JPMorgan to hire 20 more bankers as it expands Saudi Arabian operation – Arab News
https://arab.news/g39jj
RIYADH: JPMorgan Chase & Co, one of the largest banks in the US, is set to add an additional 20 people for its operations in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year, as it looks to tap into one of the world’s few bright spots for equity capital markets, Bloomberg reported.
The bank will have doubled the size of its Saudi operations by the end of the year, compared to 2016, Bader Al-Amoudi, JPMorgan’s senior country officer said.
It will be hiring across investment banking, local custody, client services and back office staff, he added.
“We see a very strong pipeline of deals coming up across M&A and IPOs. There’s still a lot of interest from local companies to list and from foreign investors looking to get exposure to the Saudi market,” Al-Amoudi said.
JPMorgan chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon is set to arrive in Riyadh this week to attend Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference, dubbed Davos in the Desert.
US bankers have been expanding their presence in Saudi Arabia to tap into new opportunities emanating from the opening of the economy as the oil-reach Kingdom is looking to diversify into other sectors. Saudi Arabia, which owns one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, is selling off state-owned assets to attract investors, helping it to become one of the hotspots for initial public offerings in the world.
“Competition has definitely increased but we’ve been here for the long term and will continue to invest to serve our clients and bring new products and offerings to Saudi Arabia,” Alamoudi said.
RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced that it will launch the second edition of the Future Minerals Forum in January 2023, according to a statement.
To be held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh between Jan. 10 and Jan. 12, the conference will discuss a number of topics including developments in the mining sector in the region extending from Africa and West and Central Asia, ways to attract investments, the use of cutting-edge technology in the sector, applying the best standards of sustainability, and more.
The conference will also tackle global bottlenecks that could potentially affect the supply of mineral and energy, the future of mining on a domestic level and worldwide, as well as the contribution of mining projects, and any growth opportunities for the sector.
With the prices of valuable minerals, especially gold, copper and zinc rising, Saudi Arabia expects the value of its current mineral wealth to double from the previously estimated SR5 trillion ($1.3 trillion), CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey Abdullah Al-Shamrani said in September.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire a 51 percent stake in the telecom towers unit of Saudi Telecom Co., known as stc.
stc will maintain the remaining 49 percent of Telecommunications Towers Co., or Tawal’s shares, according to a bourse filing.
Tawal is valued at SR21.9 billion ($5.85 billion) on a cash and debt-free basis.
The offer does not represent a binding commitment on both parties and is subject to completing the due diligence.
They will reach a final and binding agreement upon obtaining all regulatory approvals.
Saudi Telecom is a digital enabler of telecommunications services and is 64 percent owned by the PIF.
RIYADH: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s profits grew by 25 percent during the third quarter of this year, thanks to a rise in financing interests and Islamic financing revenues.
The bank’s profit of 1.59 billion dirhams ($430 million) exceeded analysts’ average expectations of 1.46 billion dirhams, asharq reported.
The bank’s net revenues also grew by 17.3 percent to 2.56 billion dirhams during the third quarter, most of which came from conventional interest income, which amounted to 2 billion dirhams.
The net revenue from Islamic financing and investment products amounted to 500 million dirhams.
Meanwhile, the bank’s provisions decreased by the end of the third quarter by 20 percent to 1.586 billion dirhams.
The bank is constantly seeking to strengthen its financial statements, as it is in talks to sell nearly $1 billion in bad debt to clean up a balance sheet affected by a series of large corporate defaults.
RIYADH: Arab National Bank has reported a 33 percent profit increase during the first nine months of 2022.
The bank recorded a net profit of SR2.3 billion ($612 million), compared to SR1.7 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to a bourse filing.
The profit growth is primarily attributable to higher gains from special commissions, financing, and investment activities, along with a rise in net exchange and trading income.
The value of the bank’s assets grew by 13.7 percent on the year to SR207 billion, with deposits rising 14 percent.
Founded in 1979, Riyadh-based Arab National Bank is one of the ten largest in the Middle East, operating 156 branches throughout the Kingdom.
RIYADH: Bank AlJazira’s net profit for the first nine months of 2022 rose 11 percent to SR865 million ($230 million), according to a bourse statement.
The statement noted that the total operating profit of the bank until the end of September stands at SR2.67 billion compared to SR2.65 billion, during the same period last year.
The profit hike was driven by lower operating costs, mainly due to a decrease in a net impairment charge for financing and other financial assets, the statement added.
On Oct. 23, three of the top banks in Saudi Arabia — Saudi National Bank, Al-Rajhi Bank, and Riyad Bank — also reported a rise in net profits during the first nine months of 2022.
In the first nine months, Saudi National Bank posted a 42 percent surge to SR14 billion, while Al-Rajhi Bank reported a 19 percent rise to SR13 billion.
Riyad Bank saw its profit soar by 13 percent to SR5 billion in the first nine months of 2022.
