Most Gulf bourses end higher; Egypt falls | Reuters

Most Gulf bourses end higher; Egypt falls | Reuters

Most stock markets in the Gulf ended higher on Tuesday recovering some of their recent losses triggered by worries the region could be on the brink of a broader Middle East war.

Fighting in the region intensified after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel's third-largest city, Haifa, and Israel looked poised to expand its offensive into Lebanon, a year after the Hamas attack that sparked Israel's ongoing war in Gaza.

The downturn in Gulf markets began after Iran launched a missile barrage on Israel on Oct. 1. Israel has sworn to retaliate and is weighing its options, with Iran's oil facilities considered a possible target.

Saudi Arabia's benchmark index (.TASI), opens new tab advanced 1%, with Al Rajhi Bank (1120.SE), opens new tab rising 1.8% and the country's biggest lender Saudi National Bank (1180.SE), opens new tab increasing 2.8%.

Elsewhere, perfumer Almajed 4 Oud Co (4165.SE), opens new tab surged 30% on the second day after its debut on the Tadawul on Monday.

The Saudi Exchange allows 30% fluctuation limits during the first three days of trade.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will visit Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries starting on Tuesday to discuss regional issues and stopping Israel's "crimes" in Gaza and Lebanon, Iran's state media reported.

Dubai's main share index (.DFMGI), opens new tab gained 0.8%, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), opens new tab closing 3.7% higher.

The Abu Dhabi stock index (.FTFADGI), opens new tab finished 0.3% higher.

The United Arab Emirates' cabinet has approved a balanced budget for the 2025 fiscal year with expenditures rising to 71.5 billion dirhams ($19.47 billion), state news agency WAM said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Qatari benchmark (.QSI), opens new tab added 0.6%, led by a 1.9% rise in the Gulf's biggest lender Qatar National Bank (QNBK.QA), opens new tab.

Outside the Gulf, Egypt's blue-chip index (.EGX30), opens new tab retreated 3%, as almost all its constituents were in negative territory including Commercial International Bank (COMI.CA), opens new tab, which was down 1.8%.

#Qatar National Bank's third-quarter net profit beats estimates | Reuters

Qatar National Bank's third-quarter net profit beats estimates | Reuters

Qatar National Bank (QNB) (QNBK.QA), opens new tab, the Gulf region's biggest lender by assets, made a net profit of 4.5 billion riyals ($1.23 billion) in the third quarter, up 5.4% from a year earlier, Reuters calculated, beating analyst estimates.

The lender reported nine-month net profit of 12.7 billion riyals to Sept. 30, up 7% from the previous year, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

It posted net profit of 8.2 billion riyals for the first six months of the year. Reuters calculated the third-quarter net profit from previous financial statements.

Analysts were expecting a quarterly profit of 3.9 billion riyals, according to LSEG data.

QNB said loans and advances reached 905 billion riyals in the nine months to Sept. 30, up 11% from the same period of last year.

The growth in QNB's loan portfolio helped the bank's total assets to almost 1.3 trillion riyals, up 8% year on year.

Deposits at the lender, which is 50%-owned by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority, grew 11% in the period to 909 billion riyals.

Shares of QNB are up over 3% year to date, according to LSEG data.

Last month, QNB Group said it had received regulatory approval for a share buyback, which will be up to 2.9 billion riyals and funded by existing cash resources.
On Tuesday, the bank said it had started the buyback process.

"QNB Group will continue to hold robust capital buffers ... and does not anticipate any material impact on its capital and other ratios because of its intended share buyback," it said on Tuesday.

Al Rajhi Inks Largest Middle East Bank Loan for This Year - Bloomberg #SaudiArabia

Al Rajhi Inks Largest Middle East Bank Loan for This Year - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Al Rajhi Bank has raised a $1.92 billion sustainability-linked Islamic syndicated loan, according to a person familiar with the matter, in what is the largest financing from a Middle Eastern bank this year.

The three-year sharia-compliant facility drew nearly 20 lenders, including coordinating banks Emirates NBD Bank PJSC, HSBC Holdings and Maybank Investment Bank Bhd., said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. The financing — split into a $1.2 billion tranche and a $705 million portion — will be used for general corporate purposes, the person added.

Al Rajhi’s latest facility comes amid Saudi Arabia’s ongoing liquidity crisis as loan growth outstripped deposits to support a domestic economy that contracted last year. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that local lenders may need to issue at least $10 billion to $15 billion a year in new debt through 2028 to support the country’s investments.

Middle Eastern banks have raised nearly $50 billion in loans in the first nine months of the year, a three-fold increase from $16 billion in the previous corresponding period, according Bloomberg-compiled data.

