Finance Turkey hikes monthly minimum wage by 49% Turkey is increasing its monthly minimum wage by just under half, to TL17,002 ($578) from January 1 2024. The increase is likely to boost purchasing power among workers, more than a third of whom earn the minimum wage. The announcement came after the country’s labour and social security minister, Vedat Işıkhan, discussed the issue with […] December 28, 2023
Finance Pakistan’s exports to Saudi Arabia jump 50% to $276m Exports from Pakistan to the Gulf countries rose 29 percent year on year to $1.26 billion in the five months from July to November 2024. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait were the top export destinations, a report in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn said, quoting data from the State Bank of Pakistan. Exports to Saudi […] December 27, 2023
Economy Turkey aims to be among top rare earth producers Turkey plans to boost its production of rare earth elements and be among the top five producers in the world, its energy and natural resources minister, Alparslan Bayraktar, has announced. The country uncovered the world’s second-largest rare earth element reserve in Eskişehir’s Beylikova district in 2022, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported. The reserves of ore […] December 27, 2023
Finance Bahrain’s economy expands 2.5%, fuelled by non-oil sector Bahrain’s economy grew by 2.5 percent year on year in real terms in the third quarter of 2023, driven by 4.5 percent annual growth in the non-oil sector, preliminary data released by the Information and eGovernment Authority shows. The kingdom’s non-oil sector accounted for 83.6 percent of real GDP in Q3 2023, the state-owned Bahrain […] December 27, 2023
Opinion Economy 2023 was a year of living dangerously The Gulf will hope it can maintain its safe haven status December 26, 2023
Video length: 05:38 Finance Cakes, crypto and the sun – best video moments of 2023 From top business leaders to expert analysts, AGBI has spoken to them all over the past 12 months. Watch our video round-up above to find out who gave us these memorable quotes … “The bigger the cake, the bigger the problem.” “Your long-term asset in this region is not the oil under the ground, it’s […] December 25, 2023
Finance Turkey aims for single-digit inflation by 2026 Turkey is expecting annual inflation to drop to single digits by the end of 2026, according to treasury and finance minister Mehmet Simsek. Inflation is currently at 65 percent and is expected to drop to 36 percent next year and 14 percent in 2025, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing Simsek’s speech at the Turkuvaz Media […] December 24, 2023
Finance Turkey continues to hike policy rates to tame inflation Turkey’s central bank increased its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 42.5 percent to combat inflation. Headline inflation edged up in November, but remains in line with the outlook presented in the recent inflation report, it added. The annual inflation rate surged to 61.98 percent in November, its highest level this year, data […] December 22, 2023
Economy Egypt to receive half EBRD regional funding in 2024 Egypt will receive the lion’s share of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s regional funding in 2024, having accounted for about 55 percent of its funds this year, the regional head of the EBRD has told AGBI. “Egypt is by far our largest country of operation in the region and will account for more […] December 21, 2023
Finance UAE’s new federal authority to combat financial corruption The UAE has established a federal accountability authority that will set up a supreme policy to combat financial and administrative corruption. The new entity replaces the supreme audit institution, after a decree issued by President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s state-owned Wam news agency reported. The authority’s functions include reviewing and auditing […] December 21, 2023
Opinion Giga-projects Saudi budget reveals realism now guides the way The price of oil remains fundamental to the government’s financial health December 20, 2023
Finance Egypt’s Abdel Al Sisi wins third term as president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi swept on Monday to a third term as Egypt’s president in an election where he faced no serious challengers. The election, in which he took 89.6 percent of the vote according to the National Election Authority, was held as Egypt struggles with a slow-burning economic crisis and tries to manage the risk of spillover […] December 19, 2023
Economy Turkish lira expected to weaken further in 2024 Turkey’s currency will weaken by about one-third versus the dollar next year to hit new all-time lows, analysts predict, as a sharp increase in interest rates does little to tame domestic inflation or convince Turks to hold the ailing lira. The tenure of Hafize Gaye Erkan, Turkey’s central bank’s governor appointed in June, may also […] December 19, 2023
Economy Saudi mortgage lending rises despite GDP slowdown Saudi banks’ mortgage lending to individuals and businesses rose in the third quarter, up 13 percent on 2022, despite a slowdown caused by lower oil prices and oil output cuts. A bulletin released this week by the central bank reported loans of SAR591.7 billion ($158 billion) to individuals and SAR155.5 billion to companies in Q3. […] December 18, 2023
Opinion Economy Sisi’s third term heralds a new economic blueprint Financial crisis looms but Egypt is 'too big to fail' December 14, 2023
Finance UAE and Qatar keep rates steady in line with US Fed The central banks of the UAE and Qatar have followed the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The Central Bank of the UAE maintained its base rate on overnight deposit facility at 5.4 percent, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. The central bank also decided to maintain the interest rate on […] December 14, 2023
Finance India aims to sign trade deal with Oman this month India is planning to conclude a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) with Oman by the end of the month, according to a media report. The negotiations are on a fast-track mode, with a team of officials from India’s commerce ministry holding talks in Muscat, Business Standard, an Indian financial daily, reported. If the deal is […] December 13, 2023
Oil & Gas Fitch predicts strong growth for Mena oil producers in 2024 Oil exporting countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region will register stronger growth in 2024, supported by the momentum in non-oil real GDP and stabilising oil production following output cuts in 2023, Fitch Ratings said. Brent crude oil is expected to average $80 per barrel with robust oil prices likely to support […] December 12, 2023
Finance Egypt inflation falls to 36.4% on price declines Egypt’s annual inflation declined to 36.4 percent in November 2023, compared to 38.5 percent in October, the country’s statistical agency said. The fall in inflation was driven by decreases in prices across various sectors, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (Capmas). Meat and poultry prices fell by 1.5 […] December 11, 2023
Economy Moody’s upgrades Oman credit ratings on lower debt burden Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) upgraded Oman’s credit ratings on lower debt burden due to supportive oil prices and spending restraint. The ratings agency raised the Sultanate’s long-term issuer and long-term senior unsecured ratings to “Ba1” from “Ba2” and changed the outlook to stable from positive. The upgrade reflects the expectation of further improvements in the […] December 9, 2023
Opinion Oil & Gas Oil’s inverse correlation to the dollar could return If Saudi Arabia unilaterally raises oil production, all bets are off December 7, 2023
Economy Saudi 2024 budget forecasts $21bn deficit but GDP set to rise Saudi Arabia has approved its 2024 budget, which forecasts a deficit of SAR79 billion ($21.1 billion), accounting for 1.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The estimated total revenues are SAR1.17 trillion, while total expenditure is forecast to be SAR1.25 trillion, the finance ministry said in a statement. The kingdom projected a budget deficit […] December 7, 2023