The company has been licensed for fintech services by the CBUAE.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – VASI Shipping Pte Ltd has introduced a new shipping service IMS at King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, connecting the Kingdom to Southeast Asia and India, Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) announced. This service aims to enhance its strategic partnerships with major international shipping lines, support the maritime...

ADNOC will supply 1 million mtpa of LNG to SEFE Singapore.

Dubai, UAE -- Nearly 50 percent of the Multinational Corporations (MNCs) that opened businesses in Dubai during 2023 are based in Asia and Australia, according to the Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chambers. The Chamber said in a statement that growing...

Lyon, France--Vatel Hotel and Tourism Business School Bahrain signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with EKLYA School of Business in France to launch a student exchange programme between Bahrain and France aimed at bolstering academic and cultural ties between the two countries. This initiative affirms the joint commitment to strengthen...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The UAE banking sector continued its growth momentum last year and is poised for further growth and recovery in 2024, thanks to the success of the Central Bank of the UAE's (CBUAE) strategies and policies in setting the necessary frameworks and regulations to deliver sustainable growth for the...

The oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields. The deals have been labelled as Iran's "biggest oil contracts in the past decade" that are aimed to add 350,000 barrels per day to the Islamic republic's daily production.

Iran sealed contracts worth billions of dollars with domestic companies to boost its oil production in the face of Western sanctions. In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, the oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- ROSHN Group, the PIF-owned giga-project and real estate developer, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones during LEAP, the Riyadh-based annual technology event, that aims to further national capabilities in the areas of cybersecurity, programming, and drone...

AUSTIN, US – For people at the trend-setting tech festival here, the scandal that erupted after Google's Gemini chatbot cranked out images of Black and Asian Nazi soldiers was seen as a warning about the power artificial intelligence can give tech titans. Google CEO Sundar Pichai last month slammed as "completely...

The company's Board announces a dividend of $11.79 million.

The Board of Directors of both Nakheel and Meydan will be abolished.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – A delegation comprising several entities from the Kingdom’s industry and mineral resources' system participated in PDAC 2024, Toronto, Canada under the umbrella of "Invest Saudi". The Saudi delegation was represented at the World’s Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention by the CEO of the Saudi Geological...

The oil and gas strike is the first of 2024.

SHARJAH, UAE – Air Arabia shareholders approved the distribution of a 20 percent cash dividend for the financial year ended December 31, 2023 (FY2023), at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). The dividend, which is equivalent to 20 fils per share, underscores another year of record financial performance for the...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- UAE's Ministry of Finance (MoF) Friday launched digital public consultation to gather feedback from relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) or Global Anti-Base Erosion Model Rules (Pillar Two) (GloBE Rules) as well as other tax matters in the UAE. The consultation...

The two companies have signed a three-year partnership.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Non-oil trade between the UAE and the United States reached $31.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to continue growing at the same pace in 2024, said Danny E. Sebright, President of the US-UAE Business Council. Sebright added, in statements to the Emirates News Agency (WAM),...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Non-oil activities in the Kingdom have achieved a historic milestone, reaching a 50 percent share of the country's real GDP in 2023 – the highest level on record, according to an analysis of the General Authority for Statistics data by the Ministry of Economy and Planning....

Tokyo, Japan -- Japan's largest trade union said Friday it had secured the highest wage hikes since 1991 in preliminary data that stokes speculation the central bank will finally shift away from its outlier ultra-loose monetary policy. The Rengo union said that in spring wage talks so far, its members had...

British telecoms giant sold the business for US$8.7 billion.

The alliance will take on China's dominant EV makers.

Dubai, UAE--Dubai welcomed 1.77 million international tourists in January 2024, an increase of 21% compared to 1.47 million visitors in the same period of 2023. According to the Dubai Tourism Performance Report for January issued by the Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, Western Europe ranked first in terms of...

