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Kuwait Finance House may auction some of its properties or offer them to be run by other operators, depending on market conditions, its chief executive Mazin Saad al-Nahedh without giving details. He also said KFH planned to cut tens of jobs as part of its restructuring plan, which would eliminate some positions. Some people would be moved to other subsidiaries. KFH said in early May that it was considering a possible sale of its Malaysian unit. That is the only unit earmarked for possible sale because it is outside the Middle East, Nahedh said. The bank is restructuring activities ahead of a planned divestment by its largest shareholder, the Kuwait Investment Authority. A timetable for the divestment has not been announced.

Banks still have an appetite for project finance but are being more selective in lending as the project pipeline in the Arabian Gulf region stabilises. Project awards in the Gulf region this year are forecast to rise slightly to US$172.7 billion from $171.7bn last year. In the first quarter of this year $46.6bn worth of projects were awarded versus $53.7bn in the first quarter of last year – a figure skewed by the $15bn worth of contracts for Kuwait’s clean fuels refinery project last year. One reason banks are eager to finance good projects is the vast liquidity they amassed during the years of strong oil prices. Gulf governments have also pledged to continue spending on infrastructure, a sign that encourages banks to continue to lend.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Masdar Institute will be organizing the fifth commencement ceremony for the Class of 2015. His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, will give the keynote address at the ceremony that will be held on 26 May at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi. More than 100 students from 36 countries including the UAE, are expected to receive their Master’s degrees across nine academic programs. Masdar Institute will also be celebrating the commencement of its first PhD graduates in Interdisciplinary Engineering at the ceremony. As of September 2014, the total number of enrolled students was 491, including 148 PhD students.

At its annual "Multaqa Sedco 2015", Sedco Holding Group has unveiled its growth strategy for 2025 through expansion of its investment ventures across the globe. The event gathered the Group's upper management, the heads of its operating companies, CEOs and senior executives, management boards, their partners along with the administrative cadre. Under the theme "Imagine Our Future with Synergy", the Group's thrust for the next decade was laid down with emphasis on teamwork, creativity and professional excellence as key to continuous growth and achievement of defined goals as enshrined in the company's "six values".

Amlak Finance plans to re-list its shares on the Dubai Financial Market this month after an absence of more than six years. The Sharia-compliant home finance company, in which Dubai’s Emaar Properties has a 45 per cent stake, had won shareholder approval last month to resume trading. Amlak completed a restructuring of US$2.7 billion worth of debt last August, paving the way for the firm’s shares, suspended since November 2008, to resume trading. Amlak yesterday reported a 62.5 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit to Dh6 million from Dh16m a year earlier. Revenue fell 15 per cent in the first quarter to Dh105m because of its decreasing real estate portfolio, the firm said.

Bahrain's Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB) launched a new corporate financing product, I'teman Financing, at a Press Conference that was held on Tuesday, the 12th of May 2015. I'teman Financing is a new product that is compatible with the provisions of Islamic Sharia and acts as a substitute for overdraft accounts. This product entitles the customers to cover operating expenses or financial overheads. Corporate institutions can apply for the credit line and can benefit from the availability of liquidity to do cash withdrawals, Telex Transfers and Demand Drafts, in addition to other financial transactions. The new banking product is Sharia'a compliant and targets corporate entities both inside the Kingdom of Bahrain and abroad in order to facilitate their flow of liquid funds.

More than 200 angel investors, start-ups from the MENA region and members of the local media gathered in Bahrain for the commencement of the second MENA Angel Investors Summit 2015. The event was organised by Tenmou, Bahrain's First 'Business Angels, in strategic partnership with the Economic Development Board (EDB). 45 fast-growth start-ups from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, and Jordan presented their business pitches to the angel investors in attendance in hopes of procuring more funding to take their businesses to the next level. The highlight of the summit was the launch of the region's first networking association, the MENA Angel Investor Network (MAIN).

Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority (CMA) is studying plans to introduce rules governing the listing of real estate investment trusts (REITs). The regulator has approached market participants in recent weeks about forming a panel which will report to it on areas including how REITs work in international markets. The CMA was not available to comment. Given the early stage of the plans and the slow pace of regulatory progress in the kingdom, it is likely to take some time to draw up even draft rules for REITs, securities which trade on stock markets but which invest directly in properties and distribute profits as dividends.

Future Bank, a Bahrain-based Iranian bank, has appealed a recent decision by Bahrain's central bank (CBB) to place it along with another Iranian financial institution into administration under the pretext of protecting the rights of depositors and policyholders. CBB in the case of the Future Bank and the Iran Insurance Company will have the power to continue or to temporary suspend their operations, the power to suspend or limit the discharge of their financial obligations, and the power to conclude deals on behalf of them. The Future Bank was established in 2004 through a joint venture between Bank Saderat Iran, Bank Melli Iran, and Ahli United Bank (AUB) Bahrain.

Al Hilal MENA Fund (AHMF); Sharia Compliant, open-ended fund, managed by ahlibank asset management has posted commendable returns of 12 per cent year to date, as on April 30, 2015. Al Hilal MENA Fund is the first and only Sharia Compliant fund sponsored and managed by a bank in Oman. The fund invests across listed equities and sukuks issued and tradable within the GCC region. The current investments represent geographical coverage spanning Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. The diversified sector exposure constitutes investments into petrochemicals, fertilizer producers, industrial chemicals, oil and gas exploration, Islamic banking, takaful, real estate, telecom, consumer discretionary and industrial manufacturing.

