Company Insights Sico Bank Banking & Finance Sico Bank Overview Sico Bank is a regional asset manager, broker and investment bank based in Bahrain, with around $6.2 billion in assets under management Its services include asset management, brokerage, markets, investment banking, advisory and treasury services. Its product portfolio includes direct securities such as equities, bonds and sukuk, as well as single-account brokerage services across the GCC and other Middle Eastern markets. Formerly known as Securities & Investment Company, Sico Bank operates under a wholesale banking licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain. It oversees three wholly owned subsidiaries: Abu Dhabi-based brokerage firm Sico Invest, Saudi capital markets services firm Sico Capital and Sico Fund Services Company, a regional custody and fund administration house. Sico Bank is majority-owned by the Social Insurance Organization of Bahrain. Other shareholders include the National Bank of Bahrain, Bank Muscat, BBK BSC, Ahli United Bank and the Gulf Investment Corporation. Sico Bank News Banking & Finance Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […] April 10, 2025 Markets Oil price drop leads Gulf’s government bonds to fall Dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of Middle East and North African countries slid on Monday as President Donald Trump took effective US tariff rates to their highest in more than a century, causing steep declines in global stock markets and a flight to safety in US government debt. Saudi Arabia’s stock index tumbled to a 17-month low […] April 7, 2025 Economy Kuwait gets closer to tapping debt markets to fund infrastructure Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […] March 17, 2025 Analysis Markets Gulf investors urged to switch from petrochems to fertiliser Gulf fertiliser companies are trading below their fair value, with investors not seeming to price in a rebound in product prices that analysts say is more than just a seasonal upswing. In the Gulf, fertilisers and petrochemicals are considered adjacent industries, since both rely on natural gas as a feedstock. While petrochemical companies’ earnings have […] March 7, 2025 Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025 Food & Drink Americana Restaurants profit rises as Gaza boycott eases Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Middle East and North Africa, said profit rose in the fourth quarter as a consumer boycott that is related to the Gaza conflict eased. Net income in the three months to December 31 rose 26 percent to $41 million, compared with $32 million in the same […] February 12, 2025 Aviation Jazeera Airways to cut costs and double passengers by 2029 Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways plans to add more seats to its aircraft, expand its fleet and cut costs as part of a new five-year strategy to almost double the number of passengers in 2029. Adding seats this year will raise the average number per aircraft to 180 by the third quarter, the airline CEO Barathan Pasupathi […] February 6, 2025 Manufacturing Gulf ceramics makers poised for 2025 rebound Following a turbulent 2024, the Gulf’s listed ceramics makers should perform better this year thanks to lower customs duties, rising demand for their products and fewer Red Sea shipping disruptions. For equity investors, Oman’s Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and the UAE’s RAK Ceramics provide a play on the Gulf’s rising population and mega infrastructure spending, […] January 30, 2025 Analysis Health Saudi privatisation push fortifies healthcare companies The revenues of listed Saudi healthcare companies should rise more quickly than the broader stock market thanks to government efforts to increase the private sector’s involvement, analysts have said. Nine-month profits have risen for 10 of the 11 companies analysed by AGBI, with eight posting increases of at least 10 percent. Almoosa Health was the […] January 29, 2025 Banking & Finance Kuwait ready to move on long-awaited mortgage law Kuwait is close to finalising a mortgage law that aims to increase homeownership among its citizens. At present, only the government-controlled Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB) can provide property loans to Kuwaiti citizens and companies. The law has been in planning since 2018, when the central bank submitted liberalisation proposals that would allow commercial banks to […] January 29, 2025 Posts navigation 1 2 … 4 Next
Banking & Finance Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […] April 10, 2025
Markets Oil price drop leads Gulf’s government bonds to fall Dollar-denominated sovereign bonds of Middle East and North African countries slid on Monday as President Donald Trump took effective US tariff rates to their highest in more than a century, causing steep declines in global stock markets and a flight to safety in US government debt. Saudi Arabia’s stock index tumbled to a 17-month low […] April 7, 2025
Economy Kuwait gets closer to tapping debt markets to fund infrastructure Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […] March 17, 2025
Analysis Markets Gulf investors urged to switch from petrochems to fertiliser Gulf fertiliser companies are trading below their fair value, with investors not seeming to price in a rebound in product prices that analysts say is more than just a seasonal upswing. In the Gulf, fertilisers and petrochemicals are considered adjacent industries, since both rely on natural gas as a feedstock. While petrochemical companies’ earnings have […] March 7, 2025
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia’s biggest bank wants wealthy depositors back Saudi Arabia’s largest bank by assets is trying to woo back wealthy customers after losing many since a merger in 2021. SNB, or Saudi National Bank, is a merger of National Commercial Bank and Samba Financial Group, formerly known as the Saudi American Bank. It has underperformed against its major domestic rivals, reporting comparatively lower […] February 14, 2025
Food & Drink Americana Restaurants profit rises as Gaza boycott eases Americana Restaurants, the largest food service business in the Middle East and North Africa, said profit rose in the fourth quarter as a consumer boycott that is related to the Gaza conflict eased. Net income in the three months to December 31 rose 26 percent to $41 million, compared with $32 million in the same […] February 12, 2025
Aviation Jazeera Airways to cut costs and double passengers by 2029 Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways plans to add more seats to its aircraft, expand its fleet and cut costs as part of a new five-year strategy to almost double the number of passengers in 2029. Adding seats this year will raise the average number per aircraft to 180 by the third quarter, the airline CEO Barathan Pasupathi […] February 6, 2025
Manufacturing Gulf ceramics makers poised for 2025 rebound Following a turbulent 2024, the Gulf’s listed ceramics makers should perform better this year thanks to lower customs duties, rising demand for their products and fewer Red Sea shipping disruptions. For equity investors, Oman’s Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and the UAE’s RAK Ceramics provide a play on the Gulf’s rising population and mega infrastructure spending, […] January 30, 2025
Analysis Health Saudi privatisation push fortifies healthcare companies The revenues of listed Saudi healthcare companies should rise more quickly than the broader stock market thanks to government efforts to increase the private sector’s involvement, analysts have said. Nine-month profits have risen for 10 of the 11 companies analysed by AGBI, with eight posting increases of at least 10 percent. Almoosa Health was the […] January 29, 2025
Banking & Finance Kuwait ready to move on long-awaited mortgage law Kuwait is close to finalising a mortgage law that aims to increase homeownership among its citizens. At present, only the government-controlled Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB) can provide property loans to Kuwaiti citizens and companies. The law has been in planning since 2018, when the central bank submitted liberalisation proposals that would allow commercial banks to […] January 29, 2025
