A customer changes money at a UAE Exchange branch. Most of the company's branches have been closed since March last year after the Central Bank of the UAE stepped in to oversee its operations. Pawan Singh / The National
A customer changes money at a UAE Exchange branch. Most of the company's branches have been closed since March last year after the Central Bank of the UAE stepped in to oversee its operations. Pawan Singh / The National
A customer changes money at a UAE Exchange branch. Most of the company's branches have been closed since March last year after the Central Bank of the UAE stepped in to oversee its operations. Pawan Singh / The National
A customer changes money at a UAE Exchange branch. Most of the company's branches have been closed since March last year after the Central Bank of the UAE stepped in to oversee its operations. Pawan S

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Consortium bidding for Finablr in merger talks with Bahrain's BFC Group

Combining the two entities would create an organisation with licences to operate in 30 countries

Michael Fahy
Michael Fahy

February 24, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The consortium bidding for Finablr said it is in advanced talks with Bahrain's BFC Group Holdings to acquire the company and merge the two groups.

Switzerland's Prism and Abu Dhabi's Royal Strategic Partners said that talks with the century-old BFC are at an advanced stage and are due to complete in the second quarter of this year. If successful, the combined organisation would hold licences to operate in 30 countries, serving 24 million customers.

“We are confident of the deal concluding and excited about taking a major step towards creating a market-leading, pan-global financial services company in the region," Prism Group chief executive Amir Nagammy said in a statement.

BFC Group was founded as Bahrain Financing Company in 1917, initially trading in gold bullion but moving into the remittance markets in the 1970s. It was later bought by Islamic lender Bank Alkhair and its operations expanded into the UK, Kuwait and India.

“I am excited by the opportunities a merger would create,” BFC Group chief executive, Ebrahim Nonoo, said. “Our combined retail network will be the largest in the Gulf and the consortium has the expertise, experience and vision needed to build a 21st Century payments infrastructure that will benefit millions of customers.”

Prism and RSP's bid for Finablr, the heavily-indebted foreign exchange group previously owned by BR Shetty, was first announced in October last year.

Finablr floated in April 2019 in a deal that valued it at £1.23 billion ($1.66bn), but its shares were suspended in March 2020 after the UAE Central Bank moved in to undertake direct supervision of its UAE Exchange business. In May, the group said investigators uncovered previously unreported debts of about $1bn, sparking a restructuring that led to its Travelex subsidiary being taken over by its lenders.

Prism and RSP will pay a nominal $1 for Finablr, whose remaining brands include UAE Exchange, Unimoni, Xpress Money and Remit2India. It will also pay 25 per cent of funds recovered from "third parties in respect of possible historic wrongdoing" at the company, up to a maximum of $190 million.

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

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