US President Donald Trump said on Thursday it would hit Iran again tonight and threatened to seize the country’s oil infrastructure including its main export terminal Kharg Island “in the not too distant future, triggerring a strong response from Iran which threatened to attack Elon Musk’s companies in the Middle East.
The dominant theme in markets remains a growing belief that some form of peace deal between US and Iran will eventually materialise. Investors have steadily priced a "peace premium" into assets, helping suppress volatility and underpin a rally that has pushed Wall Street to record highs, said an expert.
Sarwa, one of the GCC’s leading investment and personal finance platforms, has announced that it has crossed $1 billion in client assets, becoming the first UAE-founded FinTech platform to reach this milestone. Founded in the DIFC, Sarwa was an early mover shaping the region’s FinTech sector.
Jordan-based Arab Bank Group has reported solid results for the first quarter of 2026, with 2% increase in net income after tax reaching $275.8 million when compared to $271 million for the same period last year. Compared to the same period last year, the Group’s assets grew by 9% to reach $79 billion.
Stake, a leading digital real estate investment platform in the region, has forged a strategic partnership with Ace & Company, a Swiss-headquartered global investment group focused on private markets, to develop secondary transfer facility for fractional real estate investments in UAE.
In a strategic move, Bahrain-based Islamic wholesale bank GFH Financial Group (GFH) said it has rebranded as GFH Bank, in a move that reflects a shift in its business model and aims to sharpen its identity as an integrated banking and investment institution.
Saudi Arabia-backed Midad Energy has signed a term sheet to acquire Russia’s sanctioned Lukoil assets in a high-stakes contest against rivals including private equity giant Carlyle Group, with the deal contingent on US regulatory approval, a Reuters report said citing three people familiar with the matter.
Kuwait Financial Centre (Markaz) has reported a 41% rise in annual profit, supported by higher revenues and growth in assets under management (AUM). The total revenue for 2025 rose to KD29 million ($94.3 million) from KD20.31 million ($66 million) a year earlier.
Acwa Power, a global utility leader, said it has successfully completed the acquisition of French energy major Engie’s strategic gas-fired power generation and water desalination assets in Kuwait and Bahrain along with the related O&M companies for $693 million.
ADGM, the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, is entering its second decade with strengthened momentum, as it announces the addition of 11 new major global financial institutions representing more than $9 trillion in assets under management.
