Oil & Gas BP and Equinor divert tankers from Red Sea Two European oil and gas companies, BP of the UK and Equinor of Norway, have joined a group of shipping lines that are diverting their tankers away from the Red Sea, following missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants. BP said in a statement: “The safety and security of our people and those working […] December 19, 2023
Logistics Jet fuel most exposed to Red Sea closure, analysts say Trade analysts warned on Monday that jet fuel is the commodity most exposed to an interruption of trade in the Red Sea, as the world’s main shipping companies said that they would avoid the waterway because of missile and drone attacks. Several container shipping lines, including CMA CGM of France, MSC of Switzerland and A.P. […] December 18, 2023
Saudi schools ‘doing better at maths but still lagging behind’ Saudi Arabia’s schools have improved in the past few years, but are still below the international average and a long way behind the best performers, according to the OECD. Teenagers from 81 countries were tested for the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which published its 2022 report on Tuesday. The tests measured the […] December 5, 2023
Media & Advertising UK regulator likely to review Telegraph bid Lucy Frazer, UK secretary of state for culture media and sport, has written to an Abu Dhabi-backed consortium warning that that she is likely to subject its bid for a leading British newspaper group to a public interest test. RedBird IMI, led by Jeff Zucker, a former president of CNN, has submitted a bid for […] November 23, 2023
Video length: 06:16 Banking & Finance UAE set to come off financial crime watchdog’s grey list The UAE is poised to come off the so-called grey list, a category that means financial institutions must conduct more research on individuals and companies based in the country to combat money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force, an international watchdog that monitors compliance with rules on anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of […] October 30, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia set for FDI top 20 after Misa revises measures Saudi Arabia has reworked its methods of measuring foreign direct investment and will publish updated data in the middle of next month that will show the kingdom among the top 20 recipients globally, according to a senior official. Historically, the central bank, still widely known as Sama, published the FDI data using statistical modelling techniques. […] October 27, 2023
Video length: 07:23 FII Banking & Finance World Bank to Wall Street, FII attracts financial elite Slickly choreographed dancers clad in futuristic outfits and a teenage boy in a shiny tuxedo singing a power ballad set the stage for the seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh, and all at nine o’clock in the morning. However, there were immediately more serious themes at play at the event, which opened on Tuesday. […] October 25, 2023
Analysis Finance ‘Hi, this is your bank…’ Inside the war on payment fraud “Hello. This is the Central Bank of the UAE. We are contacting you because you need to surrender your debit card.” The call comes from a conventional mobile number while you’re on the way home from work. Welcome to the scamdemic – claim your prize, share your one-time password, update your bank details, click […] August 9, 2023
Banking & Finance Moody’s opts to keep Iraq on lowly sovereign rating An influential ratings agency has decided to keep Iraq on one of its lowest sovereign ratings, despite the country’s strong oil exports and recovering foreign exchange reserves. Moody’s Investor Services said in an annual review released last week that corruption and weak institutions prompted it to maintain Iraq on a Caa1 rating, which is on […] July 25, 2023
Economy IMF urges Egypt to embrace flexible exchange rate The IMF chief responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia called on Egypt on Wednesday to liberalise its exchange rate fully, amid stasis in Cairo over a series of reforms demanded by the international community. Speaking at an event in the Dubai International Financial Centre, Jihad Azour said that the Fund was in discussion […] May 3, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE reviewing status of Russian bank MTS The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has said it is assessing the status of MTS, a Russian bank to which it gave a licence only weeks previously. Marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US Treasury and the British foreign office said that they were sanctioning MTS Bank, […] February 24, 2023
Health Venture capital firm to bring healthcare technology to the UAE An Abu Dhabi-based venture capital firm has obtained approval from regulators to invite investors into healthcare startups in the US and elsewhere with a view to bringing specialist technology to the Middle East. Biosis Ventures said this week it had in principle received permission from the Abu Dhabi Global Market to offer venture capital products […] November 17, 2022
Real Estate Egyptian investors look to real estate to hedge against inflation Egyptian investors are looking to real estate as a hedge against inflation and a depreciating pound, while landlords are increasingly pricing in US dollars. Merna Arafat, an analyst at Beltone, a Cairo-based brokerage, said that many investors had begun moving into property in March this year when the government started allowing the Egyptian pound to […] November 11, 2022
Economy China-GCC free trade agreement in ‘final and critical’ stage The China-GCC free trade agreement negotiations have entered the “final and critical stage”. The two sides have agreed on most issues and are putting the final touches on the agreement, according to WAM, the UAE state-owned news agency, citing a top Chinese diplomat. 200 billion reasons why the Gulf is China’s hottest trading partner UAE […] November 4, 2022
Sony unit takes stake in Gulf concert promoter The founders of an agency that has played a central part in revolutionising entertainment in the Gulf said on Thursday that a tie-up with New York-based Sony Masterworks will buy the operation time and space to expand and invest. Sony has acquired 55 percent of Mac Global for an undisclosed sum, Daniel Goldberg, one of […] November 4, 2022
