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UAE’s Central Bank Gives Green Light to Launch Digital Bank

The Central Bank of UAE is working on plans to launch the beta version of the Wio platform in the first quarter of 2022 in Abu Dhabi (WAM).
The Central Bank of UAE is working on plans to launch the beta version of the Wio platform in the first quarter of 2022 in Abu Dhabi (WAM).
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UAE’s Central Bank Gives Green Light to Launch Digital Bank

The Central Bank of UAE is working on plans to launch the beta version of the Wio platform in the first quarter of 2022 in Abu Dhabi (WAM).
The Central Bank of UAE is working on plans to launch the beta version of the Wio platform in the first quarter of 2022 in Abu Dhabi (WAM).

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has given the green light to a new digital banking platform known as “Wio” and backed by state holding company ADQ.

The bank will soon launch a beta version, initially targeted to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The total invested capital in Wio is 2.3 billion dirhams ($626.26 million) plus in-kind contribution.

ADQ and investment holding company Alpha Dhabi will own a combined 65 percent stake in the bank called "Wio".

Other shareholders are UAE's telecoms operator Etilasat, which will own 25 percent, and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB.AD), with a 10 percent stake.

“As part of our efforts to future-proof Abu Dhabi’s economy, we are committed to enhancing the financial services sector,” Mohamed Al Suwaidi, chief executive of ADQ, said.

“By delivering secure, transparent and seamless access to a cutting-edge, customer-centric digital banking platform, Wio’s unique business model will further strengthen the UAE’s digital economy that is already supported by robust infrastructure and progressive regulations," Suwaidi added.

“Our 850 million dirhams investment in Wio is part of the strategy we announced last December to invest in promising sectors within and outside the UAE,” Hamad Al Ameri, managing director, and chief executive of Alpha Dhabi, said.

“Building on our FinTech portfolio, the Wio partnership is part of our strategy to meet growing consumer demands with 360-degree products and services that enhance their daily digital lives,” according to Khalifa Al Shamsi, chief executive of Etisalat Consumer Digital.

Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), added that the launch of Wio will bring “a new and innovative approach to banking”.

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Algeria Inaugurates Strategic Railway to Giant Sahara Mine

A view shows the Santa Cruz chapel in the city of Oran, Algeria May 22, 2024. REUTERS
A view shows the Santa Cruz chapel in the city of Oran, Algeria May 22, 2024. REUTERS
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Algeria Inaugurates Strategic Railway to Giant Sahara Mine

A view shows the Santa Cruz chapel in the city of Oran, Algeria May 22, 2024. REUTERS
A view shows the Santa Cruz chapel in the city of Oran, Algeria May 22, 2024. REUTERS

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated a nearly 1,000-kilometre (621-mile) desert railway to transport iron ore from a giant mine, one of the longest in the country.

The line will bring iron ore from the Gara Djebilet deposit in the south to the city of Bechar located 950 kilometres north, to be taken to a steel production plant near Oran further north.

The project is financed by the Algerian state and partly built by a Chinese consortium, according to AFP.

During the inauguration, Tebboune hailed "the completion of a strategic and historic national achievement, long spoken of as a distant dream".

This project aims to increase Algeria's iron ore extraction capacity, as the country aspires to become one of Africa's leading steel producers.

The iron ore deposit is also seen as a key driver of Algeria's economic diversification as it seeks to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbons, according to experts.

President Tebboune attended an inauguration ceremony in Bechar, welcoming the first passenger train from Tindouf in southern Algeria and sending towards the north a first charge of iron ore, according to footage broadcast on national television.

The mine is expected to produce four million tonnes per year during the initial phase, with production projected to triple to 12 million tonnes per year by 2030, according to estimates by the state-owned Feraal Group, which manages the site.

It is then expected to reach 50 million tonnes per year in the long term, it said.

The start of operations at the mine will allow Algeria to drastically reduce its iron ore imports and save $1.2 billion per year, according to Algerian media.

