UAE economy set to post strong growth in second half of this year

• The economy is expected to sustain its growth on the back of a rise in the purchasing managers' index to its highest level in five months in May this year
• The robust increase in new business, according to the S&P Global, underlined growing confidence across surveyed firms about economic prospects

Saudi tourism on growth path despite hiccups

• The $500 billion development on the Red Sea coast, which will include luxury resorts, residential developments, and a nature reserve, is one of the key tourism projects.
• The Kingdom is also developing the UNESCO World Heritage Site of AlUla into a major tourist destination.

Iraq’s oil export revenues in June hit $7 billion, says SOMO

Iraq exports crude oil worth over US$7bn in June 2023

• The majority of these exports - amounting to almost 99 million barrels - originated from the oil fields in central and southern Iraq.
• The average daily export volume was pegged at over 3.3 million barrels. The average price per barrel for the month was recorded at $71.11.

Saudi Arabia to compete for 17-title categories at 15th Arab Games

• The games to be held in Algeria will see the kingdom players taking part in disciplines as diverse as football, fencing, badminton, swimming and many other sports
• Although the male representation will form the biggest component of the Saudi team at 79 percent, there will be nearly 21 percent women in the team too

Iran makes US$54 billion in revenue from export of oil in 2022

• According to the estimate, Saudi Arabia earned the highest net oil export revenue among OPEC members in 2022, standing at $311 billion
• Iraq came second at $131 billion, followed by the United Arab Emirates with $119 billion, and Kuwait came fourth at $98 billion

Oman’s GDP climbs up 4.7 percent to touch US$22.59bn in Q1

• The jump has mainly resulted from the growth of non-oil activities, climbing up by 4.6 percent to $17.55 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023
• The country has seen oil activities at the end of Q1 grow by 3.5 percent to $7.32 billion as against $7.09 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022

DFM adds new investor accounts

• The new investor accounts at the bourse climbed more than 48 percent during the first five months of this year as against 18,204 last year
• Since the listing of companies such as DEWA, TECOM Group and many others, the market has witnessed significant momentum

51% techies satisfied with their pay in Middle East

• Middle Eastern tech professionals are more open to office-based roles than their counterparts in Central Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, and France and Benelux, says a report
• Career development remains a top priority for Middle East tech professionals, with 51% ranking it in their top three considerations for a new role, adds the latest report by Hays

Jordan medical, pharmaceutical exports see 30% growth in first 5 months of 2023

• Jordan's exports from the pharmaceutical, medical supplies sector for the first five months of 2023 reached approximately US$375 million.
• The growth has been possible due to regularization, recovery of supply chains, and uninterrupted supply of raw materials and production inputs.