#Saudi Billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Leads Funding for Delivery App Nana - Bloomberg

Saudi Billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Leads Funding for Delivery App Nana - Bloomberg

Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s investment firm led a $133 million funding round for a grocery delivery app in the kingdom as demand for online shopping climbs.

Kingdom Holding and Uni Ventures led the series C funding for Nana “in one of the largest investment rounds for Saudi startups,” according to a statement.

Demand for online retail is expected to grow in the Middle East, given that e-commerce penetration lags other parts of the world. That’s largely because consumers prefer to pay with cash rather than use credit cards online.

“The success of this round heavily supports our expansion plans and continuity towards the provision of more diversified services that serve all stakeholders,” said Nana Chief Executive Officer Sami Alhelwah.

Started in 2016, Nana raised $18 million from investors including venture capital fund STV and Middle East Venture Partners, Alhelwah told Bloomberg in 2020.

The latest funding was also had participation from Sultan Holding, Al-Jasser Holding, Red Diamond Co., Dallah Al-Baraka Group, AlJammaz Holding and several other investors.

BlackRock-led investors in Aramco pipelines get ratings ahead of debt sales | Reuters

BlackRock-led investors in Aramco pipelines get ratings ahead of debt sales | Reuters

Ratings agencies have assigned grades to the planned debt sale by investors in Saudi Aramco's gas pipelines network, led by BlackRock Inc (BLK.N), looking to refinance a multi-billion dollar loan that backed their stake purchase.

The refinancing will be done by issuing amortising bonds and sukuk, or Islamic bonds, ratings agencies said.

The consortium, which includes state-backed Hassana Investment Co., agreed to a $15.5 billion lease-and-leaseback agreement with Aramco in late 2021, which gives the investors a 49% stake in Aramco Gas Pipelines Co.

#Israel's NewMed predicts $15 bln gas boost for sovereign wealth fund | Reuters

Israel's NewMed predicts $15 bln gas boost for sovereign wealth fund | Reuters

Israel's NewMed Energy forecast on Tuesday that the country's nascent sovereign wealth fund will get a 52 billion shekel ($15 billion) injection in the coming decade from its two main natural gas fields.

NewMed Energy (NWMDp.TA) Chief Executive Yossi Abu said that the company, which is the largest stakeholder in the Leviathan offshore gas project, is also promoting plans for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to boost exports.

"From today until 2033, an amount of about 52 billion shekels will accumulate in the wealth fund just from the Tamar and Leviathan reservoirs," Abu told a parliamentary panel, referring to Israel's two largest natural gas fields.

Israel found huge gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean over a decade ago and major production began in 2013.

Its sovereign wealth fund kicked off last year, after lengthy delays, with the aim of insulating an overheated currency from the sudden expansion in national wealth due to a windfall from gas sales.

#Dubai’s VARA issues specialised regulations for virtual assets

Dubai’s VARA issues specialised regulations for virtual assets

Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), has issued its Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 setting out a broad Virtual Asset (VA) Framework stressing economic sustainability and cross-border financial security.

The UAE has remained committed to enabling these drivers safely, updating its oversight and regulatory approach, addressing global risks of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF), arising from the potential misuse of new technologies.

The VA Framework is structurally designed to offer regulatory certainty – allowing the market to have greater clarity on the expected level of operator responsibility. It also mandates gold-standard risk assurance and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards to be applied by licensed entities within the Emirate.

#Dubai's Crypto Regulator VARA to Increase Staffing After New Rules - Bloomberg

Dubai's Crypto Regulator VARA to Increase Staffing After New Rules - Bloomberg

Dubai’s crypto regulator plans to quadruple its headcount over the next few months to handle hundreds of license applications after drawing up new rules to attract industry players to the Middle Eastern financial hub.

The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority expects to deal with around 300 new applications until the end of the year and will start issuing final permits in June for companies that have already obtained authorization under Dubai’s minimum viable product licensing regime, chief executive officer Henson Orser said in his first interview since taking up the role last month.

