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Hapoalim told to disclose more info about US probe; investors up Capitec stake

* Officials from the Qatari government and Doha-based Msheireb Properties are set to present detailed evidence to a U.K. House of Commons select committee to dispute the claims made by Carillion plc executives who blamed Qatar for the construction company's collapse, The Times of London reported. In a parliamentary hearing this week, former Carillion CEO Richard Howson claimed that the company had not been paid by Msheireb Properties since the summer of 2016 for its work in Doha related to preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

* Qatar Islamic Bank (QPSC) said that the recently completed sale of its full 60% stake in Asian Finance Bank Bhd. to Malaysia Building Society Bhd. will have no material impact on its financial performance. The bank added that the sale was driven by the investment being no longer in line with its business strategy and low returns.

* Pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational Inc. has announced a partnership with South Africa's Nedbank Group Ltd. to provide offshore investment services to high-net-worth banking customers, Financial Afrik said.

* African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina has defended his reforms of the institution in a speech in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, including recent high-profile departures, saying "the bank is not a retirement home," Jeune Afrique said.

* Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev said TymeDigital, the lender's South African digital bank, had successfully run an experiment with a "commercialized blockchain solution" in South Africa, and plans to scale it up in the country, CIO Australia reported. He added that the blockchain solution could soon be brought to Australia.

* Jonathan Gold, co-head of financial institutions origination for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Deutsche Bank AG, has been put at risk of redundancy, insiders told Thomson Reuters' IFR. Co-head Gerald Podobnik will become sole head of the said business.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

* The Bank of Israel has asked Bank Hapoalim BM to disclose in its financial statements, set to be released next month, more information related to a U.S. investigation into whether the bank assisted its U.S. customers in evading taxes, insiders told Globes.

* First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC said it has secured a license from Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority to launch an investment banking subsidiary, FAB Investment KSA, in the country.

* Commercial Bank of Dubai PSC's board proposed a cash dividend of 20% of the share capital for 2017. The lender posted full-year 2017 net profit of 1.00 billion United Arab Emirates dirhams, virtually unchanged from a year ago.

* Rishi Kapoor, co-CEO of Bahrain's Investcorp Bank BSC, said the company is in the advanced stages of M&A deals in the Gulf, the U.S. and Europe, Reuters reported.

* Mediterranean and Gulf Cooperative Insurance and Reinsurance Co.'s board of directors proposed increasing the company's capital by 400 million Saudi Arabian riyals through a rights issue. The new paid capital will be 800 million riyals. The move is meant to improve the company's capital solvency.

* The Qatar Central Bank has warned the country's financial companies "not to deal in any way" with bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, noting that noncompliance with its request could result in penalties under existing law, Reuters wrote, citing sources and a circular sent to financial institutions.

* A.M. Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a-" long-term issuer credit rating of Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Co. QPSC, with a stable outlook.

* Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi asked parliament to vote on a new governor for the country's central bank after Prime Minister Youssef Chahed asked for Essebsi's approval to replace Governor Chedly Ayari with World Bank official Marouane El Abassi, Bloomberg News wrote.

* Oman is in discussions with lenders regarding a possible U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bond issuance, insiders told Reuters. The sale could take place in March.

* The board of Kuwait's Ahli United Bank KSCP proposed a cash dividend of 13 fils per share and a stock dividend of 5 shares for every 100 shares for 2017. The bank's full-year 2017 net profit rose year over year to 44.5 million dinars from 40.3 million dinars.

* Gulf Bank KSCP's board of directors has recommended a cash dividend of 9% of par value of share for 2017, representing 9 fils per share.

* The Central Bank of Egypt said global stock market volatility would not affect Egypt's plans to issue up to $5 billion in eurobonds, Daily News Egypt said.

EAST AND WEST AFRICA

* The Kenyan government has hired Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Standard Chartered Bank Plc and Stanbic Holdings to manage the country's planned sale of about $1.5 billion to $3 billion in eurobonds, insiders told Bloomberg News. The issuance is expected to take place within the next two months.

* Fitch Ratings affirmed various ratings of Nigerian lenders Sterling Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc, including their B- long-term issuer default ratings. The outlooks on Sterling Bank and Wema Bank are stable, while that on Diamond Bank is negative.

* Fitch also affirmed Bank of Industry Ltd.'s B+ long-term issuer default rating, with a negative outlook, among other affirmations.

* DFCU Bank Ltd. secured a license from the Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda to offer bancassurance services to its clients, East African Business Week wrote.

* Gambia has rejoined the Commonwealth, bringing the number of member states to 53. Gambian President Adama Barrow, who was elected to his post in December 2016, began the process for readmission to the group in February 2017. The country left the Commonwealth in 2013, with former President Yahya Jammeh describing it as an "extension of colonialism," U.K. newspaper The Daily Telegraph noted.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

* Net 1 UEPS Technologies Inc. said it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 5% additional stake in Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick & Co. AG. Following completion of the deal, the South Africa-based payment solutions provider will hold a 35% stake in Bank Frick.

* Capital Group Companies Inc. clients have acquired an interest in the ordinary share capital of Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd. Their total stake now amounts to roughly 5.1% of Capitec's total issued ordinary share capital, the bank said.

* Cameroon intends to raise 96 billion CFA francs in 2018 from local banks, Agence Ecofin reported. An additional 260 billion CFA francs will be raised through government-issued securities.

* Angola's government has approved legislation allowing individuals and companies with savings abroad to repatriate their capital within six months without the threat of legal action, according to central bank Governor José de Lima Massano, Macauhub reported. The amnesty program was announced by President João Lourenço earlier this year as the oil-exporting nation grapples with lower crude prices and a shortage of foreign currency.

* Angola's central bank reduced its sales of foreign currency by 57% in January from the same month a year ago, selling a total of €837 million in auctions and direct sales, Expansão reported. It marked the smallest amount for the month in eight years. The central bank has tightened the rules on forex purchases by the nation's commercial banks as it struggles with a severe shortage of hard currency that has reduced its international reserves and led it to abandon a peg of its currency to the U.S. dollar.

IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD

Asia-Pacific: Authorities raid KEB Hana Bank's HQ; Philippines holds policy rate

Europe: SoftBank in talks for Swiss Re stake; Commerzbank, SocGen report Q4'17 results

Latin America: Brazil cuts Selic; Bradesco proposes capital hike

North America: Equifax denies cyberattack exposed passport info; BlackRock to raise over $10B

North America Insurance: Allianz interested in buying XL Group; several commercial lines post rate hikes

Sheryl Obejera, Henni Abdelghani, Pádraig Belton and Helen Popper contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose Middle East and Africa has an editorial deadline of 4 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.