Retail Domino’s Pizza operator to focus on coffee market in Turkey DP Eurasia, which runs the Domino’s Pizza brand in Turkey and Russia, said on Friday the group would focus on its Turkish market and growing its coffee business, as Western sanctions and the uncertainty of war overshadow Russian sales. “The Turkish market has been growing faster than two-to-three years ago and our coffee business is […] October 2, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar buys 9.1% of Germany’s largest power producer Germany’s largest power producer RWE AG said on Saturday it had agreed to buy Con Edison Inc’s Clean Energy Businesses subsidiary for $6.8 billion, doubling down on the world’s second-biggest renewables market. The deal will be partly funded via a $2.43 billion convertible bond issued to a unit of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) through which […] October 2, 2022
Economy Saudi Arabia to boost spending in 2023, GDP growth to slow down Saudi Arabia expects to post a surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2023, a drop from an expected surplus of 2.3 percent this year, which was revised downwards slightly, a preliminary budget statement showed on Friday, as it boosts spending amid a windfall from oil revenues. Saudi Arabia expects total revenues at 1.123 trillion […] October 2, 2022
Manufacturing Porsche shares flat at close after landmark $72bn listing Porsche AG shares had a see-saw start on Thursday after Volkswagen defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of €75 billion ($72 billion) in Germany’s second-biggest market debut. The shares closed at €82.50 ($80.74), returning to their issue price from the session high of €86.76. Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares the top end of the indicated range, and raised €19.5 billion via the listing to fund […] September 30, 2022
Hospital operator Burjeel aims to raise up to $368m from IPO Abu Dhabi-based Burjeel Holdings set a price range of AED 2 to AED 2.45 ($0.5446 to $0.6671) a share for its initial public offering (IPO) that opened for subscription on Friday, valuing the hospital operator at $3.3 billion at the top end. The selling shareholder expects to sell more than 350 million shares, or seven […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Tunisia’s dinar hits record low, may erode forex reserves Tunisia’s dinar currency has fallen to a record low versus the dollar, central bank data showed on Thursday, a decline that threatens to erode Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves and will increase inflationary pressures. Tunisia’s annual inflation rate rose to 8.6 percent in August, the highest level in nearly three decades. The dinar traded at 3.309 […] September 30, 2022
Health Moody’s says hospitals and utilities face high hacking risks Around $22 trillion of global debt rated by Moody’s has a ‘high’ or ‘very high’ exposure to the risk of cyber attack, the ratings agency said in a report on Thursday, with hospitals and utilities seen at the greatest risk. Out of $80 trillion worth of debt across 71 sectors that the rating agency monitors, […] September 30, 2022
Sustainability Volkswagen faces Israeli emissions class action suit Volkswagen faces a class action suit in Israel after a court ruled in favour of petitioners seeking compensation from the German carmaker over diesel emissions cheating. A Tel Aviv district court ruled that the class action suit will represent the car owners as well as the general public who were exposed to higher pollution levels, […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey’s state banks suspend use of Russian Mir payment system Turkey’s three state banks have suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati told Reuters on Thursday. The suspension comes as the United States cracks down on those accused of helping Moscow skirt sanctions and as Western nations grow concerned over increased economic ties between NATO-member Turkey and Russia. Turkish […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish clearing house move halts sharp decline in some bank shares Turkish clearing house Takasbank took action to provide liquidity to brokerages and take on some stock as collateral, the market authority said on Thursday, stabilising shares in Turkish lenders Sekerbank and TSKB. Banking shares on the Borsa Istanbul fell sharply in recent weeks, after surging more than 150 percent up to mid-September from the beginning […] September 30, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi power transmission project signs $3.2bn financing Abu Dhabi Offshore Power Transmission Company has secured more than $3.2 billion in financing with export credit agencies and banks for an offshore electricity transmission project, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation said in a statement. The financing is to build and operate a high-voltage direct current offshore power transmission system linking two offshore production […] September 30, 2022
