Banking and Finance Turkey to guarantee loans to struggling manufacturers Turkey’s government has launched a loan guarantee scheme for small and medium-sized manufacturers, aiming to ease pressure on a sector hard hit by rising interest rates. Treasury and finance minister Mehmet Şimşek announced last week that almost $770 million of credit would be made available through the Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF), a scheme revived since […] May 27, 2025
Utilities Abu Dhabi’s Taqa focuses on US market Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, or Taqa, is exploring buying companies in the US and elsewhere, its chief executive told Reuters. The state-owned utility is continuing its international expansion and is striving to reach ambitious growth targets. “The US is a key market for us,” and “if the right opportunity presents itself for Taqa, we […] May 27, 2025
Trade GCC and Malaysia begin official FTA talks The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Malaysia have restarted negotiating a long-delayed free trade agreement (FTA) to strengthen economic and trade relations. “Malaysia considers the GCC to be one of its most valued trade partners in West Asia,” investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said in a statement. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, […] May 27, 2025
Trade Oman’s trade faces Q1 headwinds as oil exports fall Oman’s total foreign trade in the first quarter of 2025 declined by 10.4 percent year on year to $14.7 billion, dragged down by a 16 percent drop in oil and gas exports. Oil and gas exports fell to $9.6 billion in the first three months of this year, from $11.4 billion the same time last […] May 27, 2025
Analysis Oil & Gas US investors ‘would be first in line for any Aramco asset sale’ Asset sales could allow Saudi Aramco to maintain its capital expenditure plans and keep its government shareholders happy with dividends, analysts have said. The national oil company is reportedly looking for investors to buy stakes in its subsidiaries and infrastructure, with a particular focus on its $100 billion Jafurah gas field project, according to a […] May 27, 2025
Markets Saudi Comic Con organiser sells shares in IPO The organiser of World Wrestling Association events in Saudi Arabia and the first Comic Con, a convention celebrating comic books, is selling shares to the public as the kingdom offers more entertainment opportunities to its population. Riyadh-based Time Entertainment is selling 200,000 shares, a 20 percent stake, to raise as much as SAR16 million ($4.27 […] May 26, 2025
Economy Bahrain T-bills oversubscribed despite debt concerns The government of Bahrain sold close to $190 million in three-month treasury bills this week in a sale that was almost three times oversubscribed, despite IMF concerns over the kingdom’s rising debt levels. The BD70 million in bills carry a weighted average interest rate of 5.23 percent, the state-run Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on […] May 26, 2025
Banking and Finance Oman bank loans reach two-year high Omani bank loans rose to their highest in two years in March, raising speculation that local banks might borrow more from abroad as lending growth outpaces deposits. Figures released by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) saw loans rise almost 9 percent year on year to OR33.4 billion ($87 billion) in March. Personal loans, which […] May 26, 2025
Finance Tighter Dubai rules tipped to drive crypto market expansion Fresh digital asset regulations in the UAE may encourage further tokenisation and the rollout of more complex cryptocurrency products, analysts have said. Tokenisation is the creation and trade of digital tokens that are backed by real-world assets – such as real estate, gold or art — on a blockchain. It enables direct and verifiable peer-to-peer […] May 26, 2025
Banking and Finance Kuwait-listed banks explore potential merger Kuwait-listed Gulf Bank and Warba Bank have agreed to undertake a feasibility study and due diligence on a proposed merger. The two banks announced the decision in disclosure to the local stock exchange on Monday, following which their shares were suspended for one hour under the capital markets bylaws. The potential merger offers growth and […] May 26, 2025
Finance Saudi Arabia issues new sukuk worth $16bn Saudi Arabia has repaid SAR60 billion ($16 billion) worth of Islamic bonds, or sukuk, maturing over the next five years and simultaneously issued new sukuk of the same value. The initiative aims to bolster the domestic market and meet debt obligations, the National Debt Management Centre (NMDC), which manages the Saudi government’s debt obligations and […] May 26, 2025
