The mood was brightened by a report that China's biggest state-backed banks would slash rates on mortgages and deposits as part of a drive to support the country's beleaguered property sector. Wall Street enjoyed one of its best days in months thanks to a surge in big names -- including...

Dubai, UAE--Oil prices extended gains on Wednesday after industry data showed a large draw in crude inventories in the U.S., the world's biggest fuel consumer, and as concerns about a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico kept investors on edge. Brent crude futures for October climbed 31 cents, or 0.36%,...

According to a report by asset management firm Janus Henderson, payouts to shareholders are expected to grow further in spite of economic uncertainty. During the second quarter payments by the 1,200 biggest public companies rose more than expected, increasing by 4.9 percent compared to the same April-to-June period last year.

Welcoming back potentially misleading political messages at X came less than a week after former president Donald Trump posted there for the first time since January 2021. Trump posted his police mugshot after his arrest in Georgia, signaling his return to a platform that was his favorite bullhorn during his...

Online celebrities best known for posting about video games are also dropping in unexpected plugs for gasoline stations, fuel rewards and club cards. In India, Mexico, South Africa and the United States many spots were found that promoted major oil firms such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies on...

Cairo, Egypt--Egypt is looking to raise $5 billion from the offering of power plants and state-owned companies from October 2023 until the end of June 2024, according to a report on the Government IPO Program by the Cabinet's Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC). The report showed that Egypt plans...

Cairo, Egypt--The Egyptian government plans to drill 45 natural exploratory gas wells in the Mediterranean and the Nile Delta with $1.9 billion in investments until mid-2025, according to a Cabinet statement on Tuesday. The drilling of 10 wells between July 2022 and June 2023 resulted in the huge discovery in...

TEHRAN, IRAN – The CEO of SAIPA Auto Making Company, Iran’s second-largest car manufacturing company, said a contract has been inked for exporting 120,000 passenger and commercial vehicles to Russia. Mohammad Teymouri pointed to his visit to Russia’s car market last week and stated that a contract was concluded for...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Some 56 million tons of non-oil goods, valued at US$19.3 billion, were exported in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced on Tuesday. Also, 14.4 million tons of non-oil goods, valued at US$24.2 billion, were...

The airline is likely to carry 300m passengers a year by 2034.

Muscat, Oman -- The revenues of 3-5-star hotels in Oman reached RO 122.5 million ($318 million) at the end of July 2023, up by 27.8 percent over the corresponding period in 2022. Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) show that the total number of hotel...

Doha, Qatar -- Qatar's foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR 19.6 billion ($5.38 billion) in July 2023, a decrease of about QR 15.1 billion or 43.5 percent compared to July 2022, and an increase of nearly QR 2.2...

The partnership aims at enhancing trade infrastructure.

Despite a decline in FDI inflows in the past few years, GCC countries remain optimistic as they expect strong economic growth in 2023 and beyond.

DUBAI, UAE - The global Islamic microfinance industry has surpassed US$60 billion in value within the $3.8 trillion Islamic finance landscape. This achievement highlights the growing recognition of Islamic microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation. The industry's potential to bridge financial gaps while adhering to Shariah principles positions it...

Sharjah, UAE--Sharjah will host the first-ever Gulf-Iraq Business Forum on 26th and 27th September to boost economic ties between the GCC and Iraq. The event is an initiative of the Federation of GCC Chambers and is being organized in partnership with the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry...

ChatGPT Enterprise will be powered by GPT-4, OpenAI's highest performing model, much like ChatGPT Plus, the company's subscription version for individuals, but business customers will have special perks. The release came as ChatGPT is struggling to maintain the excitement that made it the world’s fastest downloaded app in the weeks...

The news of system glitch sent Toyota's stocks into the red, trading 0.64 percent lower at 2,421.0 yen. But the shock selling seemed to have slowed before the midday break in Tokyo markets.

Launched amidst the pandemic, Marco Tedeschi's venture seamlessly blended traditional watchmaking with modern technology, collaborating with major brands to achieve success.

Manama, Bahrain--Bahrain and the United States have reviewed joint cooperation, partnership and strategic dialogue in the political, economic and security fields. The review came up in a meeting between Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Political Affairs Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Paul Dean, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in...

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU to boost mining cooperation in critical minerals needed in new technologies like electric vehicles and solar panels. The Turkish and Saudi ministers also discussed deepening partnership in areas such as hydrogen, solar and wind energy, besides seeking to widen trade between...

Pact to enhance commercial activities between the two.

Sharjah, UAE - Expo Centre Sharjah said it will host 63 percent more events in the last quarter of 2023, compared to last quarter of 2022. The Center will host 18 economic, trade, and cultural exhibitions, while during the same period last year, it hosted 11 such events. The events,...

The South Pars gas field is one of the world's largest natural gas condensate fields. Iran shares the gas field with energy giant Qatar and there are 24 platforms on the side of the Islamic republic which has been developing it in the Gulf since the 1990s.

The $3.6bn deal will see AviLease acquire a portfolio of 100 aircraft.

