Middle East
Why Brexit May Widen the Islamic Finance Playing Field
Brexit may introduce new players to compete with the UK in Islamic Finance footraceCould Brexit contribute to the rise of new global players in Islamic Finance? While the spread of Islamic Finance outside the GCC has been gaining pace, it remains to be seen whether Brexit could derail the rise of London and the UK’s position as a global hub for Sharia compliant investing.
20 Sept 2016
VIDEO: Samer Jumean, Emirates Global Aluminium
Samer Jumean, Head of Financing and Capital Markets at Emirates Global Aluminium discusses the syndication strategy taken on the company's landmark US$4.9bn 7-year syndicated facility (February 2016).
16 Sept 2016
VIDEO: Bonds & Loans Interview: Donal Breen, OSN and Walid Amri, Mashreqbank
Donal Breen, Chief Financial Officer at OSN and Walid Amri, Director of Corporate Finance at Mashreqbank dive into the strategy that helped drive the company's US$400m 5-year syndicated loan to a successful close.
16 Sept 2016
GCC project finance sees potential in airports and renewables
With a significant pipeline of infrastructure developments – particularly within aviation and transportation – requiring funding at a time of pressured state finances, PPPs are increasingly being considered to share the burden of costs for the GCC states with the largest infrastructure pipelines according to a recently published Deloitte report.
13 Sept 2016
CASE STUDY: Equate Sets M&A Financing Benchmark with Dual Tranche Bridge Loan
Kuwait-based Equate Petrochemical’s US$6bn conventional and Islamic dual-tranche acquisition bridge loan was one of the largest deals of its kind in the region, maximising stakeholder liquidity while helping to create a regional petrochemicals powerhouse.
12 Sept 2016
Yapi Kredi CFO Massimo Francese on Turkey’s banking sector and future funding opportunities
Turkey’s markets have experienced a lot over the last couple of months. Despite perceived volatility however, the country’s fundamentals remain strong. We speak with Massimo Francese, Executive VP and CFO at Yapi Kredi on the strength of the Turkish banking sector, how the Bank’s overall strategy will play out going forward and how the Bank is adapting to Basel III.
9 Sept 2016
Tim Hall: A Global Credit Snapshot
With a low rate environment looking to persist well into next year, it looks like a perfect storm for issuers is taking shape – particularly in emerging markets, where yield hungry investors are searching for higher returns. We speak with Tim Hall, who previously served as Global Head of DCM at Credit Agricole CIB, about the global credit outlook, how DM and EM market shocks – like Brexit or the…
9 Sept 2016
New UAE bankruptcy laws a big positive for issuers and borrowers
Distressed SMEs in the UAE have struggled to attract capital, and are often harshly treated under current bankruptcy laws, which are also insufficient to deal with large corporations. The introduction of new insolvency laws is likely to increase investor participation in the financing of SMEs through removing the stigma of bankruptcy and by providing chances for recovery for distressed entities,…
8 Sept 2016
CFO View: Etisalat's Group CFO, Serkan Okandan, talks key financing challenges in the GCC and Africa
Serkan Okandan has been the Group Chief Financial Officer of Emirates Telecommunications Group Company PJSC (Etisalat Group) since January 2, 2012. Mr. Okandan served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) from October 2014 until July 2015 and currently represents Etisalat Group at the Boards and Audit Committees for companies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and…
7 Sept 2016
Investors weary of new GCC debt as Fed outlook remains uncertain
With a number of GCC issuer looking to wrap up their bond deals before the end of Q3 after what has already been a record year for credit volume in the region, there are signs fixed income investors are starting to grow weary as uncertainty around the Fed’s decision to raise rates persists. The region's credit could suffer as a result.
2 Sept 2016