Islamic finance has attracted considerable attention over the last two decades as a substitute to traditional finance. It essentially refers to banking and financial activities that are conducted in accordance with Sharia, or Islamic law. Approximately 25% of the global population is Muslim – the community with the fastest rate of growth. With a median…
Zain KSA has announced its financial results for the first nine months of 2024, achieving revenue of SAR 7.7 billion, a 4.5% year-on-year growth. Net profit over the period amounted to SAR 322 million, a 33% increase compared to the corresponding 2023 period, excluding the tower sales earnings. This financial performance reflects Zain KSA’s strategic…
The FDI boom is a product of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ plan, first announced in 2016. Driven by a desire to diversify away from hydrocarbons, Saudi Arabia is looking to transform its economy by nurturing new industries, attracting investment and positioning itself as an early adopter of advanced technologies. One area that Saudi Arabia is…
e& enterprise, the digital transformation arm of the global technology group e&, and its partner World Wide Generation (WWG) are enhancing the ‘Sustainability as a Service’ offering for the MENA region. By joining forces with UAE entities—including regulators, financial institutions, and government bodies—they aim to support banks, investors, and corporations in meeting upcoming reporting regulations,…
Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, is pleased to announce a commercial partnership with Awaed, the first commission-free Saudi trading platform. Under the terms of the partnership, Awaed will enable their clients to invest into Investcorp’s Saudi Pre-IPO Growth Fund. Investcorp is one of the first global asset manager to set up a strategic…
The Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Paul Chan has recently stated that fintech cooperation between Hong Kong and the Middle East region will enter a new milestone. Chan said in his blog that he will lead a business delegation consisting of representatives from the financial and innovation sectors to…
Kuwait Finance House (KFH) is set to implement Indian software vendor Gieom’s Digital Blueprint software to centralize and streamline its policy and procedure management. The software will enable the $55 billion-asset Islamic bank to create role-based business process flows in collaboration with employees and stakeholders using Gieom’s in-built BPMN 2.0-compliant drawing tool or Microsoft Visio….
Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has announced that the payment services through the national e-Commerce Gateway (QPay) is now available through using (FAWRAN) instant payment service. The service allows merchants to register with the service to help them accept payment transactions for the purchases customers make by using this service. Provision of multiple options for customers…
Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), a leading onshore financial and business hub in the region, has been recognized with three notable awards, highlighting its dedication to fostering innovation in financial services and impactful corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Among the accolades is the esteemed Emerging Technology Initiative Award, presented at the 8th Middle East Enterprise AI…
National Bank of Fujairah (NBF), a full-service corporate bank based in the UAE, has extended its partnership with Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB) to digitize its wholesale business. The $15.1 billion asset bank first signed for the vendor’s open finance platform eMACH.ai in August, a move credited at the time as the first deployment of…
