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Lebanon, Israel satisfied with final draft of maritime border deal

Lebanon and Israel have received a final draft of a US-mediated maritime border deal that satisfies all of their requirements and could imminently lead to a “historic deal,” negotiators from the two countries said on Tuesday. “If everything goes well, Amos Hochstein’s efforts could imminently lead to a historic deal,” Lebanon’s lead negotiator Bou Saab […]

Sri Lanka approves downgrade to ‘low income country’

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to downgrade the island nation’s economic status to “low income country”, in order to get access to concessional funding from international organisations, the cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s economy is in a deep slump, shrinking at an annual 8.4 percent in the June quarter in one […]

Nature, Outdoors, Truck

Egypt’s inflation rate rises to near four-year high

Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rose to a slightly faster-than-expected 15 percent in September, its highest in almost four years, data from the country’s statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Monday. The inflation rate sped up from August’s 14.6 percent year on year, according to CAPMAS data, to the highest level since November 2018, when it […]

Turkish unemployment rate falls on economic woes

Turkey’s unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points month-on-month to 9.6 percent in August, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labour under-utilisation fell to 19.8 percent, data showed on Monday. The labour under-utilisation measure, which stood at 22.4 percent in July, has been on a falling trend since peaking at 29.6 percent in January 2021 due […]

Sharjah is the third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi yet has a larger growing number of millionaires than any of the emirates

UAE approves 2023-2026 budget; spending up 4% to $69bn

The United Arab Emirates government approved the federal budget for 2023 to 2026 on Monday, with a total expenditure of AED 252.3 billion ($68.69bn). Total revenue over the period is estimated at AED 255.7bn, marginally more than spending. In 2023, revenue is seen to grow 11 percent while spending will increase just under four percent. […]

Egyptian banks tighten foreign currency withdrawals

Egyptian banks have tightened limits on foreign currency withdrawals from local currency accounts as they seek to conserve scarce dollars. Though no industry-wide rules have been announced, in recent days a number of banks have sent notifications instructing clients with Egyptian pound accounts of new monthly limits on how much foreign currency they can withdraw […]

Qatar population rises 13.2% in World Cup hiring surge

Qatar’s population has surged by 13.2 percent in a year, official data shows, as the tiny Gulf state recruits thousands of overseas workers ahead of hosting the World Cup in November and December. The wealthy gas producer’s population stood at 2.94 million after some 370,000 additional people moved to Qatar in the 12 months to […]

EBRD head raises concerns over Turkey’s rate-cutting policy

The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) raised some concerns with Turkish authorities over their “outlier” policy of seeking to drive economic growth with low interest rates, she told Reuters on Friday. Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the EBRD, was in Istanbul after meetings that she called “frank and transparent” with Turkey’s […]

Paris-based Eutelsat accuses Iran of jamming its satellites

Eutelsat alleged on Thursday that Iran had jammed two of its satellites since Sept 26, adding that it had asked the relevant authorities to stop the interference immediately. Paris-based Eutelsat also said in a statement that it had reminded the Iranian authorities that intentional jamming is “explicitly prohibited” by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio […]

Person, Human, Money

Turkey receives $780m from South Korea under swap deal

South Korea made a transfer worth $780 million to Turkey’s central bank last week, a portion of the $2 billion agreed under a swap deal signed in 2021, two bankers told Reuters. The total amount transferred to Turkey from South Korea under the deal is now worth almost $1 billion, said bankers, citing calculations based […]

Oman’s SalamAir places $935m order for six Embraer jets

Embraer SA said on Thursday that Oman’s low-cost carrier SalamAir has signed a firm order for six E195-E2 jets, with options for a further six aircraft, an announcement that sent shares in the Brazilian planemaker higher. The deal was valued at $934.6 million with all options exercised and will be added to Embraer’s third-quarter backlog, […]

Moody’s upgrades Oman’s outlook to ‘positive’ on higher oil prices

Global ratings agency Moody’s on Thursday upgraded Oman’s outlook to “positive” from “stable”, citing elevated oil prices easing the Middle Eastern nation’s debt position over the next few years. Oman, one of the Gulf’s weaker economies, swung to a budget surplus in the first half of 2022, easing pressure on public finances and improving its […]

Building, Office Building, Urban

Egypt’s central bank to allow trading in NDFs and derivatives

The new governor of Egypt’s central bank, Hassan Abdalla, has alerted Egyptian banks that it may soon allow them to begin trading in non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) and derivatives for local currency transactions. The measures, part of a new foreign exchange convention under review by banks, are designed to smooth operations as the central bank moves […]

Person, Human, Shelf

Tunisia raises key interest rate again to combat inflation

Tunisia’s central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.25 percent to combat inflation, the bank said, the second hike in five months. The central bank also decided to raise the interest rate on savings by 25 bps to 6.25 percent. Inflation in the North African country rose […]

Cityscape, Urban, Building

Bahrain attracts $921m direct investment in diversification drive

Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) said on Wednesday it attracted $290 million direct investment in manufacturing and logistics in the first nine months of 2022 as the country seeks to diversify its oil-based economy. The investments, through 25 manufacturing and logistics companies setting up and expanding in the small island nation, are expected to create […]

Road, City, Town

MENA’s growth rate this year to be fastest since 2016

The Middle East and North Africa region is expected to post economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2022, the fastest pace since 2016, before slowing to 3.5 percent next year, the World Bank said on Wednesday. Oil exporters in MENA, the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), have received a windfall from high oil prices. The […]

“Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” says IMF head Kristalina Georgieva

IMF says global recession can be avoided with right fiscal policies

Global recession can be avoided if governments’ fiscal policies were consistent with monetary policy tightening, but likely there would be countries falling into recession next year, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director said on Monday. In the context of monetary policy tightening, fiscal policy cannot stay idle because the cost of living crisis is hitting […]

Turkey inflation hits new 24-year high of 83% after rate cuts

Turkish annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high of 83.45 percent in September, data showed on Monday, still lower than forecast, after the central bank surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months. Despite soaring prices, the central bank was expected to cut its policy rate again this month, after President […]

Unarmed Lebanese withdraws $12,000 from frozen bank

An unarmed Lebanese depositor managed to withdraw nearly $12,000 in cash from his own bank account, although most people’s savings are blocked, according to a depositors’ advocacy group. Lebanon’s three-year financial crisis has locked most depositors out of their savings as banks imposed informal capital controls. In recent weeks, a growing number of depositors have […]