MENA WEEKLY MONITOR MARCH 14 - MARCH 20, 2021 _______________________________________________________________________Economy WEEK 12 p.2 S&P SEES LONG-LASTING ADVERSE EFFECTS FROM THE 2020 SHOCK ON GCC BANKING SECTORS A new report by Standard & Poor’s on GCC banks was issued this week. S&P sees long-lasting adverse effects from the 2020 shock on GCC economies and banking sectors. CONTACTS Treasury & Capital Markets Also in this issue p.3 Inflation in Saudi Arabia set to rise again over the next few months, as per Capital Economics Bechara Serhal p.3 UAE economy to post 2.5% growth this year after 5.8% contraction, as per the Central Bank (961-1) 977421 p.4 IPOs likely in GCC education sector as investor interest surges, as per Alpen Capital
[email protected] p.4 UAE banks' gross assets increase 3% in January Private Banking Toufic Aouad Surveys (961-1) 954922 _________________________________________________________________________
[email protected] p.5 TUNISIA TOPS ARAB MENA COUNTRIES IN FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2021 INDEX Freedom House, the US-based non-profit research organization, released its latest report titled “Freedom in Corporate Banking the World 2021: Democracy under Siege”, in which Tunisia topped Arab MENA countries and was the only country classified as “Free”. Carol Ayat (961-1) 959675
[email protected] Also in this issue p.6 One in ten UAE workers hasn't had a pay rise in over five years, as per Tiger Recruitment p.6 Islamic Fintech market projected to grow at 21% CAGR to US$ 128 billion by 2025 ________________________________________________________________________Corporate News p.7 SICO BUYS SAUDI-BASED MUSCAT CAPITAL IN US$ 14.4 MILLION SHARE SWAP Sico, one of the leading regional asset managers, brokers and investment banks based in Bahrain, announced that it completed the transaction to acquire a majority stake amounting to 72.7% in the Saudi-based Muscat Capital, an exclusively owned subsidiary of Bank Muscat after obtaining all relevant approvals.