Blockchain-based currencies are making inroads in the Middle East with Dubai’s first-of its-kind crypto listing and the Bank of Israel’s trial of a digital shekel.

The Bitcoin Fund, that invests in long-term holdings of the cryptocurrency and was the first of its type to be listed on a major exchange, expanded to  Nasdaq Dubai last week to ensure trading to all hours around the globe. 

In Israel, where a recent central bank study concluded a digital currency could have a positive impact on the economy, Ethereum was picked for a trial of the payment system. 

There was a word of caution, however. Qatar’s Chief Investment Authority Chief Executive Officer Mansoor Bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud told Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum that cryptocurrencies “need a bit of maturity before we make our view about investing.” 

Bitcoin has roughly halved from its mid-April high of almost $65,000. The coin started 2021 trading around $29,000 following a fourfold increase in 2020.

Chart of the Week

Lebanon’s gross domestic product plunged to just above $19 billion last year, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund. The statistic is now at its lowest level since 2002 and worse than war-stricken Yemen. 

The Slant

Indian billionaire, petrochemicals czar Mukesh Ambani, has a new interest: solar energy. The push comes as Ambani, the country’s second wealthiest man, brings a strategic partner into Reliance Industries, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., to help reposition his cash-spewing refinery on India’s west coat into a low-carbon oil-to-chemicals empire. The business addition marks Ambani’s first major overlap with fellow Indian businessman Gautam Adani, Andy Mukherjee writes for Bloomberg Opinion. 

Need to Know

Last week saw developments likely only to make Iranian nuclear talks, set to resume in Vienna next month, more complicated than they already are. The U.S. blocked 36 Iranian websites, while Iran missed a deadline to renew its temporary atomic-monitoring pact and said it expects the talks to  also involve pre-2015 U.S. sanctions.

With the bosses of some of the world’s biggest oil companies expecting crude prices to keep rising, Qatar, one of the Gulf’s largest and highest-rated borrowers, will likely be able to avoid the debt market in the near future. The nation will also be boosted by global oil companies’ interest in its $29 billion project to raise production of liquefied natural gas.

As the coronavirus slows, Dubai is anticipating economic pick-up: its airport, the world’s largest, is expected to recover up to 90% of its pre-pandemic capacity by autumn.

Developer Meydan, owner of one of the world’s most opulent horse racecourses, is meeting with creditors to discuss a $2.6 billion debt restructuring plan aimed at giving it financial breathing space. 

Egypt expects to  finalize an agreement next week for compensation over the giant ship that blocked the Suez Canal in March. Egypt had initially sought over $900 million, a figure then amended to $550 million. An investigation into how the Ever Given crashed found that an order to increase speed may have led to the ship getting sucked to shore.

Turkey is gearing up for a risky Afghan mission no one else wants: securing the Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport. It’s a dangerous proposition, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has his eye on possible rewards, such as an opportunity to repair ties with Washington. 

Coming Up

• OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting to be held July 1 via video conference
• Saudi central bank to report reserves and consumer spending on June 28
• Saudi Arabia to report first-quarter unemployment on June 30
• Israeli foreign minister to visit the UAE to inaugurate Israel’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai on June 29-30

Last Word

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, Deutsche Bank AG’s top Qatari shareholder and the country’s former prime minister, put in a word for mergers in the European services industry at the Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. 

“Everybody’s waiting to have a better valuation to think about merging, but I believe to merge now is better because the market is being taken by the big banks,” he said.

Europe’s fragmented banking sector has long shown a need for transformational cross-border deals, but has been hamstrung by regulatory obstacles and weak profitability.

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