Business

UAB nine-month profit rises 6%

Loan growth, lower impairment charges boost earnings

du 9M profit up 10.8%

Revenue grows as connectivity demand supports earnings

Al Rajhi Bank 9M profit up

Revenue growth lifts earnings despite higher provisions

Mashreq prices Dim Sum bond

UAE bank raises offshore renminbi funding

Aldar buys Sharjah homes

Deal adds 1,100-plus rental units

Iran-Russia trade surges 18 percent to US$1.7 billion in 2023

Tehran, Iran--Trade between Iran and Russia has climbed 18 percent to US$1.7 billion in the first eight months of 2023....
  • Jumping more than 40 percent up, the weight of trade between Iran and Russia was 3,748 million tons from March to November
  • Iran revealed that $616, 326 million worth of goods were exported to Russia, which shows 32% increase compared to the same period last year

McDonald’s eyes big expansion

The company plans about $2.5bn in capital expenditures in 2024.
  • McDonald's will seek to effectively grow its network of namesake sites by about one quarter in what it called the speediest expansion in the brand history
  • For CosMc's - which McDonald's executives had teased in July - the company plans an initial store in Chicago in 2024 and nine others in Texas

Egypt to sign agreement on curbing methane emissions

Abu Dhabi, UAE--Egyptian Petroleum Minister Tarek el Molla announced an agreement on laying down a detailed road map for cutting...
  • The agreement as per media reports will be signed by the the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) within the framework of the COP28
  • The minister said that Egypt supported green hydrogen projects in order to promote North African country's drive to become a green hydrogen regional center

Saudi Arabia offers 30-year tax cut to businesses shifting hqrs to kingdom

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia has rolled out a 30-year tax relief program aiming to lure multinational corporations to...
  • Under the Regional Headquarters (RHQ) Program, participating companies will benefit from substantial tax incentives, including a zero percent rate on corporate income tax
  • The RHQ Program, launched initially in 2021, has already licensed over 200 companies to operate their regional headquarters from Saudi Arabia

Masdar eyes Europe for growth

It wants to build a supply chain between UAE and Amsterdam.
  • It signed an agreement to explore the development of a green hydrogen supply chain between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam to support Dutch and European markets
  • The green fuel is generated with green electricity from renewables like wind or solar, in a process that separates water into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis

Air cargo demand up 3.8% in October

Geneva, Switzerland - Global air cargo demand increased by 3.8% compared to October 2022, the International Air Transport Association (IATA)...
  • Capacity was up 13.1% compared to October 2022 and 11.1% for international operations
  • International belly capacity, for example, rose 30.5% year-on-year on the strength of passenger markets

GCC equity markets record first gain in four months

The GCC equity market index rebounded notably in November 2023, with the MSCI GCC index rising 5.2%, led by Qatar...
  • The GCC equity market index rebounded notably in November 2023, with the MSCI GCC index rising 5.2%, led by Qatar and closely followed by Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
  • This resurgence is a positive sign for the region's markets, which are showing robust growth and diversification efforts, particularly in sectors like Pharma & Biotech.

Volkswagen to reduce workforce

Volkswagen has some 675,800 employees worldwide.
  • "Over the coming years, we will need to reduce our workforce in a socially responsible way," the group's human resources chief Gunnar Kilian said
  • The focus would be on "partial retirement and early retirement schemes to the maximum extent possible," he added

BAT takes shock $32bn hit

The impairment charge sent BAT shares sinking 7.6 percent.
  • Companies like BAT face plunging demand for cigarettes in Western markets, where high taxes, smoking bans and health fears persuade many consumers to give up smoking
  • The London-listed company added that its overall revenue growth for the current year was set to be at the "low end" of its previous guidance of between 3 and 5 percent

Airlines expected to carry 4.7 billion passengers in 2024: IATA

"Some 4.7 billion people are expected to travel in 2024, an historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5...
  • Some 4.7 billion people are expected to travel in 2024, an historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019," IATA said
  • IATA also raised its profit outlook, expecting airlines to post $23.3 billion in net earnings in 2023, more than double the $9.8 billion it forecast in June

ADNOC-led partnership targets $30 billion infrastructure investments

The partnership will raise a combination of equity and debt capital to target an investment portfolio that aims to generate...

Latest News

Ajman real estate transactions reach $560 million in March

Ajman, UAE --  Real estate transactions in Ajman reached AED 2.06 billion ($560 million) in March 2025, marking a significant...

Saudi Arabia’s space economy reaches $8.7 billion in 2024

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The Communications, Space, and Technology Commission (CST) has said that the Saudi space economy reached $8.7...

US exempts several consumer electronics from Trump’s import tariffs

Washington, United States -- The Trump administration has exempted a raft of consumer electronics from its punishing import tariffs --...

Most Read

Why investors rush to gold in uncertain economic times?

London, United Kingdom -- Why do investors flock to gold when economic times turn tough? As the precious metal reaches...
  • On Friday it struck an all-time high of $3227.51 an ounce in trading, handing the commodity a gain of more than 20 percent since the start of the year.
  • In 2024, global central banks together added more than 1,000 tons of gold to their reserves for the third year running, according to the World Gold Council.

Tesla’s first Saudi showroom opens

The opening in Riyadh comes with Tesla sales dropping.
  • Saudi Arabia is a key regional ally of Washington, and US President Donald Trump forged close ties during his first term with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
  • However, demand for EVs is relatively low in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter which enjoys bargain-basement fuel prices, with a liter costing just $0.62.

European Union and UAE agree to launch trade deal negotiations

Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "and I just decided to launch negotiations on an EU-UAE free trade agreement,"...
  • Sheikh Zayed said that the CEPA would create new avenues for cooperation between the UAE and EU, increase trade and investment flows.
  • The EU is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 8.3 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil trade, which hit $67.6 billion in 2024.