Al Rajhi Bank didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The bank’s deal is considered rare given that there are not many dollar-only Islamic loans linked to environmental, social and governance metrics of this magnitude. The loan follows the issuance of Al Rajhi’s $1 billion Islamic bond in May.

#Dubai Ruler’s Firm Considers New REIT Amid City’s Housing Boom - Bloomberg #UAE

Dubai Ruler’s Firm Considers New REIT Amid City’s Housing Boom - Bloomberg

Dubai Holding, a sprawling investment conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, is considering setting up a real estate investment trust to capitalize on the city’s property boom, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm has lined up banks including Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Emirates NBD Capital for the property trust offering, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. Deliberations are still at an early stage and decisions on the vehicle’s size haven’t been finalized, the people said.

Representatives for Dubai Holding, HSBC and Citi declined to comment. An Emirates NBD spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Dubai Holding is one of the city’s principal investment vehicles with assets of 265 billion dirhams ($72 billion), ranging from luxury hotel chain Jumeirah to theme parks and the world’s tallest but non-functioning Ferris Wheel.

Setting up a REIT would allow investors to gain exposure to a number of prime income-generating assets overseen by one of the city’s biggest developers. The REIT would include some community developments that were recently transferred to Dubai Holding, the people said.

The deliberations come as Dubai experiences a relentless rise in demand for its property, with thousands of millionaires, financial professionals and businessmen flocking to the emirate in recent years to take advantage of its low-tax regime. Home values in the city have risen for 16 straight quarters and office leasing activity continues to surge.

One of Dubai’s main goals is to deepen its capital market and offering a REIT would present another channel to funnel financial flows into the emirate. Attempts to bolster the domestic stock market have already resulted in a slew of initial public offerings in the past two years.

Still, local REITs have faced challenges. Emirates REIT’s manager was probed four years ago by the Dubai Financial Services Authority over its corporate governance and later fined by the government agency. The Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust also faced opposition from bondholders over a proposed debt restructuring some years ago. Earlier this month, however, it sold another major asset to pare down debt.

Nakheel, Meydan
Earlier this year, Dubai Holding took control of two state-backed developers: Nakheel and Meydan.

While Nakheel is best known as the developer of Dubai’s artificial palm-shaped islands, it also teetered on the brink of default during the property crash in 2009 that nearly bankrupted Dubai. It has since consolidated operations and cut costs.

Meydan, for its part, owns one of the world’s most opulent horse racecourses. In 2021, its total debt amounted to about $4 billion, of which $2.6 billion required restructuring.

By bringing them “under the umbrella” of Dubai Holding, the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is hoping to create a “more financially efficient entity,” he said earlier this year.

Both companies have benefited from Dubai’s status as one of the world’s best performing property markets. Last year, for instance, hundreds of brokers and investors queued in the summer heat for a chance to buy property on the undeveloped Palm Jebel Ali island, where homes started at 18.7 million dirhams.

Dubai Holding this year refinanced a 30 billion dirham loan to replace older facilities held by Nakheel and Meydan. That move, led by Dubai Holding Chief Executive Officer Amit Kaushal, was seen as a potential precursor to an eventual listing of some of the conglomerate’s units over the next few years, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

#AbuDhabi with $1.7trn edges out Oslo in Global SWF ranking #UAE

Abu Dhabi with $1.7trn edges out Oslo in Global SWF ranking

Abu Dhabi has emerged as the leading city that manages the most Sovereign Wealth Funds capital globally, thanks to the $1.7 trillion in assets managed by its various SWFs headquartered in the capital of the UAE.

These include the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Mubadala Investment Company (MIC), Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), and the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA).

This is according to industry specialist Global SWF, which published a special report announcing a new global ranking of cities according to the capital managed by their SWFs.

GPF world's largest SWF

Abu Dhabi now ranks slightly above Oslo, home to the world’s largest SWF, the Government Pension Fund (GPF), which manages over $1.6 trillion in assets. Abu Dhabi and Oslo are followed by Beijing (headquarters of the China Investment Corporation), Singapore (with GIC Private and Temasek Holdings), Riyadh (home to the Public Investment Fund), and Hong Kong (where China’s second SWF, SAFE Investment Corporation, operates from).

Together, these six cities represent two thirds of the capital managed by SWFs globally, $12.5 trillion as of October 1, 2024.

For the past few decades, Abu Dhabi has grown an impressive portfolio of institutional investors, which are among the world’s largest and most active dealmakers. In addition to its SWFs, the emirate is home to several other asset owners, including central banks, pension funds, and family offices linked to member of the Royal Family.

