Economy Iraq expects 4% non-oil growth in 2025 Iraq expects its non-oil sector to grow by 4 percent in 2025 after increasing by 5 percent last year, the country’s finance minister said on Monday. The budget deficit was ID 5 trillion ($3.8 billion) last year, below forecast, Taif Sami told the official Iraqi news agency. Citing the International Monetary Fund, the minister said […] May 5, 2025
Renewable Energy Iraq to use solar to power presidential palace Iraq will install solar panels at the presidential palace in Baghdad as the first stage in a plan to switch nearly 6,000 public buildings to renewable power, according to officials. The project is intended to ease reliance on conventional electricity, protect the environment and tackle a power supply gap caused by gas shortages and the […] May 5, 2025
Economy Morocco reports fiscal surplus in first quarter An increase in revenues on the back of higher direct taxes turned a projected fiscal deficit in Morocco into a surplus in the first quarter of 2025, according to official data. Revenues swelled by a fifth after direct taxes increased by 40 percent and indirect taxes grew by 10 percent, the General Treasury said. A […] May 2, 2025
Employment Trade tensions may stifle expatriate employment in Saudi Arabia A global economic downturn is likely to result in fewer jobs for expatriates in Saudi Arabia, a local bank has said. Instead, policies aimed at incentivising the hiring of more nationals are increasingly putting Saudis in pole position for jobs, according to Jadwa Investment, an advisory group and investment bank in Riyadh. Last year, expatriate […] May 1, 2025
Renewable Energy Kuwait to build solar power plants by next summer Kuwait is planning to build four solar power plants with a combined generation capacity of 2,000 megawatts (MW), enough to power about 1.5 million homes, according to local media. The ministry of electricity, water and renewable energy is studying the projects, which must be completed by summer next year, Alanba daily said, quoting ministry sources. […] April 30, 2025
Real Estate New Kuwait laws will stimulate banks, says Fitch Kuwait’s approval of a debt law and the easing of housing curbs on foreigners is likely to stimulate banks after a period of subdued activity, according to a US rating agency. Fitch said it expects 8-9 percent growth in 2025 if planned large government projects are awarded, following last month’s approval of the debt law. […] April 29, 2025
Real Estate Owner plans to cut up and remove five-star hotel from Beirut UAE billionaire Khalaf Al-Habtoor is considering hiring a Chinese company to deconstruct his five-star hotel in Beirut and move it to another country, following a decision in January to end all investment in Lebanon. Al-Habtoor is considering dividing the 185-room Metropolitan Palace Hotel into pieces and shipping the parts by sea out of Lebanon, possibly […] April 29, 2025
Finance Official email to be required for Kuwait business licences Oil-rich Kuwait intends to force its companies to set up an official email address for correspondence with government offices as part of a new law designed to speed up business and slash paper work, according to local media. Companies that fail to abide by the new rules will have their business suspended and banned from […] April 28, 2025
Renewable Energy Iraq imports 126,000 solar panels for ‘Sun of Basra’ project Iraq has imported more than 126,000 solar panels for its largest solar power park being built by France’s TotalEnergies, electricity minister Ziad Fadhil has said. Dubbed “Sun of Basra”, the project is part of a $27 billion contract and will generate at least 1,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity that will benefit 250,000 houses. The project […] April 25, 2025
Banking and Finance Demand grows for Islamic banking in Oman Demand for shariah-compliant Islamic banking services in Oman has rocketed over the past four years despite the dominance of conventional banks. High demand was reflected in a sharp increase in deposits with the Gulf country’s two Islamic banks, the Beirut-based Union of Arab Banks (UAB) said. Deposits with Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank, the […] April 25, 2025
Oil & Gas Morocco and Nigeria agree terms for $25bn gas pipeline Morocco and Nigeria have agreed to create a joint venture to manage a long-planned $25 billion pipeline which will ship gas to Europe, a Moroccan minister has said. Leila Benali, minister of energy transition and sustainable development, told Morocco’s parliament that a floating gas storage terminal would also be installed at Nador on the Mediterranean […] April 24, 2025
