India, European EFTA bloc sign $100 billion free trade deal

• EFTA was established in 1960 to promote free trade and economic integration between its members. In 2021, it was the 10th largest trader in the world in terms of merchandise.
• In recent years, India has signed trade agreements with Australia and the United Arab Emirates. A long-talked-about trade deal with Britain is also said to be in the final stages.

Sharjah real estate transactions hit $844 million in February: Report

• The total number of transactions carried out during February had reached 4,458 transactions.
• The sales transactions reached 1,048 representing 23.5 percent of the total number of transactions.

Foreign banks in Dubai to pay 20% annual tax under new law

• It stipulates that the 9% tax that went into effect last year will be deduced from the 20% annual tax if the foreign bank pays the tax under the country's corporate tax law.
• Violators will be fined up to AED500,000 ($136,150) and AED1 million in case of repeat violations within two years.

LEAP 24 concludes with $13.4bn investments, record participation

Investments approach $13bn as LEAP 2024 hits halfway stage

• The world's most attended technology exhibition, unveiled another raft of investments totaling over US$888 million on Wednesday.
• Investcorp launched of a US$500 million growth stage fund, while Oasis Capital launched Fund II with capital of US$100 million.

SEC 2023 net profit $2.74bn

• In a Tadawul disclosure, the decrease in net profit was attributed to the higher operating and maintenance costs due to growing business and operating assets.
• The company's Tadawul disclosure said that its Q4 2023 loss widened to SAR 2 billion from SAR 190.6 million a year earlier.

Arcapita Capital closes $500m fund

• Arcapita said in a statement that it has already deployed a substantial amount of the fund in a sizable portfolio of industrial real estate assets.
• Over the coming months, the firm expects to execute on a pipeline of further assets situated in strategic locations across Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province.

TECOM 2023 net profit $299m

• The approved cash dividend payment is in line with the dividend policy set out in the IPO prospectus
• TECOM Group committed to paying a dividend amount of $217 million per annum through September 2025.

Facebook, Instagram services restored after widespread outages

• A Meta Spokesman said the issue was resolved for "everyone who was impacted"
• Facebook is the world's largest social media platform with three billion active users

PIF, Mumtalakat collaborate to boost investment opportunities in Bahrain

• Mumtalakat Holding Company owns shares in more than 50 commercial companies covering a variety of sectors.
• Through this agreement, PIF seeks to increase its investments in multiple targeted sectors in Bahrain.