Tourism Qatar Airways and Airbus set for $1bn court battle in London Airbus and Qatar Airways are heading towards a three-month summer trial next year after a UK judge granted the airline a relatively quick timetable while dismissing its procedural claims in a bitter safety and contractual dispute. The judge told a division of London’s High Court there was “public interest” in the outcome of the dispute, […] May 27, 2022
Banking and Finance Cryptocurrencies face regulation to avoid illicit dealings Cryptocurrency firms, many of which lined the main street in Davos this week, were told they will need to clean up their act before gaining complete acceptance from the World Economic Forum’s old guard. “The future of crypto, I’m sorry to say, looks regulated to me,” said Nela Richardson, senior vice president and chief economist […] May 27, 2022
Energy Oil top of the agenda on White House visit to Saudi this week Two senior US officials visited Saudi Arabia this week for talks that included global energy supplies, Iran and other regional issues, the White House said on Thursday. Meeting senior Saudi officials in Riyadh were Brett McGurk, Biden’s top White House adviser on the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s energy envoy. “I will […] May 27, 2022
Energy US seizes Russian ship with Iranian oil cargo The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said. Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the […] May 26, 2022
Tourism Gulf airlines to operate over 180 daily Doha flights for World Cup Qatar Airways said today fellow Gulf Arab airlines would operate more than 180 daily shuttle flights to Qatar during this year’s soccer World Cup, allowing fans to fly in from nearby cities and easing accommodation pressure in Doha. Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways CEO, told a news conference that United Arab Emirates airline flydubai, Oman Air, […] May 26, 2022
US lawmakers voice doubts about Biden reaching a deal with Iran The United States said on Wednesday it was ready to tighten sanctions and act with Israel and others to counter the Iranian threat if shaky efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fail, but lawmakers voiced doubts about both options. “We do not have a deal … and prospects for reaching one are, at […] May 26, 2022
Agriculture South Africa looks to Middle East to replace Russia fruit exports The conflict in Ukraine has throttled South Africa’s citrus exports to Russia and driven input costs higher, further squeezing fruit producers already suffering from spiralling shipping costs, an industry body said. The war, which started on Febuary 24, blocked South Africa’s citrus shipments to Russia in the immediate aftermath, Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa […] May 26, 2022
Energy Saudi Aramco keen to buy stake in US-based motor oil firm Oil giant Saudi Aramco has approached motor oil and lubricant maker Valvoline Inc to buy its segment that caters to commercial customers, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday. Valvoline, which is valued at $5.4 billion as of Tuesday’s closing price, had last year decided to separate its retail services and global products […] May 26, 2022
Turkish delivery company Getir to cut 14% of staff Turkish fast grocery delivery company Getir plans to cut 14 percent of its staff globally, a source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Founded in 2015, Istanbul-based Getir operates in around 50 cities across seven European countries, the United States as well as all major cities in its home country. The source said the […] May 26, 2022
UAE to operate ground services at three Afghan airports The United Arab Emirates has won a contract to operate ground services at three airports in Afghanistan, UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said today on Twitter, confirming an announcement made earlier by the Taliban. Turkey and Qatar were also competing for the contract and had sent technical teams to help airport operations and security after […] May 25, 2022
Energy Dubai cooling firm Empower invites banks to pitch for IPO Dubai’s Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) has invited investment banks to pitch for roles in its planned initial public offering, which is slated for later this year, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Empower, which is part owned by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), has asked banks to pitch for […] May 25, 2022
Energy Kuwait to start building world’s largest petroleum research centre Kuwait plans to start building the world’s largest petroleum research centre by the end of the year, the oil ministry said today. The Middle East Economic Digest said the project had stalled because of budget pressure, estimating its cost at $120 million. The centre, to be built in al-Ahmadi, south of Kuwait City, will have […] May 25, 2022
Energy Saudi oil exports surge 123% in March Saudi oil exports rose 123 percent year-on-year in March, Reuters reported today, citing data from the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics. At the same time, the authority said Saudi non-oil exports rose 25.4 percent in March. The news comes as the Saudi finance minister said the country’s policy on fiscal sustainability would ensure that reserves […] May 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Qatar sovereign wealth fund can’t exit Russia The Qatar Investment Authority cannot exit the Russian market and is waiting to assess its position there because of the Ukraine crisis, one of the sovereign wealth fund’s chief investment officers said yesterday. Moscow placed restrictions on foreign investors trading Russian assets in March, saying it wanted to ensure decisions to exit were considered and […] May 25, 2022
Development Saudi minister: ‘Not enough’ progress made in talks with Iran Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said yesterday that there had been some progress in talks with Iran but “not enough” and that the kingdom’s hands remain outstretched to Tehran. Sunni power Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran, which are locked in proxy conflicts across the Middle East, have held five rounds of talks hosted by Baghdad. “We […] May 25, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai among lead managers of Indonesia’s biggest Islamic bond Indonesia has raised $3.25 billion by selling US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds with 5-year and 10-year tenures, the country’s biggest global sukuk issuance, the finance ministry said today. The 5-year notes carry a coupon of 4.40 percent, while the 10-year notes have a 4.70 percent coupon, below the sovereign’s initial price guidance, it said in a […] May 25, 2022
Tourism Taliban agrees to have UAE run Afghan airports The Taliban will sign an agreement with the United Arab Emirates on operating airports in Afghanistan, the group’s acting deputy prime minister said today, after months of talks with the UAE, Turkey and Qatar. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that his administration was renewing an airport ground handling agreement with the UAE. It was not […] May 24, 2022
Construction Sharjah developer hires banks to debut dollar sukuk Arada Developments, the largest developer in the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah, has hired banks to arrange a debut sale of US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, sukuk. The deal could be the first dollar bond sale out of the Gulf since late March, when the Sharjah government raised $750 million, also with sharia-compliant sukuk. The region […] May 24, 2022
Health Taiwan, now trying to ‘live with Covid’, has 80,000 cases a day Taiwan was billed as a coronavirus success story when its economy boomed in the pandemic, but the island is now battling a record wave of infections as it eases restrictions to start “living with the virus”. For the whole of 2021, Taiwan reported under 15,000 locally transmitted cases. It is now registering around 80,000 cases […] May 24, 2022
Business of Sport Some still can’t accept Qatar hosting World Cup, says emir Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, has told Davos the Middle East has suffered discrimination for decades, in a speech addressing critics of the emirate hosting the World Cup. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the emir said there were still those who were unable to “accept the idea that an […] May 24, 2022
Development New financing urgently needed to aid famine relief in Yemen Yemen is searching for new wheat suppliers but will need help to pay for increasingly costly imports, an official and a main importer said, as the World Food Programme (WFP) warned of cuts to food aid for millions already living on the brink of famine. Disruption to global wheat supplies due to the Ukraine war […] May 24, 2022
Zelensky tells Davos the world is ‘at a turning point’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed global business leaders at Davos on Monday, telling them the world faced a turning point and had to ramp up sanctions against Russia as a warning to other countries considering using brute force. “History is at a turning point… This is really the moment when it is decided whether brute […] May 23, 2022
