Author: Arabian Media staff

Apollo has used its in-house insurer Athene to remake US private capital, using billions of dollars from retirees to feed its asset management machine. But now it is another Apollo-backed insurer, Athora, that is on the march in Europe, with a £5.7bn acquisition that heralds the private equity giant’s arrival into the continent’s largest retirement market.The biggest UK deal of the year so far relates to the obscure but lucrative insurance niche of pension risk transfers or bulk annuities. Over the next decade, British companies are expected to offload about £500bn of retirement obligations and the assets backing them to…

du, UAE’s telecom and digital services provider, and Omantel, the Sultanate of Oman’s integrated telecommunications company, have announced the activation of the Oman Emirates Gateway (OEG) — a 275-kilometre international fibre optic submarine cable system designed to enhance digital connectivity between the UAE and Oman. The OEG connects three major regional data centres: datamena DX1 in Dubai, Equinix MC1 in Barka, and Equinix SN1 in Salalah. The high-capacity system aims to provide a seamless express route that improves network efficiency, speeds up connectivity, and offers a significant uplift in digital service experiences across the region. Recent news: du and Huawei…

Hello everyone, this is Cissy from Hong Kong.Monday was a big day for BYD, as it marked the first anniversary of the Chinese EV champion’s Thailand factory. It delivered its 90,000th vehicle in Thailand, a D9 MPV from its premium sub-brand Denza, after officially entering the south-east Asian nation in 2022.BYD is also set to begin assembling electric vehicles at its new factory in Brazil, its largest overseas market, as early as this month. The company aims to produce 50,000 vehicles there this year, a move designed to reduce reliance on imports as tariffs increase.BYD has set a total sales…

The Sharjah Real Estate Registration Department has launched an upgraded version of its official website, marking a major step in its ongoing digital transformation journey. The revamp aims to enhance the delivery of real estate services and offer an integrated digital platform that caters to a wide range of customers across the emirate. Read- Sharjah sees 25% rise in foreign real estate investment, says Shurooq The new website boasts a modern, interactive design aligned with Sharjah Government’s directives to advance smart services and improve market attractiveness. The platform is tailored to serve investors, developers, homeowners’ associations, individuals, banks, and government…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Jupiter has agreed to buy CCLA, the biggest manager of money for UK charities, in a £100mn deal as the group seeks to grow its assets after a period of poor performance and client defections.London-listed Jupiter said on Thursday that the acquisition of CCLA, which counts the Church of England as one of its biggest clients, will add £44.3bn in assets.Jupiter’s chief executive Matthew Beesley said the deal would “increase scale in our home market of the UK, where Jupiter is already…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK insurer Legal & General has struck a private credit partnership with Blackstone that the US alternative assets giant said could be worth up to $20bn by the end of the decade.Blackstone will source private credit deals for the FTSE 100 company’s annuities business, in the latest example of European insurance and pension groups tapping US private capital groups to increase their exposure to a fast-growing asset class.RecommendedUnder the agreement, L&G’s annuities business will use Blackstone to originate investment-grade private credit assets,…

Image credit: WAM/ Website The European Union has officially removed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from its list of high-risk third countries for money laundering and terrorist financing—a move hailed by the UAE’s top financial regulator as a major national achievement. Read-EU to remove UAE from AML/CFT ‘high-risk’ list, adds Algeria, Lebanon Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and Chairman of the National Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organisations, called the decision a reflection of the country’s “wise leadership” and long-term vision, a WAM report said. Diplomatic…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the UK energy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.The UK government has confirmed it will ditch a controversial plan to split Britain’s wholesale electricity market into zones, which could have resulted in the south of England paying more for electricity than Scotland. Ministers announced on Thursday they would not push ahead with so-called zonal pricing, ending a long-running debate that has divided the energy industry. The proposals were part of a package of potential reforms to the electricity market that has been considered in government for several years to try…

Image: Supplied The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) officially launched the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) in Riyadh, marking the start of the world’s largest competitive gaming festival. Running from July 10 until August 24, the event features 25 tournaments across 24 leading game titles and brings together more than 2,000 elite players from around the globe, competing for a record-breaking prize pool of over $70m Described by organisers as the biggest esports event ever staged, EWC 2025 introduces a pioneering cross-title ‘Club Championship’ format. Esports World Cup 2025: Format and prize money The competition sees the world’s top 200…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Sovereign bonds myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Dutch pension funds are set to put pressure on European government bond markets later this year as they start to sell around €125bn of long-dated bonds because of a substantial reform of the retirement sector. Between 2025 and 2028 the €1.5tn Dutch pension industry is transitioning from a system in which final payouts to pensioners are guaranteed to a defined contribution framework, in which employers are only tied to the amount they put in. That will mean holding much less long-term sovereign debt…