Gulf investors poised to snap up Britain's new $687m sovereign sukuk - Arabianbusiness
The UK government has issued £500 million ($687 million) of sukuk – seven years since it became the first country in the western world to issue sovereign Islamic bonds.
The treasury on Thursday said the sukuk had been sold to investors based in the UK and in the major hubs for Islamic finance in the Middle East and Asia.
The second UK sukuk offering is more than double the size of the first issuance in 2014, increasing the supply of high-quality Sharia compliant, liquid assets to the market and supporting the development of Islamic finance products in the UK.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “By launching our second sovereign sukuk, we’re cementing the UK’s position as the leading global hub for Islamic finance outside of the Islamic world.”
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Saturday, 27 March 2021
#Saudi stock exchange opens short selling to all investors | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Saudi stock exchange opens short selling to all investors | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, Tadawul, has widened access to short-selling and stock-lending, while tightening other rules related to the activities.
As of March 25, all eligible investors in the Saudi market are permitted to sell any stock short, Tadawul said in a statement on the bourse website.
However, new rules stipulate that the short ratio to average daily traded volume of any security should not exceed 10 days and total net short positions must not exceed 10 percent of the free float.
Refinements have also been made to collateral rules for those lending and borrowing securities.
The changes were made to develop a regulatory environment consistent with the international best practices and to provide a “motivating and competitive atmosphere with high reliability,” Tadawul said in the statement.
Tadawul became the first Gulf bourse to allow short selling for institutional investors in April 2017 as it introduced a number of changes to court international investors and appeal to index providers such as MSCI Inc. Abu Dhabi and Dubai followed in October and December of that year, respectively.
MSCI upgraded Saudi Arabia from a “standalone market” to an “emerging market” in June 2018 and became a full member of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in August 2019 with a weighting of 2.8 percent.
Tadawul and the Securities Depository Center, Edaa, launched a consultation on the latest changes in February, 2020.
As of March 25, all eligible investors in the Saudi market are permitted to sell any stock short, Tadawul said in a statement on the bourse website.
However, new rules stipulate that the short ratio to average daily traded volume of any security should not exceed 10 days and total net short positions must not exceed 10 percent of the free float.
Refinements have also been made to collateral rules for those lending and borrowing securities.
The changes were made to develop a regulatory environment consistent with the international best practices and to provide a “motivating and competitive atmosphere with high reliability,” Tadawul said in the statement.
Tadawul became the first Gulf bourse to allow short selling for institutional investors in April 2017 as it introduced a number of changes to court international investors and appeal to index providers such as MSCI Inc. Abu Dhabi and Dubai followed in October and December of that year, respectively.
MSCI upgraded Saudi Arabia from a “standalone market” to an “emerging market” in June 2018 and became a full member of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in August 2019 with a weighting of 2.8 percent.
Tadawul and the Securities Depository Center, Edaa, launched a consultation on the latest changes in February, 2020.
Zain KSA, Mobily get #Saudi nod for telecom towers merger | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Zain KSA, Mobily get Saudi nod for telecom towers merger | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Leading Saudi telecom services operators - Mobile Telecommunications Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) and Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) - have announced plans to set up a consortium to acquire the telecom towers owned by the two entities and merge them under a registered commercial entity, Towers Company, in Saudi Arabia.
The duo said that they have received in-principle approval from the board of Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) on the application submitted by them along with Raidah Investment Company (Al Raidah) and IHS KSA.
The companies plan to establish a consortium to acquire the telecom towers owned by Mobily and Zain KSA to merge them under a registered commercial entity in Saudi Arabia, named "Towers Company", according to a bourse filing on Wednesday.
The approval allows for unifying these towers under the registered entity to obtain a license for providing infrastructure wholesale services, stated the companies in a filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.
The duo said that they have received in-principle approval from the board of Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) on the application submitted by them along with Raidah Investment Company (Al Raidah) and IHS KSA.
The companies plan to establish a consortium to acquire the telecom towers owned by Mobily and Zain KSA to merge them under a registered commercial entity in Saudi Arabia, named "Towers Company", according to a bourse filing on Wednesday.
The approval allows for unifying these towers under the registered entity to obtain a license for providing infrastructure wholesale services, stated the companies in a filing to the Saudi bourse Tadawul.