Media & Advertising Apple, Amazon pass on media rights to Saudi-backed LIV Golf Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc have both passed on the media rights to the LIV Golf tournament, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Critics have said that LIV Golf, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, amounts to “sportswashing” by a nation trying to improve its reputation in […] September 16, 2022
IMF to send mission to Lebanon to discuss slow reform progress The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that a staff mission will visit Lebanon next week to discuss ways to “speed up” implementation of agreed reforms required for an IMF loan program amid deteriorating living conditions in the country. “We are looking to support Lebanon as strongly as we can. It’s a difficult situation,” […] September 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Tunisian government and union sign wages deal to ease tensions Tunisia’s government and main labour union, Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), on Thursday signed a deal to boost wages, a step that may ease social tensions, but they did not announce any further agreement on reforms needed for an IMF bailout. The increase in state salaries of five percent a year for three years, and […] September 16, 2022
Economy Israel inflation dips to 4.6% in August 2022 Israel’s annual consumer price index (CPI) of inflation dipped to a 4.6 percent rate in August, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, easing from a 14-year high of 5.2 percent in July and after aggressive Bank of Israel rate hikes in recent months. A Reuters poll of analysts had projected an inflation rate […] September 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkish rates on dollar deposits drop on high forex commission Interest rates on dollar deposits have dropped sharply in Turkey in recent days after its central bank passed a regulation imposing high commission payments on foreign exchange transactions, three bankers said on Thursday. The bankers told Reuters that rates in the market generally had fallen to some 3.5 percent to four percent from about seven […] September 16, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi royals-owned firm raises $300m Islamic loan The Private Department of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid al-Nahyan LLC (PD), a relatively small real estate company owned by members of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, priced on Thursday $300 million of sukuk at 8.75 percent, a bank document showed. PD in July 2021 pulled a $350 million Islamic bond sale ahead of pricing, saying the […] September 16, 2022
Economy Saudi inflation up 3% in August on higher food and transport costs Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index rose three percent in August from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, accelerating from a 2.7 percent pace in July. Food and beverages and transport prices were again the main driver of inflation in August, both rising four percent, the General Authority for Statistics said in a statement. […] September 16, 2022
Energy UAE oil imports help push Japan to record trade deficit in August Japan ran its biggest single-month trade deficit on record in August as imports surged on high energy costs and a slump in the yen, exposing the economy’s vulnerability to external price pressures. The growing trade deficit highlights the fragile nature of Japan’s economic recovery which has so far largely remained intact despite a high price […] September 15, 2022
Banking and Finance Tunisia’s labour union agrees to wage deal amid IMF talks Tunisia’s government and a powerful labour union have agreed a public sector wage increase over the next three years, part of their talks on wider economic reforms aimed at securing a foreign bailout for state finances. UGTT union officials and a state news agency said on Wednesday the agreement would lift wages for state employees […] September 15, 2022
Banking and Finance Depositors hold up two Lebanese banks to grab their own money Two seemingly armed and desperate Lebanese depositors held up banks on Wednesday to force access to their own money, which has been blocked during a national financial meltdown. One woman with a gun and some associates briefly held hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank in the capital Beirut, before leaving with more than $13,000 […] September 15, 2022
Retail Gulf investor among consortium buying 33% of Egyptian Domty A consortium has acquired about 33 percent of Arabian Food Industries Co.(Domty) in a tender offer worth about EGP512 million ($26.5 million), Expedition Investments, a special purpose investment vehicle, told Reuters on Wednesday. The deal was priced at EGP5.50 per share, up from EGP5.00 at the beginning of the tender offer, after a fairness opinion […] September 15, 2022
Banking and Finance Israel’s El Al Airlines sells 20% of its frequent flier programme Israeli insurer Phoenix has exercised an option to buy roughly 20 percent of El Al Israel Airlines’ frequent flier programme, the companies said in a Tel Aviv regulatory filing on Tuesday. El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, will receive $14 million and own 80.1 percent of its frequent flier programme and it said it would post […] September 14, 2022
Energy Lebanon-Israel maritime talks over oil allocation to conclude in ‘days’ Maritime border talks between Lebanon and Israel that could help allocate oil and gas resources are close to concluding after around two years of negotiations, a top Lebanese security official said on Tuesday. “We’re talking about weeks – actually, days – to finish the delineation issue. I’m hopeful that the situation is positive,” the head […] September 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar wealth fund buys stake in Turkey’s Eurasia Tunnel The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has bought a stake in the Eurasia Tunnel company in Istanbul from the South Korean partner in the venture, SK Group, a statement by the Turkish Competition Board showed on Tuesday. The competition board decision, taken on September 8 and posted on its website on Monday evening, showed that QIA […] September 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Bank of America moves some of its Russia-based bankers to Dubai Bank of America (BofA) is moving some of its Russia-based bankers to Dubai, two sources told Reuters, following a move by several Western banks this year to relocate staff in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. BofA has moved some of its staff recently and is in the process of moving others, across different units […] September 14, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE state-backed digital bank Wio targets SME segment State-backed digital bank Wio announced on Tuesday it had launched in the United Arab Emirates and would focus initially on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) while eyeing an eventual public listing. Wio, which calls itself a “platform bank”, has three main business lines: digital banking apps, embedded finance and banking-as-a-service, the provision of banking through […] September 14, 2022
Economy Tunisia’s trade deficit jumps to $5.3bn in eight months of 2022 Tunisia’s balance of trade was in deficit by TND 16.9 billion ($5.32 billion) in the first eight months of 2022, an increase of 61 percent from a year earlier, mainly because of high energy prices, the state Institute of Statistics (INS) said on Monday. The trade deficit was TND 10.48 billion in the same period […] September 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Turkey’s new rules force banks to curtail corporate lending Some Turkish banks are curtailing corporate lending after the government’s latest raft of regulations raised their costs and forced many to cut their balance sheet risks, five banking and private sector sources told Reuters. The new rules, part of President Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox management of the economy, have especially depressed longer-term lending. The owner of […] September 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi royal-owned firm revives plans for dollar sukuk The Private Department of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid Al-Nahyan LLC (PD) is reviving plans to sell US dollar-denominated sukuk, bank documents showed on Monday. PD, a relatively small real estate player in Abu Dhabi owned by members of its ruling family, last year pulled a $350 million sukuk after its launch and ahead of pricing. […] September 13, 2022
Energy Europe to help fund Egypt’s transition from gas to wind power The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will help finance the decommissioning of 5GW of inefficient gas-fired power plants in Egypt from 2023 while pledging up to $1 billion for renewables, its regional director said on Sunday. EBRD would raise up to $300 million in sovereign financing for projects including work to stabilise Egypt’s […] September 12, 2022
Banking and Finance Porsche wants to be ready for listing as soon as possible Porsche AG wants to be ready for a planned stock market listing as early as possible, an executive at the luxury sportscar unit of Volkswagen was quoted as saying on Saturday, as investors showed huge interest in the initial public offering (IPO). “We welcome a strong interest in our company and we are confident despite […] September 12, 2022
Lifestyle Marvel anti-heroes steal the show at Disney’s D23 fan convention The anti-heroes stepped into the spotlight Saturday at Walt Disney Co’s D23 Expo fan convention, as Marvel Entertainment announced casting for “Thunderbolts.” Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige announced that actors Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour and Julia Louis Dreyfus will join the cast of the new film, whose team of villains is akin to […] September 12, 2022