Tuesday's Notes of Interest
Saudi shares jump by most in 5 years on report of easing of foreign ownership rules, which will increase weight of Saudi shares in MSCI and FTSE indices
Reuters: Saudi shares jump by most in 5 years on report of easing of foreign ownership rules. “It could come into effect before the end of the year,” CMA board member Abdulaziz Abdulmohsen Bin Hassan was reported as saying in the report. The move could bring an additional $9.5 billion-$10 billion of passive inflow into Saudi Arabia from both MSCI and FTSE index trackers if implemented to 100%, according to UBS projections, said Victor Martin, the bank’s head of portfolio trading for the EMEA region.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-shares-jump-by-most-5-years-report-easing-foreign-ownership-rules-2025-09-24/
Who is providing cyber insurance to MENA listed companies, and is the insurance cover sufficient?
FT: Jaguar Land Rover’s lack of cyber insurance means it will shoulder the full bill from a damaging cyber attack that could end up costing the carmaker billions of pounds in lost revenues and profits.
https://www.ft.com/content/c301e78a-38e7-4818-b367-14af85130c61?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content
Diamond prices are down for more than one reason …
The Circuit: Botswana is in talks with the Oman Investment Authority and others to help finance a bid to take majority ownership of De Beers. The government aims to finalize a deal by the end of next month and is continuing talks with Anglo American, which controls 85% of the diamond company. Anglo is seeking to divest its stake as part of a restructuring effort, but has delayed a sale amid weak demand and competition from lab-grown diamonds. The London-listed miner, which wrote down De Beers’ value to $4.9 billion in February, has also attracted interest from other buyers, including Angola. Botswana, which already owns 15% of De Beers, wants to take greater control of the global diamond supply chain in the hope of reviving interest in natural gems, which account for 80% of its export sales.
The global competition for minerals …
John Lothian News: Exclusive: Trump wants piece of company in charge of America’s biggest lithium mine
Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw - Reuters
The Trump administration is seeking an equity stake of as much as 10% in Lithium Americas as it renegotiates terms of the company’s $2.26 billion Energy Department loan for its Thacker Pass lithium project with General Motors. The proposed stake is the latest example of the Trump administration intervening directly in the American economy as it has in taking stakes in Intel, MP Materials and other U.S. tech and minerals firms to promote industries it sees as critical to national security.
John Lothian News: Bloomberg News - Bloomberg
China aims to become custodian of foreign sovereign gold reserves in a bid to strengthen its standing in the global bullion market. The People’s Bank of China is using the Shanghai Gold Exchange to court central banks in friendly countries to buy bullion and store it within the country’s borders. The effort has taken place over recent months and has attracted interest from at least one country, in Southeast Asia, the people said.
/jlne.ws/47WbVIX
The World Bank resorts to ABS programs to free up capital …
FT: World Bank seeks to boost firepower by offloading loan risk to investors. Maiden securitisation by group’s corporate lending arm is planned to be first of many, says president. Many of the World Bank’s biggest shareholders, including the US and UK, have slashed aid funding in the past year, piling pressure on the bank to make its balance sheet stretch further before asking donors for capital.
https://www.ft.com/content/d786af1d-d1af-4fa2-819c-05e57f20a39e
And in keeping with The World Bank, ABS are coming to MENA banks …
White & Case: The Middle East non-performing loan (NPL) space is evolving from a niche market into a major growth opportunity as banks in the region take initial steps to offloading weaker loans. NPL ratios for banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are in the low single digits, according to data provider CEIC. Nevertheless, banks in these jurisdictions have made a strategic decision to review loan books and are being encouraged by their respective regulators to take a more rigorous approach to recognizing, disclosing and offloading their NPL exposures.
https://debtexplorer.whitecase.com/leveraged-finance-commentary/middle-east-npls-evolve-from-niche-market-to-major-growth-opportunity?preview=yes#!
