Business of Sport Qatar, Turkey won’t replace cancelled Russian Grand Prix Formula One’s 2022 season will be reduced to 22 races after the sport said on Wednesday it would not be replacing the cancelled Russian Grand Prix on Sept. 25 despite interest from other countries. Formula One had scheduled a record 23 rounds this year but the race in Sochi was called off in February and […] May 19, 2022
Business of Sport Golfer Dustin Johnson ‘excited to see’ Saudi-backed rival tour next month Dustin Johnson’s loyalty is currently with the PGA Tour but the twice major winner said on Wednesday that he is excited to see what the upstart LIV World Golf Invitational Series could do for the sport. For the moment the Saudi-backed venture has proven only disruptive as it attempts to poach players from the established […] May 19, 2022
Media & Advertising Saudi Arabia’s PIF takes stake in video game giant Nintendo Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken a 5.01 percent stake in Nintendo Co Ltd as the sovereign wealth fund increases its exposure to the Japanese video gaming industry. The investment in the Kyoto-based group company was made for investment purposes, a filing said, and comes as PIF has also taken stakes in video […] May 18, 2022
‘No development’ in Tehran-Riyadh talks, says minister Iran’s foreign ministry said yesterday there has been “no new development” since April in talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, shortly after a lawmaker said top diplomats of the rival countries will meet soon. Earlier, an Iranian lawmaker told the semi-official Fars news agency that Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian will soon meet his Saudi counterpart Faisal […] May 18, 2022
Energy Foreign ship in Gulf waters detained for ‘smuggling fuel’ Iranian authorities seized a foreign ship attempting to smuggle fuel out of the country and detained its crew, state news agency IRNA said today. Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land […] May 18, 2022
Business of Sport Japan edges ahead of Saudi and Qatar to host Asian Cup The Japan Football Association (JFA) has been informally approached about the possibility of replacing China as hosts of next year’s Asian Cup, Chairman Kozo Tashima told Nikkan Sports. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced last Saturday that China had pulled out of hosting the 24-team continental championship, citing the COVID-19 situation in the country. “We […] May 18, 2022
Energy Saudi puts its energy into increasing oil output Saudi Arabia is on track to lift oil production capacity by more than 1 million barrels per day to over 13 million by the end of 2026 or start of 2027, the energy minister said on Monday. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told an energy conference in Bahrain that production could be maintained at that level should market […] May 17, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi extends deposit for Yemen and pays $2bn instalment Saudi Arabia has extended a deposit it gave the central bank of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in 2018, and agreed to pay the final instalment of the $2 billion support package it promised. The Saudi finance ministry said the 2018 deposit would be extended to support Yemen’s currency and economic situation. The Yemeni central bank […] May 17, 2022
Agriculture Egypt can still buy Indian wheat despite export ban Any agreements by Egypt’s government to purchase Indian wheat will not be affected by an export ban announced by New Delhi, Egypt’s supply minister said yesterday. “For India, we are talking with them on the basis of a government agreement. The ban exempts governments including the government of Egypt,” minister Ali Moselhy said. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat […] May 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Mexico suspends duties on food staples to tackle inflation Mexico will waive import duties for one year on a range of household staples, most of them foodstuffs, in a bid to curb inflation, the government said in its official gazette today. The products on the government list included corn oil, rice, tuna, pork, chicken, beef, onions, jalapeño peppers, beans, corn flour, wheat flour, eggs, […] May 16, 2022
Mobility tech firm Optibus valued at $1.3bn after raising $100m US-Israeli mobility technology company Optibus has raised $100 million in a private funding round that values the company at $1.3 billion. The funding came from new and existing investors including Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Pitango First & Pitango Growth, Tencent, SOMV Momentum, and others, said Optibus, which has raised $260 million to […] May 16, 2022
Manufacturing Renault sells Russian carmaker Avtovaz for one rouble Renault is to sell its majority stake in carmaker Avtovaz to a Russian science institute for just one rouble with a six-year option to buy it back, leaving the door open for the French carmaker’s return. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said to preserve thousands of jobs Renault’s plant in the city would be used to […] May 16, 2022
Energy Strong oil prices lift Saudi Aramco profits by 82% State-owned oil producer Saudi Aramco yesterday reported an almost 82 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, broadly in line with analyst forecasts, helped by strong oil prices. Aramco, which is at par with Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company, reported a net income of $39.5 billion for the quarter to March 31 from […] May 16, 2022
World leaders visit UAE to greet new ruler, mourn Sheikh Khalifa World leaders arrived in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to offer condolences on the death of President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who has been succeeded by his half-brother Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. Sheikh Mohamed, now ruler of Abu Dhabi, had been de facto leader of the Western-allied Gulf state, an OPEC oil producer and […] May 16, 2022
Health Egypt’s net foreign assets retreat further into the red Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) dropped by 169.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($9.17 billion) in March, the sharpest decline since the coronavirus crisis broke out in February 2020, central bank data showed on Sunday. NFAs fell to a negative 221.3 billion pounds at the end of March from a negative 51.69 billion pounds a month earlier. […] May 15, 2022
Sheikh Khalifa Remembered Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed has passed away Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the second President of the United Arab Emirates and 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi, died today aged 73. In a statement published by Wam, The Ministry of Presidential Affairs expressed its deepest condolences to the people of the UAE, Arab and Islamic nations and the world. The Ministry of Presidential […] May 13, 2022
Tourism Emirates airline cuts annual loss to $1.1bn as travel rebounds Dubai’s Emirates airline today posted an annual loss of $1.1 billion, a sharp improvement on the $5.5 billion loss in the previous year, as demand for international travel was boosted by governments easing pandemic-related curbs. The airline, which only operates international services, reported a 91 percent jump in revenue to $16.1 billion for the year […] May 13, 2022
Tourism Passengers hit two-year high at Dubai International airport Dubai’s main airport today reported its busiest quarter in two years as the rebound in international travel gains pace, with its chief executive predicting Dubai International could see pre-coronavirus figures by the end of 2024. The Gulf hub, one of the world’s leading gateways for international travel, handled 13.6 million passengers in the January-March period, […] May 12, 2022
Tourism Emirates aims to start repaying Dubai $4.1bn in Covid aid Dubai’s Emirates hopes that it will soon start paying back the 15 billion dirhams ($4.1 billion) in state assistance it receive from the government during the pandemic, its chairman said on Monday. The Dubai government injected billions of dollars into its flagship airline via equity injections over the course of the pandemic that had at […] May 12, 2022
CD&R hires Amr Nosseir, CVC’s top Mideast dealmaker Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has hired CVC Capital Partners’ top dealmaker for the Middle East as it seeks to bolster its presence and expand relationships with investors in the region. CD&R said yesterday it had appointed Amr Nosseir as senior advisor to the firm. Nosseir previously served as managing director, chairman […] May 12, 2022
Mubadala posts record $33bn income in 2021 Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala posted a record income of 122 billion dirhams ($33 billion) in 2021, citing strong investment returns, the monetisation of some assets and new partnerships. “2021 was Mubadala’s strongest financial year in its 20-year history,” Group CEO Khaldoon Khalifa al-Mubarak said in a statement. The 2021 result for so-called total comprehensive […] May 12, 2022
Japan’s Nikkei hits two-month low after Wall Street slides Japan’s Nikkei fell to its lowest in almost two months today as technology heavyweights tracked a sharp decline on Wall Street overnight. The Nikkei share average fell 1.77 percent to 25,748.72, the lowest since March 15. The broader Topix fell 1.19 percent to 1,829.18. “It was hard to bet on Japanese stocks after the Nasdaq’s […] May 12, 2022
