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Alamy via Reuters The Investment Corporation of Dubai is strategically positioned to realise value through the potential listing of its existing assets, including the prominent Dubai Duty Free ICD worth $340bn Emirates NBD already listed Strong IPO candidates The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the principal investment arm of the emirate’s government, could potentially turn to the capital markets with a raft of listings over the next year or so, according to analysts. Established in 2006, ICD is worth about $340 billion and already has one of its crown jewels – Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets – listed…

Lebanese Presidency Press Office/Handout via Reuters Karim Souaid, a former investment banker and asset manager, is the sixth governor of the Banque du Liban Karim Souaid named bank governor Must tackle $76bn in frozen deposits Hopes he will ‘revitalise banking’ Last Thursday the Lebanese cabinet approved Karim Souaid as the sixth governor of the country’s central bank, Banque du Liban.  Souaid, a former investment banker and asset manager, takes up the post after two years in which Lebanon had no formal banking chief and as the country enters a seventh year of economic and political turmoil. His most pressing task…

The dollar wobbled on Tuesday after a bruising quarter as weary investors braced for reciprocal tariffs from US President Donald Trump this week, a move that is likely to exacerbate the global trade war that has evoked US recession worries. Investors’ focus has been firmly on the new round of reciprocal levies that the White House is due to announce on Wednesday, with details scarce. Trump said late on Sunday that essentially all countries will be slapped with duties this week. That has left currency markets subdued as traders stayed on the sidelines awaiting clarity on Trump’s trade policies. Trump…

Oil prices inched higher on Tuesday after threats by US President Donald Trump to impose secondary tariffs on Russian crude and attack Iran, though worries about the impact of a trade war on global growth capped gains. Brent futures rose 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $74.98 a barrel at 0645 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 22 cents, or 0.3%, to $71.70. The contracts settled at five-week highs a day earlier. “Near-term risks are skewed to the upside, with US threats of secondary tariffs on Russian and Iranian oil leading market participants to price for the risks…

Nathan Howard/Reuters US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell attends a press conference following the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee in Washington A year ago, in response to a CNBC reporter’s question about stagflation risk in the US economy, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell replied, “I don’t see the stag or the -flation”.  Too bad the Fed chairman was forced to announce a monetary policy U-turn after the March 2025 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) conclave officially downgraded its forecast for US GDP growth from 2.1 percent to 1.7 percent, even as it raised its inflation forecast (on their…

Unsplash/David Grandmougin Investments in Pokémon Go and other franchises are part of an effort to position Saudi Arabia as a gaming powerhouse Saudi Arabia’s acquisition of Pokémon Go marks a milestone in the gaming industry and the broader cultural and geopolitical landscape.  Last month Niantic, the studio behind Pokémon Go, announced the sale of its mobile gaming division to Scopely, a developer owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).  With this $3.85 billion deal, the kingdom further cements its role as a global gaming industry player. However, the implications go far beyond entertainment. For years video games have been dismissed as…

As global economic challenges intensify—driven by fluctuations in interest rates, trade policies, and geopolitical tensions—Saudi Arabia continues to advance steadily towards diversifying its economy through its Vision 2030.This ambitious initiative has bolstered key sectors such as tourism, industry, and technology, leading to significant progress, despite the ongoing need for further reforms and investments to ensure sustainability and competitiveness.In this context, S&P Global upgraded Saudi Arabia’s long-term sovereign credit rating from “A” to “A+” in March 2024, citing strong growth in the non-oil sector and the development of local capital markets.Saudi Arabia’s economy regained momentum in 2024, growing by 1.3%, with…

The Egyptian government has pledged to improve wages and ease the financial burden on citizens by raising the minimum wage to 7,000 Egyptian pounds (1 USD = 50.45 EGP in banks) starting from the new fiscal year in July 2025. In its proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the government allocated an 18.1% increase in wage provisions, totaling 671 billion pounds to fund the new salary increases. This includes a 10% increase in the periodic allowance for civil service law employees and a 15% increase for non-civil service employees, with a minimum increase of 150 pounds per month, according…

Reuters/M.Sriram Indian snack maker Haldiram’s will use the new funds to expand across the US and the Middle East Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC), New York-based Alpha Wave Global and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek have invested in an Indian snack maker as part of an equity financing round, PwC, the financial advisor to the deal, said in a statement. Indian government-owned Press Trust of India (PTI) reported that IHC and Alpha Wave collectively acquired a minority stake of 6 percent in Haldiram’s, valuing the company at $10 billion. Singapore-based Temasek acquired a 10 percent stake in Haldiram Snacks Food for INR85 billion…

Alamy/Zuma Press US President Donald Trump, pictured with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman. Trump said his trip to Saudi Arabia would be to seal an agreement to invest upwards of $1 trillion in the US economy US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May to sign an investment agreement in what will be the first foreign trip of his second term, with stops also planned in Qatar and the UAE. “It could be next month, maybe a little later,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Four sources briefed on the…