MENA’s ports have an important role to play in the region’s economic development …
Arab News: Saudi Arabia’s ports saw robust growth in 2024, with exports climbing 9.3 percent to 222.4 million tonnes, pushing total cargo volumes to 334.5 million tonnes and reinforcing the Kingdom’s expanding role in global trade.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2615800/business-economy
Healthy step for the eurobond market …
Global Custodian: Clearstream and Euroclear, the two international central securities depositories (ICSDs), are advancing plans to digitise the €14 trillion Eurobond market, outlining measures that include dematerialised issuance and the introduction of an industry-wide data taxonomy. From the first quarter of 2026, Eurobonds will be issued in dematerialised form, replacing paper certificates and marking a major step towards automation across the Eurobond lifecycle. As part of the initiative, the ICSDs have co-developed the Issuance & Processing Taxonomy (IPT), a technology-agnostic standard designed to reduce market fragmentation and support interoperability.
Oman rising …
Semafor: Omani companies are building out an EV battery supply chain. The local unit of Indian chemical producer InoxGFL plans to invest $500 million in a Salalah Free Zone plant to make materials for EV and energy-storage batteries. The announcement follows another company’s pledge to spend $36 million on a battery production facility.
Semafor: Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, Korea Midland Power, and Oman’s OQ Alternative Energy plan to build a 500 megawatt solar plant and a 100 megawatt-hour battery storage system in Oman. The sultanate aims to source 30% of its electricity from renewables by 2040.
Trains were said to be unprofitable employment programs. Glad to see the many benefits to railroad networks being recognised, finally.
FT: A new age of the train. After 200 years, rail’s environmental and social benefits are coming into their own.
https://www.ft.com/content/2a42dde1-737d-4ebf-863b-c367e54425bc?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content
And in keeping with the above trend, the old Hijaz Railway is being resuscitated. The many stories these rails could tell …
Clash Report on X: Türkiye, Syria, and Jordan agreed to revive the historic Hejaz Railway through a trilateral MoU. Türkiye will help complete the missing 30 km in Syria, Jordan will handle locomotive maintenance.
This will greatly increase connectivity …
Semafor: ADX-listed aerospace technology firm Space42 and US satellite operator Viasat announced a joint venture, Equatys, to provide internet to smartphones and devices. The technology is different from Elon Musk’s Starlink, but the service is similar.
https://space42.ai/en/press-release/2025/space42-equatys-launch?utm_source=semafor
Brilliant infrastructure project for Africa and Europe …
Zawya: Nigeria-Morocco Gas project to create holding company. The 6,000km pipeline will deliver 15 to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas, projected to provide energy access to about 400 million people across 13 countries, significantly enhancing regional energy supply. It will start in Nigeria and run along the Atlantic coast through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania before reaching Morocco, where it will connect to the existing Maghreb-Europe Pipeline and European gas networks. The project will also supply gas to three landlocked countries: Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Developers plan to build it in phases, with a holding company overseeing financing and construction, and three separate project companies handling different segments of the route.
Time to market those MENA listed shares to international investment funds …
FT: Emerging markets are finally rallying. Assets in developing economies are showing strong gains.
https://www.ft.com/content/359c54b6-82d0-45b1-985c-5427f062fd42?fbclid=IwY2xjawNIUHhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrQWftRJokILPsgSSqlpXRdFNx8R3sCtI8SRWEmXE3wjGbhjL6oYaBHDybfn_aem_M2EmBdAqXgEn8F1Pr4odgw
Digital currencies are Sharia compliant and can be used for all sorts of payments in MENA …
lara Abdul Malak on X: Central Bank of Bahrain’s Sharia Review Bureau has confirmed that XRP, the digital asset issued by Ripple, is Sharia compliant and aligned Islamic financial principles as a Shariah-compliant settlement solution for cross-border payments, particularly in regions with substantial remittance flows. Gulf and Middle Eastern remittances exceed hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and XRP’s low-cost, transparent infrastructure offers banks, fintechs, and enterprises a legally compliant alternative to traditional systems Sharia-Compliant XRP.