Altogether, Abu Dhabi’s public capital is estimated at $2.3 trillion and is projected to reach $3.4 trillion by 2030, according to Global SWF estimates.

Capital of Capital

Abu Dhabi, often referred to as the "Capital of Capital", also leads when it comes to human capital that is, the number of personnel employed by SWFs of that jurisdiction, with 3,107 staff working for funds based in the city.

#UAE cabinet approves 12% spending increase in 2025 budget | Reuters

UAE cabinet approves 12% spending increase in 2025 budget | Reuters

The United Arab Emirates' cabinet has approved a balanced budget for the 2025 fiscal year with expenditures rising to 71.5 billion dirhams ($19.47 billion), state news agency WAM said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Gulf state, one of the world's top oil exporters, projects an increase in spending of almost 12% next year from 2024 estimates, but still expects a balanced budget in 2025, since revenue is also budgeted at 71.5 billion dirhams, according to the statement.

The approved annual budget is part of the UAE's multi-year financial plan for the years 2022-2026. The country approved a$52.3 billion budget for 2024-26 last October.

The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, all of which can set individual budgets, in addition to a federal budget. A large focus of the federal budget is on social and welfare spending.

Almost 40% of the 2025 budget will be allocated to social development and pensions, with education accounting for the majority of spending in that sector, followed by healthcare.

More than 35% of the spending is for government affairs, with much smaller allocations for the Infrastructure and Economic Affairs sector and for the Financial Investments sector, the statement said.

Global anti-money laundering watchdog says #Kuwait faces 'serious shortcomings' | Reuters

Global anti-money laundering watchdog says Kuwait faces 'serious shortcomings' | Reuters

Global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF on Tuesday said Kuwait had adequate legal and supervisory framework to address money laundering and terrorism financing, but added it had "serious shortcomings delivering effective outcomes".

In a press release on publication of its progress report, opens new tab on the country, the Paris-based watchdog cited failings in addressing terrorist financing.

"Banks and larger financial institutions have a good understanding of their risk and obligations, but supervisors for both the financial and non-financial sectors need to focus more on beneficial ownership," it said.

#Saudi wealth fund buys 40% stake in Selfridges department store | Retail industry | The Guardian

Saudi wealth fund buys 40% stake in Selfridges department store | Retail industry | The Guardian

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in the upmarket department store Selfridges in its latest move on a high-profile British asset.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) said it had signed a deal to buy a 40% stake in the loss-making retailer for an undisclosed sum.

The stake had been owned by Signa Group, the Austrian property group which bought Selfridges with the Thai conglomerate Central Group for £4bn in 2021.

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Central Group, which began with a single store in Bangkok run by Tiang Chirathivat in the 1950s and listed part of the business on the Thai stock exchange in 2020, then took full control last year after Signa filed for insolvency in November.

PIF will now own Selfridges Group, which has its main shop on London’s Oxford Street and a further 17 luxury department stores around the world, in partnership with Central Group, with the aim to “accelerate growth”.

Selfridges was founded in London by American businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1909 and has been named best department store in the world four times. It is a leading tourist attraction in London, where it is known for putting on themed shopping events and creative displays, as well as offering fine dining and selling designer goods.

PIF said the investment aligned with its strategy of “investing in key strategic sectors globally and is underpinned by a shared vision to unlock further value in Selfridges”. Selfridges Group owns the De Bijenkorf chain in the Netherlands as well as Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland and four UK stores – in London, Birmingham and two in Manchester.

Turqi Al-Nowaiser, the head of the international investments division at PIF, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with Central Group in Selfridges Group, one of Europe’s most iconic luxury department stores. This transaction allows Selfridges Group to build on its position as a premier retail destination.”

PIF is one of the world’s most active sovereign wealth funds, with more than $700bn (£551bn) in assets driven by its oil wealth. It has invested heavily in sports such as football – including Newcastle United – Formula One, boxing and golf in the past few years in what it says is an attempt to diversify its economic portfolio away from oil.

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The fund is controlled by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, whose government has been accused of numerous human rights violations Critics have accused the government of using PIF to “sportswash” its human rights record.

The UK’s three most famous department stores are controlled by overseas owners. The Qatar Investment Authority owns Harrods, while Hong Kong’s Dickson Concepts controls Harvey Nichols.

The Weston family, one of Canada’s richest families, had owned the Selfridges brand for almost 20 years before the sale in 2021. The deal came shortly after the death of the 80-year-old head of the family, W Galen Weston, who had spearheaded the purchase of Selfridges in 2003.