http://www.meed.com/rss/rss_meed_banking.xml en-uk Financing for the $3.7bn Ras Laffan C independent water and power project (IWPP) will now include a $250m Islamic tranche provided by Qatar Islamic Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/ras_laffan_c_adds_islamic_tranche.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/ras_laffan_c_adds_islamic_tranche.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 23 July 2008 15:20 Financial bids for the Addur independent water and power project (IWPP) in Bahrain will be opened on 24 July, with an award for the project expected to be made within the following week. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/addur_iwpp_financial_bids_to_be_opened_on_24_july.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/addur_iwpp_financial_bids_to_be_opened_on_24_july.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 22 July 2008 13:34 Mubadala, the investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi government, has announced an $8bn partnership with US-based conglomerate GE to establish a commercial financial business. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/mubadala_announces_8bn_partnership_with_ge.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/mubadala_announces_8bn_partnership_with_ge.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 22 July 2008 14:41 Banking group Emirates NBD has reported a 45 per cent increase in profits driven by growth in loans, fee income and synergies achieved from the merger of Emirates Bank and National Bank of Dubai. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/emirates_nbd_reports_45_per_cent_in_profit.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/emirates_nbd_reports_45_per_cent_in_profit.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 22 July 2008 10:48 Tamweel is pricing a AED1.1bn ($300m) sukuk at the Emirates interbank offered rate (Eibor) plus 225 basis points, about 40 basis points lower than the average sukuk trading price in the GCC. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/tamweel_300m_sukuk_priced.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/tamweel_300m_sukuk_priced.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 21 July 2008 12:15 Export credit agency the Japanese Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) is seeking support from Middle East governments for a new investment fund. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/japanese_credit_agency_seeks_middle_east_partners.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/japanese_credit_agency_seeks_middle_east_partners.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Bernadette Redfern 21 July 2008 15:35 Commercial Bank of Qatar (CBQ) has reported a 57.1 per cent increase in profits during the second quarter of the year, earning QR563.6m ($154.8m) in the three months to the end of June. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/commercial_bank_of_qatar_reports_57_per_cent_rise_in_profits.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/commercial_bank_of_qatar_reports_57_per_cent_rise_in_profits.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 21 July 2008 12:05 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Saudi Arabia’s Riyad Bank have been confirmed by Saudi Aramco as the financial advisers on the $26bn Ras Tanura refinery and integrated petrochemical project. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/royal_bank_of_scotland_and_riyad_bank_confirmed_for_ras_tanura.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/royal_bank_of_scotland_and_riyad_bank_confirmed_for_ras_tanura.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 20 July 2008 11:44 http://www.meed.com:80/images/rastanura2_resized_70_tcm24-1358027.jpg Samba has reported a further decline in profits, blaming falling brokerage activities for a second consecutive slump in performance. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/samba_profits_continue_to_fall.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/samba_profits_continue_to_fall.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 20 July 2008 11:03 Saudi giant to change covenants as subsidiary struggles to meet cash projections in deteriorating market. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/sabic_set_to_refinance_ge_plastics_debt.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/sabic_set_to_refinance_ge_plastics_debt.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Ed James 18 July 2008 07:38 http://www.meed.com:80/images/alamy-sabic-riyadh_resized_70_tcm24-1736931.jpg Qatar’s Council of Ministers has delayed the creation of a single financial regulator until September at the earliest, after failing to pass the legislation that would establish the new regulator before the summer break. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/creation_of_a_single_financial_regulator_faces_further_delay.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/creation_of_a_single_financial_regulator_faces_further_delay.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Will Hadfield 17 July 2008 19:35 Egypt will announce plans to create a single regulator for all financial services companies except banks in the final quarter of the year. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/cairo_to_create_single_regulator.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/cairo_to_create_single_regulator.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Will Hadfield 17 July 2008 18:41 Saudi investment house expected to use funding to invest in a series of projects in its domestic market http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/kingdom_holding_seeks_13bn_loan_facility.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/kingdom_holding_seeks_13bn_loan_facility.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 17 July 2008 18:41 http://www.meed.com:80/images/kingdom_resized_70_tcm24-1735616.jpg Currency speculation and the tightening global credit markets are increasing the cost of debt in the region. http://www.meed.com:80/qatar/features/2008/07/spreads_widen_as_crunch_hits_gulf.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/qatar/features/2008/07/spreads_widen_as_crunch_hits_gulf.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 17 July 2008 14:00 http://www.meed.com:80/images/Illustration---finance_resized_70_tcm24-1518150.jpg Inflation in Morocco could reach 2.7 per cent by the end of the year, according to Abdellatif Jouahri, chairman of the central bank, Bank Al Maghreb. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/moroccan_inflation_set_to_rise_by_year_end.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/moroccan_inflation_set_to_rise_by_year_end.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Dominic Dudley 16 July 2008 17:03 Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) is expected to sign a SR6bn ($1.6bn) corporate loan facility by late July as part of its expansion drive to meet demand for power and water in the kingdom. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/saudi_electricity_company_close_to_signing_sr6bn_corporate_loan.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/saudi_electricity_company_close_to_signing_sr6bn_corporate_loan.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 15 July 2008 16:03 Sabb has reported a 25.2 per cent rise in second quarter profits to SR795m ($212m), on rising income from its loan portfolio and asset management business. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/sabb_profit_up_25_per_cent.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/sabb_profit_up_25_per_cent.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 15 July 2008 15:41 Sultan bin Nasser al-Suwaidi has been reappointed governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, ending widespread speculation that he was to be replaced by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank chairman Saeed Mubarak Rashid al-Hajeri. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/suwaidi_to_stay_at_uae_central_bank.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/suwaidi_to_stay_at_uae_central_bank.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 14 July 2008 15:12 Kuwait Finance House (KFH) has reported a 29 per cent increase in second quarter profits to KD83.9m ($315.2m), and says it is looking to expand into Saudi Arabia and other GCC states. http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/kuwait_finance_house_profits_up_29_per_cent.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC http://www.meed.com:80/news/2008/07/kuwait_finance_house_profits_up_29_per_cent.html;jsessionid=6BBC04BC8312D1BCB473BE692DA5AAEC Matthew Martin 14 July 2008 15:10