Creditors in the Saad and AHAB trading companies, two of the largest industrial groups in Saudi Arabia, have been left confused and annoyed by the lack of information surrounding the defaults of companies belonging to the group.

So far, few foreign financial investors have put much capital into projects in Iraq, but perhaps the stand-out exception is MerchantBridge, the London-based private equity company.

As South Africa enters its first economic recession for 17 years, analysts and investors watched closely as new president Jacob Zuma laid out his policies in his inaugural state of the union address.

On June 18, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) welcomed a US$750mn sukuk issued by CBB International Sukuk Company (No.2) on behalf of the government of Bahrain. This is the first sukuk to be listed in Europe this year.    

Morgan Stanley Saudi Arabia (MSSA) has launched equity trading on the KSA stock exchange, Tadawul, on June 22. This new capability enables the firm and its clients to trade cash equities and enables MSSA to service international clients via swap contracts.

VTB Capital, Russia’s international investment bank owned by VTB Group, the second largest Russian financial institution, announces the launch of its operations in the Gulf and wider MENA region with the opening of its office in Dubai.

Citi’s global transaction services business has been chosen to provide custody to Majid Al Futtaim Trust and both custody and fund administration to funds managed by Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management.

Qatar Holding, the strategic and direct investment arm of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and NYSE Euronext have formed a partnership which will establish Qatar Exchange (formally known as Doha Securities Market) as an international exchange.

On June 16, the board of the World Bank approved a US$1.02bn credit for four major projects in Nigeria.

Vnesheconombank (VEB), Russia's State Corporation Bank for Development and Foreign Affaris, and the China State Development Bank (CSDB) entered into a credit agreement for an amount of US$310mn on June 14.

Citi has announced that its Global Transaction Services business’ EMEA platform for Citi prepaid services is going to be launched in the United Arab Emirates after going live in Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland and Ireland in early June.

A consortium of around 20 companies, including Munich Re, Siemens, RWE and Deutsche Bank, plans to build a €400bn (US$555.3bn) solar power project in Africa, a Munich Re executive told a German newspaper on Tuesday.