The kingdom witnessed 6.2 percent non-oil real GDP growth, the highest since 2012 and higher than the 5 percent annual target set by its Economic Recovery Plan that aims to enhance the economy's long-term competitiveness and support post-COVID recovery.

Moscow, Russia--Russian oil sales to India surged more than twentyfold last year as European buyers turned to other markets following the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's deputy prime minister said Tuesday. Russia shifted its oil exports to India and China last year as European Union nations sought to end their reliance on...

Doha, Qatar--Qatar's bourse intends to open a new derivatives market that will allow investors to trade options and futures on local stocks and its equity index, the country's financial regulator said on Monday. The Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) issued a new regulatory framework for listed derivatives after a...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--A bus ferrying pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca burst into flames after a collision on a bridge on Monday, killing 20 people and injuring more than two dozen others, Saudi state media reported. The incident in the southern province of Asir highlights persistent challenges to safely transporting...

The stock rocketed to AED3.7 from an offer price of AED1.34.

Its IPO had been oversubscribed by 136 times.

Ankara,Turkey - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed during a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the deal to ship grain across the Black Sea.. Last week Turkey announced the extension of the deal that has allowed exports of Ukrainian grain to resume following Russia's invasion, but it was...

It will buy "all loans and deposits" from Silicon Valley Bank, whose fall this month set off global fears about the sector. SVB became the biggest US bank to fail since 2008 when regulators seized it after a sudden run on deposits. The bank was a key lender to the...

Amman, Jordan--Standard Chartered has decided to sell its Jordanian business to Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB), according to both the parties. Standard Chartered, the emerging markets-focused lender, plans to exit seven markets in Africa and the Middle East. The bank entered into an agreement with AJIB, subject to central bank...

The company's profit vaulted 157% to US$147m in 2022.

The customs deal is viewed as the concluding phase of a free trade agreement following the normalization of relations between the two countries. Netanyahu describes it as historic.

Even with a better outlook for 2024, global growth will remain well below its historic average of 3.8 percent, she said at the China Development Forum. Uncertainties are exceptionally high, including because of risks of geo-economic fragmentation which could mean a world split into rival economic blocs.

It suffers from constant stand-offs between elected lawmakers and cabinets installed by the ruling Al-Sabah family, despite a parliamentary system in place since 1962.

The new comedians hoping to put a smile on Jordanian faces range in age between 18 to 40 and include students, doctors and lawyers among others, keen to learn the art of comic timing and delivery. Among the club's graduates are now well-known comedians, who have amassed hundreds of thousands...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- In order to improve commercial connectivity and trade between the UAE and Kuwait, AD Ports Group launched a new direct shipping service dedicated to Ro-Ro between UAE’s Khalifa Port and Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port. Commenting on the launch of the new shipping service, Captain Ammar Mubarak Al Shaiba,...

The Iraqi oil ministry said that Turkey stopped oil exports from Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on Saturday in the wake of arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce. It said that Baghdad's claims had been accepted in a dispute with Ankara over who had responsiblity for exporting the autonomous region's...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - The European Union and Germany on Saturday said they had struck a deal after a dispute over the planned phaseout by 2035 of the sale of cars using fossil fuels. A landmark deal to prohibit new sales of fossil fuel cars from 2035 is key to the bloc's...

The shares fell on the lender's rising cost of default cover.

Doha, Qatar--Qatar's General Tax Authority (GTA) has extended the deadline for submitting the tax return for 2022 for all entities subject to the income tax law for one additional month to end on May 31, 2023. Excluded from this extension are companies operating in the field of petroleum operations and...

Following last month's rail tragedy, Greece's prime minister said that he would discuss with Italy safety improvements on Geek trains run by an Italian state company. The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told reporters that he will discuss the way in which the Italian government will be able to support the...

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - Economic growth in the eurozone accelerated in March and hit a 10-month high, according to a closely watched survey published on Friday, despite turmoil in the markets and concerns over banks. The S&P Global Flash Eurozone purchasing managers' index (PMI) showed the indicator at 54.1, up from 52.0...

Kwon, whose full name is Kwon Do-hyung, has been accused of fraud over his company's dramatic collapse last year, which wiped out about $40 billion of investors' money and shook global crypto markets. The 31-year-old was arrested at the Podgorica airport in Montenegro on a South Korean warrant, the country's interior...

New Delhi, India--India's Patent Office rejected on Thursday US pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson’s application to extend its patent on a key  tuberculosis treatment, allowing local companies to make cheaper generic versions. India accounted for nearly 29 percent of 10.6 million tuberculosis cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO)...

It will slash 2.5% of workforce as a cost-cutting effort.

Doha, Qatar--Doha port received on Thursday the cruise ship MSC World Europa carrying 5,613 tourists and a crew of 2,121. They will be joined later by 555 tourists from Doha to a new itinerary to a number of tourist stops in the region. The cruise sector in Qatar has contributed...