PIF-owned SAMI will be partnering with the Ministry of Defense.

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT - Kuwait's Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) expected that the total passenger traffic to and from Kuwait International Airport in 2023 to reach 15.5 million, compared to 14.46 passengers last year. Director of air transports at DGCA Abdullah Al-Rajhi said in a press statement on Sunday...

The for-hire electric scooters that have become ubiquitous in Paris and other cities worldwide will be banned in the French capital on Sept 1.

Wells were drilled in onshore, offshore operations.

The contract involves MEP works for Al Muhammadiyah Hospital.

Muscat, Oman--Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korea in the field of green energy transition. The MoU reflects the advanced status of bilateral relations and the two countries’ keenness to consolidate cooperation in green transition. The MoU was signed by Eng. Salim Nasser Al Aufi, Minister...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- ADES International Holding, an oil and gas driller backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, has announced its intention to go public and list its shares on Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul), with the planned Initial Public Offering expected to reportedly fetch more than $1 billion....

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has introduced enhanced international transfer features on its mobile app and internet banking. The improvements come as the bank reports a notable 20% year-on-year increase in remittances during H1 2023. As the first bank in the UAE to offer discounts on...

The resumption of trading came after the company said in a filing on Friday that it had met guidelines set out by the bourse, including belatedly publishing its financial results and complying with other listing rules. Once China's largest real estate firm, Evergrande defaulted in 2021 and is saddled with...

Founded in the southern province of Guangdong in 2015, XPeng is one of dozens of Chinese startups to emerge in recent years to take advantage of the boom in electric vehicles in the world's largest auto market. Didi is China's leading car-hailing app but also operates a subsidiary designing electric...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Red Sea Global (RSG) has announced the launch of the Red Sea Farms Cooperative (Tamala), established through integrated national partnerships between the government, private and non-profit sectors. Tamala aims to develop a model entity that achieves the kingdom's orientation to enhance the role of cooperatives in the agricultural...

Firm said it has $556 million remaining in cash assets.

Tehran, Iran - Iran’s membership in the BRICS group will lead to the promotion of exports and trade activities, an official was quoted as saying by local media reports. Deputy Chairman of Iran Chamber of Cooperatives for Legal Affairs Arsalan Ghasemi said that to tackle economic sanctions by the West...

TEHRAN, IRAN - A number of European countries have asked to purchase Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicles, the spokesperson for the Iranian Defense Ministry said. Speaking to Tasnim, Brigadier General Reza Talaee Nik said Iranian-made military drones have a lot of potential customers. Many countries, including a number of Western and...

TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran exported $7.2 billion worth of products to West Asian countries in the first four months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21 to July 22), the director general of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) for West Asia said. The administration of President Ebrahim...

Tehran, Iran -- Iran became the eighth largest steel supplier in the world in the first half of 2023 as the country kept increasing its output despite supply and price hike in international markets caused by the Ukraine War. Figures from the World Steel Association (WSA) showed that Iran’s steel...

Kuwait City, Kuwait -- The Arab Monetary Fund has said that the market capital in Arab bourses reached US$4.5 trillion at the end of last week's trade, climbing by 1.2 percent.The fund's weekly report said the market capital of BouKuwait amounted to US$137.5 billion, that of the Abu Dhabi stock...

Moscow, Russia -- The volume of Russian gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine is 41.5 million cubic meters per day, a Gazprom spokesman said. "Gazprom continues to supply Russian gas for transit through Ukrainian territory via the Sudzha gas pumping station in an amount approved by Ukraine. The volume is...

stc’s subsidiary TAWAL buys assets in eastern Europe.

The ultra-connected industry is eyeing the innovation warily, with fears growing that jobs could be made redundant and artistic creations usurped. Responsive non-playable characters or the automatic generation of images, code and game scenarios are among the possible uses for developers using AI.

Manama, Bahrain--Bahrain has indicated its keenness to encourage investments in the kingdom's oil and environmental projects through partnerships with the private sector, especially banks, to achieve sustainable development goals. Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Daina, Oil and Environment Minister, Special Envoy for Climate Affairs, has affirmed the government’s keenness to...

AMMAN, JORDAN - President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq on Saturday discussed with Director General of the Federation of Yemen Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FYCCI) Taha Ahmed Mahbashi, mechanisms for activating work of the Joint Business Council. The Joint Business Council of the two...

Amman, Jordan--Jordan has succeeded in securing US$1.9 billion in foreign aid and negotiations are underway to ramp it to $3.2 billion by the end of the year. Addressing Jordan's financial assistance at a forum convened by the government on the shores of the Dead Sea on Friday, Minister of Planning...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia's Heritage Commission has announced significant discoveries made at the Al-Abla site in Asir region during the seventh season of archaeological excavation there. The new discoveries, including architectural features of residential and industrial units with gypsum-coated walls and floors, are an extension of previous discoveries over the...

The foreign minister said that his country does not see any alternative to the original initiative because in his words they carry risks. He completely dismissed an alternate route reportedly being considered by the US. Last month, Russia pulled out of a landmark deal that enabled Ukraine to export more...