Energy Duqm refinery fuels $6.5bn growth in Oman’s oil exports Oman’s hydrocarbon exports swelled by nearly $6.5 billion last year due to a surge in sales of refined products following the commissioning of the sultanate’s largest oil refinery. The Gulf country’s hydrocarbon exports surged from OR13.8 billion ($35.8 billion) in 2023 by nearly 18 percent to OR16.3 billion ($42.4 billion) in 2024. Crude exports edged […] April 23, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq to cut oil spending after fall in crude prices Iraq is seeking to cut operational spending on oil projects while trying to maintain investment in increasing crude production, following a steep fall in prices, the official news agency reported on Tuesday. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani sent a letter to the oil ministry and state-owned oil companies asking them to reduce spending on projects […] April 22, 2025
Trade Iraq and Turkey to devise roadmap for expanded trade Iraq and its northern neighbour Turkey will hold a series of meetings in the coming weeks to devise a roadmap for increasing bilateral trade, which hit an all-time high of nearly $15 billion in 2024. “There is a plan in this respect and it has been prepared with the help of various Iraqi economic parties… […] April 22, 2025
Infrastructure Morocco to borrow for World Cup rail and airport projects Morocco is planning to seek loans to fund multi-billion dollar rail and airport projects as it prepares to co-host the Fifa World Cup in 2030, according to a minister. The projects include a high speed train network linking the commercial capital of Casablanca on the Atlantic with Marrakesh and a new civilian airport in Casablanca, […] April 22, 2025
Construction Bangladeshis dominate foreign labour in Oman Nearly 1.8 million foreigners work in Oman and more than a third of them are from Bangladesh, a major source of labour for oil-rich Gulf nations, according to official data. Around 637,000 Bangladeshis work in the sultanate, accounting for nearly 35 percent of the total expatriate labour force, reports the April bulletin of the National […] April 22, 2025
Trade UAE remains Oman’s primary exporter despite increase from China The UAE maintained its position as the top exporter to nearby Oman last year despite a sharp increase in China’s exports to the sultanate, official figures show. The UAE, the second largest Arab economy and a major centre for re-exports, exported OR4 billion ($10 billion) to Oman in 2024 and accounted for almost a quarter […] April 21, 2025
Tax Trump tariffs threaten $22bn in Arab exports says UN Bahrain and Jordan are the countries likely to be most affected by tariffs planned by President Donald Trump on non-oil exports by the Arab world to the US worth nearly $22 billion, a United Nations body has warned. Despite a sharp fall in the region’s sales of oil to the US over the past decade, […] April 21, 2025
Markets Value of GCC bonds down in first quarter The value of bonds issued by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) slumped by 7 percent in the first quarter of 2025 following a steep fall in Saudi Arabia, according to a Kuwaiti think-tank. The total value of bonds and Islamic sukuk issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman was $51.5 […] April 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Jordan to increase gas production from Risha field Jordan is planning to build a 320km pipeline to distribute gas for the domestic market from the Risha field in the northwest of the country, according to an official. The project also includes the construction of a gas treatment plant near Risha, where the country’s largest reserves are located. Officials have said Risha holds nearly […] April 18, 2025
Industry Kuwait orders factories to close for summer power saving Kuwait has told its industrial facilities to suspend operations for six hours daily during summer as part of a power rationalisation plan spurred by severe electricity shortages due to high demand. The Public Authority for Industry (PAI) said on its website this week that industrial units in the Gulf emirate must shut down during peak […] April 18, 2025
Industry Iraq revives war-devastated fertiliser plant Iraq’s industry and minerals minister broke ground on Thursday on a major fertiliser plant in the north of the country which was destroyed by Daesh militants nearly 10 years ago. Khalid al-Najm laid the ground stone for the plant in Baiji city in the northern Saladin Governorate during a ceremony attended by local tribal chiefs, […] April 18, 2025
