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EzRemit signs Bank of Egypt partner...
EzRemit (EzR), part of Bahrain's BFC Group Holdings, has signed a strategic partnership with United Bank of Egypt (UBE) to offer remittance services in the North African country. The expansion is part of EzRemit's growth plan, with UBEs large branch network adding 38 locations throughout Egypt. The partnership is being formed due to the growth potential projected for the local remittance industry.
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UAE banks to stop transfers to Iran
Money transfers to Iran have been stopped by the majority of lenders in the UAE after the latest round of sanctions on the Islamic republic, AFP has reported, citing banking sources. "We stopped transfers to Iran in all currencies in July," an executive from an international bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the news service. "Transactions by Iranian clients are closely monitored," the banker said.
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Qatar Exchange successfully launche...
Qatar Exchange has reached a major mile-stone in its drive to develop in Doha a world class financial center by launching UTP, with the system successfully going live at the start of trading today.
The introduction of UTP means that the country's cash equities exchange will operate with the same state-of-the-art technology as NYSE Euronext, the global trading group and strategic partner of the Qatar Exchange since June 2009.
The move represents a significant step forward in the development of Qatar Exchange, laying firm foundations to realize the State of Qatar's strategic vision for the market to act as a global exchange, working in accordance with the best international practices and standards.
Qatar Exchange now has an important piece of the infrastructure to work towards expanding the capabilities of the market with new products such as bonds and other diversified exchange traded instruments.
The announcement caps a year of progress towards achieving the five year development of the Qatar Exchange project which has also seen the Central Bank of Qatar act as Settlement Bank; Government permission to allow Qatari banks to join the Exchange, and modification to the Qatar Exchange's index.
HE Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chairman of QE's Board, expressed his deep satisfaction with this major step, being a milestone in the development strategy aiming at turning QE into a world-class exchange.
HE Dr. Al Attiyah also extended his heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Heir Apparent, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for their wise directions and constant support of the endeavors aiming at developing the Qatar Exchange in line with the ambitious economic vision of the State of Qatar.
HE also expressed his gratitude to HE Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabor Al Thani, Vice Chairman and CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, for his continuous support aiming to align QE with the best international practices in the world of exchanges.
Andre Went, Qatar Exchange Chief Executive Officer said:
"Today's implementation of UTP marks a significant positive step towards the promotion of trust in the market and increasing the efficiency of the services provided to investors and providing a trading platform for new products and investment instruments to be launched by Qatar Exchange. Both issuers and investors alike will benefit from the speed, efficiency and reliability of NYSE Euronext's world class technology, together with greater market transparency resulting from the introduction of a closing auction. Launching the UTP Platform on schedule and in line with our stated strategy is a clear demonstration of the benefits of the strategic partnership between Qatar Holding and NYSE Euronext."
He added: "UTP will play an essential role in Qatar Exchange's progression towards establishing a world class market, listing diversified investment products. This launch also marks an important step in the history of the Qatari market with the introduction of new order types, order parameters and closing auction thus improving efficiency and transparency and attracting a diverse investor base".
Dominique Cerutti, President & Deputy Chief Executive of NYSE Euronext said: "This achievement illustrates the progress of our partnership with Qatar, our joint commitment to innovation and the close working relationship between our two organizations. We are delighted at this important first step and welcome the opportunity to apply our leading-edge technology to transform the Qatar Exchange into a marketplace that is well positioned to serve market participants in the Middle East and the world".
As next steps the Qatar Exchange will leverage the new regulatory framework and the leading edge technology to launch new products for its cash market and enhance its connectivity via SFTI to the NYSE Euronext global community, thereby tapping into NYSE Euronext's liquidity network. Further into the future, we expect to see the launch of a derivatives market in Qatar.
The successful launch of UTP for the Qatar Exchange is the first launch of the NYSE Euronext cash trading application suite outside its own core markets. The platform incorporates new state-of-the-art technology, providing outstanding value to customers and setting new benchmarks in terms of scalability, capacity, ultra-low latency, new functionalities and resiliency.
In terms of benefits for market participants, UTP offers extremely low latency (less than one millisecond. It also uses internationally recognized protocols for order routing, thereby providing seamless integration with participants across the globe. As part of this initiative, Qatar Exchange has also commissioned a Disaster Recovery back-up data center in partnership with Qatar Telecom. This secondary data center is now active with UTP installed and brokers are being systematically connected.
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Reem Investments signs with Manches...
Reem Investments PJSC is pleased to announce the signing of a partnership agreement with Manchester United Soccer Schools to run its programmes exclusively in the UAE for 2 years with effect from 1 September 2010. Under the terms of the agreement Reem also have the option to expand into the GCC.
Reem Investments and MUSS have agreed that the school will be headquartered at the Dome@Rawdhat on Airport Road in Abu Dhabi. The Dome@Rawdhat is a soccer facility, which is the home of the UAE's first air-supported indoor soccer pitch as well as outdoor pitches.
