Employment Remittances from UAE to Bangladesh surge 48% Remittances from the UAE to Bangladesh surged 48 percent year on year to $3.3 billion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023-24, according to data from the country’s central bank. Dhaka receives remittances between $250 million to $300 million per month from the UAE, The Business Standard, a financial newspaper, reported. However, remittances […] April 23, 2024
Opinion Economy Shanghai’s enterprising spirit is China’s best hope Returning to the city 20 years after his first visit, our columnist is still bowled over by its dynamism April 22, 2024
Finance Saudi and UAE remittances to Pakistan hit $125m in Ramadan Saudi Arabia topped the list of countries with the highest remittance to Pakistan in March, local media reported. Remittances from the kingdom reached a high of just over $70 million during Ramadan, rising 30 percent from $54 million in February, Dawn, an English-language media outlet in Pakistan, reported, quoting the State Bank of Pakistan’s data. […] April 10, 2024
Trade Finance platform aims at $2.5trn trade funding hole A blockchain-based platform that lets institutions and wealthy individuals provide finance to importers and exporters for returns of up to 9 percent a year could help fill a multi-trillion-dollar hole in international trade, it says. In trade finance, the involvement of third-party financial companies removes payment and supply risks for sellers and buyers respectively. Historically, […] April 8, 2024
Infrastructure PIF close to buying Pakistan copper mine stake Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to finalising a deal to buy a $1 billion stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold mine, in what would be a Saudi lifeline for the debt-ridden country, a Pakistani newspaper has reported. Barrick Gold, the Canadian-listed company that owns a 50 percent stake in the Reko Diq mine, […] April 5, 2024
Banking & Finance UAE investors join Olam Agri’s $625m Islamic facility Investors from the UAE are part of a global consortium providing Singapore’s Olam Group with a $625 million sharia-compliant financing facility. Other investors are from Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, the company said in a statement. Names of the investors were not disclosed. The facility, initially guaranteed by Olam Group, will transfer to Olam Agri […] April 5, 2024
Aviation UAE and Qatar in race for Pakistan’s privatisation deals Investors from the UAE, Qatar and Turkey have shown interest in Pakistan’s national airline and airports as the South Asian nation accelerates its privatisation programme. Other investors are from Germany, France, Netherlands, Malaysia and local groups, ARY News, a Pakistani news channel, reported. Defence and aviation minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has discussed outsourcing airports and […] March 27, 2024
Trade Abu Dhabi buys majority of Georgia logistics centre Abu Dhabi Ports Group is buying a 60 percent stake in the Tbilisi Dry Port, a new logistics centre in Georgia. The project, which is scheduled to be operational by the end of this year, will be developed in phases on two parcels of land, while an additional 88,000 sq m of land is available […] March 26, 2024
Sustainability Saudi fund to invest $101m in Pakistan’s green projects The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will provide $101 million in soft loans to support Pakistan’s green energy projects. The first agreement is for an investment of $66 million to construct the 48 megawatts (MW) Shounter Hydropower station, which will be connected to Pakistan’s national electricity grid, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The project […] March 25, 2024
Analysis Markets Gulf weightings increase on MSCI Emerging Markets The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has increased the weightings of Gulf countries since their inclusion on the benchmark, as regulators loosened rules and companies ease foreign ownership restrictions to make it easier to invest. According to MSCI, more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AuM) was benchmarked against its emerging markets indexes as of […] March 21, 2024
Trade Barakah Unit 4 adds extra power to UAE-South Korea trade The fourth and final nuclear reactor at the UAE’s Barakah nuclear energy plant will be connected to the country’s electricity grid in the next few weeks. The $32 billion Barakah plant, 140 miles west of Abu Dhabi city, has been developed by Barakah One, a joint venture between Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and Korea Electric […] March 20, 2024
Trade Cenomi’s Uzbekistan debut a sign of Saudi trade ambitions Saudi retail major Cenomi has announced its debut in Uzbekistan in tandem with the kingdom’s efforts to expand bilateral trade with the Central Asian nation. Uzbekistan is Cenomi’s 11th-largest international market, and it has signed a deal to open eight international brands – including a flagship Zara store – at the newly developed Tashkent City […] March 13, 2024
Analysis Trade Digital economy focus of UAE-Malaysia trade talks The UAE is expected to sign a free trade deal with Malaysia by the end of June as the latter courts more investment to develop its digital economy. Talks on establishing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) began last year and Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s minister of investment, trade and industry, said the two […] March 13, 2024
Energy Adnoc starts work on ‘green’ LNG plant at Ruwais Early engineering, procurement and construction work has started on Adnoc’s low-carbon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Al Ruwais Industrial City in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi’s state oil company has awarded the contract to a joint venture between France’s Technip Energies, Japan’s JGC Corporation and Abu Dhabi’s National Petroleum Construction Company. The final investment decision […] March 13, 2024
Industry Emirates Global Aluminium profit falls with metal prices Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the UAE’s largest non-oil industrial company and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, reported a decline in net profit last year, despite posting record production volumes of alumina, cast and hot metal for 2023. Net profit fell 54 percent year on year to AED3.4 billion ($937 million), against a backdrop […] March 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Opec extends voluntary cuts to support oil market stability Opec+ producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia have stretched their additional voluntary crude supply cuts for another three months, as the oil bloc strives to support the stability and balance of sluggish markets. Oil prices traded flat Monday morning after a slight spike following the Opec announcement. Brent crude traded around $83.50 per barrel. […] March 4, 2024
Analysis Construction Foreign expertise vital for Saudi construction Saudi Arabia’s construction industry needs more foreign involvement if achieving its Vision 2030 goals is to become a reality, according to attendees of the Big 5 conference in Riyadh. In the first half of 2023 alone $44 billion worth of new projects were awarded in the kingdom’s $140 billion construction sector, according to real estate […] February 29, 2024
Finance Asset manager Offset8 invests in Indonesia carbon project Asset manager Offset8 Capital, which specialises in financing climate mitigation projects, has facilitated an undisclosed early-stage investment in a waste management scheme in Indonesia. The project, run by Singapore-based sustainable waste management company Sawa EcoSolutions and its Indonesian operating arm Legasi Alam Indonesia, is expected to generate around $50 million of carbon credits over the […] February 29, 2024
Industry Olam delays Saudi listing of agriculture unit Olam Group, which has its headquarters in Singapore, has ruled out listing its agricultural unit on the Saudi stock exchange in the first half of 2024. CEO Sunny Verghese said in August that the company was targeting the dual listing in Singapore and Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2024, which could raise up to […] February 28, 2024
Banking & Finance Saudi remittances fall as expats invest domestically Expatriate remittances from Saudi Arabia have fallen over the past two years, despite a rise in the number of overseas workers needed to develop the kingdom’s slate of huge giga-projects. Some experts have predicted the slump in funds sent back home could be as a result of improved investment opportunities inside the kingdom. Yearly remittances […] February 22, 2024
Trade UAE’s Cambodia trade deal sets $1bn non-oil target The UAE’s comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) with Cambodia has come into force as the countries aim to more than double non-oil trade by the end of the decade. The agreement will remove or reduce tariffs on more than 92 percent of product lines, eliminating barriers to trade and improving market access for service exports. […] February 22, 2024
Markets Saudi stock exchange to hold Hong Kong forum in May The Saudi stock exchange operator Tadawul has chosen Hong Kong for its first capital market forum outside the country, part of a drive to make the Gulf state a global financial centre for attracting foreign capital. “For the first time we’re taking the Saudi Capital Market Forum beyond Saudi borders in collaboration with the Hong […] February 21, 2024
