Middle East: Finance and Banking

Egypt's fintech licensing framework requires companies to navigate between two primary regulators—the Central Bank of Egypt for payment services and the Financial Regulatory Authority for non-bank financial activities. Understanding which regulator governs your specific fintech activity, from digital wallets to BNPL platforms, determines your capital requirements, ownership structure, and compliance obligations before you can legally operate in the Egyptian market.

The United Arab Emirates has become one of the leading jurisdictions for investment funds structuring across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Much of this growth has been driven by the development of two internationally recognised financial centres, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), both of which provide dedicated regulatory frameworks for licensed fund managers, asset managers and investment platforms.

Johannes Jonas, managing partner of Cohen & Gresser's Dubai office, explains why familiarity can create a false sense of confidence—and why long-term success in the Gulf depends on understanding the region's business culture as much as its legal framework.

Qatar's Central Bank has launched a temporary loan deferral initiative allowing borrowers to postpone loan instalments and interest payments for up to three months in response to regional geopolitical developments.

The Capital Market Authority of the United Arab Emirates has introduced a comprehensive new licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers, establishing eight distinct regulated activities with risk-based capital requirements and enhanced governance standards. The framework consolidates previous regulations while introducing stricter controls on privacy tokens, algorithmic tokens, and client asset holdings, positioning the UAE as a leading hub for regulated digital asset innovation.

Moreover, professional judgment plays a fundamental role in enhancing the credibility, transparency, and reliability of valuation outcomes.

Financial leasing companies in Egypt are important in the non-bank financial sector because they offer asset-based financing to businesses. Unlike industrial or real estate firms, they earn revenue from structured lease contracts.

Finance leasing is one of the core pillars of Egypt's non-banking financial sector, offering companies an efficient and well-regulated mechanism to finance productive assets without the need to incur significant upfront capital costs.

This document provides the translation of Law No. 176 of 2018, the cornerstone legislation regulating Financial Leasing and Factoring in Egypt.

The transaction, which was also recognised as Ijarah Deal of the Year, reflects the continued use of sophisticated Sukuk structures in the region and the important role of Cayman Islands issuer vehicles...

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - June 30th, 2025 - Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has released its latest edition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Banking Pulse for Q1 2025.

The private credit landscape across the Middle East is maturing at pace, with sponsors, institutional investors, and arrangers increasingly demanding...