Energy Saudi Arabia may hike Arab Light price for fifth month Saudi Arabia may raise the price for its flagship Arab Light crude to Asia for a fifth straight month in November, underpinned by its prolonged voluntary output cut and resilient oil demand in the region. State oil giant Saudi Aramco may hike the official selling price (OSP) for its medium sour crude by about 45 […] October 3, 2023
Energy QatarEnergy coalition bids in Lebanon licensing round A coalition of TotalEnergies, Eni and QatarEnergy applied for the second licensing round to bid on oil and gas blocks 8 and 10 in Lebanese waters, an hour before the deadline on Monday, Lebanon’s energy ministry said. Last month the consortium began drilling an exploratory well in Lebanon’s block 9, one of the blocks falling […] October 3, 2023
Energy Israeli firm seeks higher price from Adnoc and BP A panel reviewing a $2 billion offer by Abu Dhabi’s national oil company and BP to acquire a 50 percent stake in the Israeli gas producer NewMed has recommended raising the asking price by over 10 percent, casting doubt over the deal, sources said. The proposed acquisition by Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) and […] October 3, 2023
Transport Brunei’s GallopAir to launch after taking Chinese aircraft GallopAir, a new Brunei-based airline, is in talks with potential investors and plans to launch operations after taking delivery of its first Chinese aircraft in the second half of next year, its chief executive told Reuters. GallopAir last month announced a $2 billion deal to buy 30 regional and narrow-body jets from Commercial Aircraft Corporation […] October 2, 2023
Finance Thailand to inject $15.2bn into economy next year Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Monday his government would inject 560 billion baht ($15.23 billion) into the economy next year through its signature digital wallet policy. The stimulus will be driven by the key plank of Srettha’s Pheu Thai Party’s electoral platform, where each citizen over 16 will receive a 10,000 baht ($282) […] October 2, 2023
Oil & Gas Cyprus and Chevron-led group extend gas field talks Cyprus and international energy companies led by Chevron have agreed to extend talks on how to develop its Aphrodite offshore gas field amid progress in negotiations, its energy minister said on Friday. “It is not a new negotiating round, it’s an extension, because there is progress in the conversation,” energy minister George Papanastasiou told Reuters, […] October 2, 2023
Finance S&P revises Turkey outlook to ‘stable’ on policy shift S&P Global Ratings on Friday revised its outlook on Turkey to “stable” from “negative,” citing policy shifts by the country, and affirmed its rating at “B”. Turkey’s new economic team is “enacting measures aimed at cooling the overheated economy and stabilising the exchange rate without undermining financial and fiscal stability”, the ratings agency said in […] October 1, 2023
Energy Opec+ unlikely to tweak oil policy in October meeting Opec+ is unlikely to tweak its current oil output policy when a panel meets next Wednesday, four Opec+ sources told Reuters, as tighter supplies and rising demand drive an oil price rally. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and allies led by Russia, known as Opec+, meet on October 4. The […] October 1, 2023
People & Lifestyle Mubadala in talks to buy stake in Indian hospital Mubadala is in talks to acquire a stake of less than 10 percent in India’s Manipal Hospitals, in what could be the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund’s first investment in the booming Indian healthcare space, people with direct knowledge said. The fund is holding talks with Singapore’s Temasek, which spent $2 billion in April to raise […] September 29, 2023
Finance Cyprus’s cabinet prepares surplus-yielding budget Cyprus’s cabinet approved its 2024 draft budgetary plan on Wednesday which is expected to yield a surplus of 2.2 percent of national output, authorities said. Growth was expected to reach 2.9 percent, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said. The budget, which requires parliamentary approval, is the first prepared by Christodoulides’s centrist administration after winning presidential elections […] September 28, 2023
Energy Afrexim taps traders for $3bn loan to Nigerian oil company African Export–Import Bank (Afrexim Bank) is tapping oil traders to finance a $3 billion loan to Nigeria’s state oil company that is central to the country’s efforts to support the naira, three sources told Reuters. The currency hit an all-time low of 1,000 to the dollar on the black market on Tuesday. Afrexim approached traders […] September 28, 2023
