Desert truffles: Saudi Arabia’s buried treasure
The 10-day Qassim Truffle Festival, currently in its fourth year, features 18 booths showcasing truffles, a dedicated auction area and...
Business
Oil extends gains on hopes of policy support for economic growth
Singapore - Oil prices extended gains on Friday after closing at their highest in more than two months in the...
Business
Business
Foreign investors retreat from GCC markets in Q4
Regional market trends, IPOs, geopolitical issues and crude oil prices affected the flow of foreign money in the region, said...
- Foreign investors were net buyers for the last 14 consecutive quarters since Q1-2020, the year of the pandemic.
- The quarterly data on trading activity on GCC exchanges showed all the exchanges recorded foreigners as net sellers during Q4-2023, barring Saudi Arabia.
Business
ROSHN Group’s first integrated community in Makkah launched
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- ROSHN Group has launched ALMANAR, its fifth integrated mixed-use community and its first venture in Makkah,...
- AlMANAR's first phase will provide 4,149 residential units that will house over 17,000 people on a footprint of 2.5 million square meters.
- ALMANAR is located at Makkah’s western gate, between the old and new expressways linking the city to Jeddah, 20 minutes from the Holy Mosque.
Geostrategy
Hamas undecided on sending delegation to new truce talks: Official
The official said the gap between the two sides' negotiating positions was too wide. "I doubt that there will be...
- "Netanyahu is not serious and not interested, and the US administration is not exerting real pressure as long as it judges that things are still under control," he added.
- Mediators had hoped to secure a ceasefire before the start of Ramadan, but progress stalled and the holy month is more than half over.
Business
Dubai partners with 9 developers to bolster Real Estate Program
Dubai, UAE -- The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has embarked on the first phase of a series of strategic partnerships...
- The developers include Emaar Properties, Expo Dubai, Deyaar, DAMAC Properties, Azizi Developments, MAG, Sobha Realty and Ellington Properties.
- The agreement aims to enhance the competitiveness of Emirati professionals and facilitating their roles in the real estate sector.
Business
Agility 2023 net profit $272m
The company is recommending a cash dividend of 10 percent.
- Full-year EBITDA was up 42.4 percent to KD 257.2 million and revenue increased 56.7 percent to KD 1.35 billion.
- The Q4 2023 earnings of KD26 million, or 10.2 fils per share was almost in line with the same period a year earlier.
Science
Romania center explores world’s most powerful laser
The high-tech building housing the center cost $350 million, mainly financed by the EU. Thales bills it as the largest...
- The laser at the center, near the Romanian capital Bucharest, is operated by French company Thales, using Nobel prize-winning inventions.
- Countries including France, China and the United States are already advancing their own projects to manufacture even more powerful lasers.
Business
Iraq to import electricity from Jordan to ease its chronic outages
Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq said Friday a power line would soon bring electricity from Jordan to the border area as authorities...
- With its generating capacity ravaged by decades of conflict and underinvestment, Iraq has long relied on imports of both gas and electricity from neighboring Iran.
- The 340-kilometre (210-mile) power line from Jordan will officially start operating on Saturday, the electricity ministry said in a statement.
Geostrategy
UAE extradites alleged drug baron from Dubai to Belgium
Brussels, Belgium -- One of Belgium's most-wanted suspected drug smugglers was extradited from Dubai on Friday, the Belgian justice ministry said.Nordin...
- Nordin El Hajjioui, a Belgian of Moroccan origin, is believed to be one of the main drug barons in Antwerp and is wanted in at least three cocaine-trafficking cases.
- Emirati officials first arrested the 36-year-old in 2020 in Dubai after a request from Belgium but then released him. He was taken back into custody last year.
Business
Amlak 2023 net profit $70m
The company's revenue fell by 18 percent in 2023.
- Revenues from financing business activities for the year 2023 declined by 3 percent as compared to 2022 and stood at AED 122 million in 2023 (FY22: AED 127 million).
- The company recorded a net gain of AED174 million (2022: AED 349 million) on debt settlement arrangements and was able to reduce its debt burden by AED531 million.
Business
Borouge approves $1.3bn dividend for 2023
The company intends to pay $1.3bn in dividend for 2024 also.
- Borouge recorded $1 billion in net profit in 2023 and its $607 million Value Enhance Programme contributed a significant 28 percent to 2023 EBITDA.
- Borouge said it outperformed its regional and international peers with one of the highest EBITDA margins in the industry at 38 percent.
Desert truffles: Saudi Arabia’s buried treasure
The 10-day Qassim Truffle Festival, currently in its fourth year, features 18 booths showcasing truffles, a dedicated auction area and...
Business
Company News
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Boeing to cut 10% of workforce
Business
UN climate chief at deadlocked COP29: ‘Cut the theatrics’
As the UN climate talks limp into a second week in Azerbaijan, the world is no closer to a finance...
Geostrategy
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...
Economy
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...
Arts & Culture
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Geostrategy
Lebanon economic losses top $5 billion in year of clashes: World Bank
Beirut, Lebanon -- More than a year of clashes that recently escalated into war have cost Lebanon more than $5 billion...
- The losses are "largely concentrated in the commerce and tourism and hospitality sectors... as well as in the agriculture sector", the Bank said in a report.
- "The final cost of damage and losses for Lebanon associated with the conflict is expected to significantly exceed those presented in this assessment," the report said.
Business
Salik 9M net profit $223m
The company's third-quarter profit increased by 8.8 percent.
- Salik reported 355.6 million revenue-generating trips, which increased 5.1 percent YoY to drive total revenue of AED1.640 billion.
- Revenue from toll usage, comprising 86.7 percent of total revenue, rose 5.1 percent YoY to AED1,422.2 million in the nine-month period.
Geostrategy
Saudi-hosted summit says Mideast peace requires end to Israeli occupation
The summit's closing statement said that "a just and comprehensive peace in the region... cannot be achieved without ending the...
- The international community should "launch a plan with specific steps and timing under international sponsorship" to make a sovereign Palestinian state a reality, it added.
- The leaders also condemned "horrific and shocking crimes" by Israel's army, saying they occurred "in the context of the crime of genocide".