Saudi PMI falls to 58.4 in Dec as non-oil private sector improves
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia...
Business
Winter rains, flooding and limited aid worsen Gaza tragedy: IOM
"Vulnerable people, including at least seven infants, have died from hypothermia, and these tragic deaths underscore the urgent need for...
Geostrategy
Business
Iran discovers giant shale oil reserves in several regions: NIOC
Tehran, Iran -- The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has said that shale oil deposits have been discovered in 10...
- The director of exploration at the NIOC, Mehdi Fakour, announced that the company's specially designed model will enable the extraction of oil from these resources.
- Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
Business
Abu Dhabi’s real estate transactions reach $4.32 billion in first quarter
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The value of real estate transactions in Abu Dhabi reached AED 15.9 billion ($4.32 billion) during...
- The emirate logged 2,919 sales and purchases transactions in Q1 2024 totaling over AED 9.6 billion.
- DARI data showed that Abu Dhabi recorded about 2,208 mortgage deals during Q1, with a total value of AED 6.3 billion.
Business
Aramco awards $7.7bn contracts for Fadhili Gas Plant expansion
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia – Saudi energy giant Aramco Tuesday awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth $7.7 billion for a...
- The project is expected to increase the plant’s processing capacity from 2.5 to up to 4 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscfd).
- This additional 1.5 bscfd capacity is expected to contribute to the company’s strategy to raise gas production by more than 60 percent by 2030, compared to 2021 levels.
Business
UAE national carriers reach 603 global destinations by Q1
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE's national carriers have witnessed significant growth in their destination network, reaching approximately 603 destinations...
- The 3% rise over 2022 reflects the rebounding aviation sector and caters to the rising demand for travel.
- Etihad Airways has achieved significant growth, reaching approximately 76 destinations by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Business
Drake & Scull to issue 2.4 billion shares
This will raise its share capital by $163 million to $944 million.
- The subscription will open on April 25 and close on May 10. New Shares will be allocated on May 16 while share trading will resume on May 21.
- The Mandatory Convertible Sukuk will be issued on May 31 for a period of five years and will be converted into Drake & Scull shares
Geostrategy
Hizbollah vows revenge for Israeli missile strike in Syria
Beirut, Lebanon--Lebanon's Iran-backed Hizbollah group warned Tuesday that Israel will pay for killing high-level Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) in a strike...
- The Lebanese resistance group has exchanged near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas since the Gaza war erupted in October.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 11 people were killed in the strikes, including eight Iranians, two Syrians and one Lebanese, all of them fighters.
Economy
UAE Central Bank forecasts GDP to grow by 4.2% in 2024, 5.2% in 2025
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) expects the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)...
- The Central Bank also forecasted a non-oil GDP growth of 4.7 percent in both 2024 and 2025, and an oil GDP growth of 2.9 percent in 2024 and 6.2 percent in 2025.
- The CBUAE report anticipated that the recent introduction of a federal corporate tax is poised to further strengthen government finances.
Economy
Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy expands 9.1%, real GDP up 3.1% in 2023
The non-oil economy contributed more than 53 percent to the total GDP, with significant growth in construction, finance and insurance,...
- During Q4-2023, Abu Dhabi’s economy grew 4.1% compared to the same period in 2022, with non-oil sector growing by 10.4%.
- The emirate’s GDP in 2023 achieved its best performance in terms of value in 10 years at AED1.14 trillion ($310.38 billion).
Business
26,596 new investors join Dubai Financial Market in first quarter
The new accounts were distributed over the months of the year, with a notable YoY spike of 151.5 percent in...
- The new accounts were distributed over the months of the year, with a notable YoY spike of 151.5 percent in March 2023, when 16,574 new accounts were opened.
- This coincided with Parkin floating its shares amid exceptional interest from international and regional investment institutions, as well as individual investors in the UAE.
Business
ADNOC Gas to pay $3.25bn in dividends
The company had paid an interim cash dividend of $1.62bn in Dec 2023.
- A further $1.625 billion scheduled for distribution in the second quarter of 2024.
- In 2023, it reported revenues of $22.7 billion and a net income of $4.7 billion
Saudi PMI falls to 58.4 in Dec as non-oil private sector improves
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- The seasonally adjusted Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), formerly S&P Global Saudi Arabia...
Business
Company News
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Talabat IPO offer price range announced
The subscription will close on 27 Nov for UAE retail investors.
Business
Hamas negotiators ‘not in Doha’ but political office not closed: Qatar
Qatar, along with the United States and Egypt, had led months of fruitless negotiations for a truce in the Gaza...
Geostrategy
US envoy in Beirut says ‘real opportunity’ to end Israel-Hezbollah war
US special envoy said he was in Beirut because he saw "real opportunity" to end the Israel-Hezbollah war
Geostrategy
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Economy
Egypt’s middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold
Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt's economy has been in crisis for years, but as the latest round of International Monetary Fund-backed reforms...
- The world lender has long backed measures in Egypt including a liberal currency exchange market and weaning the public away from subsidies.
- Foreign debt quadrupled since 2015 to register $160.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Much of the debt is the result of financing for large-scale projects.
Arts & Culture
Magritte’s ‘Empire of Light’ to fetch nearly $100m at New York auction
New York, United States -- With a Magritte painting estimated to sell for nearly $100 million, drawings by pop artist Keith...
- The seminal 1954 work is one of a series of paintings from the Surrealist master depicting the interplay of shadow and light.
- Its estimated price is $95 million, which would easily shatter the previous record for a Magritte, $79 million in 2022.
Geostrategy
End of a love affair: news media quit X over ‘disinformation’
Paris, France -- News outlets have begun quitting X, formerly Twitter, once a favorite of global media but now accused of...
- Sweden's newspaper of reference, the left-liberal Dagens Nyheter (DN), on Friday became third major media outlet to stop publishing its articles on X.
- "Since Elon Musk took over, the platform has increasingly merged with his and Donald Trump's political ambitions," said editor-in-chief Peter Wolodarski.