Economy Turkey’s foreign reserves boosted by friendly country support The Turkish central bank’s foreign currency reserves are getting stronger as friendly countries are providing support, President Tayyip Erdogan said, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Friday. The central bank’s reserves have come under pressure from its forex market interventions to support the Turkish lira and to meet government institutions’ forex needs. “Our central bank reserves started […] September 12, 2022
Tech Turkish firm eyes drone manufacturing in Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday met with the head of Turkish defence firm Baykar and said the company would set up a factory in Ukraine to build unmanned aerial vehicles. Baykar’s Bayraktar TB2 drone has been hugely popular in Ukraine, where it helped destroy many Russian artillery systems and armoured vehicles. “We discussed the […] September 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Saudi’s PIF to issue green bonds as early as next week Saudi Arabia’s $620 billion (SAR 2.33 trillion) sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), is expected to tap international debt markets for a debut green bonds issue as soon as next week, five sources familiar with the matter said. The fund is at the centre of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious reform plans being spearheaded by […] September 11, 2022
Tech Dubai grants provisional approval to crypto firm Blockchain.com London-based crypto firm Blockchain.com said it had won a provisional approval to operate in Dubai, becoming the latest in a series of digital asset companies expanding in the Gulf as the region looks to become a hub for blockchain technology. The company, which offers users a crypto wallet and is also a crypto exchange, said […] September 11, 2022
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi bank raises $500m in debut green bonds Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, the United Arab Emirates’ third largest lender, has raised $500 million with debut green bonds, a bank document showed, ending an issuance drought in the region. The bonds priced at 115 basis points (bps) over US Treasuries on Wednesday, tightening from initial price guidance of about 140 bps over the same […] September 9, 2022
Tourism Streaming to survive: Thailand’s out-of-work elephants in crisis In the northeastern village of Ban Ta Klang in Thailand, Siriporn Sapmak starts her day by doing a livestream of her two elephants on social media to raise money to survive. The 23-year old, who has been taking care of elephants since she was in school, points her phone to the animals as she feeds them […] September 9, 2022
Tourism UAE firm signs contract with Taliban to run Afghan airports The Taliban administration announced on Thursday they would sign the third and final major contract for running Afghanistan’s airports with the United Arab Emirates’ GAAC Holding. The contract would run for 10 years, Ghulam Jelani Popal, deputy head of Afghanistan’s ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, told reporters at a press conference in Kabul. He […] September 9, 2022
Economy Israel, Guatemala sign free trade agreement Israel and Guatemala on Thursday signed a free trade agreement that will include industry, food and agriculture goods, the Israeli Economy Ministry said. The ministry said the agreement will come into effect once it receives final ratification in Guatemala and Israel, whose trade reached $40 million in 2021 – an 11 percent rise from 2020. […] September 9, 2022
Economy Lebanon’s bid for IMF rescue package hits snags Five months after Lebanon’s draft International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal raised hopes it could finally pull together an economic reform plan to address its financial meltdown, political and financial elites are obstructing prospects of securing any rescue package. Efforts to enact eight reforms sought by the IMF are going nowhere or falling short, hitting resistance […] September 9, 2022
Tourism Airbus confirms cancellation of remaining Qatar A350 orders Airbus on Thursday confirmed it had revoked all remaining A350 orders from Qatar Airways, raising the stakes in a safety and contractual dispute with the Gulf carrier. “Airbus confirms that it has removed 19 Qatar Airways A350s from the backlog,” a spokesperson said. Qatar Airways had no immediate comment. The rare order cancellation, confirming a […] September 9, 2022
Banking and Finance France’s Credit Agricole buys majority stake in Egypt subsidiary Crédit Agricole has bought a majority stake in its Egyptian subsidiary Crédit Agricole Egypt, the Egyptian bank said on Thursday. The French bank bought 60 million additional shares, increasing its total shareholding in the Egyptian bank to 52.185 percent from 47.385 percent. The bank did not disclose the price. “This bears witness to the confidence […] September 9, 2022
