Dubai’s Emirates NBD on Monday announced the expansion of it operations in Saudi Arabia, solidifying its foothold in the market as Opec’s biggest oil exporter continues to transform its economy.
Emirates NBD, the biggest bank in Dubai by assets, said it has expanded its footprint with the recent opening of its branch in Saudi Arabia’s commercial hub, Jeddah. The lender plans to “soon" open a branch in Khobar and a second branch in the kingdom’s capital Riyadh, it said in a statement. Saudi Arabia now hosts Emirates NBD’s biggest branch network outside of the UAE and Egypt, it said.
“Our presence in Saudi Arabia leverages the UAE’s strong economic, financial and commercial ties with the kingdom,” Hesham Al Qassim, vice-chairman and managing director of Emirates NBD, said. “As Saudi rolls out its transformative Vision 2030 plan, we are delighted to deepen our relationship and continue to support Saudi individuals and businesses looking for a trusted banking partner.”
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Read more:
Emirates NBD Capital hires female executive to head Saudi operations
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Financial institutions are keen to establish a presence in the Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arabian Gulf economy, as it continues to diversify away from oil. Its economic agenda includes development of local non-oil industries and sale of some of the state assets including Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, in a public float. Deals such as these and a booming population in the country offer growth opportunities for local, regional and international lenders.
US-based Citi on Monday also announced the formal opening of its new offices in Riyadh, in a ceremony attended by Ibrahim Al Omar, Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, and top Citi officials including its chief executive Michael Corbat.
“The expansion to Saudi is in line with our strategy to be present in the region’s biggest economy and contribute to its transformation,” said Mr Corbat. “Citi continues to support the Kingdom’s national agenda for a diverse and sustainable economy and we aim to play a key role towards realising this vision.”
The biog
Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children
She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career
She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence
Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