“It’s been a mad sprint,” Orser said via a video link. It’s a case of “be careful what you wish for. We’ve created a lot of work for ourselves in terms of supervision and enforcement.”

Dubai, which has been working to lure the world’s largest firms with its crypto-friendly policies, set up VARA in March 2022 with two employees and has since to expanded to about 20 staff, Orser said. While some financial centers cooled on the sector, many UAE officials have promoted virtual assets as a gold mine for economic growth and pivotal in the nation’s diversification strategy beyond fossil fuels.

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses mixed amid economic uncertainty; Egypt extends gains

Mideast Stocks: Gulf bourses mixed amid economic uncertainty; Egypt extends gains

Gulf stock markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with Qatar's bourse declining the most amid caution ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting. Financial markets expect the Fed will need to lift its benchmark rate above 5% and keep it there to squeeze too-high inflation out of an economy where the labor market remains strong even after nearly a year of the most aggressive round of Fed rate hikes in 40 years.

Investors were awaiting a speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Economic Club of Washington later on Tuesday.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes.

The Qatari stock market was in the red as natural gas prices maintained their strong downward trend. However, the market could find some support from strong earnings in the financial sector, said Farah Mourad, Senior Market Analyst of XTB MENA.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell for a seventh session, slipping 0.8%, weighed down by pressure on heavyweight financial and healthcare sector stocks.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark index was marginally higher, helped by a 2% jump in real estate developer Aldar Properties after the firm launched Manarat Living, a boutique residential development.

Dubai's benchmark index edged up 0.1%, rallying for a fifth straight session as state-run utility firm Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and toll operator Salik Company added 0.8% each.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index advanced 1.9%, extending gains to a second session, as the index was boosted by a 3.1% gain in Commercial International Bank Egypt According to Farah Mourad, the Egyptian stock market was boosted by optimism ahead of a large IPO programme to be announced by the Egyptian government.

Egypt's government aims to announce a detailed plan to offer stakes in at least 20 state companies over the coming year, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said after a cabinet meeting last week.

#SaudiArabia Eyes More Fixed-Rate, Non-Dollar Debt as Costs Jump - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Eyes More Fixed-Rate, Non-Dollar Debt as Costs Jump - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia is considering borrowing more in currencies besides the dollar this year as it focuses on refinancing to reduce the portion of its outstanding floating-rate debt.

“We are not done with interest-rate risk,” Hani AlMedaini, chief executive officer of the country’s National Debt Management Center, said in an interview. “That’s why we were so fast to issue given the positive momentum in the market we witnessed at the beginning of 2023.”

Despite expecting another budget surplus in 2023, Saudi Arabia raised $10 billion from a bond sale in early January in the biggest emerging-market sovereign deal in almost three years. Soaring crude prices helped push the government’s finances into the black for the first time in nearly a decade last year.

The kingdom had already pre-funded about 48 billion riyals ($12.8 billion) of its refinancing needs for this year, and January’s bond sale means it’s done most of the borrowing it planned to do in 2023. Still, the government is looking at different borrowing options including euro or other international currencies, and also green bonds, said AlMedaini.

#SaudiArabia's PIF gets over $12 bln in orders for green bonds - document | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's PIF gets over $12 bln in orders for green bonds - document | Reuters

Saudi Arabia's sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) has received more than $12 billion in orders for a sale of dollar-denominated green bonds comprising tranches with tenors of seven, 12 and 30 years, a bank document showed on Tuesday.

The orders exclude interest from joint lead managers for the debt sale expected to price later on Tuesday, the document showed.

COP28 Summit: Chief’s Global Tour Begins With a Defense of Fossil Fuels - Bloomberg

COP28 Summit: Chief’s Global Tour Begins With a Defense of Fossil Fuels - Bloomberg

Oil and gas will have a key role to play even as the world shifts to cleaner energy and climate talks should reflect the challenges of energy poverty, according to the president of this year’s COP summit.

The United Arab Emirates, which will host COP28, is canvassing other nations in the build up to the event in Dubai and aims to champion the needs of emerging countries with limited access to electricity, Sultan Al Jaber said Tuesday at an energy forum in Bengaluru.