Health Europe drugmakers may cut output due to high energy bills Europe’s drugmakers have warned they may stop making some cheap generic medicines because of surging electricity costs and are calling for an overhaul of the way they are priced, the latest industry to seek help as the energy crisis deepens. The generic drug industry lobby group Medicines for Europe, which represents companies including Teva, Novartis’s […] September 29, 2022
Economy Israel-South Korea free trade deal to take effect December 1 A free trade agreement between Israel and South Korea will go into effect on December 1, Israel’s economy ministry said on Wednesday, in a move expected to lower the prices of Korean-made cars, toys, video game consoles and soy sauce. The agreement was ratified by Korea’s parliament on Tuesday. The ministry estimated that it would […] September 29, 2022
Banking and Finance Erdogan hopes policy rate will fall to single digits by year-end Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said he hopes the central bank’s monetary policy committee will deliver another cut to its policy rate next month and bring it down to single digits by year-end. Erdogan, speaking in a televised interview with broadcaster CNN Turk, said Turkey aims to strengthen the lira by reducing interest rates. […] September 29, 2022
Sustainability Egypt wants to discuss climate change compensation at Cop27 Egypt, which is hosting the upcoming Cop27 climate negotiations, is working on how to include compensation for economic losses due to climate catastrophes on the formal agenda of the November summit, as pressure grows from vulnerable countries to prioritise the issue, the country’s special representative of the summit said on Wednesday. Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt’s special […] September 29, 2022
Markets Arabian Drilling IPO may fetch $710m as book-building starts Arabian Drilling Company, a Saudi oilfield services firm, will price its planned initial public offering (IPO) between SAR 90 ($23.89) and SAR 100 ($26.55) per share, HSBC Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday. HSBC Saudi Arabia, Goldman Sachs Saudi Arabia and SNB Capital are joint financial advisers, bookrunners and underwriters for the IPO, which could fetch […] September 29, 2022
Economy WTO chief expects downside revisions in global trade forecast The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) told Reuters on Tuesday that she expects that global trade forecasts will be revised lower from the current three percent for 2022, citing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and related food and energy crises. “We are in the middle of revising our forecasts now but it’s not looking […] September 28, 2022
Tech Oracle fined for bribing foreign officials in the UAE and Turkey Oracle Corp will pay about $23 million to resolve charges its units in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and India used slush funds to bribe foreign officials in order to win business, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. The case covered alleged wrongdoing from 2014 to 2019, and is the second time […] September 28, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt’s import squeeze hobbles economy as US dollars run short Christeen Aiad from eastern Cairo had been hoping to buy a small automatic car this year, but rules preventing importers trading in scarce dollars put paid to that and she is having to get around on her bicycle instead. The war in Ukraine has deepened Egypt’s economic woes. It sent the import-reliant nation’s bill for […] September 28, 2022
Markets Qatar launches new initiative to boost stock market liquidity The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) tweeted on Tuesday that it launched a new market making initiative to boost liquidity at the Qatar Stock Exchange as part of a wider raft of reforms to attract foreign investors. The $445 billion sovereign wealth fund said that licensed market markets would be able to access some of QIA’s […] September 28, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia’s PIF hires banks for debut green bonds issuance Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has hired banks including Citi and JPMorgan to arrange a debut issuance of multi-tranche US dollar-denominated green bonds, a document showed on Tuesday. Sources told Reuters earlier this month that PIF would issue the long-planned green bonds this month or in October. BNP Paribas, Citi, […] September 28, 2022
With flowers and a gun salute, Japan bids farewell to Shinzo Abe With flowers, prayers and a 19-gun salute, Japan honoured slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday at the first state funeral for a former premier in 55 years – a ceremony that has become as divisive as he was in life. The ceremony started at 2:00 p.m. (0500 GMT), with Abe’s ashes carried into […] September 27, 2022