Business

Container Traffic at Morocco's Tanger Med Port Rises 8% in 2025

Cars, made in Morocco and intended for export, wait to be shipped at Tanger Med Port, on the Strait of Gibraltar, east of Tangier, Morocco June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki
Cars, made in Morocco and intended for export, wait to be shipped at Tanger Med Port, on the Strait of Gibraltar, east of Tangier, Morocco June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki
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Container Traffic at Morocco's Tanger Med Port Rises 8% in 2025

Cars, made in Morocco and intended for export, wait to be shipped at Tanger Med Port, on the Strait of Gibraltar, east of Tangier, Morocco June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki
Cars, made in Morocco and intended for export, wait to be shipped at Tanger Med Port, on the Strait of Gibraltar, east of Tangier, Morocco June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki

Morocco's Tanger Med Port said on Monday it maintained its position as the Mediterranean and Africa's leading port, handling 11.1 million containers in 2025, up 8.4% from a year earlier.

The growth was partly driven by the expansion of a terminal operated by APM Terminals, the port authority said in a statement.

The port saw truck traffic grow 3.6% to 535,203 units, driven by higher exports of industrial products and agri-food goods.

Passenger traffic totalled 3,220,422 in 2025, up 5.7%, while cars using the port to cross into or out of Morocco reached 895,341 vehicles in 2025, up 5%, it said, Reuters reported.

The number of vehicles exported through the port dropped 12% to 526,862, mostly produced by Renault and Stellantis plants in the country, the port authority said.

Morocco’s automotive exports fell 2% last year to $17 billion but remained the country's biggest export, according to official trade data.

Overall, the port handled a total of 161 million tons of cargo in 2025, up 13.3% from 2024, it said.

Last week, Morocco said it will start operating Nador West Med, its second Mediterranean deep sea port, in the fourth quarter of this year.

The $5.6 billion facility will open with an annual capacity of 5 million containers, expandable to 12 million.

Further south on the Atlantic coast, Morocco is building a $1 billion deepwater port in Dakhla, in Western Sahara.

Business

Gold, Silver Fall as CME Margin Hike Stokes Selling

(FILES) A jeweler shows gold and silver bars at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on January 12, 2026. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
(FILES) A jeweler shows gold and silver bars at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on January 12, 2026. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
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Gold, Silver Fall as CME Margin Hike Stokes Selling

(FILES) A jeweler shows gold and silver bars at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on January 12, 2026. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)
(FILES) A jeweler shows gold and silver bars at his shop in downtown Kuwait City on January 12, 2026. (Photo by YASSER AL-ZAYYAT / AFP)

Gold and silver prices pared some losses but remained under pressure on Monday, after increased CME margin requirements added to the selling pressure following last week's selloff sparked by Kevin Warsh's nomination as the incoming Federal Reserve chair. Spot gold was 2.3% lower at $4,754.51 per ounce by 1319 GMT, trimming losses from a near 10% fall earlier in the session. Bullion shed more than 9.8% on January 30, in its sharpest one-day drop since 1983, Reuters reported.

Gold has lost about $900 since hitting an all-time-high of $5,594.82 on January 29, erasing most of this year's gains.

US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.7% at $4,777.70/oz. Spot silver lost 3.8% to $81.41, recovering from a fall of 15% earlier on Monday. It has shed about 33% since notching an all-time-peak of $121.64 last week.

Prices have regained from lows earlier in the session as investors buy the dip and cover short positions, said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com.

"But that doesn't mean that the downward trend that started at the back end of last week is over, so this could just be a temporary bounce before we see more volatility," Razaqzada added. The CME announced hikes in margins on its precious metal futures on January 30 and said the changes were set to take effect after market close on Monday.

"The increase in margin requirements makes holding speculative positions less appealing now and will also force a lot on the retail side of the market who do not have the extra liquidity to sell positions," said Zain Vawda, analyst at MarketPulse by OANDA. The dollar index edged higher last week after US President Donald Trump named former Federal Reserve Governor Warsh as his Fed chair pick, making dollar-priced bullion more expensive for buyers overseas.

While investors expect Warsh to favor rate cuts, they anticipate he will tighten the Fed's balance sheet, a move typically supportive of the dollar.

Barclays said in a note on Monday it expects rate cuts, fiscal expansion, quantitative easing, fiat debasement and de-dollarisation to likely keep investment demand firm for gold. Spot platinum fell by 0.6% to $2,145.03 per ounce after hitting a record $2,918.80 on January 26, while palladium rose 1.2% to $1,719.25.