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Finance

Finance, economics, markets and trade news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

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Finance news

Egypt to establish company to process VAT refunds to foreigners

The Egyptian Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to establish an Egyptian joint stock company to set up a value-added tax (VAT) refund system, Egypt Today reported. Global Blue Egypt Company will be a joint venture between Global Blue Public Limited and Global Blue Holland Private Limited. The company will implement […]

Tunisian government and union sign wages deal to ease tensions

Tunisia’s government and main labour union, Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), on Thursday signed a deal to boost wages, a step that may ease social tensions, but they did not announce any further agreement on reforms needed for an IMF bailout. The increase in state salaries of five percent a year for three years, and […]

Israel inflation dips to 4.6% in August 2022

Israel’s annual consumer price index (CPI) of inflation dipped to a 4.6 percent rate in August, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, easing from a 14-year high of 5.2 percent in July and after aggressive Bank of Israel rate hikes in recent months. A Reuters poll of analysts had projected an inflation rate […]

Iraq hopes to stamp out the illicit use of some 50% of the $10 billion that Iraq imports in cash from the US each year

Turkish rates on dollar deposits drop on high forex commission

Interest rates on dollar deposits have dropped sharply in Turkey in recent days after its central bank passed a regulation imposing high commission payments on foreign exchange transactions, three bankers said on Thursday. The bankers told Reuters that rates in the market generally had fallen to some 3.5 percent to four percent from about seven […]

PD in July 2021 pulled a $350m Islamic bond sale ahead of pricing, saying the interest received did not match the company's plan and vision

Abu Dhabi royals-owned firm raises $300m Islamic loan

The Private Department of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Khalid al-Nahyan LLC (PD), a relatively small real estate company owned by members of Abu Dhabi’s ruling family, priced on Thursday $300 million of sukuk at 8.75 percent, a bank document showed. PD in July 2021 pulled a $350 million Islamic bond sale ahead of pricing, saying the […]

Saudi inflation up 3% in August on higher food and transport costs

Saudi Arabia’s consumer price index rose three percent in August from a year earlier, official data showed on Thursday, accelerating from a 2.7 percent pace in July. Food and beverages and transport prices were again the main driver of inflation in August, both rising four percent, the General Authority for Statistics said in a statement. […]

Person, Human, Chair

Israel’s $15bn Rapyd aiming to acquire Gulf fintech startups

Rapyd, Israel’s highest-valued unicorn, is eyeing financial technology acquisitions in the Middle East and North Africa as it seeks to capitalise on the challenging business environment for startups. As the US Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates in an effort to curb rising inflation, the prospect of a worldwide recession dominates concerns, particularly among […]

Person, Human, Shoe

Tunisia’s labour union agrees to wage deal amid IMF talks

Tunisia’s government and a powerful labour union have agreed a public sector wage increase over the next three years, part of their talks on wider economic reforms aimed at securing a foreign bailout for state finances. UGTT union officials and a state news agency said on Wednesday the agreement would lift wages for state employees […]

Depositors hold up two Lebanese banks to grab their own money

Two seemingly armed and desperate Lebanese depositors held up banks on Wednesday to force access to their own money, which has been blocked during a national financial meltdown. One woman with a gun and some associates briefly held hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank in the capital Beirut, before leaving with more than $13,000 […]

UAE rolls out digital VAT-refund scheme as transactions rise 104%

The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has launched a 100 percent digital value-added tax (VAT) refund scheme for tourists, in partnership with Planet Tax Free, the operator of the tax refund system in the country, WAM, the UAE state news agency, reported. The new solution is integrated electronically between retail outlets and the tax refund […]

From left, Bahrain's minister of foreign affairs Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US president Donald Trump and UAE minister of foreign affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan sign the Abraham Accords on September 15 2020
  • EXCLUSIVE: LONG READ

Abraham Accords: The $3bn trade deal that shocked the world

Two years after the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, the UAE and Israel are on track to see $3 billion worth of bilateral trade this year. The success of the relationship – kickstarted by the agreement signed by the Emirati and Bahraini foreign ministers, the Israeli prime minister and US president on the South […]

Man on laptop

DeFi could go mainstream, with a little help from Gulf regulators

For those who imagine a world without banks, decentralised finance – better known as DeFi – is an empowering development in the crypto universe. So, how does it put users in charge of their own finances?  DeFi is the provision of financial products and services without the need for intermediaries such as banks, exchanges or […]

Central Bank of the UAE

Central banks go digital, bit by bit

The turmoil in cryptocurrency markets this year has been a wake-up call to investors and regulators, prompting questions about how viable many digital currencies really are. According to CoinMarketCap, the total value of cryptocurrencies has slumped from almost $3 trillion in November 2021 to less than $1 trillion in September this year.  But not all […]

A shopkeeper shows off her bitcoin wallet. The digital currency gained 27 percent in July

The beginner’s guide to cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are a new form of digital money that are not issued or maintained by central authorities. Instead, they usually operate through blockchain technology, a shared digital database that facilitates and records transactions between individuals.  The use of blockchain technology means crypto transactions tend to be cheaper and faster than those involving traditional fiat currencies. […]

The Bhukkad Cafe in Dubai began accepting cryptrocurrency as a means of creating awareness of the payment system

Should your business jump on the bandwagon?

From groceries to luxury properties, hotel stays to coffees, burgers to business licenses, consumers in the UAE can now buy it all using cryptocurrency. But, even as several bricks-and-mortar businesses jump on the crypto bandwagon and regulations evolve, experts say the uptake is modest and widespread adoption in the Gulf state is still about five […]

Sharjah is the third most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi yet has a larger growing number of millionaires than any of the emirates

Sharjah has world’s second-largest growth of millionaires

Sharjah recorded the second-largest increase in millionaires in the first half of this year, as the Gulf claimed five of the top ten hotspots. The total number of millionaires residing in the emirate is now 3,700, up 20 percent from December. Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, tops the list with 17,200, also up 20 percent. […]

Building, Train, Transportation

Abu Dhabi to monetise stake in state energy company TAQA

Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company ADQ has entered into an agreement to monetise an 8.6 percent stake in Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) to Multiply Group, Abu Dhabi Pension Fund and other prominent investors, WAM, the UAE state news agency, reported. Abu Dhabi-listed TAQA has significant investments in power and water generation, transmission […]