News Round

HSBC plans to lay off up to three per cent of its 12,000-strong workforce in the Middle East and north africa as it seeks to cut costs to improve its competitiveness. “As part of a standard operational review of the business to ensure our competitiveness, we have identified an opportunity to improve efficiency through a small reduction of headcount,” it …

an “even higher level” of co-operation between saudi arabia and Korea has been called for by Khalid A. Al-Falih, president and CEO of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company). In addressing the Korean Chamber of Commerce in Seoul, he said he would like to see “strategic Korean Investments in various areas of the Saudi Arabian economy, including energyrelated fields”. In a …

Deutsche Bank is launching trade finance and corporate cash management services out of its branch in the Saudi capital Riyadh. They are focused on servicing the bank’s corporate and institutional clients, and include traditional and new commercial banking services such as international trade finance solutions and cash management, supporting customers at every stage of their business cycles. The bank is …

The future of trade and corporate finance was discussed when the Falcon Group held its second annual Trade & Corporate Finance Forum for the region’s CEOs and CFOs at Dubai’s Atlantis Palm in April. Lord Norman Lamont, former UK Chancellor of the exchequer, was the keynote speaker. Other speakers included Fabio Scacciavillani, Oman Investment Fund’s chief economist, and Daniel Schmand, …

Strong performance by the petrochemical sector because of higher global prices boosted the combined income of listed companies in saudi arabia by nearly 23 per cent in the fi rst quarter of 2011, according to a saudi investment fi rm. Despite the sharp fall in the profits of some firms, the combined earnings of the more than 120 companies trading …

Bank of Beirut’s net profit for the first quarter of 2011 rose by 1.38 per cent to $20m as compared to the first quarter of 2010, although assets and customer deposits jumped by 26.86 per cent and 36.11 per cent respectively.  Roger Dagher, chief financial officer of Bank of Beirut, said the remarkable growth of assets during the period was …

In a move that widens its role as a multilateral development bank, the arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) has signed the accession agreement to the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Master Cooperation agreement (MCA). It is the first arab multilateral development bank to do this. The IFC’s Master Cooperation agreement promotes increased collaboration with international financial institutions to help standardise steps …

ADS Securities, the leading Abu Dhabi-based brokerage and trade services provider, was named the “Fastest newcomer” at the Middle East Forex Awards 2011. This recognised the significant volumes and client base that the company had built up in the short time since its start-up.

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment & export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, and the african Trade Insurance agency (ATI), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that aims to provide greater cooperation to provide re-insurance support for trade transactions and projects that benefit exporters and investors conducting business in common member …

Two new treasury services leadership team appointments have been announced by BNY Mellon. Susan Skerritt now leads global product management and strategic development, and Alan Verschoyle-King was named head of global sales and relationship management. Both will report directly to J. David Cruikshank, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Treasury services. Formerly head of business strategy, development and investment for …

The Managed secure Messaging service provided by British Telecommunications (BT) is now available to fi nancial institutions in the Middle east. The service allows the fi nancial community to exchange messages securely, reliably and in a non-repudiable manner over BT private networks and the internet for all of its business activities. The service is designed to meet the security requirements …

BankMuscat, a leading fi nancial services provider in the sultanate, recently hosted the fi rst meeting of the risk Officers Committee (ROC) comprising risk officers from banks across Oman. The committee was formed with a view to facilitate exchange of knowledge and keep abreast with the latest developments in the ever-evolving field of risk management. Participating in the inaugural session, …

Small businesses seem to be reluctant to approach the banks when it comes to seeking finance, according to the Business Banking study carried out by Charterhouse research. Over the past 12 months, only a third of such businesses have sought some form of finance from banks. Mark Dennis, director at Charterhouse research, said, “In a market where businesses seem to …

Demand for trade financing is expected to rise as the Gulf economies develop their non-oil exports. In the UAE, for example, a November 2010 survey of HSBC customers found that around half of small businesses said they expected their need for trade finance to increase as they relied more heavily on banks to finance their export and import activity and …

The national Bank of abu dhabi (nBad) has announced the opening of a new office in the Us capital, Washington, as part of its expansion strategy for north america. The lender currently operates in 13 countries, including those spanning the Uae, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, egypt, sudan, Libya, France, switzerland, the UK, the Usa and hong Kong.

The Islamic finance industry is now worth close to $1trn and spans the globe. From Kuwait to Kuala Lumpur, the industry has attracted significant investor interest due to Islamic banks’ tendency to avoid excessive leverage and risk-taking Islamic finance, which requires financial products from mortgages to savings accounts to be structured to comply with sharia law under the Koran, is …