Banking and Finance Russia working to launch trade in UAE dirham and Indian rupee The Moscow Exchange is working on a plan to launch trading in the Indian rupee but there are certain “obstacles” on the part of the Indian central bank, an exchange official said on Thursday. Daniil Korablev, head of sales to non-credit organisations, said on social media the launch was “not that simple” and may not […] September 9, 2022
Queen Elizabeth’s death: Reaction from politicians and officials State heads and officials from around the world have offered their condolences for Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, after she died on Thursday 8 September. Middle East royals and leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II The world mourns Queen Elizabeth II: 1926 – 2022 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the queen was widely […] September 8, 2022
Tourism Qatar’s green own goal as World Cup fans set to jet in from Dubai The Middle East’s first ever soccer World Cup promises boom time for Dubai hotels this November, with thousands of fans expected to descend on the Gulf city due to limited accommodation in neighbouring host nation Qatar. But the environmental costs of transporting those visitors nearly 400 kilometre (249 miles) for match days, overwhelmingly by plane, […] September 8, 2022
Banking and Finance Egypt faces currency conundrum as it seeks IMF’s financial support As Egypt pushes for a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan it has a choice between letting its overvalued currency weaken gradually and the kind of sharp depreciation it enacted in a similar currency crisis six years ago, with both options carrying risks, economists say. A severe shortage of foreign currency in Egypt over the […] September 8, 2022
Lifestyle Justin Bieber puts world tour on hold, including Dubai concerts Pop singer Justin Bieber’s Dubai concerts next month look unlikely to go ahead after the Canadian performer announced he was taking a break from his rescheduled Justice World Tour due to mental and physical health issues. Although no official statement has been issued yet on the Dubai shows, the two concerts were scheduled on October […] September 7, 2022
Banking and Finance Ben & Jerry’s will amend lawsuit over Israel ice cream business sale Ben & Jerry’s said it plans to amend its lawsuit challenging the sale of its ice cream business in Israel by its parent company, Unilever Plc. In a letter filed on Tuesday night in federal court in Manhattan, Ben & Jerry’s said it plans to file an amended complaint by September 27, with Unilever’s response […] September 7, 2022
Energy Lebanon says TotalEnergies could help in maritime issues with Israel Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that France-based oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, could help his country solve maritime demarcation issues with Israel, according to a post from the presidency office on Twitter. Aoun would make “contacts to help in this regard, will increase communications this month”, the office added. Lebanon and Israel are […] September 7, 2022
Markets Tel Aviv bourse head seeks more bilateral investing with UAE The head of Israel’s stock exchange on Tuesday called for increased investment from Israeli and Emirati investors in each other’s exchanges to boost liquidity. Two years after the so-called Abraham Accords, which saw relations normalised between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco, a number of economic, trade and financial agreements between Israel […] September 7, 2022
Manufacturing Turkey working on new support package for SMEs Turkey’s finance ministry said on Tuesday it was working on a Treasury-backed package to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in need of collateral, in its latest step to boost the sector. The statement attributed to Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said the package would support SME financing needs and reinforce the government’s broader programme prioritising […] September 7, 2022
Real Estate PIF-backed refinance firm aims to raise around $800m via sukuk Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co (SRC), the Saudi equivalent of US mortgage finance business Fannie Mae, will soon issue around SAR 3 billion ($798.34 million) in local currency sukuk, or Islamic bonds, its chief executive said on Tuesday. HSBC, Bank AlJazira, Al Rajhi, Riyad Capital and SNB Capital are running the debt sale, which is […] September 7, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar tells local banks to stop currency swap deals abroad Qatar’s central bank has told banks in the Gulf state not to exchange its currency with entities outside the country without prior permission, five sources told Reuters, in a move bankers say aims at ending the riyal’s divergence against the dollar. The Qatari riyal, officially fixed at 3.64 to the dollar since 2001, has in […] September 7, 2022