UAE, Egypt and Jordan sign $10bn industrial power pact Abu Dhabi's ADQ to allocate $10 billion in investment for projects. Focus includes agriculture, pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and textiles May 30, 2022
Opinion Corporate tax will enhance transparency in the UAE Businesses will no longer be able to inflate their profit, and will have to justify their deductible expenses May 27, 2022
Turkey to receive $500m from World Bank for COVID-19 vaccines The World Bank said on Thursday that its board had approved $500 million in additional financing to support Turkey in its efforts to fight against COVID-19. The funds, which will have a maturity of 10.5 years with a five-year grace period, will be used to ensure access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in Turkey, […] May 27, 2022
Energy Oil top of the agenda on White House visit to Saudi this week Two senior US officials visited Saudi Arabia this week for talks that included global energy supplies, Iran and other regional issues, the White House said on Thursday. Meeting senior Saudi officials in Riyadh were Brett McGurk, Biden’s top White House adviser on the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s energy envoy. “I will […] May 27, 2022
US lawmakers voice doubts about Biden reaching a deal with Iran The United States said on Wednesday it was ready to tighten sanctions and act with Israel and others to counter the Iranian threat if shaky efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal fail, but lawmakers voiced doubts about both options. “We do not have a deal … and prospects for reaching one are, at […] May 26, 2022
Qatar pledges £10bn investment in key UK sectors The UK and Qatar have signed a new Strategic Investment Partnership which will see Qatar invest up to £10 billion over the next five years in key sectors of the UK economy including fintech, zero emissions vehicles, life sciences and cyber security. Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, welcomed the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim […] May 25, 2022
Development Saudi minister: ‘Not enough’ progress made in talks with Iran Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said yesterday that there had been some progress in talks with Iran but “not enough” and that the kingdom’s hands remain outstretched to Tehran. Sunni power Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran, which are locked in proxy conflicts across the Middle East, have held five rounds of talks hosted by Baghdad. “We […] May 25, 2022
Health Taiwan, now trying to ‘live with Covid’, has 80,000 cases a day Taiwan was billed as a coronavirus success story when its economy boomed in the pandemic, but the island is now battling a record wave of infections as it eases restrictions to start “living with the virus”. For the whole of 2021, Taiwan reported under 15,000 locally transmitted cases. It is now registering around 80,000 cases […] May 24, 2022
Business of Sport Some still can’t accept Qatar hosting World Cup, says emir Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, has told Davos the Middle East has suffered discrimination for decades, in a speech addressing critics of the emirate hosting the World Cup. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the emir said there were still those who were unable to “accept the idea that an […] May 24, 2022
Energy Saudi Arabia signals support for Russia in Opec+ Brent crude trading at about $112 a barrel Saudi blames prices on lack of global refining capacity and taxes New production deal for Opec+ quotas due in three months Saudi Arabia has signalled it will stand by Russia as a member of the Opec+ group of oil producers despite tightening western sanctions on Moscow and […] May 23, 2022
Banking & Finance Prince Alwaleed sells $1.5bn stake in Kingdom Holding to PIF Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to sell 16.87 percent of his investment firm Kingdom Holding Co to the fund. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) will buy 625 million shares at 9.09 riyals ($2.42) a share, Kingdom Holding said in a stock exchange filing, for […] May 23, 2022
Climate change top of the agenda at Davos The Gulf’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are sending top-level delegations to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, which begins today. The UAE’s delegation, led by Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, will also include Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, […] May 23, 2022
Opinion New unemployment scheme is risk worth taking for UAE Income protection insurance available to all residents is an enormous government undertaking May 20, 2022
Banking & Finance Ruler dissolves Dubai World financial disputes tribunal Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said today he had issued a decree dissolving a tribunal hearing disputes related to Dubai World,the state conglomerate that was at the centre of Dubai’s debt crisis more than a decade ago. Dubai World, which restructured $23.5 billion in debt after the global financial crisis, said in […] May 20, 2022
Energy Biden in talks to meet Saudi Crown Prince for first time US President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman could meet for the first time as soon as next month, CNN reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources. Biden administration officials are in talks with the Saudis about arranging a potential in-person meeting while Biden is overseas next month, the report added. The […] May 20, 2022
Opinion Sheikh Khalifa Remembered A bright future beckons the UAE thanks to Sheikh Khalifa Peace, tolerance and the advancement of women leave a legacy few will match May 19, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkey’s planned inflation-linked bonds could sap deposits Some banks are concerned that Turkey’s deposit base could decline as investors, eager to protect savings from price rises, snap up the government’s expected inflation-protected bond issuance, officials and bankers say. Given that inflation has soared to 70 percent, the bonds could pull considerable savings from lira and hard currency deposits and even sap the […] May 19, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt to offer state assets to investors in $40bn privatisation drive Egypt’s government has identified activities it will withdraw from or reduce its presence in over the next three years as part of a plan to expand the private sector, according to a draft document circulated in local media. Egypt’s economy has been jolted by the impact of the war in Ukraine, and it is in […] May 19, 2022
Energy Qatar to invest $5bn in Spanish projects, Emir says Qatar’s $300 billion sovereign wealth fund plans to invest $5 billion in Spanish projects, the Gulf state’s ruler said late on Tuesday at a dinner held in his honour in Madrid. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told an audience at a dinner held in King […] May 19, 2022
‘No development’ in Tehran-Riyadh talks, says minister Iran’s foreign ministry said yesterday there has been “no new development” since April in talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, shortly after a lawmaker said top diplomats of the rival countries will meet soon. Earlier, an Iranian lawmaker told the semi-official Fars news agency that Iran’s Hossein Amirabdollahian will soon meet his Saudi counterpart Faisal […] May 18, 2022
Energy Foreign ship in Gulf waters detained for ‘smuggling fuel’ Iranian authorities seized a foreign ship attempting to smuggle fuel out of the country and detained its crew, state news agency IRNA said today. Iran, which has some of the world’s cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the plunge in value of its national currency, has been fighting rampant fuel smuggling by land […] May 18, 2022
Energy Saudi puts its energy into increasing oil output Saudi Arabia is on track to lift oil production capacity by more than 1 million barrels per day to over 13 million by the end of 2026 or start of 2027, the energy minister said on Monday. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told an energy conference in Bahrain that production could be maintained at that level should market […] May 17, 2022
