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Tunisia to submit reform plan to IMF in September

Tunisia will submit a national reform programme to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September, the economy minister said on Wednesday, part of efforts to secure a bailout to rescue strained public finances. Economy Minister Samir Saied was quoted by state news agency TAP as saying the programme would be submitted to the IMF board. […]

Egypt’s central bank governor resigns a year early

Egypt’s central bank governor Tarek Amer has submitted his resignation, the office of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said on Wednesday, just over a year before the completion of Amer’s final term. There was no announcement of a replacement for Amer, who has been appointed as a presidential adviser. The central bank governor is one of […]

IMF urges Saudi to explore new taxes to boost non-oil revenues

Saudi Arabia should investigate new taxes, including on income and property, as it aims to boost its non-oil revenues. While significant change has already been undertaken by the kingdom, with a tripling of VAT to 15 percent during the coronavirus pandemic, more can be done, said Amine Mati, assistant director and mission chief for Saudi […]

Airport, Airfield, Airplane

Dubai airport sees Q2 passenger travel surge, hikes annual forecast

The operator of Dubai International said on Wednesday over 14 million passengers had travelled through the airport in the second quarter, and raised its forecast for the year to 62.4 million passengers. That was the ninth consecutive quarter that saw greater passenger figures than the prior quarter as international travel demand ramps up amid an […]

City, Town, Urban

New Zealand central bank does not expect recession

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Adrian Orr said on Wednesday that while growth would slow he did not expect a recession, adding that the central bank believed it was on top of inflation, which has hit three-decade highs. “Through our projection period ahead, while we do not forecast a recession … we do forecast […]

Land, Nature, Outdoors

Turkish house sales drop 12.9% in July as Russians top buyer list

Turkish home sales fell 12.9 percent in July on the year to 93,902 houses, with sales to foreigners dropping 12.4 percent, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Tuesday. Russians topped the list of foreigners with 1,028 houses purchased, reflecting how many have sought a financial haven in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of […]

Mammal, Animal, Canine

Cash-strapped Britons give up pets as living costs soar

Stood on her hind legs to greet any prospective owner who might approach her glass-doored kennel, Harriet is a black English cocker spaniel abandoned as a deepening cost-of-living crisis pushes growing numbers of Britons to part with their pets. She was found running along a busy road in London after witnesses saw her pushed out […]

Parliament, Indoors, Room

Kuwait names first ambassador to Iran in over six years

Kuwait has appointed an ambassador to Iran, both countries said on Sunday, more than six years after recalling its top envoy to Tehran in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after it severed ties with the Islamic Republic in 2016. Ambassador Bader Abdullah Al-Munaikh handed his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran on Saturday, […]

Railing, Handrail, Banister

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding invests in Russian energy firms

Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding invested in Russian energy groups Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil between February 22 and March 22, it said on Twitter on Sunday. Many Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russian energy firms and their executives following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The Kingdom Holding investments fall within the company’s 12.8 […]

Egypt’s foreign currency gap narrows to $400m in July

Egypt’s foreign currency gap narrowed to $400 million last month from $3.9 billion in February, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Gamal Negm said on Saturday. Egypt has seen billions of dollars leave its markets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February as investors have fled emerging markets for safer havens. But […]

Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation rises to 13.6% in July

Egypt’s annual urban consumer inflation accelerated to a higher-than expected 13.6 percent year-on-year in July from 13.2 percent in June, data from the country’s statistics agency CAPMAS showed on Wednesday. Month-on-month, headline inflation increased by 1.3 percent, compared with a 0.1 percent decrease in June. A Reuters poll of 14 economists had predicted a median […]

Kuwait central bank raises discount rate by 25 bps

The Central Bank of Kuwait raised its discount rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent effective from Thursday, it said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision was in response to inflationary pressures, bank Governor Basel Al-Haroon said in the statement. The bank had also increased the rate by 25 bps on July 27, […]

Boat, Transportation, Vehicle

Saudi Arabia invests $1.3bn in four Egyptian firms

The Saudi Egyptian Investment Co (SEIC), owned by Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF), has bought minority stakes in four Egyptian companies for $1.3 billion, Egypt’s planning ministry said on Wednesday. The companies are Abu Qir Fertizilers and Chemical Industries, Misr Fertilizers Production Company , Alexandria Container and Cargo Handling, and payments firm E-Finance […]

US officials attended detained American’s UAE hearing

US embassy officials attended US citizen and rights lawyer Asim Ghafoor’s hearing in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, a State Department official said, adding that his next hearing was scheduled for Wednesday. UAE authorities have said Ghafoor, a US citizen and civil rights attorney based in Virginia, was arrested last month while transiting through […]

Crushed by war, Syrian tourism eyes expat uptick

Somar Hazim had high hopes when he opened a hotel in Damascus in 2009, adding to a growing number of boutique guest houses in the Old City that were proving to be a hit with tourists, before war broke out and forced him to close down. Although security returned to Damascus years ago, big-spending foreign […]

Text, Word, Number

Iran makes first import order using cryptocurrency

Iran made its first official import order using cryptocurrency this week, the semi-official Tasnim agency reported on Tuesday, a move that could enable the Islamic Republic to circumvent US sanctions that have crippled the economy. The order, worth $10 million, was a first step towards allowing the country to trade through digital assets that bypass […]

Dubai VC funding SMEs

Dubai’s biggest bank gives staff a pay rise to combat inflation

Dubai’s biggest bank Emirates NBD has given most employees a pay rise of up to 8 percent to help cushion against rising costs of living driven by inflation, two sources familiar with the matter said. The increases varied according to seniority and were part of a mid-cycle salary adjustment for inflation, with top executives receiving […]

Turkey offers ‘a warehouse and bridge’ for metals trade to Russia

Western sanctions have given the Turkish metals sector a chance to serve as “warehouse and bridge”, the head of an industry group said, citing increased interest from Russian companies and also from European Union (EU) companies seeking to sell to Russia via Turkey. The West, including Britain and European Union countries, have imposed sanctions on […]

Oilfield

UAE’s operating surplus doubles thanks to oil price surge

The United Arab Emirates government’s net operating surplus more than doubled in the first quarter to 36.4 billion dirhams ($9.9 billion) as surging oil prices boosted public revenue, finance ministry data showed on Monday. High oil prices and increased production have been a boon for the UAE’s economy this year, along with a continued recovery […]

Flag, Symbol, Outdoors

Oman budget swings into surplus on oil price rise

Oman’s budget recorded a surplus of 357 million rials ($929.7 million) by the end of the first quarter, boosted by a more than 70 percent rise in oil revenue as output and prices surged, finance ministry data showed. That compared with a deficit of 751 million rials in the same period a year earlier, the […]

Plant, Cactus, Person

Egypt’s current account deficit widens, funds flow out in Q1

Egypt’s current account deficit widened in the January-March quarter amid a surge in portfolio outflows triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the central bank said in balance of payments figures released on Thursday. The current account deficit increased to $5.79 billion (EGP110.8 billion) from $5.67 billion in January-March a year earlier as the trade deficit […]