Business of Sport Talks with PIF and DP World progressing says PGA Tour PGA Tour said its planned merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf and DP World Tour has garnered unsolicited interest from investors as it continues to finalise an agreement with the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the DP World Tour. The PGA said that while it did not solicit additional investment interest, it has a […] September 28, 2023
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi backs $5bn fund for North American firms Wells Fargo is teaming up with private equity firm Centerbridge Partners to launch a fund with a capacity to lend more than $5 billion to North American middle-market companies, the groups said on Tuesday. The move highlights the increasing intertwining of private capital providers and traditional banks in offering credit to companies and consumers since […] September 27, 2023
Finance World Bank president sees over $100bn lending boost World Bank Group President Ajay Banga on Tuesday said proposed new contributions from wealthy countries combined with balance sheet changes could boost the bank’s lending capacity by $100 billion to $125 billion over a decade. Banga told a council on foreign relations event that the contributions would come outside the bank’s normal shareholding structure and […] September 27, 2023
Finance Israeli hi-tech firms raise $1.7bn in Q3 2023 Israeli high-tech firms raised $1.7 billion in the third quarter, preliminary data showed on Tuesday, in a sign that investment in startups is stabilising. The amount raised in the third quarter was down 38 percent over the same period in 2022 but only 14 percent lower from the second quarter, the IVC Research Center and […] September 27, 2023
Sustainability Indonesia launches carbon emissions trading Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo launched his country’s first carbon emissions trading on Tuesday, as it aims to create a market that will fund efforts to reduce emissions. Indonesia, an archipelago home to the world’s third largest area of rainforest, is also one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. The Southeast Asian country has set […] September 26, 2023
Finance Turkey begins rolling back ‘costly’ lira protection scheme Turkey’s central bank has begun rolling back a costly scheme that protects lira deposits from FX depreciation by removing minimum interest rates, according to a document sent to banks and seen by two bankers. Last week the central bank raised its interest rate to 30 percent, which would have been the new minimum rate for […] September 26, 2023
Real Estate China’s unsold homes raise concerns over debt defaults Even China’s population of 1.4 billion would not be enough to fill all the empty apartments littered across the country, a former official said on Saturday, in a rare public critique of the country’s crisis-hit property market. China’s property sector, once the pillar of the economy, has slumped since 2021 when real estate giant China […] September 25, 2023
Transport Qantas warns rising fuel costs may hit fares Australia’s biggest airline Qantas Airways said on Monday it will spend more than previously planned to improve “customer pain points” but warned spiraling fuel costs may force it to raise fares from already-elevated levels. The update sent its shares down as much as 2.5 percent to a one-year low as investors questioned the airline’s ability […] September 25, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Supermarket chain Spinneys Dubai plans IPO next year Spinneys Dubai, the franchisee of the supermarket chain in the UAE and Oman, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of the business in the second quarter of 2024, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Albwardy Investment, the franchise’s 100 percent owner, hired Rothschild & Co to advise on the planned IPO, […] September 25, 2023
Industry LG lithium plant in Morocco to start production in 2026 South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd has entered into partnership with China’s Huayou Group’s subsidiary Youshan to build a joint electric vehicle (EV) battery material plant in Morocco in an effort to diversify its portfolio. The plant, set to start production in 2026, aims to produce 50,000 metric tonnes of lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) cathode materials annually, enough […] September 25, 2023
Economy Egypt says IMF to merge two reviews of reform program Egypt said it had agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to merge the fund’s first and second reviews of its economic reform programme, after the first review was repeatedly delayed amid questions over Egypt’s progress in meeting the IMF’s terms. The IMF in December approved a $3 billion extended fund facility loan for Egypt, […] September 24, 2023
