Emirates NBD doubles foreign ownership limit to attract global investment

Emirates NBD Bank
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By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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UAE’s biggest banking group Emirates NBD has declared that the bank has received necessary clearance and approval to double its foreign ownership limit (FOL) from 20 percent to 40 percent.

The increase in FOL is expected to take effect from July 22.

The official statement to Dubai Financial Market (DFM) the bank said “The bank has contacted Dubai Central Securities Depository to start the necessary procedures to activate the above-mentioned increase in the Foreign Ownership Limit.”

This is the second time the bank has increased its foreign ownership limit after its initial raise from 5 percent to 20 percent in September last year.

In its published financial statement yesterday, the bank announced that its first-half profits had fallen 45 percent after it set aside $1.1 billion in provisions to cover an expected increase in bad loans as a result of the economic downturn created by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the official statement, the bank more than tripled its impairments allowances to $1.14 billion which resulted in a profit drop to $1.1 billion.