The energy company will pay US$462 million for the buyout.

The peace deal has ignited debates on its potential to transform Middle East from a region hit by conflicts to a peaceful place. Dive into an in-depth analysis from TRENDS.

It is expected to propel Qatar as an investment hub.

After gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan descended into a civil war that left nearly 400,000 people dead and millions displaced between 2013 and 2018. A peace agreement signed in 2018 provided a power-sharing agreement between rivals Salva Kiir and Riek Machar in a government of national unity.

The bilateral peace agreement has sparked intensified debates about its potential to transform the Middle East from a conflict-ridden region to peaceful and prosperous place.

DUBAI, UAE - Dubai's real estate market recorded 638 sales transactions worth US$503 million (AED1.85 billion) on Tuesday, data released by Dubai's Land Department (DLD) showed. The market also recorded 130 mortgage deals totaling US$732 million (AED2.69 billion), and 21 gift deals amounting to US$59.5 million (AED218.56 million). The sales...

ABU DHABI, UAE -  The Central Bank of the UAE's (CBUAE) balance sheet grew by 6.3 percent on a monthly basis to reach US$172 billion (AED631.63 billion) at the end of April 2023, marking the largest level ever in its history, the apex bank said in its budget report for...

The first phase works, costing $200m, likely to completed in 30 months.

DUBAI, UAE -  Arada's US$500 million Sukuk was listed in Nasdaq Dubai. The Sukuk is the first issuance by Arada on the region’s international financial exchange, further solidifying Dubai’s position as one of the largest Sukuk listing venues globally, with a total value of US$77 billion. To celebrate the successful...

Saudi-Iran peace deal will reduce tensions in the region and would solve some of the problems if not all, says US Secretary Antony J. Blinken in an interview.

Dubai, UAE -- Remittance flows to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are expected to increase marginally in 2023 and 2024 after witnessing a nearly 4 percent drop in 2022 to $64 billion, a World Bank report said. The remittances are likely to increase by 1.7 percent in 2023...

Tehran, Iran-- Looking to give a further boost to the relations between the two countries, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian arrived in Doha to discuss bilateral relations, as well as major regional and international developments, with high-ranking Qatari officials. Amir-Abdollahian left Tehran for Qatar’s capital late Monday on an official...

The financial assistance would allow Tunisia to "acquire the necessary equipment and organize useful training, in particular for Tunisian police and border guards", French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. He defended the "European approach to the migration challenge" and said that alongside African authorities, they would "fight against the networks...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--Gross assets of the Sharia-compliant banks in the UAE climbed to $177 billion by the end of the first quarter of 2023, an annual increase of 7.31 percent against about $165 billion in March 2022, according to figures by the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). The apex...

Saudi-Iran peace deal will reduce tensions in the region and would solve some of the problems if not all, says US Secretary Antony J. Blinken in an interview.

MUSCAT, OMAN - Oman’s economic growth is expected to rebound to 2.7 percent in 2024 but will slip in 2023 to 1.3 percent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Monday. The projections reflect the oil production cuts by OPEC+, moderate growth in the non-hydrocarbon sector and a slowdown in...

Indian carrier IndiGo said it had ordered a 500 A320 airliners from European manufacturer Airbus at the Paris Air Show. With a list price of $55 billion- the actual sale prices are usually lower- the deal is the largest ever civil aviation order and a "historic" step for both firms,...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA -  The combined profit of capital market institutions in Saudi Arabia dropped 19 percent to US$306 million (SAR 1.15 billion) in Q1 2023, from US$381 million (SAR 1.43 billion) in the same period last year, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said in a recent report. Revenues fell...

Tehran, Iran-- A free trade zone agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) will be signed before the end of the year, according to Russia's deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk. "Now, indeed, the EAEU has come very close to concluding such an agreement with Iran. This issue was...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Arabia has unveiled its own cruise-line brand called AROYA Cruises to fuel growth in its tourism sector, luring 1.3 million cruise visitors by 2035. According to media reports, AROYA, though a part of Cruise Saudi, will run as an independent business unit. Its name was formed...

Equities enjoyed a strong run-up last week, partly on the back of hopes that Beijing would unveil a raft of economic stimulus to go with two interest rate cuts. Expectations have been high that officials would provide help for the struggling property sector and introduce measures to kickstart consumer activity.

France says the two-day summit, which begins on Thursday and will bring together some 50 heads of state and government, was more of a platform for ideas sharing ahead of a cluster of major economic and climate meetings in the coming months. With fewer leaders from wealthier countries attending, Friederike...

Montreal, Canada--The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has signed a joint cooperation agreement to deepen collaboration. The agreement was signed by Mohammed Abdullah Al-Salami, Chairman, Department of Civil Aviation, in Fujairah, GCAA Deputy Board Chairman, and Juan Carlos Salazar, ICAO Secretary General. This came...

The "agreement in principle" would see the semiconductor firm build the facility in southern city Kiryat Gat that would open by 2027 and operate at least until 2035, Israel's finance ministry said. As part of the deal, Intel's taxes to Israel would rise from five to 7.5%, the finance ministry...

DUBAI, UAE -  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has inaugurated the 900 megawatt (MW) fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. This will be the largest single-site solar park in the world with...