The Dome@Rawdhat will be the home of the MUSS programmes for children between 8 to 16 years from all over the UAE. Separate programmes for girls will also be conducted within the privacy of the indoor Dome facility. Accredited and certified MUSS coaches from the UK will employ techniques similar to those used by Manchester United's first team players to support the development of all the participants. The MUSS Curriculum is also aimed at developing the social skills applicable both on and off the field; and encouraging a healthy lifestyle.
Managing Director of Reem Investments, Mr Abdulhamid Saeed, said, "We are extremely pleased that MUSS has chosen Abu Dhabi to be the hub for UAE and the GCC. Since October, 2009, the Dome@Rawdhat has been abuzz with more than 50,000 footballers from all ages and backgrounds. Manchester United is one of the world's best known football teams and we are delighted that MUSS has recognized the Dome@Rawdhat as an ideal location for its training programme. MUSS programmes will reach out to the masses both in terms of nurturing younger players in soccer skills and techniques as well as developing overall fitness. MUSS's presence at the dome will further enhance and create a vibrant sporting community in Rawdhat on Airport Road in Abu Dhabi."
David Seales, General Manager of Manchester United Merchandising Limited, added, "Manchester United has a fantastic following in the Middle East and this exciting new project will provide high quality coaching programmes for thousands of aspiring footballers in the coming years. We are delighted to be partnering with Reem Investments who share in our vision to provide high quality experiences for the younger generation through sport."
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Beltone to start trading on Egyptia...
Beltone Financial, the Egyptian investment bank has announced its shares listed on the Egyptian stock exchange would start trading before the end of 2010, Reuters has reported. The merger plans with Pioneers Holding were scrapped in July after the companies failed to agree on strategy for the merged firm. "The (merger plan) with Pioneers delayed the issue, but after the end of the talks, we decided to activate our shares," Beltone head of investor relations Osama Rashad said.
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Union Bank of India to open Dubai b...
M.V. Nair, chairman and managing director of Union Bank of India, has announced plans to open a branch in Dubai to meet the funding needs of Indian corporates in the Middle East, Khaleej Times has reported. UBI already has a representative office in Abu Dhabi since 2007, but the forthcoming branch in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) will mainly focus on foreign currency funding and trade finance requirements of non-resident Indians in the region, he said. "In [the] DIFC, we are permitted to do wholesale business and here [Dubai] the purpose would be... supporting the UAE and India trade that will be major focus," Nair told the daily.
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Xpress Money teams up with Thai bank
Abu Dhabi-based Xpress Money has announced commencement of instant money transfers to Thailand-based Government Savings Bank, the Gulf Today has reported. The announcement follows an agreement between the two brands marking Xpress Money's extended reach to all 76 provinces of Thailand.
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Emirates NBD expands services in Saudi
Emirates NBD has become the first UAE-based bank and the only non-Saudi bank to offer customers in the kingdom electronic bill payment facilities for utilities and government services. The provision of the utility bill payment facility is mandatory for all banks operating in Saudi Arabia, but the inclusion of government services has only been adopted by major lenders, the bank said.
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Carnegie buys troubled Swedish bank
Stockholm: Swedish bank Carnegie said yesterday it was buying HQ Bank, which was closed by authorities last weekend for breaking risk rules, for 268 million crowns ($37 million) in a deal cleared by the financial watchdog.
HQ Bank, owned by holding company HQ, was put into liquidation on Monday after the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority revoked its banking licence for grossly breaching financial regulations.
The FSA said investment bank Carnegie's purchase of HQ Bank meant the unit could resume banking operations while the merger was being finalised.
Carnegie said the deal included an additional agreement to buy the funds arm of the bank, HQ Fonder, for 850 million crowns in covertible debentures and preferred Carnegie stock.
"The combined company is financially strong," Carnegie said, adding: "With the acquisition of HQ Bank and HQ Fonder, Carnegie creates the clearly leading independent investment bank in the Nordic region".
Carnegie said HQ Bank would be merged with Carnegie while HQ Fonder, currently owned by HQ part-owner Oresund, would become a subsidiary of the bank. The FSA pulled HQ Bank's licence after finding a lack of oversight in its trading operation, saying the bank had taken such large risks it endangered its own survival. The prosecutor's office has opened a separate investigation.
It was the second time in two years Sweden acted forcibly against a financial group. In 2008, the FSA withdrew the licence for Carnegie itself, which was then taken over by the state and sold in 2009 to investment company Bure and private equity firm Altor.
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Gulf banks' loan losses and impairm...
Standard and Poor's Ratings Services has warned of future challenges facing the Gulf lenders it rates, but said they appear to be showing signs of improvement, after spending more than $20bn on loan loss provisions and investment impairments since 2008. "We believe the asset quality of Gulf banks should improve from 2011 and that their good margins and efficiency will provide a solid foundation for their return to high profitability," S&P's credit analyst Mohamed Damak said. However, improving liquidity, funding future growth, and refinancing the stock of existing debt are the next hurdles facing Gulf banks, the rating agency said.
