The cash dividend will be paid for the second half of 2022.

Shopping online at Temu, Laurie Silva paid just $1.25 for earrings and $15 for a cardigan -- she is among millions of US consumers the Chinese platform is wooing with low-cost bargains and a dizzying array of products. Temu topped US app download rankings in early April, a spot it...

Cairo, Egypt-- Egypt's financial inclusion has widened as total ownership of transactional accounts reached 64.8 percent of the total 65.4 million eligible adult population at the end of 2022. The financial inclusion, according to the country's central bank, increased 147 percent between 2016 and 2022 to 42.3 million citizens who...

Washington, United States-- The World Bank and International Monetary Fund's spring meetings get underway later this week with an ambitious reform and fundraising agenda likely to be overshadowed by concerns over high inflation, rising geopolitical tension and financial stability. "Growth remains historically weak -— now and in the medium term," IMF...

Dubai, UAE--Dubai Customs has discussed with the Global Innovation Institute (GInI) how they can further enhance their customs services and boost returns on commercial operations. Dr. Hussam Jumaa, Director of Service Innovation at Dubai Customs, and Anthony Mills, the Executive Director of the Global GInI, discussed various initiatives to improve...

Dubai, UAE – Saudi Arabia has achieved 60 percent self-sufficiency in the production of mangoes in the kingdom, producing more than 88000 tons of mangoes on more than 6880 hectares of land, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture said. This comes at a time when the Ministry is working...

MUSCAT, OMAN  -   Oman Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion on Sunday  issued an order to regulate the activities of consumer cooperatives. The order aims at promoting Omani products, establishing new supply chains, supporting national industries, developing governorates and providing new investment opportunities. The regulation consummates the "National Product...

Federal data shows that some depositors at small banks did head for the exits, moving some $120 billion in a single week into larger banks sometimes viewed as too big to fail. But minnows like Leader Bank of Massachusetts and Heritage Bank of Minnesota also have a solution to the...

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE--Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) brought in 1,839 new companies in the first quarter of 2023, representing 122% growth compared to the same period in 2022, indicating a strong start to the year for the economic zone. RAKEZ Group CEO Ramy Jallad commented on this achievement:...

Dubai, UAE--Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has completed preparations to launch its second nanosatellite for remote sensing applications in April 2023. The 6U nanosatellite is part of DEWA’s Space-D programme. DEWA Sat-2 will be launched by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, USA. The...

Doha, Qatar-- Qatar Central Bank has reported an increase in international reserves and foreign currency liquidity in March to $65 billion, an increase of 11.7 percent, compared to $58 billion in the same month last year. The figures issued by the Qatar Central Bank today showed an increase in its...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Four cities in Saudi Arabia were placed in the IMD Smart City Index for 2023. According to the index, released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), the Saudi capital city of Riyadh maintained its position as the third smartest Arab city. Makkah entered in the index...

Dubai, UAE -- The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed a US$240 million loan agreement to support Pakistan's Mohmand Multipurpose Dam Project, an 800MW hydropower complex that will contribute to Pakistan’s energy security, increase sustainable water supply for agriculture and human consumption and improve resilience to floods. The agreement...

Dubai, UAE – A plot of land that sold for AED456.25 million ($124.23 million) in Business Bay was the most valuable of the 2,739 real estate deals worth AED10.4 billion ($2.83 billion) conducted during the week ending 7 April 2023. The Dubai Land Department said in its weekly report that...

US job gains eased in March for a second straight month, government data showed, adding to signs that the economy is cooling as policymakers push on in their fight against inflation. The country added 236,000 jobs in March, slightly less than expected, while the unemployment rate inched down to 3.5...

Dubai, UAE -- A total of 557,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were operating in the UAE at the end of 2022, said the country's Minister of Economy Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri. He said the number was in line with UAE’s ambitious plan to achieving 1 million SMEs by...

Memory chip sales hammered by a global downturn.

Based on data from the WTO, the UAE's export values in 2022 grew by 41%, while imports made up 22% of the total trade value. The UAE was the 11th largest exporter of commodities in the world and ranked 18th in terms of global merchandise goods trade imports.

The group raised $210m through the sale of 750 million shares.

The company reported a net profit of $144m for the period.

Abu Dhabi, UAE - The UAE and Vietnam signed Thursday a declaration of intent to start negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA). The document was signed by Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Industry and Trade of...

ByteDance's success in China's highly competitive internet sector has been largely thanks to its popular short video app Douyin.

The economy committee of the National Council, the lower house of parliament, asked the government for an analysis of the determining factors behind the decline of Credit Suisse.

Dubai, UAE -- Dubai recorded real estate deals worth AED2.3 billion ($626 million) on Wednesday, according to Dubai Land Department. The deals included 502 sales transactions worth AED1.44 billion, in addition to 95 mortgage deals of AED898.52 million, and 13 gift deals amounting to AED21 million on Thursday. The sales...

The IMF was originally expected to approve a bailout deal on December 19, but that was delayed pending a Tunisian budget, which has since passed, and a law to stop banks charging excessive interest.

A continued slowdown in almost all the world's advanced economies is expected to drag global growth below three percent this year, the International Monetary Fund's managing director warned. "With rising geopolitical tensions and high inflation, a robust recovery remains elusive," Kristalina Georgieva said in remarks ahead of the IMF and...

