Retail Alibaba considers yielding control of some businesses in overhaul Alibaba Group said on Thursday it will look to monetise non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70 percent off its shares. Group CEO Daniel Zhang said the company’s breakup into separate businesses will allow its units to become more […] March 31, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey central bank says policy stance adequate to back recovery The Turkish central bank said on Thursday the current monetary policy stance was adequate to support recovery following last month’s earthquake by maintaining price stability and financial stability. In the minutes of last week’s policy committee meeting, where the central bank left its key rate unchanged at 8.5 percent, it said the effect of quake-driven […] March 31, 2023
Economy US official says Lebanon has ‘no other way out’ than IMF deal Lebanon has no alternative for economic recovery but to make progress on a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a senior US official said on Thursday. US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf visited Lebanon, which is suffering one of the world’s worst financial meltdowns, according to the World Bank, […] March 31, 2023
Business of Sport Manchester United swings to profit ahead of potential sale Manchester United swung to a second-quarter net profit on the back of higher commercial revenue and lower wages, the club said on Thursday. Net profit came in at £6.3 million ($7.78 million) in the three months to December 31, against a £1.4 million loss a year earlier. Revenue fell almost 10 percent to 167 million […] March 31, 2023
Logistics Qatar in race to run operations at three airports in Pakistan Pakistan on Thursday kicked off outsourcing of operations and land assets at three major airports to be run through a public private partnership (PPP), a finance ministry statement said, a move to generate foreign exchange reserves for its ailing economy. The government has been in talks with Qatar to jointly run terminals at Islamabad, Karachi […] March 31, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt raises interest rates by 200 bps to tame inflation The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) raised its overnight interest rates by 200 basis points (bps) on Thursday following a meeting of its monetary policy committee (MPC), saying it aimed to bring high inflation into check. The bank set the lending rate at 19.25 percent and the deposit rate at 18.25 percent. The median forecast […] March 31, 2023
Energy Syrian president appoints new oil minister in cabinet reshuffle Syrian President Bashar Al Assad has appointed a new oil minister and changed four other ministers in a cabinet reshuffle, state media said on Wednesday. Hassan Kaddour, who was the general director of the Syrian Petroleum Company for the last two years, replaces Bassam Touma as oil minister, the report said. Assad named Mohsen Abdelkarim […] March 30, 2023
Economy Egypt to raise food subsidies by 20% in 2023-24 draft budget Egypt expects to raise its allocation for food subsidies by 20 percent and for petroleum products by 24 percent in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to a draft budget approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. The budget forecasts GDP growth of 4.1 percent and inflation at an average rate of 16 percent during the next […] March 30, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s central bank approves 2022 dividend payout Turkey’s central bank decided to pay dividends from its 2022 accounting period to shareholders, including the treasury, it announced on Tuesday at its annual general meeting. The central bank profit stood at 72.02 billion lira ($3.77 billion), according to the country’s official gazette. Economists expect the central bank to transfer some 40 billion lira to […] March 29, 2023
Banking & Finance G20 watchdog to review lessons from recent bank rescues The G20’s financial stability board (FSB) said on Tuesday its members would review the lessons from recent actions by authorities in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere to rescue ailing banks. Markets have been roiled by the collapse of US technology lender Silicon Valley Bank followed by the failures of other US regional lenders and […] March 29, 2023
Lifestyle TikTok and Snapchat growing in popularity among UK children The number of children using TikTok and Snapchat rose last year in Britain, according to research published by media regulator Ofcom. Around half of those aged between three and 17 use TikTok and Snapchat, figures collected as part of the watchdog’s annual survey of children’s and parents’ online attitudes showed. The study found a slight […] March 29, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt faces pressure to devalue currency further The Egyptian pound lost ground on the black market again in recent days in a sign that halving its official value over the past year could still not be enough and the central bank may have to let it slide further. Despite its pledge in October to allow supply and demand determine exchange rates, the […] March 29, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt central bank may hike interest rates to tame inflation Egypt’s central bank (CBE) is forecast to hike its overnight interest rates by 200 basis points (bps) on Thursday as it struggles to bring soaring inflation under control, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. After that meeting, the state statistics agency announced that annual inflation in January had surged to 25.8 percent and in February to 31.9 percent, […] March 29, 2023
Banking & Finance Ride-hailer Careem in talks with e& for super app investment Uber Technologies’ Middle East subsidiary Careem is in advanced talks with e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group Company, to invest in its expansion into services beyond ride-hailing, five sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Careem began seeking outside investors last year to help finance its super app, which offers services outside its core ride-hailing […] March 29, 2023
Banking & Finance Turkey’s banks hold internal stress tests ahead of May vote Big Turkish banks have launched internal stress tests against possible market shocks due to the May elections, and they are preparing for lower profits later in the year as a flurry of previous regulations bite, four industry executives said. The executives said the tests, conducted independently of yearly required reviews, are meant to weigh the […] March 28, 2023
Banking & Finance China spent $240bn bailing out ‘Belt & Road’ countries China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021. The amount soared in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building “Belt & Road” infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. Almost 80 percent of the rescue lending was made between 2016 and 2021, mainly to middle-income countries […] March 28, 2023
Markets Oman’s OQ seeks bookrunners for gas pipelines $500m IPO Oman’s OQ Gas Network, the pipelines business of the sultanate’s state oil giant OQ, has invited banks to pitch for bookrunner roles in its planned initial public offering (IPO), two sources close to the matter told Reuters. OQ Gas Network is preparing for a public share sale that could take place as early as June, […] March 28, 2023
Lifestyle Alibaba founder Jack Ma returns to China after overseas sojourn Jack Ma, the Alibaba founder, has returned to China, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Monday, ending a more than year-long sojourn overseas that was viewed by industry as reflecting the sober mood of China’s private businesses. Ma, one of China’s best known entrepreneurs, left mainland China in late 2021 and has been […] March 27, 2023
Banking & Finance Swiss regulator mulls disciplinary action against Credit Suisse Swiss financial regulator Finma said it was considering whether to take disciplinary action against Credit Suisse managers after Switzerland’s second-largest bank had to be rescued last week by UBS. Finma president Marlene Amstad told Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag it was “still open” whether new proceedings would be started, but the regulator’s main focus was […] March 27, 2023
Aviation Nigeria’s Air Peace to start non-stop Israel flights in April Israel’s transport minister on Sunday approved an aviation deal with Nigeria that will allow non-stop flights between the countries to begin next month for the first time, the ministry said. The agreement, which still needs cabinet approval in Israel, will let carriers from the two countries to operate flights between Tel Aviv and cities in […] March 27, 2023
Economy IMF chief says risks to financial stability have increased Risks to financial stability have increased, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva said in a speech delivered in Beijing on March 26, calling for continued vigilance despite moves by advanced economies to calm market stress. The IMF managing director reiterated her view that 2023 would be another challenging year, with global growth slowing to […] March 26, 2023
Manufacturing Chinese firm to invest $2bn in Suez Canal Economic Zone Chinese company Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes intends to invest $2 billion in iron and steel plants in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, Egypt’s cabinet said on Thursday. The plants are planned in an industrial zone at the Egyptian Red Sea port of Ain Sokhna developed by China’s Tianjin and will manufacture iron pipes and steel […] March 26, 2023
