* Miguel Azevedo, Citigroup Inc.'s head of investment banking in the Middle East and Africa, said the U.S. lender expects Nigeria, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates to be the main growth drivers in the region in addition to Saudi Arabia as bond sales, M&As and IPOs pick up in the region, Reuters reported. "The pipeline in the Middle East and Africa is as good as we have seen since the global financial crisis of 2008," he told the news wire.
* French lender Natixis plans to auction at least €150 million of Steinhoff International Holdings NV debt as part of efforts to cut exposure to the scandal-hit South African retailer, Bloomberg News reported.
* Malaysia Building Society Bhd. closed the acquisition of Asian Finance Bank Bhd. in a cash-and-stock deal worth 645.0 million ringgit. Signed in November 2017, Malaysia Building Society entered into a conditional share purchase agreement to buy the entire equity interest in Asian Finance Bank from the latter's shareholders — Qatar Islamic Bank (QPSC), Financial Assets Bahrain WLL, Malaysia-based RUSD Investment Bank Inc. and Yemen-based Tadhamon International Islamic Bank
* Japan's Nomura Holdings Inc. appointed Slavko Andrejevic managing director of financial sponsors for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
* Qatar National Bank (QPSC) has closed the syndication for its $3.5 billion three-year unsecured term loan facility, which will be used for general corporate purposes. The group noted that it had already repaid in full an earlier $3.0 billion syndicated loan prior to issuing the new loan facility.
* Beltone Financial Holding SAE is planning acquisitions in Egypt's leasing and consumer finance sectors, and might plan a microfinance startup, CEO Bassem Azab told Bloomberg News. The Egyptian investment bank is also looking for acquisition opportunities outside Egypt to diversify beyond equities.
* Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif said the regulator plans to issue foreign-currency bonds for the first time to provide more mainstream instruments to those interested in investments in the foreign exchange market, according to the Financial Tribune. The plan is expected to be unveiled within two weeks.
* Iran's Money and Credit Council has approved regulations that will pave the way for all banks and credit institutions in the country to issue mortgage-backed securities, the Financial Tribune wrote. Bank Maskan is currently the only lender engaged in issuing MBS.
* Fitch Ratings affirmed various ratings of Israeli lenders Bank Leumi le-Israel BM and Bank Hapoalim BM, including their A long-term issuer default ratings, F1 short-term issuer default ratings and "a-" viability ratings. The outlook on the long-term issuer default ratings is stable.
* Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange CEO Rashed Al-Baloushi said it is in talks with Indian companies about co-listing on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange, in addition to the Indian market, Al-Ittihad reported.
* Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed wants to replace central bank Governor Chedli Ayari with World Bank official Marouane El Abassi, an unnamed government official told Reuters. It came after data from the central bank showed that the North African country's foreign currency reserves had dropped to their lowest level in 15 years.
* Meanwhile, the European Parliament confirmed that Tunisia has been added to a blacklist of countries considered to be at "high risk" of money laundering and terrorism financing.
* Fitch Ratings said the weak capital positions of Moroccan banks will come under pressure from the introduction of IFRS 9, which came into force Jan. 1. The agency, however, noted that Morocco's major banks are unlikely to breach minimum regulatory capital ratios as the central bank has said it may allow a five-year transition period to make up reserve shortfalls.
* Capital Intelligence Ratings affirmed Jordan Kuwait Bank PSC's BB-/B long- and short-term foreign-currency ratings, with a negative outlook.
* A.M. Best said it has a negative outlook on the Gulf Cooperation Council's insurance markets, noting that continuing headwinds could lead to potential volatility in the operating performance and capitalization of market participants.
* First Finance Co.'s board approved the distribution of a cash dividend of 4% of the Jordan-based company's paid-in capital for 2017.
EAST AND WEST AFRICA
* Nigerian Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said the government intends to redeem 762.5 billion naira worth of treasury bills from the proceeds of a planned sale of $2.5 billion in eurobonds in the first quarter, Reuters wrote.
* Fitch affirmed various ratings of Nigeria-based lenders First City Monument Bank Ltd., Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, including their B- long-term issuer default ratings, with stable outlooks.
* Fitch also affirmed the AAA(nga)/F1+(nga) national long- and short-term ratings of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and main operating subsidiary Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc.
* Fitch affirmed Ivory Coast's B+ long-term foreign- and local-currency issuer default ratings, with a stable outlook.
* The Bank of Tanzania has closed 110 bureaux de change for failing to comply with new regulations, and a further 65 are under investigation, Financial Afrik reported.
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
* Moody's placed Angola's B2 long-term issuer ratings and senior unsecured rating under review for downgrade. The short-term issuer ratings were affirmed at Not-Prime.
* Angolan banks will have to return any foreign currency that they do not sell to clients to the the country's central bank within five days, according to a new resolution issued by the regulator, Expansão reported. Any banks that fail to return unused foreign currency will be excluded from the central bank's weekly forex auctions.
* Separately, Angolan central bank Governor José de Lima Massano recommended that commercial banks allow individuals to buy €500 per person for family aid, saying that even a small amount would ease the difficulties of many Angolans abroad, state news agency Angop reported.
* Lawmakers from Angola's ruling MPLA party have proposed allocating 500 billion kwanzas from the annual budget to finance local businesses through the creation of a state guarantee fund, Jornal de Angola reported. The proposal, whose proponents said would help foster job creation and economic diversification, will be presented to the government's economic team for consideration.
* Brimstone Investment Corp. Ltd. sold roughly 362.0 million South African rand worth of ordinary shares in Life Healthcare Group Holdings Ltd. Following the sale, Brimstone will hold 51,302,271 million shares in Life Healthcare, representing a 3.54% stake.
* South Africa's Financial Services Board granted Israel-based, London-listed Plus500 Ltd. a license to operate as an authorized financial service provider in the country through newly created subsidiary Plus500SA Pty. Ltd.
* Moody's said in a report that Swaziland's B2 negative credit profile reflects the country's low economic strength and institutional capacity, balanced by low debt and relatively strong debt affordability.
* Zimbabwean central bank Governor John Mangudya said the government is in talks with African Export-Import Bank regarding a $1.5 billion guarantee in a bid to ensure foreign investors' funds are safe in Zimbabwe, Reuters reported.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: India, New Zealand maintain policy rates; NAB Q1 profit inches up
Europe: Profits rise for RBI, ABN AMRO; Hannover Re ups 2017 net income target
Latin America: Galicia divestment deal completed; BB Seguridade, Mapfre agree to redraw JV
North America: California treasurer wants 4 Wells directors gone
North America Insurance: Canada's Manulife may sell US assets; Genworth renews deal application
Sheryl Obejera, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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