Opinion Travel & Hospitality Airline alliances? Emirates forges its own flight path Bilateral agreements can be easier to manage and more tightly targeted May 25, 2023
Energy Russian president says oil prices at ‘justified’ levels Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday energy prices were approaching “economically justified” levels and that Russia was continuing to meet its commitments on energy supplies. Speaking at a conference of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union in Moscow, Putin also raised the issue of energy shortages in Europe. “Now, thank God, energy prices are approaching […] May 25, 2023
Analysis Development Italy woos Saudi and other Gulf nations in trade drive Italy is courting Saudi Arabia to invest in a new fund, as the European country increasingly turns to the GCC to boost trade and investment volumes. Industry minister Adolfo Urso said Saudi was ready for further investments following a video call with the kingdom’s investment minister, Khalid Al Falih. Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni plans […] May 25, 2023
Opinion Agriculture The Arab world needs to ease global food trade barriers The region must embrace food imports May 23, 2023
Banking & Finance High inflation helps to swell UK budget deficit in April Britain recorded a larger-than-expected budget deficit in April, as interest accrued on inflation-linked government bonds pushed the debt interest bill for the month to a new record, official data showed on Tuesday. Public sector net borrowing, excluding state-owned banks, rose in April to £25.56 billion ($32.26 billion), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. A […] May 23, 2023
Energy Indian oil refiner balances Gulf and Russian suppliers The Indian Oil Corporation remains committed to term contracts with the Middle East, but increased Russian imports have impacted spot purchases from the region. “Spot purchases have gone down because somewhere there has to be a dip to accommodate the Russian oil,” said the company’s chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya at the 30th annual Middle East […] May 22, 2023
Opinion Energy Opec+ ponders whether to stick or twist April's output cuts appear to have had the desired effect, but the oil alliance may yet cause another surprise May 22, 2023
Banking & Finance Merger of UK and US law firms to create $3.4bn entity London-based law firm Allen & Overy and New York’s Shearman & Sterling plan to merge, they announced on Sunday, in a deal that would create one of the world’s largest legal practices with combined global revenue of approximately $3.4 billion. If approved by a vote of partners at both firms, the tie-up would be one […] May 22, 2023
Travel & Hospitality Ryanair cautiously optimistic of profit in next 12 months Ryanair on Monday posted a near record profit of €1.43 billion ($1.57 billion) in the year to end-March and said it was cautiously optimistic that profits would rise modestly in the next 12 months, with summer demand notably robust. The Irish airline, Europe’s largest by passenger numbers, expects summer European short-haul capacity to remain below […] May 22, 2023
Manufacturing UK to invest $1.3bn to build chip supply chains Britain announced £1 billion ($1.26 billion) of investment for its semiconductor sector on Friday in a long-awaited strategy that aims to strengthen the domestic industry and chip supply chains. The strategy focuses on Britain’s role in designing semiconductors, used in everything from cars to smartphones and washing machines, the government’s newly formed department for science, […] May 19, 2023
Analysis Travel & Hospitality Champagne sales in the Gulf fizz by 91% World Cup fans and wealthy expats led to Champagne imports to the Gulf almost doubling in 2022. After a strong marketing push by French producers helped luxury bubbly become more mainstream, the number of bottles of Champagne shipped to the region surged 91 percent last year. Comité Champagne, the industry body representing French producers, told […] May 18, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Qatar’s QIA challenges UBS Credit Suisse takeover The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is said to be considering taking legal action against the Swiss financial authorities following the forced takeover of Credit Suisse by domestic rival UBS. The Qatari fund increased its stake in Credit Suisse in late 2022 as part of the ailing lender’s ultimately failed attempts to bolster its finances following […] May 18, 2023
Analysis Economy UK debates merits of GCC bloc trade versus separate deals The UK’s International Trade Committee has voiced doubts about the country’s ability to strike a free trade deal with the GCC. As negotiations approach a fourth round, a new report from the cross-party committee that scrutinises spending policies of the Department for International Trade raised a number of issues. These include differing net-zero targets, agri-food […] May 18, 2023
Technology Bahrain’s Beyon puts $250m into digital infrastructure Tech company Beyon Group is investing more than $250 million in new infrastructure to support Bahrain’s digital transformation. The parent company of telecoms operator Batelco said it has joined the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) consortium, which is building a 21,700km-long undersea telecommunications cable from Marseille in France to Singapore. The cable will […] May 17, 2023
Banking & Finance UBS flags $17bn hit from Credit Suisse takeover UBS Group AG expects a financial hit of about $17 billion from the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG, the bank said in a presentation early on Wednesday as it prepares to complete the rescue of its struggling Swiss rival. UBS estimates a negative impact of $13 billion from fair value adjustments of the combined […] May 17, 2023
Economy ECB to hike rates twice as inflation remains hot The European Central Bank (ECB) will hike its key interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) at each of the next two meetings, according to economists polled by Reuters, many of whom also said the bigger risk was rates could go higher still in the future. Several ECB policymakers have reiterated the central bank may […] May 16, 2023
Economy Gulf is ‘ideal playground’ for surging French investment France aims to boost its investment relationship with the GCC region by hosting an inaugural Vision Gulf event in Paris next month. The flagship conference organised by Business France, the country’s national trade agency, aims to promote increased collaboration between Middle East-based investors and French corporates. Taking place on June 13-14 at the French Ministry […] May 15, 2023
Retail Polish retailer Modivo cuts costs and plans layoffs Fashion retailer Modivo, owned by footwear and fashion brand group CCC, plans to cut costs and may lay off staff to boost profitability, its incoming CEO said on Friday, as the wider sector grapples with rising inflation and energy prices. “Improving profitability also means to work on efficiency, so we will try to rebuild this […] May 14, 2023
Economy France sees slight economic growth in Q2 2023 The French economy is set to grow slightly in the second quarter when compared to the previous one, the country’s central bank said on Wednesday, as activity across sectors picked up steam. The Bank of France said companies polled in its monthly business sentiment survey reported activity in April was stronger than in March in […] May 11, 2023
Banking & Finance Standard Chartered not actively looking for buyers Standard Chartered is not actively seeking potential suitors for an acquisition, although CEO Bill Winters said they are “always happy to have conversations”. The London-listed bank has been the subject of speculation this year around a possible sale to First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s biggest lender. “Nobody has come after us,” Winters told […] May 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Binance pauses bitcoin withdrawals twice in a day Cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted bitcoin withdrawals on Monday for the second time in a day, citing large volumes. “Our team is currently working on a fix and will reopen (bitcoin) withdrawals as soon as possible,” the company said in a tweet. “There is a large volume of withdrawal transactions from Binance still pending as our […] May 8, 2023
Travel & Hospitality Holiday Inn-owner sees summer to drive growth IHG Plc chief executive Keith Barr will step down next month after six years at the helm, the Holiday Inn-owner said, sending its shares down despite strong first-quarter results driven by a rebound in Chinese demand. The 52 year-old American plans to return to his family in the United States, IHG said, adding he would […] May 7, 2023