Jan. 20--BURGAN BANK CANCELS SHARE SALE: Kuwait's Burgan Bank has cancelled a plan to sell 200 million shares to boost its capital by 20 million dinars ($69.7m). Burgan said in a statement that it was unable to obtain regulatory approval in the form of a royal decree to sell the shares to the Bahrain-based United Gulf Bank.

UK BANKS GET NEW RESCUE: Britain gave its troubled banks their second multi-billion pound bailout in three months on Monday. The latest plan will see the government increase its stake in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to 70 percent after the bank announced the biggest loss in British corporate history on Monday. Banks will be able to insure themselves against losses on their riskiest assets. The government will offer guarantees on their debt and set up a £50bn fund to buy up high-quality securities to get cash flowing freely again.

RBS REPORTS LARGEST LOSS IN UK HISTORY: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said on Monday it would report a 2008 loss of up to £28bn, the biggest loss in British corporate history, reported Reuters. The loss was driven largely by a goodwill impairment charge of £15 to £20bn related to its acquisition of parts of Dutch rival ABN Amro in 2007. Excluding goodwill impairment, the bank said in a statement it expects a full-year loss of £7 to £8bn.

MASHREQ TO LAUNCH SUKUK FUND: Mashreq Capital, a unit of Mashreqbank, plans to launch a $50m Shariah-compliant regional fixed income fund, the company's chief executive, Abdul Kadir Hussain said yesterday. This will be Mashreq Capital's third mutual fund lunch and first to target sukuk.

UAE AND SAUDI ARABIA CUT KEY RATES: Central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia cut key interest rates on Monday by 50 basis points, bringing the domestic rates closer to US rates. The UAE Central Bank reduced its benchmark repurchase rate by 50 basis points to 1 percent. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) reduced its benchmark repurchase rate to 2 percent from 2.5 percent and its reverse repurchase rate to 0.75 percent from 1.5 percent.

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