BLME Holdings plc has announced the appointment of Michael Williams as interim CEO of BLME Holdings plc and of its main operating company, Bank of London and The Middle East plc (“BLME”) with effect from Wednesday 13th May. Michael will report directly to Adel Abdul Wahab Al-Majed, Non-executive Chairman of the Board of BLME Holdings plc. Michael is a qualified banker, previously Chief Executive Officer of the International Bank of Qatar in Doha and before this Chief Executive Officer of the National Bank of Fujairah, based in Dubai. His former roles include Managing Director of Nomura Bank International Plc, London and Managing Director of Barclays Global Services. Michael will stand down as Senior Independent Director to be replaced by Neil Holden.

While the Takaful industry across the GCC is experiencing strong progress, development of a supervisory framework varies substantially between the constituent countries. The UAE, Bahrain and Oman — and the autonomous financial hubs of DIFC and QFC — have introduced regulations specifically for the Takaful market. Kuwait and Qatar (outside the QFC), do not have an explicit rule book for governing the market. Saudi Arabia has a common legislation applicable to both conventional and Takaful companies. The Kingdom prescribes the cooperative model for all insurance companies, which has a few variations from the Takaful model followed in other parts of the world.

An elite group of Sajaya Young Ladies of Sharjah is participating in the GCC Girls Cultural and Social Forum, taking place in Manama, Bahrain, from May 5th to 11th, to discuss topics and issues that concern GCC girls. Four girls from Sajaya are participating in the one-week forum as part of a UAE delegation under the umbrella of the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, where Sajaya girls will present paperwork on Sajaya organisation and entrepreneurship. Organised by Bahrain’s General Organisation for Youth and Sports, the forum brings together a range of girls and young women from the six GCC nations to share opinions and expertise and speak about women entrepreneurship in the GCC countries.

Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has reported a net profit of $7.62 million for the first quarter of 2015, a 261 per cent increase over the $2.11m net profit reported for the same period last year. Net profit attributable to equity holders of the bank for the first quarter of 2015 was $2.64m, a 426pc increase over the $0.5m profit reported for the same period last year. The bank's operating income has increased by almost 46pc to $83.34m for the first quarter of 2015, from $57.13m for the same period last year. This increase is mainly due to overall revenue growth, with net income, before provisions for impairment and overseas taxation, for the period increasing 292pc to $34.4m.

Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s second largest bank by assets, is to replace its chief executive, with the new head’s priority likely to be reversing its fortunes after seven straight quarterly profit drops. Suleiman bin Abdul Aziz al-Zabin resigned as chief executive for personal reasons, effective May 17, it said on Sunday in a statement. His replacement would be Steve Bertamini, who had been appointed chief executive, effective from May 18, it said. The bank’s consumer business has been hit by new rules and tougher competition from other lenders in the kingdom. It has one of the highest exposures in the financial sector to the retail segment.

Moody's Investors Service has today upgraded Qatar International Islamic Bank's (QIIB) long term and short term issuer rating to A2/Prime-1 from A3/Prime-2, and changed baseline credit assessment (BCA) and adj. BCA to baa3 from ba1. Moody's also changed the outlook on the bank's long term ratings to stable. At the same time, Moody's assigned a new Counterparty Risk Assessment of A1 to QIIB. Moody's rating action reflects QIIB's improved and consistently strong asset quality performance and its solid capitalisation, liquidity and funding profile. These strengths are moderated by high borrower and sector concentrations, risk management challenges stemming from rapid financing growth and margin pressures driving a modest decline in profitability.

Oman government on Sunday officially announced the much-awaited maiden sovereign Sukuk issue of OMR200 million. The sovereign Sukuk issue will be through a private placement and will open for subscription soon. It will be marketed primarily to Islamic financial institutions, and sophisticated investors with a minimum subscription amount of OMR500,000, said Tahir Salim Al Amry, who heads the Sukuk committee. The sovereign Sukuk is primarily aimed at addressing the need of the nascent but fast growing Islamic financial sector in Oman. The Sukuk will serve as a domestic investment and liquidity management instrument to Islamic financial institutions in the country, he added.

Alkhabeer Capital , an asset management and investment firm based in Saudi Arabia, announced the launch of its "Waqf" (endowment) program, intended to provide advisory services for structuring Waqf entities and managing its assets. Through its Waqf program, Alkhabeer is targeting educational and charitable institutions, family offices, high net worth individuals and other philanthropists who aspire to establish Waqf entities. The program addresses the challenges of traditional Waqf by providing Waqf structures in compliance with best standards of governance, disclosure and independent supervision to ensure the management of the Waqf affairs in accordance withterms of the Waqif (Waqf founder).

Saudi British Bank (SABB) is planning to sell a riyal-denominated sukuk that will boost its capital reserves, with an announcement set to be made as early as next week. The issue will boost SABB's Tier 2, or supplementary, capital and will be arranged by HSBC's Saudi Arabian unit. The sukuk could be worth 1.5 billion riyals ($400 million) and will have a 10-year lifespan but a clause that will allow the bank to redeem the issue at the end of the fifth year. Riyad Bank announced plans to issue a 4 billion riyal bond to boost its capital base earlier this week. It will have the same 10-year, non-call five, structure that SABB is planning to offer.

The Waqf Fund held its 8th Roundtable Discussion on "Venture Capital - Building the Next Phase of Economic Development in Bahrain". The half-day session was attended by a group of 39 senior professionals. Some of the key takeaways from the Roundtable are as follows: Venture capital is an important industry. An ecosystem is needed to create a vibrant venture capital industry. There is a strong case for the government to kick start the venture capital industry. A change of mindset is required among capital owners of the region. The conclusions reached and recommendations provided by the Roundtable Discussion will be compiled by the Waqf Fund for further consideration of the relevant authorities.