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2 weeks ago | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
Initially set up as a sales and trading brokerage, Arqaam Capital is now accelerating its ECM, DCM, and loan syndication efforts as deal flow rises in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. But the expansion isn’t without challenges, including tight fees and stiff competition. Headquartered in Dubai’s DIFC and with offices in UAE, Saudi, Egypt and Lebanon, the financial services firm secured licenses in Saudi that would enable them to advice on ECM mandates.
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2 weeks ago | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
Saudi-based private conglomerate ERAM Holdings, which operates across multiple sectors including oil and gas, utilities, and petrochemicals and giga projects, is planning to tap the debt markets before the end of the year and has already started discussions with potential lenders. ERAM currently operates across five key verticals which include specialised technical support services, travel and tourism, healthcare, R&D & manufacturing, and industrial support services.
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2 months ago | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
MENA investment banking giant EFG Hermes has a pipeline of seven IPOs and is expecting a few accelerated book building (ABB) deals for the rest of 2025, after having raised $575.7 million from three public offers in Q1.
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Jan 29, 2025 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
HSBC Holdings is forging ahead with a brand-new plan that will downsize its investment banking business in the West and will focus instead on Asia and the Middle East. The banking giant has already been a leader in the MENA region for ECM and DCM in the past four consecutive years and is hoping to make a splash in Asia by building on its MENA success.
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Jan 15, 2025 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s top lender by assets, has started the year by making key changes to its leadership structure. Zawya has learnt that the bank has sent out a notification to its employees stating that Sameh Al Qubaisi, Group Head of Global Markets and Suhail BinTarraf, Group Chief Operating Officer, have resigned. Al Qubaisi led FAB’s global markets function, expanding the business regionally and internationally.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
Central banks in the GCC slashed interest rates by 25bps after the US federal reserve announced its second interest rate cut this year, trimming its benchmark rate by 25bps as inflation cooled and hovers just above the target of a 2% annual rate. The US Fed on Thursday night lowered the federal funds rate to a range of 4.5% to 4.75% from its current 4.75% to 5% level. The Gulf states usually follow the Fed's lead on rate moves as most regional currencies are pegged to the US dollar.
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Oct 22, 2024 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
An estimated $1 billion in investment banking fees were generated in the Middle East and North Africa during the first nine months of 2024, 27% more than the value recorded a year ago. HSBC earned the most investment banking fees in the region during the first nine months of 2024, a total of $80.4 million, or a 7.8% share of the total fee pool, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence.
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Feb 5, 2024 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
Saudi Arabia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased by 0.9% YoY in 2023, due to a decline in oil activities by 9.2%, according to the General Authority of Statistics (GASTAT). The decline in oil activities could be related to the kingdom's voluntary cut in oil production in line with OPEC+. However, non-oil activities rose by 4.6%, and government activities by 2.1%, the Ministry of Investment said in a report citing the GASTAT. Most economic activities recorded YoY growth in Q3 2023.
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Jan 15, 2024 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
The many uncertainties that dominated the outlook over the last year continue to cloud near-term economic developments, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF), which also noted that 56% of chief economists expect the global economy to weaken in 2024, while another 43% foresee unchanged or stronger conditions.
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Jan 3, 2024 | 
zawya.com | Seban Scaria
Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has established a new law to set up a company to oversee the development, management and investments in public and private parking spaces in the emirate. "The purpose of Parkin include establishing, planning, designing, developing, managing and supervising public parking lots, implementing the legislation regulating them, managing, creating, developing and designing private parking lots," Dubai Media Office tweeted.