Results were due to a fall in insurance services expenses.

DUBAI, UAE  - Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has launched its third report on the emirate's digital economy. The Dubai's Venture Capital Ecosystem report provides an overview of the investor landscape backing the start-ups and scale-ups that are transforming Dubai and...

Cairo, Egypt--The Arab League has called for efforts to confront drought and desertification in light of number of Arab countries lacking water resources, which resulted in land degradation and lack of agricultural land. This came on the occasion of the 29th World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, themed "Her...

Foreign currency reserves, representing 94 percent of total assets, fell nearly 2 percent year-on-year in May to SAR 1.56 trillion ($416 billion). The majority of Saudi Arabia's reserve assets are held in US dollars (about 70 percent)

St. Petersburg, Russia-- The UAE is seeking to strengthen economic cooperation with many countries in the world in order to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come. This was stated by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, supreme council member and ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, in...

Doha, Qatar-- In order to remove obstacles facing the gold and jewellery sector in the country, Qatar Chamber has reviewed the results of a survey conducted by the chamber's Gold and Jewellery Committee last month. Qatar Chamber board member and Chairperson of the Gold and Jewellery Committee Naser bin Suleiman...

According to a report by the FAO, the world food import bill is forecast to touch a new record this year, although it is estimated to grow at a much slower pace compared to last year. This at a time when surging world prices fueled by higher quotations for fruits,...

DOHA, QATAR- The Industrial Production index (IPI) of Qatar for April 2023 reached 106.4 points which is an increase of 2.8 percent compared to the previous month (March 2023), and increased by 2.1 percent, when compared to the corresponding month in 2022. The index of the mining sector showed an...

ABU DHABI, UAE -  Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has partnered with Valeo to develop the automotive industry here by establishing a technology hub to manufacture autonomous and electric car components in the emirate. The hub will develop industrial solutions to support local electric car startups in Abu...

London, UK--Volume of trade exchanges between the UK and Iraq has exceeded one billion dollars and imports and exports between the two nations have been significantly growing, a senior British official said on Friday. Lord Tariq Ahmad, the British Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa and South...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The number of private joint-stock companies which listed in the UAE's capital markets during 2022 went up to 13, with a total capital of US$2.24 billion, according to the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). In a recent report, the SCA said that the companies are divided into...

Tehran, Iran-- In spite of the US sanctions against the Islamic Republic, Iran has seen a huge surge in the export of crude oil in 2023 to China, Syria, Venezuela, according to reports. According to media reports, Iranian crude shipments continued to rise in 2023 with higher shipments to China,...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- Saudi Arabia is aiming to establish a slew of business partnerships in healthcare and mining sectors with companies in the UK, Germany, besides discussing humanitarian cooperation in Spain. In this connection, Saudi officials are engaged in productive meetings to strengthen partnerships and explore collaborations.  Saudi minister of...

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE-- Looking to boost economic cooperation and convince businesses across India to invest in the free zone, Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) toured various cities in the country, offering an overview of the potential of expanding their operation in the Middle East through Ras Al Khaimah....

DUBAI, UAE - A total of 3,625 real estate and properties transactions valued at US$3.4 billion (AED12.5 billion) were conducted during the week ending June 16, 2023, according to figures released by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The DLD report showed that 189 plots were sold for US$620 million (AED...

Bicycle Capital is a growth equity firm focusing on startups.

DUBAI, UAE - Dubai International Chamber (DIC), one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, inaugurated on Friday a new international representative office in London, UK. The launch of the new office, which is DIC’s first representative office in Europe and 20th globally, marks a significant step in the...

Despite this pessimistic view, however, 61 percent of the surveyed graduates expressed interest in joining the private sector, said PwC's Emiratization Survey 2023, titled "The Retention Riddle: How to keep Emirati talent in the private sector." The survey sheds light on the efforts made by the UAE to enhance Emirati...

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was welcomed by Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani at the airport, images broadcast on Iraqi media showed. Relations between the two countries saw a long period of tension under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein, before easing up over the past decade.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has gone against the grain set by the Fed and ECB, announcing on Friday that it would maintain its long-standing, ultra-loose monetary policy as it looks to boost economic growth. Officials left the bank's negative interest rate in place, pushing down the value of the...

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's economy shrank by 11.5 percent in the first quarter just before an IMF bailout kicked in, official figures showed Thursday. The contraction in the first three months compared with shrinkage of 0.5 percent in the corresponding period of 2022, and a decline of 12.4...

DUBAI, UAE :   In the first five months of 2023, Audi Middle East achieved a 33 percent growth compared to the same period in 2022, making it the strongest start to a year since 2015. All Audi sedan and SUV models have experienced significant year-on-year growth; with Audi Approved Plus...

Insurance services results in Q1 improved by US$55 million.

The hike was the highest since 2001, despite a darkening economic outlook. The ECB increased rates by another 25 basis points, taking the closely watched deposit rate to 3.50 percent -- its highest level since 2001. "Inflation has been coming down but is projected to remain too high for too...

Dubai, UAE -- Saudi Arabia’s inflation increased by 2.8%, compared to May 2022, slightly higher than April 2023 (2.7 percent), the kingdom's General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said Thursday. The main driver of Consumer Price Index inflation in May was the higher prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other...