Markets Egypt to sell state stakes in 32 firms over next year Egypt plans to sell stakes in at least 32 companies by the end of March 2024, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Wednesday, dusting off plans that have largely lain dormant for years as the country’s financial woes mounted. Among the planned sales are stakes in three prominent banks, Banque du Caire, United Bank of […] February 9, 2023
Markets Turkish bourse shuts for five days and cancels trades after quake Istanbul’s stock exchange operator suspended trading until February 15 and cancelled all Wednesday’s trades in the wake of devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday. The tremors rocked Turkey and Syria in the early hours of Monday, with hundreds of buildings collapsing and the combined death toll across both countries climbing above 12,000. […] February 9, 2023
Banking and Finance UAE central bank grants licence to Russia’s MTS Bank The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has granted a licence to Russia’s MTS Bank, according to information on its website. MTS Bank is registered in Abu Dhabi and received the licence last year, the information shows. It is a fintech unit of Russia’s largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems. The Financial Times reported the […] February 9, 2023
Business of Sport Prince Alwaleed to reward Al Hilal players with $266,500 bonus Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will award a SAR1 million ($266,500) bonus to each player from Al Hilal for the 3-2 win over South American champions Flamengo on Tuesday that sent them to the Club World Cup final. Prince Alwaleed, chairman of the Kingdom Holding Co, is a big supporter of the Saudi […] February 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Turkey and Syria quake: Nations extend support and aid Governments and international organisations from around the world have responded with offers of support after an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria. Below is a list of some of those announcements of support: UAE The UAE said it would set up a field hospital in Turkey and dispatch search and rescue […] February 8, 2023
Energy Iraqi oil flows resume to Turkey’s export hub after earthquakes The Iraqi crude pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan oil export hub resumed flows on Tuesday evening while a tanker docked to load crude, the first since a series of earthquakes on Monday, ship tracking showed and industry sources said. Bad weather earlier in the day had prevented loading. A massive earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria […] February 8, 2023
Economy Egyptian inflation likely to accelerate further in January Egypt’s headline inflation is expected to accelerate further in January after surging to its highest in five years in December, a Reuters poll showed on Tuesday, as prices continued to rise after a series of devaluations over the past 10 months. The median forecast of 14 analysts showed annual inflation at 23.75 percent in January, up […] February 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Emerging market currencies to gain on better economic outlook Emerging market currencies are expected to drift higher in coming months thanks to improved global growth prospects, boosted in part by the reopening of China’s economy, a Reuters poll of 40 foreign exchange strategists found. After a good start to the year for emerging market forex, the US dollar has gained over the past two […] February 8, 2023
Energy India’s Petronet seeks more LNG under long-term Qatar deal Petronet LNG, India’s top gas importer, will seek up to one million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies when it renews its long-term deal with Qatar, the company’s chief executive said on Tuesday. “We are seeking an additional 0.75 to 1 mtpa on top of existing 8.5 mtpa contact,” chief […] February 8, 2023
Tourism European airports traffic up 98% in 2022 to 1.94bn passengers Traffic at European airports almost doubled year-on-year in 2022 but remained below pre-Covid levels, Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe) said on Tuesday. Last year’s traffic jumped 98 percent compared with 2021 to 1.94 billion passengers but was still 21 percent below the levels seen in 2019, before the pandemic, with just 27 percent of […] February 8, 2023
Energy Green transition ‘must be fair’ for poor nations, says UAE’s Al Jaber Rich countries should stop throwing up roadblocks to poorer ones trying to secure energy supplies and do more to help them make the green transition, officials from Global South nations told the India Energy Week conference on Tuesday. The criticism highlights the gaping political fault lines in the battle against climate change and underscores the […] February 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Iraq revalues currency and sets new exchange rate Iraq’s cabinet approved a currency revaluation on Tuesday and set the exchange rate at 1,300 dinars per US dollar, a cabinet statement said on Tuesday. The Iraqi dinar had been selling at 1,470 dinars against the dollar before the New York Federal Reserve introduced tighter controls on international dollar transactions by commercial Iraqi banks in […] February 8, 2023
Economy Moody’s lowers Egypt rating to B3 but changes outlook to stable Ratings agency Moody’s lowered Egypt’s sovereign rating by one notch to B3 from B2 on Tuesday, citing the country’s reduced external buffers and shock absorption capacity. The agency changed its outlook for Egypt to stable from negative. “Moody’s does not expect Egypt’s liquidity and external positions to rebound quickly”, the agency said. Egypt has continued […] February 8, 2023
Energy Aramco trading unit ‘expanding’ daily output to 6m barrels per day Aramco Trading’s chief executive on Tuesday said the company was currently trading six million barrels per day of crude and products. Saudi Aramco and other Middle East oil producers stepped up their trading efforts as a way to boost income after the 2014 collapse in oil prices. They have slowly gained market share from major […] February 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Jazeera Airways cuts bank funding needs for Airbus deal to $1bn Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways aims to secure $1 billion from banks to help finance the purchase of new Airbus aircraft, its chairman said on Tuesday, half the amount it had initially planned to seek. The airline placed a multi-billion dollar order with Airbus for 28 single aisle A320neo family passenger jets in November 2021. […] February 8, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi PIF to raise $5.5bn with second green bond sale Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to raise $5.5 billion through its second sale of green bonds in four months, for which orders topped $32.5 billion, one the banks running the deal said on Tuesday. The wealth fund was set to raise $1.75 billion in seven-year paper at 115 basis points (bps) […] February 8, 2023
Philippine inflation hits fresh 14-year high on surging food prices Philippine annual inflation blew past expectations in January to reach a fresh 14-year high on surging food prices, raising the chance of the central bank delivering a bigger interest rate hike to tame prices when it meets this month. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 8.7 percent in January, the statistics agency said on Tuesday, […] February 7, 2023
Energy Iran to start revamp at Venezuela’s largest refining complex shortly State firms from Iran and Venezuela will start in the coming weeks a 100-day revamp of the South American nation’s largest refining complex to restore its crude distillation capacity, four sources close to the plan said. The effort by state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the state-owned National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution […] February 7, 2023
Energy Opec chief says collective decision to cut output was ‘the right move’ Opec secretary general Haitham Al Ghais said the collective decision to cut output in October was the right move and added that credit should be given to the Opec+ alliance for its constructive role in supporting global market stability. “Due recognition should be given for our constructive and positive role in supporting global market stability […] February 7, 2023
Energy Saudi Arabia raises crude price to Asia for first time in six months Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, raised prices for its flagship crude for Asian buyers for the first time in six months amid an expectation of oil demand recovery, especially from China. The official selling price (OSP) for March-loading Arab Light to Asia was raised by 20 cents a barrel from February to $2.00 […] February 7, 2023
Banking and Finance Sharjah hires banks for debut dollar sustainable bonds The government of Sharjah in the UAE has hired banks to arrange a sale of dollar-denominated debut sustainable bonds, a bank document showed. HSBC was hired as sole global coordinator and ESG structuring agent. It is joined by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citi, Gulf International Bank, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, Invest Bank and SMBC Nikko as joint […] February 7, 2023
Tech Global tech giants to invest more than $9bn in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has attracted more than $9 billion in investments in future technologies, including by US giants Microsoft and Oracle Corporation, which are building cloud regions in the kingdom, a government minister said. Saudi minister of communication and information technology Abdullah Alswaha said Microsoft will invest $2.1 billion in a global super-scaler cloud, while Oracle […] February 7, 2023