Stockholm, Sweden - Swedish gaming group Embracer, which owns the Borderlands franchise and the Tomb Raider license, announced on Thursday that it was ceasing all Russian operations through the sale of subsidiary Saber Interactive. Beacon Interactive, which is controlled by Saber Interactive co-founder Matthew Karch, will pay $247 million for the...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA –   Saudi Arabia’s inflation accelerated to 1.8 percent in February compared to January 2024, according to data by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).  The cost-of-living index for February rose to 110.64 points, according to the base year 2018, from 108.67 points in the same month a year earlier.  Inflation...

Washington, US - Former US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said he is putting together a team of investors to buy TikTok from its Chinese owners. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its parent company or face a...

AJMAN, UAE – Director-General of Ajman’s Department of Land and Real Estate Regulation Eng. Omar bin Omair Al Muhairi said that there were 129 real estate valuation transactions in the emirate in February, valued at around US$195 million (AED718 million). He highlighted the ongoing momentum in Ajman's real estate market,...

It will pay $800 million upfront for the Lyon-based company.

Rising fuel needs of ships rerouted away from the Red Sea also to increase demand, the International Energy Agency said. Commercial ships have been taking longer and costlier journeys around the southern tip of Africa to avoid attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The launch of Gulf Cooperation Council's first UAE bond Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which will list on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), was announced Thursday by Lunate Capital Limited, an Abu Dhabi-based investment management firm licensed by the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). The...

The company's revenue grew 6.6 percent to $18.25 billion.

The Group reported a 12% increase in EBITDA to $1.25 billion.

ABU DHABI, UAE – The United Arab Emirates and Hungary have signed an economic cooperation agreement aimed at stimulating trade and investment between the two nations.   The agreement was signed in the Hungarian capital Budapest by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and...

Its net profit for October-December rose to US$1.6bn.

The offer was oversubscribed 165 times for all tranches combined.

Prisa Media chief executive Carlos Nunez called the OpenAI alliance a "step toward the future of news" where technology and human expertise merge to serve readers. OpenAI had previously announced partnerships last year with The Associated Press and Axel Springer.

Abu Dhabi, UAE--ADNEC Group has announced the launch of the region's first Bitcoin MENA Conference 2024 set to take place on 9-10th December 2024 in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi). Co-organised by Capital Events, the event management arm of ADNEC Group, and BTC Inc., the...

Senior European Union officials say the rules, first proposed in 2021, will protect citizens from the risks of a technology developing at breakneck speed, while also fostering innovation on the continent.

MIC will be an anchor investor in their second venture capital fund.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia witnessed a surge in commercial registrations across various business sectors in the last quarter of 2023, with land transport of goods leading the way, the Kingdom's Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday. Land transport of goods witnessing a remarkable increase. By the end of Q4...

Doha, Qatar -- Women returning to the workforce following a career break have the potential to contribute nearly $385bn to the GDP across nine countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a study shows. This indicates a significant economic potential, provided that organizations can adopt supportive measures...

Inditex, the world's biggest fashion retailer, is owned by Zara.

The insurance provider had suffered a loss of $18.15m in 2022.

In 2024, it expects sales to grow at a "mid-single-digit rate".

It delivered some 9.2 million cars to customers in 2023.

Dubai, UAE--A study undertaken by Dubai Chamber of Commerce has revealed that Indian investors topped the list of nationalities of new non-UAE businesses joining the chamber last year. A total of 15,481 new Indian-owned companies became members in 2023, representing year-over-year (YoY) growth of 38 percent and underlining Dubai’s continuing...

Dubai, UAE--Total spending using international cards in the UAE witnessed a growth of more than 25% during the year 2023. J.K. Khalil, General Manager, MENA East, Mastercard, told Emirates News Agency (WAM) that digital payments continue to experience remarkable growth in the UAE, with more users and companies opting for...

Its net profit fell five percent to 13.1 billion kroner ($1.24bn).

DOHA, QATAR – The volume of real estate trading in sale contracts registered with the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice in February in the country amounted to US$382 million (QR 1,391,961,588). The data of the real estate analytical bulletin issued by the Ministry of Justice revealed...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The Telegram is valued by potential investors at more than US$30 billion, the co-founder of the social network Pavel Durov said. The US$30 billion valuation was made by global technology funds in particular, Durov said in an interview with The Financial Times. “Generally speaking, we see value...