BANKING - MIDEAST MONEY-Gulf banks eye European rivals' Middle East assets - Eyes on Turkish banks

www.reuters.com - DUBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - As struggling European banks scale back their worldwide operations, cash-rich Gulf lenders see a chance to expand by snapping up the Middle East assets of European rivals at attractive prices.
After years of building operations in the fast-growing Middle East and North Africa region, European lenders are shrinking back due to a crippling debt crisis at home and the need to raise capital to meet regulatory requirements.
Gulf banks are keen to seize an opportunity as profitable businesses from Turkey to Egypt have been put on the block by European banks at a time when valuations are near multi-year lows due to the volatility in financial markets. (source)

FINANCE - ECONOMY - OIC - Shift in Trade Axis Starts Bearing Fruits

turkishweekly.net - Turkish government’s economic and political approach to the Muslim world in recent years, once triggered heated arguments discussing the axis of the country’s trade and politics shifting from West to East, today leads to become “one of the most promising new economic axes in the world,” according to a recent report by National Commercial Bank (NCB).

Overall Turkish-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) trade rose more than tenfold from $1.5 billion in 1999 to $16.1 billion in 2008, according to the report by Saudi Arabia’s largest lender which also owns controlling shares in Türkiye Finans in Turkey. (source)

FINANCE - Turkish, Gulf firms invest in hospital

A leading Turkish consultancy and investment company has entered the healthcare sector by investing in Istanbul Cerrahi Hospital in cooperation with a firm from a Gulf state.

The hospital aims to attract patients from the Middle Eastern and Turkic countries who travel to the United States for medical treatment, Bülent Göktuna, the head of Mineks International, said during a press conference yesterday in Istanbul. (source)

GCC - CAPITAL MARKETS - Guidelines issued for bond sellers in the Gulf

thenational.ae - Banks have drafted a list of pointers for organisations seeking to raise new capital on credit markets.

The move is intended to improve transparency and provide a stamp of approval for bonds and sukuk issued in the Gulf.

The guidelines were drafted by the Gulf Bond and Sukuk Association (GBSA), an industry body composed of 27 banks and other financial services firms. (source)

FINANCE - Unicorn announces successful exit from investment in US electronics manufacturing (focus on GCC, MENA and Turkey)

Manama, 24 August 2011> -Unicorn Investment Bank (Unicorn) announces the successful sale of its investment in Victron, Inc. (Victron), a specialty provider of high-mix, complex electronics manufacturing services (EMS) based in Fremont, California.

Unicorn acquired an 80% equity stake in Victron in December 2007. The Bank has sold its stake to OnCore, a prominent US-based EMS company. (source)

LEGAL - TAHAWWUT MASTER AGREEMENT - ISDA - Islamic derivatives slow to catch on in Gulf states

DUBAI: Islamic derivatives are still struggling to gain traction in the Gulf, six months after the launch of a much-touted over-the-counter contract aimed at creating a standard legal framework for hedging products.

Experts said the contract, known as the Tahawwut Master Agreement, in theory provides Islamic institutions with a simpler template for risk management that has been approved by syariah scholars.