society.

Bankers see huge opportunities on both sides as Israel signs historic agreement with UAE and Bahrain.

Faced with an estimated $100 billion budget deficit but committed to a vast expenditure programme, Saudi finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan explains how he plans to balance the books.

Euromoney asked its panellists to rescore Lebanon’s risks in the aftermath of the port tragedy on August 4, with investors left pondering what’s next for a country now desperately in need of aid and finance for reconstruction.

The government’s resignation this week could pave the way for reform – and unlock essential IMF funding – but is the will to change there?

As Iran’s currency crisis deepens, observers fear that far from improving the situation, state intervention will do further damage to a country that was in economic turmoil even before coronavirus.

The Covid-19 crisis will accelerate monetization in the Gulf and see Abu Dhabi companies take equity stakes in the emirate.

The six exchange-rate system is now untenable, with the currency losing more than 50% of its value since October, but analysts say floating the currency will cause more pain without IMF support.

Profit pressure is a threat to every bank, says Qatar Islamic Bank’s group CEO Bassel Gamal, discussing how Qatar’s robust and well-capitalized banking sector is navigating the twin shocks of lower oil prices and coronavirus.

Dubai raises funding amid perfect storm of Covid-19, economic slowdown and falling oil prices.

The Gulf’s largest economy is facing unprecedented challenges from the coronavirus Covid-19 and oil at $30 a barrel. Has diversification under Vision 2030 done enough to help Saudi Arabia weather the storm or will it be forced to abandon its dreams of diversification?

Lebanon’s banks are on the brink as the country looks to restructure its debt. Could rich depositors, who have for years enjoyed inflated interest rates, be called on to take a hit?

Gulf central banks have unveiled big stimulus packages but commercial banks need to transmit this to the real economy – difficult to do when appetite for credit is so low.

A double shock of Covid-19 and falling oil prices brings the spectre of recession to the Gulf, while efforts to diversify economies are being derailed.

Expo 2020 showcases economic and business opportunities in Dubai. Bankers hope it will lead to a boom in areas such as SME lending and infrastructure investment, but worry that a short-term lift will not be enough to dispel broader concerns about the country’s economy.