Energy Egypt expected to resume LNG exports by January Egypt is expected to resume exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in December or January as domestic demand declines during winter and as it receives more gas from Israel, an executive at Italy’s Eni said on Tuesday. “Consumption in Egypt is reducing and we would expect by December, possibly January, (LNG) exports could resume,” Cristian […] November 15, 2023
Finance Egypt and India explore local currency trade settlement Egypt discussed with India’s ambassador to Egypt the possibility of entering Indian financial markets, Egypt’s finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “The two sides discussed ways to encourage the use of national currencies to settle payments,” in a meeting between Egyptian finance minister Mohamed Al Maait and ambassador Ajit Gupte, the statement said. […] November 15, 2023
Aviation Saudia close to signing order of 150-plus narrow-body jets Saudia Group, which owns the Saudia airline and budget carrier flyadeal, is close to agreeing an order for 100 narrow-body jets but wants the manufacturer to agree to supply an additional 50-plus, it said on Tuesday. Abdullah Al Shahrani, the group’s general manager of communications and media affairs, declined to identify the aircraft manufacturer but […] November 15, 2023
Transport Kuwait Airways seeks damages over Airbus delays Kuwait Airways expects compensation from planemaker Airbus for delays in delivering commercial jets, the chairman of the Middle Eastern airline told Reuters on Tuesday. Aerospace and other manufacturers are struggling with supply chain bottlenecks. This year, pressure has been growing on planemakers to start paying penalties. “We are discussing it with them. There will be […] November 15, 2023
Finance Nigeria in talks with Saudi bank for project funding Nigerian President Bola Tinubu met top officials of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to negotiate a “multi-billion-dollar infrastructure finance facility” to help build ports and power plants, his spokesperson said on Tuesday. Tinubu held talks with IsDB vice president Mansur Muhtar late on Monday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said in a […] November 15, 2023
Finance Turkey to regulate crypto market to get off ‘grey list’ Turkey’s new rules to regulate the crypto market are likely to focus on licensing and taxation, sector officials say, as the world’s fourth-biggest crypto-trading country seeks to get off an international financial crime watchdog’s grey list. Ankara promised the regulations last month amid a years-long boom in crypto trading, as soaring inflation and a plunging […] November 15, 2023
Industry Vodafone Egypt boosts revenue of South African telco South African telecoms operator Vodacom’s earnings took a hit in the first half from startup losses in Ethiopia but revenue growth benefited from the inclusion of Vodafone Egypt, which prevented further profit decline. The company, the biggest telecoms operator in South Africa which is majority-owned by Britain’s Vodafone Group, bought a 55 percent stake in […] November 14, 2023
Finance Deutsche sees Turkish among top emerging bond market Turkey’s domestic sovereign bonds are set to be one of the top trades in emerging market fixed income next year, Deutsche Bank said in an outlook note. Despite a sharp recent repricing offering much better entry levels into Turkish government bonds, it was still a bit too early to re-enter the market in general, though […] November 14, 2023
Transport Australia investigates ‘cyber incident’ at DP World ports The Australian federal police said on Sunday they were investigating a cybersecurity incident that forced ports operator DP World Australia to suspend operations at ports in several states. “We’ve commenced an investigation into the incident and we’re not commenting further as it’s an ongoing investigation,” an Australian Federal Police spokesperson said. DP World Australia told […] November 13, 2023
Energy Turkish energy operator expands to South Africa Turkey’s Karpowership, which has the world’s largest fleet of floating power stations, expects to start producing 450 megawatts (MW) of electricity in South Africa in 2024 to curb the power shortage there, chief commercial officer Zeynep Harezi said. The company expects to sign a financial deal by the end of this year, after it received […] November 13, 2023
Manufacturing Hyundai breaks ground on $1.5bn EV plant in Korea Hyundai Motor Co on Monday broke ground on a 2 trillion won ($1.52 billion) dedicated electric vehicle (EV) plant in South Korea, as the automaker accelerate a shift to electrification. Hyundai Motor, the world’s No. 3 automaker by sales with its affiliate Kia Corp, plans to begin mass production of EVs from the plant in […] November 13, 2023
