First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE's largest lender, said it had considered making an offer for the emerging markets-focused Standard Chartered listed in London.
“First Abu Dhabi Bank confirms that it had previously been at the very early stages of evaluating a possible offer for Standard Chartered, but as of the date of this announcement, is no longer doing so,” the lender said in a statement late on Thursday to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Shares of Standard Chartered, which had more than $864 billion of assets at the end of September 2022, closed up 7 per cent following FAB's statement.
“While the deal is off the table, the takeaway is that FAB is serious about inorganic growth and is willing to flex its muscle if the opportunity arises,” EFG Hermes said in a research note on Friday.
Standard Chartered, whose key market, Asia, makes up 68 per cent of its revenue and 58 per cent of its assets, would have complemented FAB’s primarily Mena business, EFG said.
With oil prices reaching a 14-year high in March of last year, Gulf lenders flush with cash, have looked beyond their local markets and expanding their footprint regionally and internationally.
FAB, which was created in 2016 with the merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank, has expanded beyond the UAE market.
The Abu Dhabi lender had a market value of more than $51 billion as of the close of trading on Thursday and managed more than Dh1.1 trillion ($313 billion) of assets at the end of the third quarter of 2022.
Last year it completed the merger of Bank Audi Egypt with its Egyptian operations, consolidating its market position in the most populous Arab country.
FAB opened a representative office in Iraq last year and had made a non-binding offer to buy a majority stake in Egypt's largest investment bank EFG Hermes but withdrew its bid due to “ongoing global market uncertainty and volatile macroeconomic conditions” at the time.
Last year, FAB opened its first branch in China, offering wholesale banking services to corporate and financial institution clients in China and the Asia Pacific Region.
In October, Saudi National Bank, the largest lender in the kingdom, said it was investing up to $1.5 billion in the troubled Credit Suisse, for a stake of up to 9.9 per cent.
In 2019, Emirates NBD, Dubai's largest lender, acquired Turkey's fifth biggest bank Denizbank for $2.8 billion.
FAB's net income for the first nine months of last year soared 19 per cent to about Dh11 billion ($3 billion) as its core business improved significantly amid a rise in interest income and a fall in provisions for bad loans.
Its total income rose an annual 13 per cent to Dh18 billion, driven by an 18 per cent increase in net interest income which jumped to Dh10.2 billion. Total income for the nine-month period includes a Dh3.1 billion net gain on the sale of FAB's stake in the payments business Magnati to New York-listed Brookfield Business Partners.
“FAB has delivered sector-leading loan growth in 2022 and has enviable liquidity,” EFG Hermes said.
The bank's management “is prudently building provision buffers to shield against risks from high [interest] rates. It has a better track record relative to the sector in managing asset quality pressure and its balance sheet is more skewed towards low-risk segments”.
In its statement to the ADX on Thursday, FAB said in line with UK and Hong Kong regulatory laws it reserves the right to announce an offer or possible offer for Standard Chartered within six months of Thursday's announcement based on several factors.
These include an agreement of the board of the Standard Chartered; if a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer for the lender, if Standard Chartered “announces a Rule 9 waiver proposal for the purposes of the UK Code or a 'whitewash' proposal for the purposes of the HK Code”; and/or if there has been a material change of circumstances (as determined by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers and the Takeovers Executive of the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong).
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
The five pillars of Islam
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
%3Cp%3EFly%20with%20Etihad%20Airways%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi%20to%20New%20York%E2%80%99s%20JFK.%20There's%2011%20flights%20a%20week%20and%20economy%20fares%20start%20at%20around%20Dh5%2C000.%3Cbr%3EStay%20at%20The%20Mark%20Hotel%20on%20the%20city%E2%80%99s%20Upper%20East%20Side.%20Overnight%20stays%20start%20from%20%241395%20per%20night.%3Cbr%3EVisit%20NYC%20Go%2C%20the%20official%20destination%20resource%20for%20New%20York%20City%20for%20all%20the%20latest%20events%2C%20activites%20and%20openings.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
The%20specs
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Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
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Simran
Director Hansal Mehta
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey
Three stars
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
RESULTS
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