The investment of UAE’s banks in Saudi Arabia and Egypt reached Dh87.2 billion ($23.7 billion) at the end of the third quarter of 2018, representing 12.5 per cent of the total assets invested abroad, which amounted to about Dh693 billion ($189 billion) in September of the same year.

Figures from the UAE Central Bank show that the value of investments by UAE banks, their subsidiaries and affiliates remain at their highest levels in the United Kingdom with a value of Dh53 billion, reported state news agency Wam.

The UAE's banking system is the largest in terms of assets in the Middle East and North Africa. By the end of September 2018, its total assets stood at Dh2.84 trillion, it added.

The total value of the investments of UAE’s banks in Egypt surged to Dh47.2 billion at the end of September 2018, while the value of its investments in Saudi Arabia, during the same period, was Dh40 billion followed by Dh36 billion in the Cayman Islands; Dh34 billion in the US, Dh25 billion in India, Dh20 billion in Oman, and about the same value in Bahrain, while the rest was distributed between the other countries.

Among the top 10 countries that invest in UAE banks, three countries saw the highest quarterly increase (end of September): Egypt at Dh12.6 billion, then the Cayman Islands with Dh5.4 billion, and Saudi Arabia with Dh4.9 billion, said the report citing the Central Bank.

One of the largest increases from the beginning of 2018 until the end of September of the same year, came from Egypt of Dh17.7 billion, followed by the Cayman Islands of Dh7.2 billion, and India of Dh5.4 billion, it added.