Transport Emirates 777X deal to kick-start Dubai Airshow Middle East carriers look set to order tens of billions of dollars of long-haul jets at the opening of the Dubai Airshow on Monday, as Emirates renews confidence in the delayed Boeing 777X while facing new competition from rivals like Turkish Airlines. Hosts Emirates and low-cost cousin flydubai are expected to stamp their mark early […] November 13, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia plans to invest in Nigeria’s oil refineries Nigeria and Saudi Arabia on Friday agreed to a series of investment and cooperation deals, including a pledge by the Saudi government to invest in the revamp of Nigeria’s oil refineries and provide financial support to sustain the government’s foreign-exchange reforms. The agreements were reached at a bilateral meeting between Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and […] November 13, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Egypt to complete historic hotels sale by year-end Egypt will close the sale of a group of seven hotels, several of them historic, by the end of the year, the head of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt Ayman Soliman said on Thursday. “It has been awarded. So we’re now in partnership moving towards a close before the end of the year, closing with […] November 10, 2023
Finance Jordan agrees with IMF on new $1.2bn reform plan Jordan agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a new $1.2 billion four-year reform programme that was a signal of confidence to investors and will help cushion the economy from the adverse impact of regional conflict, finance minister Mohamad Al Ississ told Reuters on Thursday. The new extended fund facility (EFF) arrangement will replace […] November 10, 2023
Finance Turkish banks seek inflation-adjusted accounting rules Turkish banks plan to urge treasury authorities to allow them to use inflation-adjusted accounting, rather than exempting them and ramping up taxes for the sector as the government currently plans, three senior bankers told Reuters. Last week, finance minister Mehmet Simsek said Turkey would move to the inflation-adjusted accounting method for companies, but that financial […] November 9, 2023
Energy Air Products profit beats estimates on Jazan project Industrial gas manufacturer Air Products and Chemicals beat fourth-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday, boosted by growth in its Jazan project in Saudi Arabia and higher LNG equipment sales. The Jazan project is a joint venture between the company and Acwa Holding to serve Saudi Aramco’s Jazan Refinery. The facility processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil […] November 8, 2023
Energy Kuwait Petroleum to borrow $45bn to meet fund shortfall State oil giant Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) sees a near 14.1 billion Kuwaiti dinar ($45.7 billion) shortfall in the funds it has available to meet its five-year spending plan, and will need to borrow and sell assets to help plug the gap, a document seen by Reuters showed. Retaining its annual dividends instead of transferring […] November 7, 2023
Transport Riyadh Air to add ‘large’ narrowbody aircraft order Riyadh Air will announce a deal to buy a “sizeable” number of narrowbody aircraft in the coming weeks, the startup airline’s chief executive said, as he helps build a second carrier for Saudi Arabia which is set for take-off in 2025. Former Etihad Airways boss Tony Douglas was hired in March to head up Riyadh […] November 7, 2023
Finance Turkish inflation marks first decline in three months Turkish annual consumer price inflation dipped for the first time in three months to 61.36 percent in October, official data showed on Friday, as fallout eased from both the lira’s sharp summer decline and post-election tax hikes. Month-on-month, inflation was 3.43 percent. Price rises in clothing and shoes, houses and hotels, and restaurants drove the […] November 5, 2023
Oil & Gas Israeli gas exports to Egypt resume in small volumes Israeli natural gas exports to Egypt have resumed after a disruption last weekend but in small volumes, an official in Egypt’s petroleum ministry said on Thursday, without specifying the current flow. Three people with knowledge of the matter also told Reuters on Tuesday the flow had resumed, with two saying it had only been reduced, […] November 3, 2023
Economy Egypt keeps rates steady to tackle ‘future’ inflation Egypt’s central bank, as widely expected, left its overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying it was focused on future rather than present inflation and that economic growth appeared to have been stable in the July-September quarter. The central bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) left the lending rate at 20.25 percent and the deposit rate […] November 3, 2023
