Economy Saudi Arabia in talks for $6bn Turkish arms deal Turkey expects to strike a $6 billion agreement with Saudi Arabia for the sale of warships, tanks and missiles. The deal may include Saudi Arabia joining Turkey’s fighter jet development project, which could be signed during the visit of President Tayyip Erdoğan to the kingdom in March, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials. Ankara aims to […] January 28, 2025
Banking and Finance Bank of Singapore in Dubai hiring drive Bank of Singapore has made six new appointments in Dubai to enhance its advisory and product services in the region and double its Middle East business. One of Asia’s biggest private banks, Bank of Singapore wants the region to contribute up to 20% of overall revenue and private banking assets over the next three to […] January 27, 2025
Giga-projects Italian insurer guarantees $3bn Saudi giga-project loan Sace, an Italian state-owned insurance company, has guaranteed a multi-currency loan of $3 billion provided by nine international banks to support projects in Neom, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project. The announcement coincided with an official visit by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni to Saudi Arabia, where she and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed an […] January 27, 2025
Banking and Finance Bonyan gets approval to list on Egyptian bourse Bonyan, an Egyptian real estate investment company, has secured approval to list on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) within the first half of 2025. The listing is subject to regulatory approval by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority and the stock exchange. No details of the IPO were given. “The listing reinforces our ambition to make real […] January 27, 2025
Analysis Finance Vast Gulf wealth funds splinter to make targeted investments Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are increasingly doing business via wholly-owned or affiliated entities as they become too big to manage specialised investment efforts, industry watchers are saying. MGX, an Emirati artificial intelligence-focused vehicle founded last year by Abu Dhabi’s fund Mubadala and the artificial intelligence company G42, made a splash by being one […] January 27, 2025
Finance UAE to impose penalty for unpaid corporate tax The Federal Tax Authority (FTA) said that failure to pay corporate tax will incur a monthly penalty of 14 percent per annum. The penalty will apply to the unpaid tax amount and be calculated from the day following the payment deadline, accruing monthly on the same date, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. Tax […] January 26, 2025
Analysis Food & Drink Middle Eastern coffee market expected to hit $11bn The price of your half-caff, soya milk, extra hot with a pump of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon is likely to go up this year, as the cost of coffee is set to increase by as much as one fifth. The Middle Eastern coffee market alone is projected to reach $11.5 billion in 2025, […] January 26, 2025
editor's insight Economy Transactional Trump will seek mutual benefits There were few guests from outside the US establishment at Donald Trump’s inauguration in the Capitol building on Monday. Along with the past presidents, supreme court justices, members of congress, tech titans, and the military band avoiding an icy Washington day, was Javier Milei, the libertarian president of Argentina. Also present were Giorgia Meloni of […] January 24, 2025
Economy Iraq’s fiscal policy under fire over record domestic debt Iraq risks draining local liquidity and stifling economic growth with its policy to rely heavily on domestic borrowing to fund its widening budget deficit, experts say. The Opec producer’s domestic debt has now hit an all-time high of around 83 trillion dinars ($64 billion) as a result of heavy borrowing to shore up the shortfall […] January 24, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas Expect the unexpected with Trump and the Gulf Whatever the new administration decides, it is unlikely to happen quickly January 24, 2025
Economy Saudi Arabia has ‘great confidence’ in Lebanon’s reforms Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud visited Beirut on Thursday, the first trip to Lebanon by a Saudi foreign minister in 15 years. The visit coincided with early signs of recovery in Lebanon’s economy as it improves relations with Gulf states and others following the election of President Joseph Aoun. After his meeting with Aoun, Bin […] January 24, 2025
Trade Global trade will grow in 2025 despite tariff threats, says UAE Global trade is expected to grow in 2025 despite threats by US President Donald Trump to impose new import tariffs, UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al Zeyoudi has said. The momentum in foreign trade and global trade is growing, he told Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “Trump is […] January 24, 2025
Oil & Gas Oil slips after Trump calls on Opec to lower prices Oil prices were down on Friday after US President Donald Trump drew a direct link between persistently high inflation and global oil prices during video remarks before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Trump said he intends to address the problem by boosting domestic production and by asking “Saudi Arabia and Opec to bring […] January 24, 2025
Banking and Finance Credit and debit card use rises steeply in Turkey Cash could be dethroned as king in Turkey as consumers increasingly turn to plastic when paying for goods and services. But the rise in card usage also comes at a cost, as more Turks fall behind in servicing their debt. Credit and debit card spending reached a total of TL14.87 trillion ($420 billion) in 2024, […] January 24, 2025
Economy Turkey cuts interest rate by 250 basis points Turkey’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 45% as expected on Thursday, carrying on an easing cycle it launched last month alongside a decline in annual inflation that is expected to continue. The central bank indicated it would continue to ease policy in the months ahead, noting that it anticipated a rise in trend inflation in January, […] January 23, 2025
Markets Derayah Financial to list 20% in IPO on Riyadh exchange Saudi Arabia’s Derayah Financial has announced plans for an initial public offering on the Riyadh stock exchange. The financial services company, which specialises in brokerage and asset and wealth management, plans to offer investors a 20 percent stake, it said on Thursday. The company is looking to sell more than 49.9 million shares and the […] January 23, 2025
Markets PIF’s $4bn bond sale is four-times oversubscribed Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) sold $4 billion of bonds on Wednesday in a sale that was four times oversubscribed. It marks the latest big Saudi debt sale this year, coming just two weeks after the kingdom raised $12 billion from a sovereign bond sale that was three times oversubscribed. On January 6 PIF […] January 23, 2025
Opinion Economy US crackdown puts Libya’s economic future in jeopardy Financial observers have raised concerns for years about misleading Libyan Central Bank data January 23, 2025
Video length: 04:02 VIDEO Finance One million users for Saudi Arabia’s Sahm trading app “Riyadh has a population of 8 million. The government is going to double the population. That means money. That means capital,” says Steven Chou, chairman of Saudi-based fintech-driven financial company Sahm Capital. “Local Saudis are keen to look for a new product. They are options lovers,” Chou says, adding that the sectors of interest include […] January 23, 2025 In association with
Infrastructure Lebanese officials promote revival of rail network Lebanon is promoting the revival of the country’s defunct railway system that could link to neighbouring Syria and Iraq and become part of China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative in the region. The train transport system in Lebanon had linked the capital Beirut with Tripoli near the Syrian border before it came to a standstill […] January 23, 2025
Economy Qatar introduces laws to encourage foreign money Qatar will launch three laws to deal with bankruptcy, public-private partnerships and commercial registration, commerce and economy, minister Sheikh Faisal Al Thani has said. The laws aim to attract foreign investment as competition grows from regional countries, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The government is reviewing 27 laws and regulations across 17 ministries which […] January 23, 2025
Finance Iran inflation rises as fuel price and rents surge Inflation in Iran rose month on month in January, driven by a surge in housing rents and fuel prices, official data showed. Annual inflation reached 32 percent this month, a rise of 2.9 percent month on month, local media outlets said, citing data released by the Statistical Center of Iran. The annual inflation rate was […] January 23, 2025
