GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL
* Saudi Arabian Oil Co. has picked nine banks, including Saudi Arabia-based National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, to lead its much-anticipated IPO, insiders told Reuters.
* Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) could see inflows of $3 billion from the remaining phases of its inclusion on the FTSE Russell emerging market index this month, Chairwoman Sarah al-Suhaimi told Reuters. The stock exchange operator also expects to launch the first exchange-traded derivative product in the fourth quarter.
* Sigal Mandelker, the U.S. Treasury's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, will meet with the heads of seven UAE banks amid the U.S. government's efforts to further tighten sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation, Bloomberg News reported.
* Emirates NBD Bank PJSC and Dutch firm WP/GA Dubai IV BV sold an aggregate of 100 million ordinary shares in Dubai-based payments processor Network International Holdings PLC to institutional investors at 580 British pence apiece, raising gross proceeds of £580 million.
* Meanwhile, Emirates NBD Bank is close to hiring Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley as managers for its proposed rights offering of up to $2 billion, with plans to also tap its own Emirates NBD Capital Ltd. unit for the transaction, insiders told Bloomberg.
* Emirates NBD Bank's plan to increase its foreign ownership cap to 40% could lead to foreign fund inflows of more than $800 million since the move would result in the bank's inclusion on the MSCI and FTSE Russell's emerging market indices, analysts told Gulf News.
* Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC agreed to sell the majority of its Indian banking book, which comprises 355 million United Arab Emirates dirhams in assets and 601 million dirhams in liabilities, to Mumbai-based DCB Bank Ltd., as it seeks to exit the country and focus on its operations in the UAE.
* SHUAA Capital PSC agreed to sell its Shuaa Securities brokerage and market making businesses in the UAE to IHC RSC Ltd., a unit of International Holdings Company PJSC, in an all-cash deal. Shuaa said the sale will have no material impact on its financial position, and that its proceeds will be recognized in the third or final quarter, depending on regulatory approval and completion.
* Abu Dhabi-based cryptocurrency platform Hayvn seeks to raise as much as $5 million to bolster its regulatory capital reserves, improve compliance and hire more staff, among other areas. The firm raised over $600,000 in seed capital in 2018, just a month after it was launched.
* The Qatari central bank issued a new law on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, which imposes severe penalties for violators, including financial sanctions and imprisonment for convicted individuals, The Peninsula wrote.
* Qatar's Commercial Bank (PSQC) is poised to price between $600 million and $700 million of bonds to finance local and international projects, CEO Joseph Abraham told The Peninsula. However, it remains unclear when the debt would be issued since the bank is still "waiting for the right time and the interest rates."
* Kuwait Finance House KSCP said the due diligence conducted on its proposed acquisition of Bahrain-based Ahli United Bank BSC has been completed and will be reviewed by its management.
* Kuwait-based Warba Bank KSCP has hired BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital and Standard Chartered as joint global coordinators for its planned issue of five-year U.S. dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, or sukuk, according to a document seen by Reuters. Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Bank ABC, Dubai Islamic Bank, NBK Capital and QNB Capital are also involved in the potential deal.
* The board of Oman-based United Finance Co. SAOG appointed D. Stanley acting CEO, effective Sept. 5, and extended his term to Oct. 31.
REST OF MIDDLE EAST
* Bank Leumi le-Israel BM said 400 employees will leave the bank by the end of 2019, compared to the initial 250 figure, as the Israeli lender brings forward and expands its early retirement program, Globes reported. Outgoing CEO Rakefet Russak-Aminoach agreed to the cuts and also approved the transfer of the lender's headquarters to Lod from Tel Aviv.
* Anath Levin, former deputy CEO of Bank Hapoalim BM, has been appointed head of the Israeli arm of U.S. private equity firm BlackRock Inc., CTech reported. Levin, who also served as chief investment officer of Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd., will replace Alex Pollak.
* Israel-based Direct Insurance - Financial Investments Ltd.has delisted its shares from the Tel Aviv bourse, allowing its parent company Zur Shamir Holdings Ltd., to comply with provisions of the country's Concentration Law, Globes reported.
* U.S.-based multicurrency remittance firm Western Union Co. has collaborated with BoB Finance to enter Lebanon by launching its mobile application and website in the Middle Eastern country, Banker Middle East reported.
NORTH AFRICA
* Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments S.A.E. intends to enter the UAE by 2019-end through a deal with one big UAE lender, Mohamed Okasha, the company's managing director, told Reuters. The Egypt-based company also plans to expand in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in 2020.
* Union National Bank - Egypt (SAE) aims to increase its local market share to 3% by 2023-end from 1.1% at present, as well as to increase its 2019 profit by 60% year over year, Ihab el-Sewerky, the bank's managing director, told Amwal Al Ghad.
* Egypt's planned sovereign wealth fund is expected to kick off operations next month, Amwal Al Ghad reported, citing Finance Minister Mohamed Maait. The envisaged pension fund will manage some 1.5 trillion pounds over the course of seven years.
* Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former economist at the World Bank, has been appointed as Sudan's new finance minister, Bloomberg wrote.
* The assets of France-based Tunisian Foreign Bank were seized by an international tribunal over a dispute relating to the 1989 expropriation of Banque Franco-Tunisienne S.A., according to Il Boursa.
Henni Abdelghani and Pádraig Belton contributed to this report.
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