Saudi Regulator Clears Share Sale of Largest Lender NCB - Bloomberg

Saudi Regulator Clears Share Sale of Largest Lender NCB - Bloomberg:



"Saudi Arabia’s market regulator has approved the initial public offering of National Commercial Bank, the country’s largest lender by assets.



The Capital Market Authority said the share sale would take place between Oct. 19 to Nov. 2, according to a statement on its website issued today. The bank will sell 500 million shares, representing 25 percent of its capital, with 15 percent allocated to Saudi individual investors, the CMA said. The rest of the shares will be sold to the Public Pension Agency.



The IPO could raise about 16 billion riyals ($4.3 billion), according to Riyad Capital. That would make it rank as the second-largest IPO completed this year behind Chinese e-commerce business Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., which raised $21.8 billion this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. NCB, as the bank is known, is the only unlisted lender among the 12 domestic banks operating in the kingdom."



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DIFC Investments Plans to Raise About $700 Million in Sukuk Sale - Bloomberg

DIFC Investments Plans to Raise About $700 Million in Sukuk Sale - Bloomberg:



"DIFC Investments LLC, which owns properties in the Dubai International Financial Center business park, said it plans to raise about $700 million from an Islamic bond sale to repay debt and fund development as borrowing costs decline.




The state-controlled company, which is planning to issue the sukuk before the end of October, will use the proceeds to repay the $650 million outstanding on a syndicated loan, DIFC Governor Essa Kazim said at a news conference in Dubai today. The remainder will be used to develop a 10th building in DIFC’s Gate Village and fund the completion of a connecting corridor across the business park, he said.



DIFC Investments joins companies in the region including Emaar Properties PJSC in selling bonds to take advantage of cheap borrowing costs. The average yield on Middle East bonds fell 20 basis points this year to 4.6 percent on Sept. 19, three basis points from a record low, according to data from JPMorgan’s Middle East Composite Index."



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Egypt Shares Retreat From Six-Year High After Blast; Qatar Drops - Bloomberg

Egypt Shares Retreat From Six-Year High After Blast; Qatar Drops - Bloomberg:



"Egyptian stocks declined for the first time in a week after an explosion in Cairo killed two police officers. Qatar’s gauge fell.



The EGX 30 Index lost 0.1 percent at the close, after rising as much as 0.9 percent to the highest level since 2008. A blast struck a police checkpoint near downtown Cairo today, state television reported. Qatar’s QE Index slid 1.5 percent, the most this month.



The Egypt blast “comes on the first day of school,” Mohamed Radwan, head of equities at Pharos Holding in Cairo, said by phone. “It’s going to worry a lot of investors about potential explosions that might follow. They were comfortable selling the shares especially after the market touched a new high today.”"



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Turkey, Azerbaijan break ground for Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline - ENERGY

Turkey, Azerbaijan break ground for Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline - ENERGY:



"Turkey's energy minister has declared a gas pipeline a "peace corridor" linking the Caucasus with the Balkans.



"We open the project as a peace corridor that is the result of 15 years hard work by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Through the South Caucasus pipeline and its backbone, the Trans-Anatolia pipeline, we connect the Caucasus with the Balkans. I wish every country could understand the true value of these projects and contribute with us," Taner Yıldız said while speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the South Caucasus pipeline in Baku on Sept. 20.



The minister said energy security "ranks as one of the main topics of global agenda" and dialogue between countries producing, transporting and consuming energy is "highly important.""



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