The deal is designed to enhance Saudi digital transformation.

Lebanon and the IMF reached a conditional agreement in April 2022 on a $3-billion-dollar loan needed to save the country's economy, in free fall since 2019. But nearly a year after Beirut signed the agreement, officials have yet to enact the substantial changes required to kickstart the 46-month financing program.

Trade in such goods grew by around four percent in the second half of 2022, with their combined value hitting a record $1.9 trillion by the end of the year, UNCTAD said -- over $100 billion more than in 2021. Among the products that performed especially well were electric and...

The acceptance follows years of turmoil for the company.

Cairo, Egypt--The World Bank has approved a new $7 billion partnership agreement with Egypt for 2023-2027 with a focus on boosting private sector jobs, provision of better health and education services, and adaptation to climate change. The Country Partnership Agreement (CPF) will entail $1 billion per year from the International...

Doha, Qatar-- Qatar has recorded $660 million worth real estate trading in sale contracts during the month of February. The data of the real estate analytical bulletin issued by the Ministry of Justice revealed that (382) real estate transactions were recorded during the month. Compared to January 2023, the real...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--ADQ has launched a vertical farming project in partnership with ZERO, a technology company based in Italy. Dubbed as the ZERO project, it is the first of several controlled environment agricultural concepts that will be housed in the AgTech Park and will aim to enhance indoor farming locally,...

In a crackdown on organized crime, Algeria has dismantled an international network specializing in trafficking people through Algeria to Europe, according to local media reports. The agency tasked with fighting crime arrested nine Syrians and six Algerians suspected of belonging to the group which trafficked Syrians and Lebanese.

The ECB president insisted, however, that if the most recent forecasts were confirmed, "we will still have ground to cover to make sure that inflation pressures are stamped out".

Lebanon's economic meltdown, described by the World Bank as one of the worst in recent global history, has plunged most of the population into poverty, according to the UN. Many of the hundreds protesting on Wednesday were retired servicemen whose army pensions have lost most of their value, and depositors...

There is a need for more regulations in the cryptocurrency industry to prevent immoral and aberrant behavior, says Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Communications head.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had warned Monday that if crisis-torn Tunisia "collapses economically or socially then we will be in a situation where new flows of migrants will come to Europe". An EU delegation arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday to examine "the political and socio-economic situation" and...

Washington, United States--Syria's economy is expected to contract 2.3% more than it otherwise would have due to the impact of last month's deadly earthquakes, the World Bank said on Monday. The earthquake and its aftershocks killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria, and displaced millions more. "The recent earthquake...

New Delhi, India - The first ever meeting of senior officials of India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was held in Riyadh on Monday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs here announced. India has been steadily stepping up institutional engagement of the GCC in addition to regular bilateral meetings...

Brussels, Belgium--The European Investment Bank today pledged $535 million in earthquake reconstruction and recovery package for Turkey and Syria at the donors’ conference convened in Brussels by the European Commission and Swedish Presidency of the European Council. The EUR 500 million support from EIB Global, part of broader European Union...

Days after SVB's collapse this month, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that its depositors -- along with those of Signature Bank -- would have access to their money. But officials were quick to add: "No losses will be borne by the taxpayer."

The online retail giant axed 18,000 jobs in January.

International Monetary Fund predicts economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa will fall to 3.2% this year from 5.4% in 2022, before rising to 3.5% next year.

Firm said non-monetary factors played a role in earnings.

FRANKFURT, GERMANY -  The European financial system is "resilient" and has sufficient liquidity, the European Central Bank said Monday, as banking shares plunged following the announcement that UBS would take over troubled rival Credit Suisse. "The European banking sector is resilient, with robust levels of capital and liquidity," the ECB said...

Signature Bank was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) a week ago after it imploded in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) earlier in March, a failure that has sent convulsions through the global banking sector. The FDIC is also seeking a similar deal...

Amman, Jordan--A government-sponsored program in Jordan has helped place 20,000 people into private sector jobs since its launch in April 2022. According to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), the National Employment Program (Tashgheel) has helped 673 men and 877 women, who are beneficiaries of the National Aid Fund, secure employment...

New Delhi, India--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in India on Monday for talks expected to focus on deepening trade and technology ties as well as shared concern about China. India and Japan along with the United States and Australia make up the Quad alliance, which positions itself as a bulwark...

The PIF-owned firm looks to deepen investment in recycling.

Manama, Bahrain: Aerolam Middle East and Titan Company are set to launch their operations in Bahrain with a total investment of  $45 million. This was was announced during the recent high-level Bahraini delegation visit to India this week, which was organised to highlight investment opportunities in Bahrain across priority sectors....