Neobanks are Making Inroads in the United Arab Emirates with Fintech Adoption Rising in MENA: Report
Highlights:
– The United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked first among the Arab nations in FinxAr. As covered, the Arab Monetary Fund introduced the Index of Modern Financial Technologies in the Arab countries (called the FinxAr).
– The index aims to provide insights on the ongoing developments in the MENA region‘s Fintech sector as well as the adoption of digital financial services in Arab nations during the period (2018-2020).
– The general index for Fintech in the Arab region (FinxAr) includes six primary indices that represent the key pillars of the MENA region Fintech ecosystem – which includes policies as well as legislation, “the demand side, access to finance, financial markets infrastructure, talent development to support innovations, and finally collaboration and partnerships.”
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Living at AlJurf
Find Out More About Living at AlJurf
AlJurf Gardens harnesses nature’s raw beauty and combines it with refined heritage-inspired architecture and contemporary design to present a sanctuary of wellness and calm.
Throughout the villa spaces, the refined and controlled raw beauty of nature is repeated in different scales, to showcase its exquisiteness across every typology of homes, gardens and courtyards.
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Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris launches $1.4bln gold mining fund | ZAWYA MENA Edition
Highlights:
– The Luxembourg-based fund will be a long-only, deep-value fund primarily aimed at gold mining, according to a statement by La Mancha Holding.
– The fund, which will be advised by La Mancha Capital Advisory LLP (LMCA), will include La Mancha’s gold mining assets in both West Africa’s largest producer Endeavour Mining, Evolution Mining, Golden Star, and Altus Strategies. It also includes a $100m investment from “a strategic partner”, which the statement did not name.
– The fund’s primary investment objective is to provide exposure to the gold and precious metals mining sector, but will also have the flexibility to invest in EV battery metals.
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Top Green Energy Banker Sees $150 Billion in India Deals by 2030 – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Bank of America is moving its top renewable energy investment banker in India to New York, as it tries to grab a bigger share of what he estimates is the roughly $500 billion needed to meet the country’s green energy targets.
– Coal’s market share fell in 2020, the second year in a row, as wind and solar projects become more cost-efficient and the technology improves.
– The Indian green bond market is expanding rapidly this year with a total of seven issues denominated in foreign currency. Sales jumped to an all-time high of $4.1 billion this year to date, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
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China Stocks Tumble in US Erase Billions as Crackdown Deepens – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Beijing’s sweeping crackdowns of its technology and education sectors have unleashed shockwaves across global markets, erasing $769 billion in value from U.S.-listed Chinese stocks over the course of just five months.
– China unveiled an overhaul of its education sector which bans firms that teach school subjects from making profits, raising capital or going public.
– The latest events arguably highlight that the authorities are more willing to upset investors in pursuit of their broader political goals now than they were a few years ago,” wrote Oliver Jones, senior markets economist at Capital Economics.
– In total, more than $126 billion in market capitalization has been erased from Chinese education stocks traded in the U.S., China and Hong Kong this year.
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China Reins in Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies to Push Digital Yuan – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– In April 2020, China began testing its own electronic currency—the e-CNY, or digital yuan—a project that could put the government in more direct competition both with cryptocurrencies and with corporate payments systems.
– The e-CNY can provide a backup to the inherently unpredictable private systems, Mu Changchun, head of the digital currency research wing of the People’s Bank of China, said.
– Mu says digital yuan won’t replace WeChat Pay or Alipay, which make up about 90% of China’s $35 trillion mobile payment market, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Bloomberg estimates the e-CNY could capture about 9% of China’s market by 2025
– The digital currency could also afford the government a level of surveillance that isn’t possible with cash or independent digital currencies. This could be useful for combating money laundering, tax evasion, illegal gambling, and other illicit activities. It also raises concerns about the potential of the currency as a tool for political repression
– The country is testing cross-border e-CNY payments with Hong Kong, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates
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U.K.’s SPAC Market Rouses From Its Slumber as Looser Rules Near – Bloomberg — www.bloomberg.com
Highlights:
– Almost eight months into 2021, the London Stock Exchange finally has its first listing of a special-purpose acquisition company for the year.
– U.K. regulators on Tuesday cleared the way for new rules on such listings that will encourage bigger SPACs.
– With London lagging behind continental Europe in attracting SPACs, the changes are welcome news for bankers and sponsors.
– The SPAC slowdown in the U.S., in part because of SEC’s interventions, could provide an opportunity for the U.K. to become more attractive as a SPAC market,” said Michal Berkner, a partner at law firm Cooley.
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Dr. Atie J. El Mouallem – Letter Requesting Donation for School — atiejelmouallem.com
Our school “Lady of the Tower School for the Sisters of the Holy Family” is located in Bekaa- Lebanon in the district of Deir El Ahmar. It is on the main road between Btedhi and Chlifa. Its ultimate goal is our children’s spiritual and educational lives.
From 1932 till now, our school still taking care of poor children, but due to the economic circumstances in Lebanon in general, and in our school in particular, we require your generous attention in the form of donation. Your donation and help can bring a smile to thousands of faces by helping them to achieve a good life and to continue their learning in our school.
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Tunisia’s political crisis fuelled by endless economic pain | Mena – Gulf News
Highlights:
– Spiralling prices, stagnant wages, jobs lost to the pandemic: anger over deep economic woes in debt-hit Tunisia goes a long way to explain the political turmoil that has hit the North African country this week.
– Many people say they are worse off than they were 10 years ago, when a popular revolt ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, kicking off the Arab Spring and sending Tunisia on a rocky path to democracy.
– Tunisia’s 2011 revolution famously started when the young fruit and vegetable seller Mohammad Bu Azizi, after an official denied him a permit and slapped him, set himself on fire in a desperate act of rage.
– Tunisia’s economy last year contracted by more than eight per cent as the pandemic battered the crucial tourism sector.
– Tunis is seeking the fourth loan in 10 years from the International Monetary Fund, and some fear the state will default as Lebanon has.
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