Economy New Qatari PM takes helm as business activity bounces back Business activity in Qatar rebounded in February, recording its highest month-on-month growth since the country lifted its Covid lockdown. The Qatar Financial Centre purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – released one day before the cabinet reshuffle that elevated Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to prime minister – hit 51.9 in February, up 6.2 points from […] March 7, 2023
Agriculture Ukraine poultry giant signs deal to boost Saudi food security A Ukrainian poultry business and a Saudi food group have signed an agreement that aims to improve the kingdom’s food security. MHP, one of Europe’s largest exporters of chicken, has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Tanmiah Food Company. The agreement is the first step in establishing a joint venture between Tanmiah’s subsidiary, Desert […] February 21, 2023
Opinion Economy Unravelling the Gulf’s energy conundrum The region gained wealth and political clout last year. Now, as the UAE prepares to host Cop28, it will be expected to find – and fund – climate solutions January 16, 2023
Economy Job creation hits five-year high in Saudi non-oil sector Employment at non-oil companies in Saudi Arabia reached its strongest level for five years in December, as business activity and demand from overseas increased. The latest Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), published on Tuesday, recorded a headline figure of 56.9 for December. Although this was down from 58.5 in November, companies said […] January 3, 2023
Economy UK-GCC trade talks set to enter third phase in Riyadh A third round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and the GCC is set to take place in the Saudi capital Riyadh early next year. The talks will follow a second round of negotiations that took place in London between December 5 and 9, the UK government has revealed in a […] December 20, 2022
Economy Oil and gas lift Qatar’s budget surplus past $8bn in Q3 Qatar posted a budget surplus of QR30 billion ($8.2 billion) in the third quarter of 2022, according to its Ministry of Finance. Revenues for the quarter stood at QR81.8 billion and 93 percent of the total – QR76.3 billion – came from oil and gas, the ministry announced on Tuesday, via the state-run Qatar News […] December 13, 2022
Economy S&P lifts Oman’s credit rating on oil windfall and fiscal reforms The sultanate is now rated BB, with a stable outlook, by the S&P agency, thanks to the government's work to reduce sovereign debt November 29, 2022
Turkey’s inflation hits 24-year high of 85.5% after rate cuts Turkish annual inflation climbed to a new 24-year high of 85.51 percent in October, official data showed on Thursday, slightly below forecast, after the central bank cut its policy rate despite surging prices. Inflation has surged since last year, when the lira slumped after the central bank began cutting its policy rate in an easing […] November 4, 2022
Banking & Finance Public Investment Fund reports 13% profit hike to $22.8bn Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) reported profit of SAR 85.7 billion ($22.81 billion) in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent, according to the Saudi Gazette newspaper. The PIF’s revenue rose 27 percent year-on-year to SAR 228.2 billion and profit from associate companies hit SAR 8.6 billion, a 75 percent increase. Its other operating incomes […] October 31, 2022
Banking & Finance Egyptian banks follow currency devaluation with high-yield CDs Egypt’s three biggest state banks on Thursday offered three-year certificates of deposit with a 17.25 percent annual yield, a move designed to absorb liquidity and contain inflation after a devaluation of the currency. The move by National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr (BM) and Banque du Caire followed a 200 basis points rate hike […] October 28, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt to develop new currency indicator to wean off dollar peg Egypt will develop a new currency indicator partly to wean people off the idea that the Egyptian pound should be pegged to the US dollar, the new central bank governor said on Sunday. Hassan Abdalla, appointed in August, told an economic conference that the central bank was also working to introduce currency hedging and had […] October 24, 2022
Logistics Saudi Arabia eyes $10bn in supply chain investment Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Sunday launched an initiative to attract investments in supply chains to and from the kingdom, with an aim of raising an initial SAR 40 billion ($10.64 billion). The initiative by Prince Mohammed bin Salman will include allocating about SAR 10 billion in incentives for supply chain investors, state news agency […] October 24, 2022
Banking & Finance Turkey slashes rates more than expected, lira hits record low Turkey’s central bank slashed its policy rate by a more-than-expected 150 basis points (bps) to 10.5 percent on Thursday, and promised to halt the easing cycle urged by President Tayyip Erdogan after another similarly-hefty cut next month. The move pushed the lira to a record low near 19 to the dollar and comes after Erdogan […] October 21, 2022
Economy King Salman hails Saudi’s ‘renaissance’ in annual speech The king pointed to a $53.2bn infrastructure spend, praised 'unique' projects such as NEOM and discussed oil markets and the role of women October 18, 2022
Banking & Finance ‘Economic diplomacy’: how ADQ is bolstering UAE goals The ADQ fund’s investments across the Middle East and North Africa are part of an “economic diplomacy” strategy designed to build the UAE’s alliances with the likes of Turkey, Israel and Egypt, three sources have said. ADQ, the smallest of Abu Dhabi’s three main sovereign wealth funds, began in 2018 as a vehicle for holding […] October 17, 2022
Banking & Finance 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 […] October 11, 2022
Banking & Finance Erdogan vows to cut rates ‘as long as he remains president’ Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Saturday that the central bank would continue to cut its policy interest rates every month for as long as he stayed in power, after it surprised markets by cutting rates twice in the last two months. “As long as this brother of yours is in this position, the interest […] October 9, 2022
Banking & Finance 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 […] October 9, 2022
Economy Egypt’s non-oil sector hit by weak demand, home and away Egypt's non-oil output fell in September, a 13th consecutive month of contraction, as exports dropped sharply too October 4, 2022
Banking & Finance 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 […] October 4, 2022
Banking & Finance Egyptian pound weakens the most in four months on dollar flight Egypt weakened its currency on Monday by the most in more than four months, with the Egyptian pound falling by more than 0.10 pounds to the dollar, according to Refinitiv data. The pound was trading at 19.62 to the dollar at 1337 GMT, down from 19.49 at the open. Foreign currency has dried up in […] October 4, 2022
Banking & Finance Egypt’s net foreign assets sink again in August Egypt’s net foreign assets fell by 18.06 billion Egyptian pounds ($925 million) in August, resuming a near year-long decline that had paused the month before, according to central bank data. The central bank has been relying on net foreign assets (NFAs) – banking system assets owed by non-residents minus liabilities – to help support the […] October 3, 2022