"It makes a lot of sense for us, as the Chinese market keeps growing, to be serving local for the Chinese airlines, and probably some other customers in the region," Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said during a trip to China, where he is accompanying French President Emmanuel Macron on his...

Dubai, UAE – UAE’s Ministry of Finance has announced a decision on Small Business Relief (SBR), which is aimed at supporting startups and other small or micro businesses by reducing their corporate tax burden and compliance costs. The Ministry’s decision stipulates that taxable residents of the UAE can claim SBR...

Shareholders of both banks had no say in the mega-merger, which was engineered by the Swiss government, the central bank and the financial regulators FINMA. The UBS annual general meeting comes the day after Credit Suisse held its stormy final AGM.

London rose but Frankfurt and Paris slipped in muted trade during a holiday-shortened week, while Asian indices slipped lower. "Markets are drifting as investor thoughts start to turn towards the scale of severity, as the likelihood of a recession later in the year in the US increases," said Richard Hunter,...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) announced today it has achieved financial close on three solar photovoltaic (PV) projects it is developing in Uzbekistan. Construction will begin imminently on the plants, which will have a combined capacity of around 900 megawatts – the largest solar development programme in...

Beijing, China--French and EU leaders will on Thursday seek to make Europe's case for bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping, a close ally of Vladimir Putin. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will be greeted late...

Dubai, UAE-- The total spending by UAE-based organisations on outsourcing services from local and offshore providers was estimated at over US$4.8 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach US$6.8 billion in 2023. This was highlighted in a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in collaboration with Forward MENA...

Dubai, UAE - National Bonds, the UAE’s Shari’a-compliant savings and investment company, saw another strong year soaring to an investment portfolio of AED 13.7bn ($3.7 billion) in 2022, higher by 15 percent compared to the previous year. Given that National Bonds success is also measured by the competitive earnings rewarded...

DUBAI, UAE -  UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MoHRE) announced that the Unemployment Insurance Scheme has exceeded one million subscribers since its launch in January 2023. The Unemployment Insurance Scheme covers employees in the federal government sector and the private sector, providing low-cost job security net that supports...

Meta is accused of exploiting its dominant position in the market "by asking SIAE to accept an inadequate economic offer, but without providing the appropriate information to assess its actual fairness," the watchdog said.

Products like the hugely successful iPhone meant Apple presided over a "wide-ranging digital ecosystem which is of great importance to competition" in Germany and worldwide, Federal Cartel Office chief Andreas Mundt said in a statement.

Dubai, UAE – Jordan’s Ministry of Finance and Central Bank Wednesday said they have completed the issuance of $1.25 billion Eurobonds in global markets at a fixed coupon rate of 7.5 percent due in January 2029. The Ministry has reduced the coupon rate by 25 basis points from 2022's issue...

The World Trade Organization said 2023 global trade growth would be slightly better than feared, but would remain "subpar", weighed down by the Ukraine war and stubbornly high inflation. Presenting their annual trade forecast, WTO economists said they expected to see the volume of global merchandise trade slow to 1.7...

The annual general meeting of UBS is being held in the St. Jakobshalle indoor arena, famously the stomping ground of Swiss tennis great Roger Federer - Credit Suisse's top brand ambassador. The meeting will see Dutch chief executive Ralph Hamers bow out. Once the AGM is over, Sergio Ermotti returns...

LSG Group is to be sold to private equity group Aurelius.

All eyes are on whether Apple will commit to releasing long-rumored VR or augmented reality (AR) "goggles" at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, with programmers and software companies eager to get a jump start on providing content. Apple chief Tim Cook fueled the speculation this week in a...

Dubai, UAE--Emirates NBD has successfully priced a US$1 billion Senior Unsecured Sustainable Sukuk for Al Rajhi Bank, the world’s largest Islamic bank by assets and market capitalization. The five-year Sukuk which was priced at a reoffer yield of 4.774 percent generated strong demand, attracting orders of over US$3.75 billion. The...

Paris, France--French energy giant TotalEnergies announced Wednesday an agreement with Iraq on a $10 billion project that had been delayed due to disagreements over the terms of a deal aimed at improving the country's electricity supply. The contract, originally signed in 2021, includes investments in oil, gas and solar production. But...

Cairo, Egypt-- A new survey has revealed that Egypt's non-oil private sector activity contracted for the 28th straight month in March. The S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers' Index edged down to 46.7 in March from 46.9 in February, well below the 50.0 threshold that marks growth in activity. "At 46.7, the...

New York, United States--US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday proposed an $8.9 billion settlement to resolve years-old lawsuits claiming that its talcum powder products caused cancer. The New Jersey-based company said the proposed settlement, which still needs the approval of a bankruptcy court, "will equitably and efficiently resolve all...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The Red Cross announced Tuesday that it would cut 1,500 jobs over the next 12 months in a drive to slash costs due to a funding crunch. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said an expected drop in humanitarian assistance budgets over the next two years...

Virgin Orbit, the satellite launch company founded by Richard Branson, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will sell the business, the firm said in a statement. The California-based company said last week it was laying off 85 percent of its employees to reduce expenses due to its inability to...

The firm announced 10-year and 30-year tranches.

DUBAI, UAE -  Over 300 prominent wealth and asset management (WAM) firms have established themselves in Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC). This milestone reinforces DIFC's position as the leading financial center for WAM companies in the Middle East Africa South Asia (MEASA) region. With an industry size of US$450 billion,...