#Saudi’s Neom Hunts for More Cash, Plans Bond Sale for $1.5 Trillion Desert City - Bloomberg

Saudi’s Neom Hunts for More Cash, Plans Bond Sale for $1.5 Trillion Desert City - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Neom is planning its debut riyal bond sale for later this year as it looks for more sources of funding for the $1.5 trillion worth of construction projects it’s planned for the futuristic city, according to people familiar with the matter.

Neom has appointed banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and the securities units of Al Rajhi Bank and Saudi National Bank to advise on the sale of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, the people said. The debt would be denominated in the local currency and could raise as much as 5 billion riyals ($1.3 billion), they said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.

The sukuk sale could come as early as the second half of this year, the people said. A final decision on the timing and offering size will depend on market conditions, they added.

Representatives for Neom, HSBC and Saudi National Bank declined to comment, while a spokesperson for Al Rajhi Bank did not respond to a request for comment.

The city, located in the kingdom’s northwestern desert, is a brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The development’s signature project is The Line, a pair of mirror-clad skyscrapers that the kingdom hopes will ultimately stretch 170 kilometers and house all of a city’s normal functions. Neom’s plans also include an industrial area, ports and tourism developments.

Exclusive: #AbuDhabi Islamic Bank in talks to buy $1.1 bln stake in Indonesian lender, sources say | Reuters

Exclusive: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in talks to buy $1.1 bln stake in Indonesian lender, sources say | Reuters

Abu Dhabi's largest Islamic bank is in talks to buy a minority stake valued at around $1.1 billion in Indonesia's top Islamic lender, Bank Syariah Indonesia, two sources told Reuters, with an aim to tap into a fast-growing market in Southeast Asia.

The potential acquisition of a 15% stake in Bank Syariah Indonesia (BRIS.JK), opens new tab (BSI) from Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) (BBRI.JK), opens new tab is one of the options that Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) (ADIB.AD), opens new tab is considering, said the two sources.

The sources, who have knowledge of the matter, declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

ADIB said after the publication of the Reuters report that it "strongly denies" being in any negotiations to acquire a stake in BSI. Before publication, it had declined to comment.

ADIB shares ended down 5.7% on Wednesday after the report.

BRI did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Most Gulf markets end lower on US rate cut worries | Reuters

Most Gulf markets end lower on US rate cut worries | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended lower on Wednesday, extending losses from the previous session, as U.S. Federal Reserve officials reiterated interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer.

Top U.S. central bank officials including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell backed away on Tuesday from providing any guidance on when interest rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer and further, dashing investor hopes for meaningful reductions in borrowing costs this year.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab dropped 0.3%, hit by a 1.8% fall in the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab.

Meanwhile, The kingdom's crude oil exports in February edged up to 6.317 million barrels per day (bpd) from 6.297 million bpd in January, data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab dropped 0.3%, weighed down by a 1.1% fall in toll operator Salik Co (SALIK.DU), opens new tab.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab eased 0.3%.

Oil prices - a catalyst for the Gulf's financial markets - slipped for a third straight session as likely higher U.S. commercial inventories weighed, while weaker economic data from China and dimmed prospects of interest rate cuts stoked worries about global demand.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab finished flat.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab gained 0.9%, with Talaat Mostafa Holding (TMGH.CA), opens new tab rising 2.5%.

Larry Fink's BlackRock Hunts for Growth in #Saudi Investment Boom - Bloomberg

Larry Fink's BlackRock Hunts for Growth in Saudi Investment Boom - Bloomberg

What’s worth your time when you’ve already built the world’s largest asset management company?

For Larry Fink, chief executive officer of BlackRock Inc., courting the billions of dollars in assets up for grabs in Saudi Arabia is part of the answer. His Gulfstream jet lands in Riyadh several times a year, and he’s had at least two private dinners with de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Meanwhile, BlackRock has been quietly increasing its presence in the country: It was the first major global investment manager to open an office in Riyadh, and the company now employs about 20 people there, a larger local workforce than its competition. The CEO of state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, Amin Hassan Ali Nasser, joined BlackRock’s board last year.

Saudi Arabia is a small part of BlackRock’s portfolio. The company oversees more than $10 trillion around the globe and has $100 billion-plus across the Middle East and Africa—­suggesting that less than 1% comes from the kingdom. (The total market for asset management in the broad region is about $1.6 trillion, according to Boston Consulting Group.) Doing business there courts controversy because of the regime’s human-rights record and the economy’s dependence on oil—Fink for many years has spoken of the need for companies to pay attention to the risks from climate change. And the wider Middle East, as events this past weekend show, remains a volatile, unpredictable place.

Yet, BlackRock has made it a priority to grow in the kingdom, say people familiar with the company’s plans. Fink is an aggressive dealmaker who takes evident relish in his role as a kind of statesman for US-style investor capitalism, and he’s been building relationships in the region for years. BlackRock sees an opportunity in Saudi Arabia to be influential in shaping its fledgling markets and connecting the geopolitically important country with the rest of the world. And the kingdom fits with Fink’s strategic goal of expanding the index fund giant’s footprint in the more profitable business of private asset and infrastructure investing.

#AbuDhabi’s Taqa Holds Talks With Naturgy Shareholders Over Deal - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi’s Taqa Holds Talks With Naturgy Shareholders Over Deal - Bloomberg

Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. has approached two shareholders of Naturgy Energy Group SA about the possible acquisition of their stakes in the Spanish gas and power firm.

Taqa, as the Abu Dhabi-based investor is known, is holding talks with buyout firms Global Infrastructure Partners and CVC Capital Partners to possibly buy their shares in Naturgy, it said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday. Naturgy shares jumped 5% in Madrid as they resumed trading after being suspended earlier.

The investor is also holding talks with Naturgy’s main shareholder, Spanish industrial holding company Criteria Caixa SA, regarding a possible “cooperation pact.” If Taqa acquires the stakes held by CVC and GIP, it would need to launch a full takeover offer for Naturgy, it said.

A deal would seek to end long-standing tensions between Naturgy’s four largest shareholders, who jointly control about 83% of the company. GIP and CVC each own about 21% of Naturgy, while infrastructure fund IFM owns about 15%. Criteria is the biggest shareholder with a stake of about 27%.

Taqa has hired Rothschild and Lazard to study ways to enter Naturgy’s capital, newspaper Expansion reported, citing three people in the market it didn’t identify. Taqa declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg on Tuesday.

Major Gulf markets ease on US rate cut worries | Reuters

Major Gulf markets ease on US rate cut worries | Reuters

Major stock markets in the Gulf were little changed in early trade on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials reiterated interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recent inflation data, with three months of upside surprises, had not given policymakers enough confidence to ease policy soon. He said the central bank may need to keep rates higher for longer than previously thought.

Most Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar and any monetary policy change in the United States is usually mimicked by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab dropped 0.6%, weighed down by a 1.7% fall in the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab.

Separately, the kingdom's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Riyadh will be "moving ahead significantly" to invest in projects in Pakistan, days after Islamabad announced that Saudi Arabia had pledged to expedite $5 billion in investment.

In Qatar, the index (.QSI), opens new tab fell 0.2%, with petrochemical maker Industries Qatar (IQCD.QA), opens new tab losing 1.1% and Commercial Bank (COMB.QA), opens new tab retreating 2.1%.

Tensions in the Middle East are still running high. Israel vowed to respond to Iran's weekend attack despite international calls for restraint.

In Abu Dhabi, the index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab eased 0.1%.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab was flat in a choppy trade.