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MENA news through June 6

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MENA news through June 6

MIDDLE EAST

* Fitch Ratings revised Qatar's outlook to stable from negative and affirmed its AA- long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating, citing the country's resilience amid diplomatic crisis with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt.

* U.S.-based Cerberus Capital Management LP reportedly made a $125 million bid to acquire Abraaj Group Ltd.'s private equity business, after Colony NorthStar Inc. withdrew from the race. However, Kuwait's Public Institution for Social Security, one of Abraaj's creditors, has opposed to giving the Dubai-based group more time to restructure its debts, a move that could potentially hamper the sale, according to Reuters.

* New regulations set out by the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority aimed at improving disclosures of Islamic bond issuances, combined with other regulatory initiatives, could help support the country's sukuk market, according to Fitch.

* First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC appointed Paul Hartwell CEO of its U.K. operations. Hartwell was most recently CEO of British Arab Commercial Bank Plc.

* Dubai-based Mashreqbank PSC is seeking a banking license in Saudi Arabia in a bid to capitalize on the opportunities from economic reforms in the country, insiders told Reuters. The bank did not confirm the application but said it is exploring the Saudi market.

* The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority approved Buruj Cooperative Insurance Co.'s proposed 20% capital hike to 300 million Saudi Arabian riyals through a bonus share issuance. Meanwhile, the board of Allianz Saudi Fransi Cooperative Insurance Co. proposed to increase the company's capital through a 400 million riyal rights issue.

* Islamic Development Bank President Bandar Hajjar told Reuters that the lender will shift hundreds of staff outside Saudi Arabia and will take a more aggressive role in designing investment projects as part of its new strategy.

* Al Rajhi Co. for Cooperative Insurance Deputy Chairman Ahmed bin Sulaiman al-Rajhi resigned, following his appointment as Saudi Arabia's minister of labor and social development.

* Banque Lombard Odier & Cie SA is in talks to team up with a Saudi bank as part of efforts to boost its presence in the Gulf region, Reuters wrote, citing Arnaud Leclercq, a partner and group managing director at the Swiss private bank. Separately, Leclercq said Lombard Odier has launched its first Shariah-compliant investment products, CPI Financial noted.

* Japan's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Tsukasa Uemura, told Arab News that three major Japanese banks will become operational in the Middle Eastern country by October.

* Banks in Oman saw their asset-quality metrics weaken in 2017 due to a challenging operating environment, while rising interest rates have pushed their margins down, according to Fitch.

* Dhofar Insurance Co. SAOG said it expects losses from Cyclone Mekuni, which affected Yemen and Oman in late May, to not exceed 1 million Omani rials net of reinsurance. Meanwhile, Arabia Falcon Insurance Co. estimated losses to amount to no more than 240,000 rials.

* Arab Insurance Group BSC terminated the contract of CEO Yassir Albaharna and appointed Samuel Verghese, its deputy general manager for finance and administration, as acting CEO.

* The European Investment Bank has resisted on an EU plan for it to start doing business in Iran as part of efforts to save the 2015 nuclear accord, Reuters reported. The EIB, which raises much of its funds on U.S. markets, said it could not ignore U.S. sanctions against the Middle Eastern country.

* The Central Bank of Iran will ease capital conditions for international banks planning to set up a branch in the country's free trade zones, the Financial Tribune reported.

* The Bank of Israel published a new policy aimed at simplifying the process of setting up a new bank as part of a push to boost competition in the local banking sector and reduce borrowing costs, Reuters reported. The new policy enables a party looking to establish a new bank in Israel to receive a license within six months.

* The Lebanese central bank's Higher Banking Commission ordered Finance Bank's newly appointed general manager, Nadim Rahal, to look into suspected illegal activities at the lender and to draft a recovery plan, Businessnews.com.lb wrote. The move comes after authorities in Iraq took legal action against Finance Bank's previous chairman, Hassan Farran, on bribery allegations.

* Jordan's King Abdullah asked former World Bank economist Omar al-Razzaz to form a new government, after Prime Minister Hani Mulki stepped down June 4 amid massive protests over tax proposals meant to further reforms pushed by the IMF.

NORTH AFRICA

* Misr Insurance Holding Co. plans to hold an IPO of 15% to 30% stake of its life unit, Misr Life Insurance Co., in 2019.

* National Bank of Egypt (SAE) signed a $750 million financing agreement with a consortium of international banks.

* French bank Société Générale SA agreed to pay $1.335 billion in criminal and regulatory penalties for bribing Libyan officials and manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate.

* Sadiq al-Kabir, governor of Libya's central bank in Tripoli, said officials in the capital have agreed to implement key reforms, including measures that address the exchange rate, by July-end, Reuters wrote. The country's official exchange rate was unchanged at 1.4 dinars to the dollar, while on the black market, the rate is at around 7 dinars to the dollar.

* Société Générale Marocaine de Banques acquired a 34.95% stake in Moroccan consumer credit firm Societe d'Equipement Domestique et Menager (EQDOM) SA from SG Financial Services Holding, a subsidiary of Société Générale, according to Financial Afrik. The transaction, which was priced at more than $72 million, takes SGMB's total stake in Eqdom to 53.72%.

Sophie Davies contributed to this report.