Tech Malaysia and Indonesia interested in buying Turkish armed drones Malaysia and Indonesia have expressed keen interest in buying armed drones from Turkish defence firm Baykar, according to Ankara’s foreign minister. “Many Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, show great interest in our defence industry products. Agreements are being signed,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Cavusoglu, who was in Japan […] September 27, 2022
Tech Qatar’s Ooredoo plans to sell 20,000 telecom towers Qatari telecoms company Ooredoo is preparing to sell 20,000 of its towers, it revealed on Monday. Sources said it had engaged Morgan Stanley to work on the deal. The sources added that Ooredoo is looking to sell towers in the Gulf region and other markets including Iraq and Algeria through a sale-and-leaseback arrangement. In a […] September 27, 2022
Economy Lebanon passes 2022 budget that falls short of IMF demands Lebanon’s parliament passed its 2022 budget on Monday using an exchange rate for customs tax revenues that lies far below the market value of the Lebanese pound, falling short of economic reform measures that would pave the way for an IMF deal. An agreement with the lender of last resort is seen as a first […] September 27, 2022
Retail McDonald’s hikes prices in Japan on higher input costs, weaker yen Japan’s McDonald’s fast food restaurants will raise prices on about 60 percent of its offerings to customers, fuelled by rising input costs and exchange-rate fluctuations, the company said on Monday. It marks the company’s second set of price increases this year as Japan grapples with inflationary pressures and a slide in the yen to a […] September 26, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish lira hits record low against dollar after unexpected rate cut Turkey’s lira hit an all-time low against the dollar in early trade on Monday, bringing its losses so far this year to more than 28 percent and extending its decline following an unexpected rate cut last week. The lira stood at 18.4440 against the greenback, as of 0453 GMT, weakening from Friday’s close of 18.4280. […] September 26, 2022
Sustainability Fears mount over Iran’s inaction on climate change In just over a year, Iran has endured deadly flash floods, crop-ruining drought, punishing dust storms and heatwaves that have pushed temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius – all crises likely fuelled by climate change. But for the people affected, finding help is proving very difficult. Iran is one of just four countries that have […] September 26, 2022
Banking and Finance Lebanon’s banks to reopen after wave of holdups Lebanon’s banks will reopen on Monday, the country’s banking association said, after five days of closures that followed a wave of holdups by savers seeking access to their frozen funds. The association said in a statement on Sunday that the decision to reopen “was taken after consideration of the current difficult security conditions and the […] September 26, 2022
Economy Tunisians protest against poverty, high prices and food shortages Hundreds of Tunisians protested against poverty, high prices and food shortages in the capital on Sunday night, escalating pressure on the government of President Kais Saied. Tunisia is struggling to revive its public finances as discontent grows over inflation of nearly 9 percent and a shortage of many food items in stores because the country […] September 26, 2022
Tech Elon Musk says activating Starlink for Iranians after Blinken’s tweet SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Friday that he would activate the firm’s satellite internet service, Starlink, in response to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s tweet that the United States took action “to advance internet freedom and the free flow of information” to Iranians. The US Treasury Department on Friday issued guidance expanding internet […] September 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Uzbekistan halts use of Russia’s Mir payment cards Uzbekistan’s UZCARD system has suspended the processing of payments via Mir cards issued by Bank of Russia’s National Card Payment System (NSPK), the chief executive of which has been targeted by US sanctions. The move by UZCARD was warranted by the need “to carry out the necessary technical procedures”, it said in a statement on […] September 25, 2022
Turkey mulls new regulations to prevent stock market manipulation Turkish authorities are expected to make stock market regulatory changes within a few days to prevent market manipulation after sharp falls in prices due to margin calls on futures positions, market participants and analysts said. They said the issue was likely to be among those discussed at a meeting which President Tayyip Erdogan convened on […] September 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Lebanese banker says capital control law ‘solution’ for holdups A top Lebanese banker on Friday criticised politicians for failing to enact a capital control law, saying this was the way to avoid bank raids by savers demanding funds from frozen accounts and to stop banks’ “discretionary practices”. BLOM Bank Chairman Saad Azhari – whose bank has been one of several held up this month […] September 25, 2022
Business of Sport Abu Dhabi-owned firm offers $190m for Brazilian soccer club City Football Group (CFG), the owner of Manchester City English Premier League soccer team, made an offer of 1 billion reais ($190 million) for 90 percent of Brazilian club Esporte Clube Bahia, CFG said on Friday. The purchase is part of a funding bonanza in Brazilian soccer, following the approval of a law that allowed […] September 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi eyes $200m stake in India’s biggest REIT Blackstone Inc. will sell a stake worth up to $400 million in Embassy Office Parks REIT, India’s biggest real estate investment trust, via Indian stock exchange block deals, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, one of the world’s largest, is likely to pick up at least half of […] September 25, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE’s Mubadala revokes offer for Brazil’s Burger King brand owner Brazil’s Zamp SA said on Friday that Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala had revoked its tender offer to purchase a controlling stake in the company, prompting shares in the Brazilian owner of the Burger King brand to fall. Mubadala had offered 8.31 reais ($1.61) per share to buy a 45.15 percent stake in Zamp this […] September 25, 2022
Energy Egypt expects to double monthly income from natural gas to $1bn Egypt is earning about $500 million monthly from natural gas exports and aims to raise that figure to $1 billion “in the coming period,” Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a statement on Thursday. The statement, based on comments by Maait at a Bloomberg forum, gave no comparative figures on what Egypt had been earning […] September 23, 2022
Tech Israel to sell Rafael-made air defence system to UAE Israel has agreed to sell an advanced air defence system to the United Arab Emirates, two sources familiar with the matter said, in the first such known deal between them since they forged ties in 2020. The deal reinforces how, for some Arab states, resolving the decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict has now been overshadowed by national […] September 23, 2022
WhatsApp says it is working to keep Iranians connected Meta Platforms Inc’s WhatsApp said on Thursday that it was working to keep users in Iran connected after the country restricted access to the app and social media platform Instagram. WhatsApp “will do anything” within its technical capacity to keep the service accessible and that it was not blocking Iranian phone numbers, the messaging service […] September 23, 2022
Economy Cyprus GDP forecast at 5.5%, inflation may hit 8.4% in 2022 Cyprus’s economy is forecast to grow by 5.5 percent in 2022 on better than expected tourism arrivals, although the outlook is tempered by energy market turbulence which will sap demand later in the year, the island’s Central Bank said on Thursday. Updated projections of economic output were 2.8 basis points higher than previous projections made […] September 23, 2022
Health Burjeel eyes local investors for IPO after IHC buys stake Abu Dhabi-based hospital operator Burjeel Holdings is seeking local investors for its planned initial public offering, two sources said, scrapping plans to seek foreign investors after Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company (IHC) took a 15 percent stake this week. Egypt-listed EFG-Hermes and JP Morgan are no longer on the deal, said the sources, declining to […] September 23, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey to hold meeting on Russia’s Mir, possible Western sanctions Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will convene a top tier economy-focused meeting on Friday at which Russian payment system Mir and possible Western sanctions will be discussed, two sources with information on the matter told Reuters. The meeting with government officials and others will also address agreements with Russia, recent heavy volatility on the Istanbul stock […] September 23, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt central bank bucks trends, keeps interest rates unchanged The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), bucking analyst expectations, left its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying it believed inflation was under control over the medium term. The bank also raised the reserve ratio to 18 percent from 14 percent, saying that this would help tighten liquidity. The bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) kept […] September 23, 2022
