Banking & Finance Yemen raises customs duties by 50% on non-essential goods Yemen’s recognised government has raised the US dollar exchange rate used to calculate customs duties on non-essential goods by 50 percent, effective Tuesday, a document and traders said. The decision applies only to south Yemen, which the government controls, including the port city of Aden. The country’s main entry point for commodities, Hodeidah port, is […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia taps debt market with $10bn 3-part bond issue Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, sold $10 billion in a three-part bond issue on Tuesday, taking advantage of a window of opportunity to tap debt markets amid strong investor appetite for Gulf credits. Pricing on all three tranches of the bond was tightened from initial guidance earlier in the day, as investors piled […] January 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Israel sells $2bn of 10-year green bonds in global offering Israel sold $2 billion of 10-year “green” bonds in an international bond offering, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The bonds, it said, were sold at 95 basis points over the benchmark US government bond yield and received $12 billion of demand from some 200 investors in 35 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, […] January 11, 2023
Economy Saudi Arabia weighs boosting Pakistan investment to $10bn Saudi Arabia said it could increase its investments in the cash-strapped Pakistan economy to $10 billion, state-owned SPA news agency reported on Tuesday, as well as increase the ceiling on deposits into the Pakistan central bank to $5 billion. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has directed a study to increase Saudi Arabian investments to $10 […] January 10, 2023
Economy Egypt’s inflation accelerates to 21.3% beating expectations Egyptian annual urban consumer inflation in December rose to 21.3 percent from 18.7 percent in November, exceeding analyst expectations, data from the statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Tuesday. The inflation figure was the highest since December 2017, when it hit 21.9 percent. The price rises followed a currency devaluation in October and continued restrictions on […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s Ziraat Bank says capital boost to help drive economy An expected capital increase will help Turkey’s Ziraat Bank to spearhead President Tayyip Erdogan’s drive to boost economic growth and tackle chronic current account deficits this year, the head of the country’s largest lender told Reuters. Chief executive Alpaslan Cakar, who is also chairman of the Turkish Banks Association, said state banks like Ziraat were […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance Microsoft said to be in talks to invest $10bn in ChatGPT owner Microsoft Corp is in talks to invest $10 billion into OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, which will value the San Francisco-based firm at $29 billion, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The funding includes other venture firms and deal documents were sent to prospective investors in recent weeks, with the initial aim to […] January 10, 2023
Banking & Finance First Abu Dhabi Bank launches $500m 5-year Islamic bond First Abu Dhabi Bank, the largest lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has launched a $500 million Islamic bond, or sukuk, a document reviewed by Reuters showed, pricing tighter than guidance on strong demand for the issue. The spread on the five-year sukuk was set at 90 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries at […] January 10, 2023
Markets Singapore firm plans dual listing on Saudi bourse by H1 2023 Singapore commodity trader Olam Group on Tuesday said it plans to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) for majority-owned Olam Agri Holdings as early as the first half of this year, listing the unit domestically and concurrently in Saudi Arabia. A concurrent listing on the Saudi Exchange would make Olam Agri the first company to […] January 10, 2023
Aviation Airlines lift China international flight capacity as border opens Airlines have boosted January international seat capacity to and from China by 9.5 percent over the last week as they ramp up flights after its border opening, according to aviation data provider Cirium, though flights remain at a fraction of pre-pandemic levels. Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd added more than 52,000 seats as its […] January 9, 2023
Real Estate UK developers may cut dividends as surging rates deter buyers British housebuilders may cut dividends to preserve cash and ride out a property downturn, as high mortgage rates make homes less affordable and economic uncertainty deters buyers. The move by Persimmon in November – to scrap its dividend policy and rule out a special dividend – has started what analysts say could become a trend […] January 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Goldman Sachs to start cutting thousands of jobs Goldman Sachs Group will start cutting thousands of jobs across the firm from Wednesday, two sources familiar with the move said, as it prepares for a tough economic environment. The job cuts are expected to be just over 3,000, one of the sources said, but the final number is yet to be determined. The sources […] January 9, 2023
Banking & Finance China’s Alibaba planning $1bn investment in Turkey Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is planning a logistics hub at Istanbul Airport and a data centre near the Turkish capital Ankara with an investment of more than $1 billion, its president, Michael Evans, was cited as saying. Turkey’s Sabah newspaper reported Evans as saying in an interview that the company was looking […] January 9, 2023
Tech IT firm Meeza to be Qatar’s first to use book building for IPO IT services firm Meeza is set to become the first Qatari company to use book building to carry out an initial public offering, it said in a statement, as the country aligns itself with international practices. The company, part-owned by telecoms operator Ooredoo, said it would be selling 50 percent of its share capital in […] January 9, 2023
Manufacturing Korean EV battery maker denies report it has scrapped Turkey plan South Korean electric vehicle battery maker SK has not decided whether to pursue a battery cell venture in Turkey with Ford Motor Co and Koc Holding, after signing a memorandum of understanding in March last year. The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source, that SK plans to scrap the idea due to a […] January 9, 2023
Manufacturing Saudi seeks foreign investors to explore vital mineral deposits Saudi Arabia is seeking foreign investors to help explore strategic and vital minerals utilised in the renewable energy sector, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing vice minister for mining affairs Khalid Al-Mudaifer. The minister said that opportunities worth SAR 120 billion ($32 billion) were on offer, with both local and foreign investors currently studying prosposals. About […] January 8, 2023
Economy Turkish factory activity shrinks for first time since 2020 Turkey’s industrial production index is expected to have shrunk year-on-year for the first time since 2020 in November, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as a slowdown in some of Turkey’s main trade partners hit factory activity. Industrial activity had bounced back strongly after the initial coronavirus wave in April 2020 and has been expanding […] January 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Tesla owners in China demand rebate after surprise price cuts Hundreds of Tesla owners gathered at the automaker’s showrooms and distribution centres in China over the weekend, demanding rebates and credit after sudden price cuts they said meant they had overpaid for electric cars they bought earlier. On Saturday, about 200 recent buyers of the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 gathered at a Tesla […] January 8, 2023
Manufacturing Tesla slashes prices in China for second time in three months Tesla cut car prices in China for the second time in less than three months on Friday, deepening its discounts in the world’s largest auto market as competition picks up and the demand outlook darkens. The latest cut, along with a reduction in October as well as various incentives that amount to as much as […] January 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt’s currency weakens further amid higher dollar demand Egypt’s currency weakened on Thursday by about 2.3 percent against the US dollar, though bankers said trading was thin and demand for dollars high following the third effective devaluation of the pound in less than a year. The Egyptian pound (EGP) closed at 27.11 per dollar, according to the central bank, after fluctuating more than […] January 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Dubai’s Emirates NBD launches $272m bond issue Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest lender, has launched a AED1 billion ($272 million) three-year bond, according to a document seen by Reuters. The senior, unsecured bond received more than AED1.65 billion in orders and was launched at 5.125 percent. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Emirates NBD Capital, HSBC and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited were […] January 6, 2023
Banking & Finance FAB says no longer planning bid for Standard Chartered First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the United Arab Emirates’ biggest lender, said it had considered a bid for London-listed Standard Chartered (StanChart) but was no longer doing so. Bloomberg had earlier reported that FAB had been exploring an offer for Standard Chartered as part of a plan aimed at building an emerging markets bank, driving […] January 6, 2023
