Cross-border payments and financial inclusion drive stablecoin popularity
London, United Kingdom -- Stablecoins -- a form of cryptocurrency backed by traditional assets -- are gaining traction, with the...
Business
Saudi EXIM Bank signs MoU with Credit Oman to boost bilateral exports
Copenhagen, Denmark -- The Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM) participated as a sponsor of the TXF Global 2025 conference held...
Business
Business
Barwa Q1 net profit $64.55m
The company had reported a 2.18 percent rise in profit for 2022.
- For the first quarter of 2023, Lesha Bank announced a net profit of QR22 million, compared to 21 million the same quarter previous year.
- Qatar Fuel Company recorded a 15 percent decrease in net profit to QR223 in Q1 2023 compared to more than QR262 million for Q1 2022.
Geostrategy
Russia to withdraw from grain deal if all conditions are not fulfilled
Russia delivered a new warning to the West over a grain deal with Ukraine, saying a number of conditions must...
- Russia, whose economy has been hit by a raft of Western sanctions, has repeatedly threatened to walk away from the agreement if obstacles to its own exports remain.
- There are no sanctions on Russian exports of food and fertilizers to global markets but the problems are related to sanctions on shipping, insurance companies and banks.
Business
ADNOC L&S to deploy five very large gas carriers
ABU DHABI, UAE - ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics arm of ADNOC, announced on...
- The gas carriers will be owned and operated by AW Shipping, an ADNOC L&S joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group.
- VLGCs transport liquefied petroleum gas and will provide ADNOC L&S greater flexibility to meet growing global gas demand.
Business
SoftBank to sell Alibaba stake
It has sold more than US$7bn of its shares since early 2023.
- The Japanese investment titan, an early investor in the Chinese internet giant founded by Jack Ma, started offloading its shares last year
- Alibaba like other leading Chinese tech firms has been badly impacted by a regulatory crackdown on the industry starting in 2020
Business
The Chief Zero Trust Officer: A new role for a new era of cybersecurity
With remote or hybrid work now the norm and cyber-attacks continuing to escalate, businesses realize they must take a fundamentally...
- The security approach that has gained traction in recent years is the concept of Zero Trust and its basic principle behind it is simple: don't trust anything; verify everything
- Breaking down the silos between IT, cybersecurity, and networking groups, and establishing clear communication channels can help achieve a cohesive security strategy
Business
LVMH posts Q1 revenue of $23.1bn
Jump in sales across all regions, including China.
- LVMH became Europe's most valuable company in January when its market capitalization soared to US$440 billion.
- The United States had a steady performance while "Asia experienced a significant rebound following the lifting of health restrictions".
Economy
Interest rate hikes adversely affect developing countries, says UN
The global economic slowdown and swelling interest rates are pummeling debt-ridden developing countries, the UN warned, urging bold global action...
- Rate increases in the US and other wealthy countries may cost developing countries over US$800 billion in lost income by 2025.
- UNCTAD said it now expected global GDP growth of 2.1 percent in 2023, down from 2.2 percent it forecast in September last year.
Business
Investment in rose market in Saudi Arabia’s Taif reaches $17m
Dubai, UAE -- The ongoing Taif rose season in Saudi Arabia, which starts at the beginning of March and last...
- Rose farms in the Sarawat Mountains in Taif Governorate harvest about 550 million roses annually.
- About 70 rose factories and laboratories extract and manufacture more than 80 rose derivatives.
Economy
US consumer inflation slows to 5% in March year-over-year
US consumer inflation slowed in March lessening the pressure on the Federal Reserve to maintain its aggressive posture to cool...
- Bureau of Labor Statistics report is the latest evidence that the Fed's streak of interest rate hikes over the last year is weighing on economic activity.
- While US labor market data has remained solid, recent reports on manufacturing and the services sector have shown signs of slowing.
Business
Sharjah records real estate transactions worth $462m in March
Sharjah, UAE -- A total of 3,386 real estate deals worth AED1.7 billion ($462 million) were recorded in Sharjah in...
- A total of 595 sales transactions representing 17.6 percent of the deals, while 319 mortgage transactions (9.4 percent) were recorded in the emirate.
- Muwailih commercial area topped the list of sales traffic areas with 116 sales transactions, followed by Mazairah and Al-Khan with 68 transactions each.
Cross-border payments and financial inclusion drive stablecoin popularity
London, United Kingdom -- Stablecoins -- a form of cryptocurrency backed by traditional assets -- are gaining traction, with the...
Business
Company News
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ENEC signs MoU with Egypt
COP28 UAE
ADIB records 45% jump in net profit
Its revenue climbed 36 percent to US$2.53 billion in 2023.
Business
Mocktail mania in Saudi, where dry January lasts all year
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The concept was controversial: a pop-up bar offering bellinis and spritzes that, while non-alcoholic, were served in...
Business
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Business
European Union probes Lufthansa’s proposed ITA Airways stake
The European Commission said it had "preliminary concerns that the transaction may reduce competition in the market for passenger air...
- Lufthansa, one of Europe's biggest carriers, last year agreed to pay 325 million euros ($350 million) for a 41 percent stake in ITA
- The deal provided the German company various options to increase its stake or acquire ITA Airways outright at a later date
Business
P&G posts mixed quarterly results
Earnings per share dropped 12 percent to $1.40.
- The company behind Bounty paper towels, Gillette razors and Tide detergent saw its revenue rise three percent from a year ago to $21.4 billion in the quarter ending in December
- This was slightly lower than expected, and analysts are eyeing the performance of P&G and other consumer companies on whether they can keep prices up even as inflation cools
Business
Zee’s shares fall after merger fails
Disagreement over who would lead the new entity led to merger's failure.
- The initial 30 percent plunge saw Zee lose as much as 55 billion rupees ($661 million) in market value.
- "Considering that Zee still has six billion rupees cash on books... we see no bankruptcy risks," an expert said.