“The world still needs hydrocarbons and will need them to bridge from the current energy system to the new one,” Al Jaber said, as he held talks in India on the first stop of a round of pre-COP diplomacy. “We cannot unplug the current energy system before we have built the new one.”

Al Jaber’s appointment to his COP position has been contentious because of his role as head of the OPEC member’s state oil and gas producer, Adnoc. He’s also chairman of Masdar, one of the largest renewable-energy investors in the world.

G42 #AbuDhabi AI Firm Plans to Hire Across Asia for $10 Billion Fund - Bloomberg

G42 Abu Dhabi AI Firm Plans to Hire Across Asia for $10 Billion Fund - Bloomberg

G42, the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence company, is hiring dozens of people across Asia to scout for opportunities for its $10 billion tech fund.

The AI and cloud computing company, backed by a key member of the emirate’s ruling family, plans to build up teams in Singapore, Jakarta, Shanghai, as well as in Tel Aviv to support its 42X Fund, according to people familiar with the matter.

The fund will target technology investments across those countries, and in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. G42 is also considering investment partnerships with several hedge funds, they said.

G42’s expansion into Asia comes as Abu Dhabi — a city that’s among the few globally to manage over $1 trillion in sovereign wealth capital — ratchets up efforts to plow oil revenue into the technology sector and diversify its economy. The firm is chaired by United Arab Emirates national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed, whose business empire includes investment firm Royal Group and sovereign wealth fund ADQ.

#SaudiArabia FDI inflows up 10.7% in third quarter 2022 -investment ministry | Reuters

Saudi Arabia FDI inflows up 10.7% in third quarter 2022 -investment ministry | Reuters

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Saudi Arabia rose 10.7% in the third quarter of 2022 over the same period a year earlier, figures from the investment ministry showed.

FDI inflows totalled 7.2 billion riyals ($1.9 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, according to the investment ministry's latest monthly bulletin published on Monday, versus 6.5 billion riyals in the third quarter of 2021.

Gulf bourses slide before Fed meeting on higher rate bets | Reuters

Gulf bourses slide before Fed meeting on higher rate bets | Reuters

Most major Gulf equity market were subdued on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policymaking meeting, with many fearing interest rates would remain higher for longer.

Investors were awaiting a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at the Economic Club of Washington later on Tuesday.

The Fed is likely to need to lift the benchmark interest rate above 5% to curtail high inflation.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the U.S. dollar, while Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar usually mirror U.S. monetary policy changes, exposing the region to the direct impact from any monetary tightening by the Fed.

The Qatari Stock index (.QSI) fell 0.5%, dragged down by losses in financial and material sectors, with the Gulf's largest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA) dropping 1.9%, while heavyweights Qatar Commercial Bank (COMB.QA) and Masraf Al Rayan (MARK.QA) were down 1.2% and 1.1% respectively.

However, Doha Bank (DOBK.QA) gained 1.8% after reporting a rise in full-year net profit of 765.4 million riyals($210.27 million) riyals.

Dubai's benchmark stock index (.DFMGI) was flat, as gains in industrial stocks were capped by losses in financial stocks. Tolls operator Salik (SALIK.DU) gained 1.5%, while lender Dubai Islamic Bank (DISB.DU) was down 0.4%.

Utility provider National Central Cooling (TABR.DU) declined 1.1% and Gulf Navigation Holding dropped 0.8% after it reported a fall in FY net profit.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index (.TASI) opened in negative territory, extending losses to a seventh session. The index was weighed by a 0.6% fall in Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), the world's largest Islamic bank by market value.

The luxury real estate developer Retal Urban (4322.SE) and Dr Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical (4013.SE) fell 0.3% and 1.3%, respectively.

In Abu Dhabi, the benchmark stock index (.FTFADGI) opened down 0.1%, dragged by a 0.3% drop in conglomerate International holding Company (IHC.AD) and a 0.4% decline in Alpha Dhabi(ALPHADHABI.AD).