According to the press release, this aligns with Ripple’s broader strategy to establish the XRP Ledger as a trusted cross-border payment network, leveraging its functional utility over speculative appeal. For Ripple, the certification unlocks new opportunities in the $2 trillion Islamic finance industry. XRP’s approval now enables institutions to integrate Ripple’s technology into remittance corridors, interbank settlements, and even Sharia-compliant investment funds. Analysts highlight that this development could catalyze partnerships with Gulf banks and fintech startups, leveraging the region’s large remittance corridors.
https://laraontheblock.com/central-bank-of-bahrain-confirms-xrp-as-shariah-compliant/
A new development for cross border payment: faster, cheaper, enabled by digital currencies …
John Lothian News: Anthony Osae-Brown - Bloomberg
A Nigerian fintech firm is partnering with a US bank to enable customers to link their bank accounts in both countries via a single digital wallet. Paga Group Ltd., whose backers include former Goldman Sachs Asset Management Chairman Jim O’Neill, has teamed up with Oklahoma-based Regent Bank to allow expatriate Nigerians to use the wallet to pay for items back home without transferring funds from the US.
Well done AD Clear !
John Lothian News: CCP Global (The Global Association of Central Counterparties) welcomes Abu Dhabi Clear (AD Clear) as an Observer Member.
CCP
At its September 2025 meeting, the CCP Global Executive Committee approved Abu Dhabi Clear (AD Clear) as an Observer Member of CCP Global. AD Clear is a leading provider of clearing, settlement, and post-trade risk management services for derivatives and securities markets. As a fully owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and licensed by the SCA, AD Clear plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity and security of financial transactions.
Investing in data centers and in the companies that provide the materials to build them.
John Lothian News: Jennifer Duggan and Olivia Fletcher - Bloomberg
Building materials firm Kingspan Group Plc is considering an initial public offering of its advanced building systems unit Advnsys, as spending on data center infrastructure ramps up. Kingspan is considering listing the unit in Amsterdam as soon as the first quarter of next year, chief executive officer Gene Murtagh said on a Tuesday conference call. Advnsys makes materials for data centers, including mesh walls, liquid cooling manifolds and structural ceilings. Kingspan would remain a majority shareholder in the unit, the Dublin-based company said in a statement.
MENA’s Digital News: Vantage Data Centers, USA-based data centers company, has raised $1.6B in funding from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and GIC. The company was founded in 2010 and the funding will support the company’s efforts to acquire a 300-megawatt hyperscale data centre campus in Malaysia.
https://b.digitaldigest.me/h59r2u4a
E-payments in Syria soon !
MENA’s Digital News: The Central Bank of Syria signed an agreement with Mastercard that covers the development of digital payment infrastructure and the issuance of local and international bank cards.
https://b.digitaldigest.me/2apsu8iw
Again, as previously written on this platform, sovereign debt issues will be addressed by stablecoins !
John Lothian News: Stablecoin Adoption Set to Surge After GENIUS Act, Hit $4T in Cross-Border Volume: EY Survey
Krisztian Sandor - CoinDesk
Stablecoin adoption is gaining momentum among corporates and financial institutions driven by regulatory clarity and cost-savings in global money transfers, according to a survey by EY-Parthenon. Conducted with 350 executives in June after the Senate passed the GENIUS Act, the survey found that 13% of firms already use stablecoins, mainly for cross-border payments. Among those who didn’t use stablecoins, 54% expected to adopt them within the next six to 12 months.
John Lothian News:
Citi projects $1.9 trillion stablecoin boom by 2030
Francisco Velasquez - Yahoo Finance
The market for stablecoins could balloon in the next five years, according to a new report from Citi. “Stablecoins are a catalyst for blockchain’s ChatGPT moment in institutional adoption,” wrote Ronit Ghose, global head of future of finance at Citi Institute, and Ryan Rugg, global head of digital assets at Citi Services.
/jlne.ws/4mzldhm
Nine major European banks join forces to issue stablecoin
ING.com - ING
ING, Banca Sella, KBC, Danske Bank, DekaBank, UniCredit, SEB, CaixaBank and Raiffeisen Bank International - have joined forces to launch a MiCAR-compliant euro-denominated stablecoin. This digital payment instrument, leveraging blockchain technology, aims to become a trusted European payment standard in the digital ecosystem.
/jlne.ws/4gINSiY
Well done !
