The Finance World Magazine| Edition: April 2023

Shareholders of FAB greenlight $1.56B dividend payout for 2022
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB),
the largest lender in the UAE,
has announced the approval
of a dividend payout of AED
5.74B ($1.56B) for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2022. The full-year cash
dividend stands at AED 0.52 per share,
according to a statement by the bank.
The announcement comes after FAB
reported a 7% rise in its net profit for
2022, largely driven by higher interest
income and the strong performance of its
core business. The bank also elected its
board of directors for the next three-year
term, including Mariam Al Mheiri as the
first-ever female member.
EDB approves $1.66B in
financing during 2022
Emirates Development Bank
(EDB), a state-owned lender
that focuses on financing
the UAE’s priority sectors,
has approved AED 6.1B ($1.66B) in
financing during 2022 to drive the
country’s industrial growth. The funding
represents an almost eightfold increase
compared to the previous year. EDB
approved AED 1.8B in loans to small
and medium-sized enterprises, which
is a 387% YoY increase. EDB’s credit
guarantee programme with partner
commercial banks provided AED
611M in indirect financing while
loans disbursed through the EDB
micro-lending platform, powered by
Beehive, exceeded AED 100M. Loans
approved for large corporates surged
to AED 4.3B, mainly for projects
in national priority sectors such as
data centres, desalination plants,
hospitals, transport, manufacturers,
and specialised logistics.
ICBC launches $2.2B Green Bonds on Nasdaq Dubai
Industrial and Commercial Bank
of China (ICBC) has listed four
green bonds worth $2.2B on Nasdaq
Dubai, making it the first Chinese
bank to start the year with a multicurrency
capital markets transaction.
The carbon-neutral themed bonds, with
tenors of two and three years, were
issued by ICBC’s branches in Dubai,
According to data from
the Central Bank of the
UAE, excluding interbank
deposits, the amount of
money saved in the UAE banking
system increased to AED 245.867B at
the end of December 2022, showing
a YoY growth of approximately AED
4.00B or 1.7% from AED 241.82B in
November 2021. The Central Bank’s
records demonstrate that there has
been a significant increase in savings
deposits in recent years, rising from
AED 152B at the end of 2018 to AED
Hong Kong, Singapore, and Sydney.
The listing was marked by the ringing
of the market opening bell by Zhang
Yiming, Ambassador of the People’s
Republic of China to the UAE, and was
accompanied by top executives from
ICBC and Nasdaq Dubai. The offering
saw strong and diverse demand from
international investors.
$67B saving deposits in UAE Banks by end of
December 2022
172.2B in 2019 and AED 215.2B in
2020. The bank’s statistics further
reveal that demand deposits grew to
AED 907.35B by the end of December
2022, exhibiting a YoY growth of 7%
from AED 533.57 in December 2021.
April 2023 www.thefinanceworld.com 13