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  • Jadwa Investment – December 2012 Saudi Chartbook
     

    Jadwa Investment’s Saudi Chartbook for the month of December 2012 assesses a number of key aspects of the Saudi economy including the real economy, bank lending, banking indicators, inflation, trade, oil, exchange rates, the TASI (Saudi Stock Market), sectoral performance, and more. A summary of the report is provided for your consideration below, and the […]

     
  • Jadwa Investment – November 2012 Saudi Chartbook
     

    Jadwa Investment’s Saudi Chartbook for the month of November 2012 assesses a number of key aspects of the Saudi economy including the real economy, bank lending, banking indicators, inflation, trade, oil, exchange rates, the TASI (Saudi Stock Market), sectoral performance, and third quarter earnings. To read the entire report in full as a PDF, click […]

     
  • Anne Habiby: Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in the Arab World
     

    In addition to featured speakers such as President Bill Clinton and Mr. Abdullah Alireza  the recent C3 Summit in New York City presented a number of compelling panel discussions addressing commercial and trade issues related to doing business in the MENA region. SUSTG has featured the remarks at this event of Abdullah Alireza (Global Economic […]

     
  • Abdullah Alireza speaks at C3 Summit
     

    SUSTG attended the C3 Summit in New York City September 13-14, 2012. This was the inaugural event in what the organizers anticipate will be an annual gathering to ‘build new relationships, foster existing partnerships and exchange best practices’ between the U.S. and the Arab world. C3 (Community, Collaboration and Commerce) is looking to host the […]

     
  • Saudi Mortgage Law: Key Details Still to be Determined
     

    Saudi Arabia faces housing challenges caused by rapid population growth and an inflow of expatriate workers to the kingdom.

     
  • Saudi banks most profitable in Middle East
     

    Out of the top 50 banks in the Middle East ranked by assets for the period H1 2011, Saudi banks lead the pack “having a good track record of maintaining strong asset quality and adapting adequate lending practices and underwriting standards,” Sheetal Kothari, research analyst, business and financial services practice, Frost & Sullivan, said. The […]

     
  • Wealth Management in the Middle East: Boon or Bust?
     

    Middle Eastern policymakers and bankers will develop an indigenous wealth management industry which keeps the super-wealthy’s investments at home. Developing a local national wealth management industry requires letting in foreign competition, changing banking and securities laws, and growing local companies whose shares are worth buying. The first part of the article reviews trends in wealth […]

     
  • Saudi Mortgage Law Approved – Jadwa Flash Note
     

    Jadwa Investments released a flash note discussing the recently approved mortgage law in Saudi Arabia, which the bank believes “is a very important step in broadening home ownership.” The new mortgage law “will help to tackle one of the most pressing social issues for many in the Kingdom and will generate significant benefits to the economy. However, […]

     
  • Saudi, Kuwait, UAE lead Q1 GCC corporate earnings growth
     

    Earnings of Saudi Arabian companies totalled $6.7 billion, an increase of 15 per cent YoY and 28 per cent QoQ. SABIC, which reported $1.9 billion in Q1 profits, saw its bottom-line decline by five per cent YoY due to softening of global petrochemical prices when compared to Q1 2011. Saudi Banks continued its stable growth […]

     
  • Major Banks Expanding in Saudi Arabia
     

    “We’d be crazy to limit ourselves to a handful of bankers when we can see oil prices are going to sustain the Saudi economy for the foreseeable future,” Rory Gilbert, the head of Middle East and North Africa at London-based Barclays’s wealth management unit, said in an interview this week in Dubai. “In four or […]

     

MUST-READS

  • SAMA: Banks to Postpone Payment of Installments for Saudi Workers

    The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has directed Saudi local banks to postpone three months installments of all financing products for Saudi workers registered in the support of unemployment insurance (SANED) without any additional costs or fees. The decision is effective as of April.

  • Saudi banks get small part of $7bn bond sale amid liquidity concerns

    Saudi Arabia received around $54 billion in combined orders for the bonds, a sign of strong investor appetite, but its borrowing costs have increased after a sell-off of Gulf bonds last month caused by lower crude prices and the coronavirus outbreak.

  • Saudi Aramco in talks with banks to borrow about $10 billion – sources

    “The financing would be for the SABIC deal, but the borrower is Aramco,” said one of the sources, adding that the discussions were at an initial stage, with the company sounding out banks. “Ten billion dollars is where they want to get to, (it’s) not clear if, in this market, they’ll manage to reach that.”

  • Saudi Arabia Tells Banks to Support Businesses to Avoid Job Cuts

    The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority wants banks to immediately put in place a lending program for at least six months to “assist in maintaining employment levels,” according to a document sent by the regulator to lenders and seen by Bloomberg. Banks should also provide relief on debt repayments for any customers that have already been dismissed, SAMA, as the central bank is known, said in the circular.

  • Saudi banks should embrace fintech strategies and collaborate

    One thing clearly emerging is that local Saudi banks are now open to the idea of evaluating how fintech solutions can help them rather than seeing them as a threat and investing in-house technologies as in the past. Banks are now rapidly looking at embedding the adoption of fintechs in their overall business and digital strategies.

  • Saudi central bank implements work-from-home measures for banks

    Saudi Arabia's central bank said it has asked its employees to suspend work in the head office and branches, and implemented work-from-home measures for financial institutions, with the exception of critical positions, amid coronavirus concerns. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority said in a statement on Tuesday the decision was in compliance with a government directive to suspend attendance for employees in all government agencies, except for those in health, security and military sectors.

  • Saudi Banks Seen as Gulf’s Most Vulnerable in Oil-Price War

    “Sustained lower oil prices would undoubtedly impact the private sector and lead to a pick-up in delinquencies,” said Chiro Ghosh, an analyst at investment bank SICO BSC in Bahrain. Saudi banks with a high share of corporate loans “are at greater risk” so will “focus more on mortgage loans to protect their margin.”

  • Traveling private collection of Banksy artworks lands in Saudi Arabia

    The traveling exhibition, which has already made its way to Amsterdam, Berlin, Melbourne, and Paris, will land in an Arab country for the first time ever. It showcases over 80 iconic creations from multiple private collections including photographs, multi-media prints, and a documentary on the artist and his work.

  • Banking and Finance
    Saudi, U.A.E. Banks to See Jump in Loan Demand as Profit Lags

    While banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates can look forward to burgeoning loan growth in 2020, higher earnings could be slow to follow as lower interest rates pressure profit margins. Lending in the U.A.E. is expected to get a lift from Dubai’s hosting of a six-month exhibition involving more than 190 countries. In addition, economic growth is forecast to rise to 2.5% from 1.6% last year, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg. A regional expansion by U.A.E. banks may also add to revenue, as a government-backed mortgages program in Saudi Arabia fuels demand for home loans. You've reached your free article limit. Limited time offer: $105$12 for 3 months.

  • Investment
    Saudi banks increase investments in government bonds

    Banks operating in Saudi Arabia increased its investments in government-issued bonds during November by 25.2% on an annual basis, equivalent to SAR 76.56 billion. The banking sector investments in bonds reached SAR 379.95 billion by the end of last November, compared with SAR 303.39 billion in the same period in 2018, as shown by the monthly bulletin of the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GaStat).