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
Energy Kuwait’s fuel oil exports drop 30% in October Kuwait’s October fuel oil exports tumbled more than 30 percent after hitting a record high in September as some supply was diverted to domestic power generation, according to trade sources, analysts and ship-tracking data. Exports fell to 490,000 metric tonnes (104,000 barrels per day) in October, after hitting a record high of 720,000 tonnes in […] November 1, 2023
Tech Spanish fund plans stake in Telefonica after STC move Spain’s state fund Sepi said on Tuesday it is considering whether to buy a stake in Telefonica, a month after Saudi Arabia’s STC built a 9.9 percent holding in the telecoms group. STC, Saudi Arabia’s largest telecom company, became Telefonica’s largest shareholder in September, building a stake worth €2.1 billion ($2.23 billion) through shares and […] November 1, 2023
Economy Pakistan central bank keeps key rate unchanged at 22% Pakistan’s central bank kept its key interest rate unchanged on Monday, as expected, and forecast inflation would ease in the months ahead after a sharp jump last month. The decision to keep its main policy rate at 22 percent comes ahead of a visit by a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday […] October 31, 2023
Oil & Gas Indian gas importer seeks no additional Qatar LNG India’s top gas importer Petronet LNG is not seeking additional volumes when it renews its long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal with Qatar, its head of finance VK Mishra said on Monday on an analyst call. Petronet has a 7.5-million metric tonne per annum (mtpa) long-term LNG import deal with Qatar and its promoters Indian […] October 31, 2023
Finance Egyptian stock-tracked fund reports best week in 11 years Investors have flocked to an exchange-traded fund tracking Egyptian shares to ride a rally in the country’s stocks as domestic investors worried about soaring inflation and a potential currency devaluation take refuge in equities. The VanEck Egypt Index ETF, tracking the MVIS Egypt Index, jumped nearly 19 percent last week, its best weekly performance since […] October 31, 2023
Finance HSBC to buy back $3bn of shares London-based HSBC Holdings reported on Monday a 240 percent increase in third-quarter pre-tax profit as higher interest rates boosted the bank’s profitability and helped it fund a fresh $3 billion share buyback. Europe’s largest bank posted a pre-tax profit of $7.7 billion for the July to September quarter, versus $3.2 billion a year earlier, but […] October 30, 2023
Finance Turkey hikes rates sharply to 35% to tame rising inflation Turkey’s central bank raised its policy rate by 500 basis points to 35 percent as expected on Thursday, tightening aggressively for a third straight month as it steps up efforts to rein in the country’s inflation, which has soared for years. The bank’s policy committee repeated that it was ready to raise rates further as […] October 27, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Accor raises outlook after strong post-pandemic growth Europe’s biggest hotel group, Accor, raised its core profit target for 2023 on Thursday for the second time this year, citing positive business momentum in all of its markets after another strong post-pandemic summer. The sector continues to benefit from a leisure travel boom, despite inflation and the resurgence of recession fears in Europe. Accor, […] October 27, 2023
Industry Maaden working to extract lithium from seawater Saudi Arabia’s flagship mining company, Maaden, is working to extract lithium from seawater, its chief executive, Robert Wilt, said on Wednesday, as competition for the rare metal rages between the US and China. Wilt said Maaden, the Gulf’s largest miner, is trying to stay above the fray and was “doing what’s best for the kingdom”. […] October 26, 2023
Industry Indian steel producer Essar plans regional hub in Saudi Indian conglomerate Essar Group plans to make Saudi Arabia a hub to drive its expansion locally and regionally, its chief executive Prashant Ruia said on Wednesday. The group, built by brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia, is setting up a 4 million metric tonnes per year steel plant along with port facilities at Ras Al-Khair in […] October 26, 2023
Finance S&P revises Israel’s outlook to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ S&P Global revised Israel’s outlook to “negative” from “stable” on Tuesday, blaming risks that the Israel-Hamas war could spread more widely, with a more pronounced impact on the economy and security situation in the country. Last week another big credit ratings agency, Fitch, placed Israel’s sovereign debt rating of “A+” on rating watch negative and […] October 25, 2023
Finance Norway’s wealth fund posts $34bn loss in Q3 2023 Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, posted a 374 billion crown ($33.8 billion) loss in the third quarter, the fund said on Tuesday, after seeing heavy drops in the value of equities and bonds. The fund’s return on investment was minus 2.1 percent for the July-September period, 0.17 percentage points stronger than […] October 25, 2023
Energy Lebanon wants Total-led consortium to drill new well Lebanon wants a consortium led by TotalEnergies to drill another well at offshore Block 9 quickly, after a first well did not find enough natural gas to be commercialised, the country’s energy minister, Walid Fayad, told Reuters. The consortium drilling in Block 9 also includes the Italian energy group Eni and the state-owned QatarEnergy. Fayad, […] October 25, 2023
Energy Korean company signs oil storage deal with Aramco South Korea’s state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) announced on Monday it has signed an oil storage agreement with Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Aramco to reserve 5.3 million barrels for five years. The agreement announced in a press release posted on KNOC’s company blog was sealed as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is visiting […] October 23, 2023
Energy Mubadala among suitors for $1.2bn Malaysian oil company Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment and Japanese oil and gas explorer Inpex are among firms competing to acquire SapuraOMV in a deal expected to be worth about $1.2 billion, according to two sources with direct knowledge. The sale of the Malaysian-headquartered oil and gas upstream company could help boost weak global merger and acquisition […] October 23, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality IHG says funding challenges hinder new hotel projects Holiday Inn owner IHG said on Friday short-term funding issues were holding back development of new hotels, as it reported a quarter-on-quarter slowdown in its net room supply, a key revenue driver. The hotel chain owner said it expected to close out 2023 with a “very strong” financial performance after a 10.5 percent rise in […] October 23, 2023
Finance IMF seeks lower deficit and strong budget from Sri Lanka The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is looking for a strong budget and narrower deficit from Sri Lanka as it seeks funding to bridge the gap between government revenue and expenditure, the IMF mission chief for the country said on Friday. Sri Lanka plunged into its worst financial crisis in seven decades last year after its […] October 20, 2023
Economy Chinese ‘decision makers’ at Saudi conference doubles Around 300 Chinese “decision makers” are attending Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference this year, organisers said on Thursday, double last year’s attendance as Riyadh deepens its relationship with China despite US concerns. Only around 15 people have cancelled their attendance of the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII), Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute said, […] October 20, 2023
Energy Opec+ unlikely to change policy on Venezuela’s return An easing of US oil sanctions on Opec member Venezuela is unlikely to require any policy changes by the Opec+ producer group for the time being as a recovery in production is likely to be gradual, Opec+ sources told Reuters. Opec+’s attitude towards the easing of sanctions means the group, which produces over 40 percent […] October 20, 2023
Energy Kuwait Oil Company signs $1.7bn soil contracts Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has signed contracts worth $1.73 billion linked to rehabilitating the soil of oilfields damaged during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, according to a document seen by Reuters. The contracts are for “rehabilitation, treatment, drilling, transportation, and backfilling, covering all affected areas and areas to be rehabilitated within the oilfields,” oil minister Saad […] October 19, 2023
Oil & Gas Japan’s Mitsui looks at buying stake in Qatar’s LNG project Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co is considering buying a stake in the North Field liquefied natural gas (LNG) expansion project in Qatar as a way to ensure a stable supply of LNG, a Mitsui spokesperson said. “We have always said that we would consider investing in any quality LNG projects, and the North Field […] October 19, 2023
