KFH suspended the acquisition of Bahrain’s Ahli United until December. Andrew Henderson / The National
KFH suspended the acquisition of Bahrain’s Ahli United until December. Andrew Henderson / The National

Kuwait Finance House seeks merger with Bahrain's Ahli United Bank



Kuwait Finance House is seeking a potential merger with Bahrain's Ahli United Bank, reviving earlier talks for a deal that would create a new Islamic lender worth $92 billion (Dh337.6bn) in combined assets.

The Kuwaiti lender has invited Al Ahli United Bank to sign a memorandum of understanding and a non-disclosure agreement to begin valuations to explore the possibility of unifying the businesses and assessing the feasibility of creating a new bank, KFH said in a statement on Monday.

The move is in line with KFH's aim "to seek strategic opportunities for regional and international growth and expansion," it said in a statement to Kuwait bourse, where its shares are traded.

The letter comes six months after KFH's talks with AUB stalled over a difference in valuation between the two financial institutions, according to Bloomberg. A three-year slump in oil prices has resulted in several bank mergers in the Arabian Gulf as the lenders try to build scale and compete better in a tough market conditions.

The Middle East recorded a 62 per cent increase in merger and acquisition deal values in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2017, according to a report released on Monday, by law firm, Baker McKenzie.

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Read more:

Emerging Market inclusion would be cherry on the cake for Kuwait

KFH eyes expansion in China and Egypt

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In May, Saudi British Bank and Alawwal Bank agreed to $5bn merger deal to create the kingdom's third-largest lender. Last year, First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest bank in the UAE, was created after merging National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank.

KFH said the valuation studies may not necessarily lead to a merger agreement and is subject to regulatory approval by authorities in both countries. The Kuwaiti bank holds 17.36bn dinars (Dh210bn) in assets as of end of 2017 and Al Ahli United Bank had $33.24bn.

Shares of KFH rose 1.6 per cent while those of Al Ahli Bank inched 0.8 per cent on Monday.

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What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
 

Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

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Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Founder: Namrata Raina
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Sector: E-commerce
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

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Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

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TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

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MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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