Analysis Biden Middle East The road from Jeddah: US and Saudi set out their 19 priorities Clean energy, investment deals and space exploration are at the heart of the Jeddah communiqué – the partnership agreement issued by the US and Saudi governments after President Joe Biden’s meeting with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Among the agreements reached during the president’s visit on July 15 and 16 was a […] July 18, 2022
Opinion Biden Middle East Biden missed the chance to make food security his biggest draw The spectre of hunger stalks many Arab states as grain supplies run thin July 18, 2022
Economy Turkish unemployment falls to 10.9%, as factory output rises Turkey’s unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points month-on-month to 10.9 percent in May, while a seasonally adjusted measure of labour underutilisation rose 0.8 points to 22.4 percent, data showed last week. The labour underutilisation measure was on a falling trend for much of last year after peaking at 29.6 percent in January 2021 under the […] July 18, 2022
Real estate group MNHD rebuffs takeover bid by UAE-backed rival Egyptian property company Madinet Nasr for Housing and Development has rebuffed a takeover bid by rival SODIC, saying on Sunday the offer did not represent the company’s true value and calling on SODIC to reconsider it. MNHD’s board said it was prepared to restart work to conclude a deal if SODIC put forward an offer […] July 18, 2022
Banking and Finance UAE detains Khashoggi lawyer on money laundering charges UAE authorities have detained Asim Ghafoor, a US citizen and civil rights attorney who previously served as a lawyer for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said US-based rights group DAWN of whose board Ghafoor is a member. A UAE government official confirmed Ghafoor was arrested while transiting through Dubai International Airport on July 14 on charges […] July 18, 2022
Economy UAE defends stance on Russian individuals, talking to US The UAE is consulting with the US on sanctions targeting Russian individuals, but does not want to “lump together” all Russians into one category as some seek safe havens amid the Ukraine war, an Emirati official said on Friday. Dubai, the Gulf’s financial and business centre, has emerged as a refuge for Russian wealth as […] July 18, 2022
Opinion Biden Middle East Against the odds, Biden achieved a low key US-Gulf reset The US president did enough to restore relations with Saudi Arabia to what they were a decade ago but what comes next is paramount July 18, 2022
Analysis Food & Drink Gulf firms tap thirst for no-alcohol drinks On St Patrick’s Day this year Irish drinks brand Guinness seized the opportunity to promote one of its biggest innovations since its launch in 1759. Four years in the making, Guinness 0.0, a non-alcoholic version of the famous stout brew – first launched in the UK and Ireland in 2020 – has now gone global. […] July 16, 2022
Opinion Biden Middle East Sink or swim? Biden’s tour puts US reputation on the line The President has a delicate balancing act as he courts favour with America's Middle East allies July 15, 2022
Economy Biden brings Palestinians aid but no new peace plan US President Joe Biden will not come with a plan to restart the stalled Israel-Palestinian peace process when he visits the West Bank on Friday, at the end of the first leg of his Middle East trip, a senior administration official said. Biden will restate his backing for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict […] July 15, 2022
Economy China’s economy slows in Q2 as Covid lockdowns take a toll China’s economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter, highlighting the colossal toll on activity from widespread COVID lockdowns and pointing to persistent pressure over coming months from a darkening global outlook. Friday’s frail data adds to fears of a global recession as policymakers jack up interest rates to curb soaring inflation, heaping more hardship […] July 15, 2022
Banking and Finance JPMorgan appoints co-heads of Mideast investment banking JPMorgan has appointed Hani Deaibes and Ahmed Salem as co-heads of its Middle East and North Africa investment banking business, the US bank said in a statement on Thursday. Deaibes, at JPM since 2007, was head of the bank’s debt capital markets (DCM) business for the Middle East. He was previously at Merrill Lynch in […] July 15, 2022
Markets Saudi index hits 6-month low amid US recession fears Most stock markets in the Gulf fell on Thursday, with the Saudi index wiping out its gains so far this year, as a red-hot US inflation reading bolsters the case for supersized rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. Wednesday’s data showed US consumer prices jumped 9.1 percent year-on-year in June, the largest annual increase in […] July 15, 2022
Analysis Biden Middle East Biden’s ‘Jerusalem Declaration’ could slash UAE-Iran trade The US and Israel pledged today to deny Iran nuclear weapons – a move that could dissuade global trade partners from dealing with Tehran, experts have said. The freshly united stance from US president Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid represents a rare show of unity by allies long divided over Iran diplomacy. The […] July 14, 2022
Banking and Finance Dubai gives crypto firm OKX provisional licence Crypto trading app OKX said on Thursday it had been given a provisional virtual assets licence by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which was set up earlier this year to regulate the industry. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been pushing to develop virtual asset regulation to attract new forms of business as […] July 14, 2022
Economy Iran says it and Saudi Arabia interested in more talks Iran and Saudi Arabia are interested in holding more talks, Tehran’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday, three months after a fifth round of contacts aimed at restoring relations between the Middle East’s two main rival powers. Tehran gave an update on the status of the talks as US President Joe Biden landed in Israel in […] July 14, 2022
Markets Most Gulf indexes drop ahead of concerns over new Fed rate hike Most stock markets in the Gulf slipped into negative territory on Wednesday, as traders awaited US inflation data for cues on a large Federal Reserve rate hike this month. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 1.1 percent to a near six-month low, with oil behemoth Saudi Aramco losing 3.4 percent and Sahara International Petrochemical Co plunging […] July 14, 2022
Exclusive Banking and Finance The Gulf is going cashless – and sooner than you think Hany Fekry has been living in the UAE for about six months. In that time he says he has spent a grand total of AED40 in cash transactions. It’s why the group MD (Processing) of regional payments giant Network International is so certain that the UAE will effectively be a cashless society within three years. […] July 14, 2022
Analysis Economy Muslims defy pandemic to spend $2trn globally in 2021 Bucking the global trend of tightening the purse strings, the world’s 1.9 billion Muslims spent the equivalent of $2 trillion at the height of the Covid pandemic. This spending reflects an 8.9 percent year-on-year growth from 2020 across a range of sectors offering halal food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion, travel, and media/recreation. According to the 2022 […] July 13, 2022
Banking and Finance Mubadala in talks to buy asset manager Fortress from SoftBank Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co is in talks to acquire asset manager Fortress Investment Group from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund is discussing a deal that would value Fortress at more than $1 billion, said Bloomberg News, which first reported […] July 13, 2022
Markets Emaar, Aldar help push UAE bourses to post-Eid gains Stock markets in United Arab Emirates closed higher on Tuesday, as they reopened after Eid holidays, with Abu Dhabi index snapping losses in straight seven sessions. Dubai’s benchmark index rose 0.6 percent, buoyed by a 1.5 percent jump in sharia lender Dubai Islamic Bank and a 1.2 percent gain in Blue-chip developer Emaar Properties. In […] July 13, 2022
Analysis Economy 60% of UAE firms to hike prices as costs surge Nearly two-thirds of UAE businesses are planning to increase the price on their goods and services as costs in the non-oil sector climb at the fastest pace for 11 years. The latest S&P Global UAE Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), issued last week, found that rising energy costs and higher wage bills were biting into profit […] July 13, 2022
