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Money, Passport, Document

Russia working to launch trade in UAE dirham and Indian rupee

The Moscow Exchange is working on a plan to launch trading in the Indian rupee but there are certain “obstacles” on the part of the Indian central bank, an exchange official said on Thursday. Daniil Korablev, head of sales to non-credit organisations, said on social media the launch was “not that simple” and may not […]

Clothing, Apparel, Hat

Queen Elizabeth’s death: Reaction from politicians and officials

State heads and officials from around the world have offered their condolences for Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, after she died on Thursday 8 September. Middle East royals and leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II The world mourns Queen Elizabeth II: 1926 – 2022 UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the queen was widely […]

Building, Housing, Plant

Qatar’s green own goal as World Cup fans set to jet in from Dubai

The Middle East’s first ever soccer World Cup promises boom time for Dubai hotels this November, with thousands of fans expected to descend on the Gulf city due to limited accommodation in neighbouring host nation Qatar. But the environmental costs of transporting those visitors nearly 400 kilometre (249 miles) for match days, overwhelmingly by plane, […]

Lebanon says TotalEnergies could help in maritime issues with Israel

Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said on Tuesday that France-based oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, could help his country solve maritime demarcation issues with Israel, according to a post from the presidency office on Twitter. Aoun would make “contacts to help in this regard, will increase communications this month”, the office added. Lebanon and Israel are […]

Tel Aviv bourse head seeks more bilateral investing with UAE

The head of Israel’s stock exchange on Tuesday called for increased investment from Israeli and Emirati investors in each other’s exchanges to boost liquidity. Two years after the so-called Abraham Accords, which saw relations normalised between Israel, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco, a number of economic, trade and financial agreements between Israel […]

PIF-backed refinance firm aims to raise around $800m via sukuk

Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co (SRC), the Saudi equivalent of US mortgage finance business Fannie Mae, will soon issue around SAR 3 billion ($798.34 million) in local currency sukuk, or Islamic bonds, its chief executive said on Tuesday. HSBC, Bank AlJazira, Al Rajhi, Riyad Capital and SNB Capital are running the debt sale, which is […]

Money, Dollar, Snake

Qatar tells local banks to stop currency swap deals abroad

Qatar’s central bank has told banks in the Gulf state not to exchange its currency with entities outside the country without prior permission, five sources told Reuters, in a move bankers say aims at ending the riyal’s divergence against the dollar. The Qatari riyal, officially fixed at 3.64 to the dollar since 2001, has in […]

Gulf states demand Netflix pull content deemed offensive

Gulf Arab states have demanded that US streaming giant Netflix remove content deemed offensive to “Islamic and societal values” in the region, Saudi Arabia’s media regulator said on Tuesday. It did not specify the content, but mentioned that it included content aimed at children. Saudi state-run Al Ekhbariya TV, in a programme discussing the issue, […]

Russia considers proposal to buy up to $16bn of yuan in 2022

Russia’s government is considering a proposal which says Moscow could buy $3-4 billion worth of Chinese yuan a month to help stem the rouble’s rise, but that it does not make sense for the country to accumulate illiquid currencies longer-term. Flush with oil income, Russia is looking for ways to replenish reserves under a revived […]

The Ooredoo board will recommend a cash dividend of QAR0.55 per share at the annual general meeting in March

Qatar’s Ooredoo plans to sell Myanmar unit to Singapore firm

Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo plans to sell its Myanmar operations to Singapore-headquartered technology firm The One Matrix Ventures (TOMV), according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. Ooredoo is the last majority foreign-owned telecoms company in Myanmar since a rush to exit after last year’s military coup. Norway’s Telenor withdrew from the country […]

Turkey’s inflation hits new 24-year high beyond 80%

Turkey’s annual inflation climbed to a fresh 24-year high of 80.21 percent in August, a bit below expectations according to data on Monday, after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates and stoked a nearly year-long cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has raced higher since last autumn when the central bank gradually cut its policy rate by […]

No time to waste, worried Italian business leaders warn politicians

Italy cannot afford weeks of political inertia after an election this month, business chiefs said, adding that sky-high energy prices are already forcing more and more firms to curtail production. Gathered on the shores of Lake Como for the annual Ambrosetti Forum this weekend, business owners lashed out at politicians for ousting Prime Minister Mario […]

Egypt non-oil activity continues to shrink, with weak outlook

Non-oil private sector activity in Egypt shrank for the 21st month running in August, and businesses took a bleak view of the year ahead amid concerns over the currency, Ukraine and import bottlenecks, a survey showed on Monday. The S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) improved to 47.6 from July’s 46.4, but remained below […]

Turkey sees inflation to ease to 65% by 2022-end

Turkey expects inflation to ease to 65 percent by the end of the year from nearly 80 percent in July, while the current account deficit is seen at $47.3 billion in 2022, government forecasts showed on Sunday. President Tayyip Erdogan’s new economic model has prioritised growth, exports, employment and investment while seeking to cut interest […]

Car, Automobile, Transportation

Dubai road-toll operator Salik to sell 20% of its shares via IPO

Dubai road-toll operator Salik is selling 20 percent of the company via an initial public offering, the company said in its intention to float document on Monday. Salik, which was converted into a private joint stock company in June, is selling 1.5 billion shares to the public with a listing planned around Sept. 29, it […]

Clothing, Apparel, Face

Bahrain restructures board of wealth fund Mumtalakat

Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the prime minister, has issued an order to restructure the board of sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding with Finance Minister Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa as its chairman, with immediate effect, state news agency BNA reported on Sunday. The members of the new Mumtalakat board will serve for a […]

Banks battle back-to-office fatigue with ping pong, indoor gardens

Finance bosses are offering more incentives, including free meals, ping pong and “contemplative spaces” as they battle to get staff back to the office, while concerns about the cost and value of commuting to work weigh on attendance worldwide. Hybrid working policies were introduced across the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, but data seen by […]

Goldman Sachs raises Turkey 2022 GDP growth to 5.5%

Goldman Sachs said on Thursday it had raised its forecast for Turkey’s 2022 GDP growth to 5.5 percent from 3.5 percent, while lifting its 2022 current account deficit forecast to $45 billion from $36 billion. It said the Turkish Central Bank’s forex reserves had risen sharply since the third week of June and that, with […]

Israel to buy four Boeing air force refuelling tankers for $927m

Israel will buy four Boeing Co KC-46A refuelling tankers for its air force, the Israeli government and the US defence contractor said on Thursday, a $927 million deal with delivery of the first planes expected in 2025. The tankers would replace the decades-old, repurposed Boeing 707s that Israel currently uses for mid-air refuelling and may […]

Person, Human, Shoe

Lebanon banking secrecy law retains key problems: IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) told the Lebanese state on Thursday its banking secrecy law has not resolved “key deficiencies,” urging officials to make new changes to their first attempt at financial reform. The assessment, seen by Reuters and confirmed by a government official as accurate, is the IMF’s first comment on Lebanon’s steps toward […]

Smith defects to Saudi-backed LIV in major blow to PGA Tour

Australian golf fans may be split over Cameron Smith’s defection to the LIV series but the Saudi-backed circuit could ultimately find fallow ground in a country left to wither by the increasingly dominant US and European tours. World number two Smith, who claimed his first major at the British Open in July, confirmed he had […]