Energy Saudi exports to China slip on Russia’s discounted oil Russia maintained its spot as China’s top crude oil supplier in August, Chinese government data showed on Wednesday, even as discounts on Russian crude continued to narrow and Moscow cut exports. China’s imports from Russia – including supplies via pipelines and seaborne shipments – jumped 26 percent from August last year to 10.54 million metric […] September 21, 2023
Tech Israeli cybersecurity startup Cato Networks raises $238m Israeli cybersecurity company Cato Networks said on Tuesday it had raised $238 million in a private funding round that valued the company at $3 billion. The round, one of Israel’s largest this year and Cato’s biggest, was led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, with the participation of Adams Street Partners, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Sixty Degree […] September 20, 2023
Industry Chinese EV maker Nio raises $1bn in convertible bond deal Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc said on Wednesday it had raised $1 billion in a two-tranche convertible bond from which it intends to use the proceeds to pay down debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The company raised $500 million in a six-year put-four convertible bond and the same amount in a seven-year put-five […] September 20, 2023
Energy Kenya extends oil supply deal with three Gulf companies Kenya has extended an oil supply deal with three Gulf-based companies, which is designed to manage demand for dollars, the energy regulator said on Tuesday. The East African nation entered the deal with Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) in March, switching from an open tender system […] September 20, 2023
Finance Egypt’s new capital developer plans IPO in 2024 Egypt is planning to float five to 10 percent of the shares of the company building its vast new capital 45 km east of Cairo by the second quarter of 2024, its chairman said on Monday. The sale on the stock exchange of shares in the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), now owned 51 […] September 19, 2023
Finance Singapore’s non-oil exports fall for 11th straight month Singapore’s annual exports fell for an 11th straight month in August as the trade-reliant economy continues to grapple with global headwinds on inflation and declining demand. Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell 20.1 percent year on year in August, official data showed on Monday, as both electronics and non-electronics exports to the US, Europe and China […] September 18, 2023
Industry Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, Anadolu Agency posted on social media platform X – formerly Twitter – on Sunday. Erdoğan asked Musk during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the United Nations in New York, the Turkish state-owned news agency said. […] September 18, 2023
Renewable Energy Solar energy shines in global survey beating fossil fuels More than two-thirds of the world’s population favours solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries […] September 17, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality NMC shareholder gets court nod to restructure A plan to restructure Abu Dhabi investment firm KBBO Group and its hospital unit received court approval on Friday following months of negotiations, said Deloitte, which is acting as trustee of the group. KBBO Group was one of the biggest shareholders of collapsed firm NMC Health. KBBO’s founder Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi filed for […] September 17, 2023
Finance Lebanon needs deep reforms on unstable outlook says IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed new policies enacted by Lebanon’s central bank, but said deep reforms were still necessary as the crisis-stricken country’s “outlook remains difficult and unstable”. Lebanon’s nearly four-year economic meltdown has cost the local currency roughly 98 percent of its value and impoverished thousands, but authorities have been slow to […] September 17, 2023
Energy Iraq and Turkey oil pipeline to resume operations soon Iraq’s northern oil export route through Turkey will soon be ready to resume operation after checks on pipeline maintenance and repairs to flood damage, the Turkish energy minister said. A survey of the oil pipeline is complete and it will soon be “technically” ready for operation, Alparslan Bayraktar said. Turkey halted flows on Iraq’s northern […] September 17, 2023
Finance Erdogan says Turkey could ‘part ways’ with EU Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the European Union (EU) if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey. The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey’s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU […] September 17, 2023
Finance US says Iraq must act to avoid further action on banks Iraq’s central bank must address continued risks of the misuse of dollars at its commercial banks to avoid new punitive measures targeting the country’s financial sector, a top US treasury official said, citing fraud, money laundering and Iran sanctions evasion. In July, the US barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of […] September 15, 2023
Finance World Bank says Turkey’s economy on the right path The World Bank’s Turkey director said on Thursday that the economy was heading in the right direction but there was more to do, a week after the bank said it would double its exposure to Turkey to $35 billion over three years. In an interview with Reuters, Humberto Lopez said that of the additional $18 […] September 15, 2023
Transport DAE detects corrosion in leased plane to Indian airline Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) Capital has told an Indian court it detected corrosion of some parts and “a greenish deposit” on a plane leased to bankrupt airline Go First, after another lessor complained about “robbed” parts. Foreign lessors have been engaged in a legal tussle to repossess their aircraft after the Indian airline was granted […] September 15, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE and Saudi funds plan to invest $1bn in Reliance unit India’s Reliance Retail is in talks with existing investors including the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia for combined new investments of around $1.5 billion, three sources with direct knowledge of the plan said. Reliance Retail is India’s largest retailer and is led by Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani. The talks […] September 14, 2023
Libyan oil ports reopen after storm forced closure Four major oil ports in Libya have reopened after shutting down on Saturday because of the powerful storm that swept the country, killing thousands of people, port agent Al Omran International Maritime Agencies said on Wednesday. The eastern ports of Brega, Es Sidra and Ras Lanuf opened on Tuesday and the port of Zueitina opened […] September 14, 2023
Economy Floods wipe out quarter of Libyan city as death toll passes 5,000 Thousands of people were killed and at least 10,000 were missing in Libya in floods caused by a huge Mediterranean storm that burst dams, swept away buildings and wiped out as much as a quarter of the eastern coastal city of Derna. A senior medic in Derna told Reuters that more than 2,000 people were dead, while […] September 13, 2023
Tech China’s Alibaba to open ‘free’ AI model Alibaba said on Wednesday it would open its artificial intelligence (AI) model Tongyi Qianwen to the public, in a sign it has gained Chinese regulatory approval to mass-market the model. Authorities in China have recently accelerated efforts to support companies developing AI as the technology increasingly becomes a focus of competition with the United States. […] September 13, 2023
Economy Goldman Sachs ups Turkey’s deficit forecast to $43bn Goldman Sachs raised its forecast on Tuesday for Turkey’s 2023 current account deficit to $43 billion from a previous $38 billion, after it said it “deteriorated sharply” in July. “(I)ncorporating higher oil prices, we now expect Turkey’s current account deficit to reach $43 billion (previously $38 billion) for 2023 as a whole,” the Wall Street […] September 13, 2023
Energy Opec sticks to robust growth demand on resilient economy Opec on Tuesday stuck to its forecasts for robust growth in global oil demand in 2023 and 2024 citing signs that major economies are faring better than expected despite headwinds such as high interest rates and elevated inflation. World oil demand will rise by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, compared with growth […] September 13, 2023
Energy Global oil stockpiles to fall after Saudi cut says EIA Global oil inventories were expected to fall in the fourth quarter after Saudi Arabia extended output cuts this month, while US crude production is forecast to rise more than previously thought, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a monthly report on Tuesday. World oil stockpiles were forecast to fall by 200,000 barrels per […] September 13, 2023
