GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL
* Shares in Emirates NBD Bank PJSC
* Bank of Sharjah PJSC
* Al Hilal Bank PJSC
* The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates ordered local banks and financial firms to develop policies and procedures that promote gender equality in customer transactions, Khaleej Times wrote.
* National Bonds Corp. PJSC
* Saudi Indian Co. for Cooperative Insurance Wafa Insurance
* Saudi Arabia has named Yasir al-Rumayyan, the head of sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, as the new chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., replacing Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, Bloomberg News reported. The move, which will separate the ministry of energy from Aramco, is aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest as the oil giant prepares for its upcoming IPO, an insider told the news agency.
* Moody's assigned Gulf International Bank - Saudi Arabia long- and short-term deposit ratings of Baa1/P-2, with a stable outlook on the long-term rating. The lender, previously a branch of Bahrain's Gulf International Bank BSC, was also assigned a baseline credit assessment of "ba3" and an adjusted baseline credit assessment of "ba2".
* Kuwait's Capital Markets Authority, which owns 50% of Boursa Kuwait Securities Co. KPSC, said it plans to launch an IPO of its shares in the bourse in the fourth quarter, TradeArabia reported.
* Oman's Bank Muscat SAOG plans to expand premier banking services in more locations across the country, Abdulnasir al-Raisi, deputy general manager for premier banking at the lender, told Muscat Daily.
* Qatar-based Commercial Bank PSQC
REST OF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
* The Lebanese government declared an "economic state of emergency" as the country continues to grapple with elevated levels of public debt and budget deficit.
* Lebanon's Jammal Trust Bank SAL, which was recently sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for allegedly facilitating banking activities for militant group Hezbollah, may eventually be forced to either allow the central bank to take over its operations or sell its clean assets to another lender, several bankers told The Daily Star.
* Egypt has as of Sept. 1 canceled the monthly customs exchange rate, which will now be set daily, Reuters reported, citing the country's finance ministry. The move may raise inflation in the coming months if the Egyptian pound declines significantly against the U.S. dollar, analysts told the news agency.
* Egypt's public enterprise minister, Hisham Tawfik, said the second phase of the state privatization program has been postponed from the initial date of September to January 2020 as some processes took longer than anticipated, Mubasher wrote. Ten state-run companies, including e-Finance and Banque du Caire SAE, will be listed on the Egyptian Exchange for the first time under the program.
EAST AND WEST AFRICA
* Equity Group Holdings PLC
* Ecobank Kenya Ltd.
* Stanbic Bank Kenya Ltd.
* M-pesa, the mobile money service of Kenyan telecommunications firm Safaricom PLC, plans to expand into Ethiopia and Nigeria, Kenyan Wall Street reported, citing Safaricom's interim CEO, Michael Joseph.
* Polaris Bank Ltd.
* The Nigerian Stock Exchange approved the listing of 30 billion naira of corporate bonds issued by Union Bank of Nigeria PLC
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA
* South African insurer Old Mutual Ltd.
* South African financial institution Industrial Development Corp.
* Angola's central bank is working to raise the country's bank penetration rate to 50% by 2022 from about 29% currently, O País reported, citing the head of the regulator's financial inclusion department, Teresa Pascoal.
IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD
Asia-Pacific: UK approves PSC Insurance deal; IFC names Singapore head
Europe: Danske's overcharging case; Julius Bär to keep Kairos; HSBC targets UK mortgages
Latin America: Currency controls return to Argentina; Dominican Republic cuts benchmark rate
Deza Mones, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Helen Popper contributed to this report.
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This S&P Global Market Intelligence news article may contain information about credit ratings issued by S&P Global Ratings. Descriptions in this news article were not prepared by S&P Global Ratings.