US Department of State: We welcome the announcement that the Government of Iraq has reached agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and international companies to reopen the Iraq-Türkiye pipeline, a deal facilitated by the United States that will bring tangible benefits for both Americans and Iraqis. We commend the decisive efforts of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa al-Sudani and senior officials of the Government of Iraq, as well as KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and senior KRG officials, to make this progress possible. This agreement will strengthen the mutually beneficial economic partnership between the United States and Iraq, encourage a more stable investment environment throughout Iraq for U.S. companies, enhance regional energy security, and reinforce Iraq’s sovereignty.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/the-reopening-of-the-iraq-turkiye-pipeline/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNEYuxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVS3N0Z1lvNkRBVTJWNFFHAR7dtoNfIyqdBnsiLyRlPJ2xgzhaDWqxlK3oo--XLJZ5SLc8u1Aw7ldLaw9hBA_aem_eYJI-8MCYGKVbTRsbOJogA
ADX making all the right moves - go to where the investors are !
WAM: The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) will open its 2025 Global Investor Roadshow and Conference in New York from 29th to 30th September, organised in collaboration with Morgan Stanley. The two-day event will highlight how the ADX and its listed companies are strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading financial hub with an innovative, dynamic, and transparent marketplace. 15 ADX-listed companies will highlight the depth and diversity of Abu Dhabi’s capital markets to global investors. By the end of August 2025, ADX’s market capitalisation had reached nearly US$850 billion.
The massive potential of Saudi industry …
Semafor: Saudi-based Farabi Petrochemicals Co. has opened a $950 million plant in Yanbu Industrial City to supply chemicals used in detergents to Unilever and other consumer goods companies.
Having a bank account is a universal human right …
John Lothian News: Banks Ordered to Dig Through Account Closures to Find ‘Debanking’ Cases; Regulators demand information going back years as part of Trump’s crackdown on alleged political or religious discrimination
Gina Heeb, AnnaMaria Andriotis and Dylan Tokar - The Wall Street Journal
Banks are racing to respond to regulators’ broad requests for information on whether they closed customer accounts or denied people service on political or religious grounds. The sweeping demands are part of President Trump’s crackdown on alleged discrimination by banks, a practice dubbed debanking, which he has said targeted conservatives. Regulators are working with the Justice Department, which is looking for any violations of civil-rights laws including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, according to people familiar with the matter.
LNG is a fuel of the future …
Semafor: ADNOC’s international energy investment unit XRG closed its planned acquisition of an 11.7% equity stake in the Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas. The investment is a joint venture with BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners.
A bank of note !
Daily Sun: Dubai Islamic Bank, the UAE’s biggest Sharia-compliant lender by assets, reported a 20 per cent jump in its third-quarter net profit. Net profit attributable to owners of the bank for the three-month period to the end of September rose to more than $329 million, the lender said in a statement on Wednesday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded. The bank’s profit in the period was fuelled by a 83 per cent jump in income from property held for development and sale, as well as a 325 per cent surge in income from its investment property portfolio. Operating expenses narrowed 5.4 per cent to Dh627.6m during the period due to cost-control procedures put in place. Impairment charges during the period rose 27 per cent to Dh675m.
https://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/584649/budget2025-2026
Is robo advisory over ?
John Lothian News: ‘ChatGPT, what stocks should I buy?’ AI fuels boom in robo-advisory market
Joice Alves - Reuters
As ChatGPT nears its third birthday, at least one in 10 retail investors is using a chatbot to pick stocks, fuelling a boom in the robo-advisory market, but even fans say it is a high-risk strategy that cannot replace traditional advisors just yet. Thanks to artificial intelligence, anyone can select stocks, monitor them and obtain investment analysis that was once only available to big banks or institutional investors.
“When you hate, you generate a reciprocal hate. When individuals hate each other, the harm is finite; but when great groups of nations hate each other, the harm may be infinite and absolute. Do not fall back upon the thought that those whom you hate deserve to be hated. I do not know whether anybody deserves to be hated, but I do know that hatred of those whom we believe to be evil is not what will redeem mankind.”
Bertrand Russell, Human Society in Ethics and Politics (1954)
All the best
Majd