Economy Egypt’s non-oil trade deficit narrows as exports surge Egypt’s non-oil trade deficit has narrowed substantially in the first four months of 2025 amid a surge in exports, according to local media. The non-oil trade deficit, the difference between the value of exports and imports, fell 28 percent to $8 billion, Ashraq News, an Arabic news portal, reported citing a government document. Non-oil commodity […] May 26, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump needs a good reason to walk the India-Gulf-Europe corridor President Donald Trump may reinvigorate efforts to establish a diplomatic and economic pathway from Europe to India through the Middle East. But trade advisers have told AGBI that, for the initiatives to gain fresh momentum in Washington, officials will need to outline more tangible benefits for the US. “The US is not part of the […] May 26, 2025
Banking and Finance QIA approved to buy stake in leading Chinese asset manager Qatar’s $526 billion sovereign wealth fund has received approval to acquire a 10 percent stake in China Asset Management Co. It is a rare Gulf investment into one of the country’s largest mutual fund houses as Doha walks a diplomatic tightrope between Washington and Beijing. The green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission was […] May 23, 2025
Editor's Insight Trade Trump’s tour heralds a new era in US-Gulf relations In The Arabists: The Romance of an American Elite Robert Kaplan reminds us of the episode in which April Glaspie, then US ambassador to Ba’athist Iraq and “an Arabist of the old school”, met Saddam Hussain in July 1990. Glaspie failed explicitly to tell the Iraqi dictator, who was massing troops on the border and engaging in […] May 23, 2025
Finance Abu Dhabi VC EQIQ to increase Iraq tech investments Abu Dhabi technology-focused venture capital fund EQIQ says it plans to increase the value of its investments in Iraq as the country seeks to recover from more than four decades of war and economic sanctions. Last year, tech startups in Iraq raised less than $3 million in 10 deals, according to entrepreneurship ecosystem development platform […] May 23, 2025
Opinion Trade A Gulf perspective on Trump’s ‘palace in the sky’ Congressmen should perhaps ask themselves: is this so unusual, at least by standards in the Arabian Gulf? May 23, 2025
Economy Egypt cuts interest rates as economy grows Egypt’s central bank said on Thursday that it was cutting overnight interest rates, as it expects economic recovery and lower inflation. The monetary policy committee (MPC) lowered the overnight deposit and lending rates by 100 basis points to 24 percent and 25 percent, respectively, its second rate cut this year, the bank said in a […] May 23, 2025
Markets At 17-year highs, Dubai stocks outshine Gulf rivals Dubai’s stock index hit fresh 17-year highs this week, as first-quarter earnings rose and a buoyant non-oil economy convinced investors to favour UAE stocks over the much larger Saudi market. Gulf markets, like bourses worldwide, tumbled in early April after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on imports to the US. In contrast to the […] May 23, 2025
Banking and Finance Turkish bond attracts keen interest despite concerns Ankara’s second issue this year of dollar denominated eurobonds was heavily oversubscribed, attracting domestic and international investors, according to the Turkish ministry of treasury and finance. When the $2 billion bond, with a seven-year maturity, was issued on Wednesday the order book was oversubscribed two and a half times, with buyers drawn by the 7.25 […] May 23, 2025
Analysis Banking and Finance Fintech lenders go where banks fear to tread Financial technology companies in the Middle East like Egypt’s Money Fellows are increasingly stepping in to offer financing options to population groups and businesses that traditional banks ignore or cannot lend to. The share of loans given to small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa averages less than 8 percent […] May 23, 2025
Finance Franklin Templeton plans Saudi products with $5bn PIF agreement US asset manager Franklin Templeton says it plans to create and introduce financial products in Saudi Arabia that takes advantage of both international investor interest in the largest Arab economy as well as local appetite for global markets. This comes after the company agreed in principle last week with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to […] May 22, 2025
