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2 months ago | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Tim Hume
Hot on the heels of DeepSeek shaking up the AI game, another Chinese ChatGPT rival has stepped into the limelight. Tech giant Alibaba released its Qwen 2.5-Max AI model on Wednesday, claiming its the fastest on the block. Throw in other recent contenders like Kimi and MiniMax, and one thing’s clear: China’s well and truly crashed the AI party. This buzz is giving a solid boost to Chinese stocks listed in the US, while Shanghai hits the pause button for the Lunar New Year holiday.
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2 months ago | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Azar Zaidi
Saudi poultry producer Entaj is going public in Riyadh, with the hope of tapping opportunities in its growing demand for… fresh chicken. The company plans to offer 9 million shares (30% of its issued capital) in the IPO. SNB Capital is managing the deal, where 10% will be set aside for Saudi and GCC retail investors.
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Jan 23, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Azar Zaidi
Derayah Financial just announced it’s going public in Riyadh. The stock broking firm will float a 20% stake on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul), equaling 49.9 million shares of the company’s issued share capital. No details are yet available on the IPO size or timeline. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in Riyadh, Derayah Financial has built up a reputation as Saudi Arabia’s independent digital-investments platform. Its main business segments include brokerage and asset and wealth management.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Azar Zaidi
Kingdom Holding Company, led by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, is open to investing in TikTok if Elon Musk or another high-profile buyer steps up, CEO Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman told Al Arabiya TV. KHC already backs Musk’s other ventures, including social platform X and AI startup xAI. A TikTok deal would extend the Saudi firm’s portfolio into the social video giant, while indirectly linking TikTok to the Saudi state via Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which owns a minority stake in KHC.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Azar Zaidi
CLS Global, a UAE-based crypto market maker, pleaded guilty to market manipulation charges brought against it by federal prosecutors in the US — under a setup that couldn’t be more cinematic. According to the US Attorney’s Office, CLS, which provides crypto services to American investors, was accused of pumping the NexFundAI token, an FBI creation.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Tim Hume
Want to bet on the Gulf’s rising stars? Saudi Arabian banks might be your ticket. They’re positioned to leave their UAE rivals trailing, say Goldman Sachs analysts, after starting coverage of four lenders with a “buy” rating. Riyad Bank, Saudi Awwal Bank and Saudi National Bank are Goldman’s top picks, with returns of around 40% expected for these lenders. And it’s not just Goldman: not a single analyst covering those stocks has a “sell” rating, according to LSEG data.
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Jan 20, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Azar Zaidi
Dubai Islamic Bank is doubling down on its bet in Turkey’s fintech sector, increasing its stake in T.O.M. Group, a digital financial services player. DIB disclosed to the Dubai Financial Market that it has upped its shareholding from 20% to 25%, building on its initial investment in the group back in September 2023. The financial details of both deals remain undisclosed. Requests for comment to DIB and T.O.M. Group were unanswered at the time of publication.
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Jan 18, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad |Ankush Chibber
TikTok, the app that taught America how to renegotiate its relationship with attention spans, told its 170 million US users on Saturday that it’s going “temporarily” offline under a new national security law that takes effect Sunday, 19 January. The news broke via a pop-up message:“We regret that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable,” the company wrote.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad
The US Supreme Court has upheld a law ordering TikTok to be sold or face an imminent ban in the US, despite a bid by incoming president Donald Trump to “save” the massively popular Chinese-owned app. The court’s decision means TikTok which has 170 million American users, will need to shut down on 19 January, unless its Chinese parent ByteDance can find a buyer.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
moniify.com | Chantal Fouad
Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based real estate titan, is selling off its India business, with the Adani Group a potential buyer. In a statement, Emaar confirmed a report from Mint, stating that it was in talks with “a few groups” in India, including the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate, to sell a stake in its local business. Details of the deal, including the valuation, were not yet finalized, said the company, best known globally as the developer behind the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall.
