• UAE and Kenya sign agreement to enhance digital, tech cooperation

    Abu Dhabi, UAE--The UAE and Kenya have signed an investment memorandum establishing a framework for investment cooperation in digitalisation and technology. In addition to exploring investments in digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) services in Kenya, the cooperation may include developing data centre projects with a total capacity of up...

  • Biden vows to fix ‘mess’ as US regulators rush to contain SVB fallout

    Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government wants to avoid financial "contagion" from the SVB implosion, as it ruled out a bailout. With the bank's future, and its billions in deposits up in the air, officials from the three agencies, The Fed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Treasury,...

  • HSBC buys UK arm of SVB

    In a rescue deal, it bought SVB for a nominal price of $1.2.

  • China’s new premier warns 5% growth rate for 2023 not ‘easy’ to achieve

    Beijing, China--China's new premier warned Monday that the country's five-percent growth target for 2023 would not be "easy" to achieve, as its rubber-stamp parliament wrapped up over a week of meetings. The government set the economic growth target of "around five percent" this month, one of the lowest in decades as China...

  • Egypt’s exports to China shoot up 21% to US$1.7bn in 2022

    Cairo, Egypt--Egypt’s export to China increased by 20.8 percent to $1.7 billion in the first 11 months of 2022, compared to $1.4 billion in the same period in 2021, according to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, also known as CAPMAS.  Egypt’s imports from China totaled $13.2 billion...

  • ADNOC Gas gains US$9.2bn on first day after IPO

    Shares in ADNOC Gas were heavily oversubscribed even after the offering was expanded from 4.0 to 5.0 percent of issued share capital in response to strong interest.

  • King Abdullah’s daughter marries a Greek-origin financier

    Princess Iman, the eldest daughter of King Abdullah and Queen Rania, has wed a financier of Greek origin at a ceremony at the royal palace west of the capital Amman. The ceremony broadcast on state television showed the princess tying the knot with Jameel Alexander Thermiotis in the presence of...

  • Real estate, e-commerce to push UAE growth

    Global economic challenges have led the UAE to review priorities and investment trends, with a focus on five key sectors: healthcare, transport and logistics, agriculture and food security, technology and green energy.

  • BBC top boss not to resign in face of Lineker controversy

    London, United Kingdom--The BBC's director general Tim Davie said he will not resign after the publicly-funded broadcaster's sport service was decimated on Saturday by a backlash to Gary Lineker's removal as Match of the Day host. "Everyone wants to calmly resolve the situation," Davie said in a BBC interview. Lineker was...

  • Aramco reports bumper profits

    It posted $161bn profits last year on high oil prices.

  • China retains Yi Gang as central bank chief to revitalize economy

    The Chinese government has confirmed Yi Gang as governor of the People's Bank of China, against expectations that retirement-age Yi would step down, besides retaining other important top economic officials. The cabinet faces the task of revitalizing the Chinese economy, which last year expanded just three percent.

  • SVB failure unnerves USDC, other cryptocurrencies

    The FDIC on Friday took over SVB, a major lender to the tech world, in the second-largest bank failure in US history. The bank is expected to reopen on Monday under a new name.

  • Iraq impounds three million captagon pills on Syrian border

    Iraq has scuttled a big smuggling operation of bringing into the country a large consignment of three million pills of captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant sweeping the Middle East for year, near the Syrian border. The pills had been hidden in apple crates and discovered at the Al-Qaim crossing near Iraq's...

  • Indonesia holds two-day event in Dubai to lure investment

    Dubai, UAE--The Indonesian Investment Forum kicked off in Dubai to lure businesses and investments. The two-day event aimed to explore opportunities to attract foreign direct investment and expand markets for export-oriented products. It was hosted by Bank Indonesia in partnership with KJRI Dubai, the Indonesian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the Indonesia...

  • Tunisian coast guard rescues 1,008 Africans headed for Europe

    Tunis, Tunisia--More than 1,000 Africans trying to reach Europe have been rescued in a single night off Tunisia, the coast guard said Friday, after a wave of violence against black migrants. Last month President Kais Saied ordered officials in the North African country to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration,...

  • Healthcare, education key focus of MENA: Amanat CEO

    The region will benefit from investment in training institutes for nursing and health professionals, Amanat Holding CEO Mohamed Hamade tells TRENDS during an interview.

  • Egypt inflation soars to 31.9%, highest in five and a half years

    Cairo, Egypt - Egypt's official annual headline inflation rate rose in February to 31.9 percent, the highest in five and a half years, while core inflation soared to a record 40.26 percent, according to official data reported Thursday by Reuters. The jump in inflation is likely to further squeeze households...

  • Poor states’ summit promised just US$1.4bn, says UN

    DOHA, QATAR - Just US$1.4 billion in new loans and grants were promised at a UN summit devoted to the world's poorest nations where UN leader Antonio Guterres had appealed for massive aid, officials said Thursday. A top UN envoy warned at the end of the five-day Least Developed Countries meeting...

  • Credit Suisse delays yearly report

    Delay has had no effect on its annual financial statement.

  • Mining, quarrying push Saudi Arabia’s IPI up 6.8% in Jan 2023

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Industrial Production Index increased by 6.8 percent in Jan 2023, compared to Jan 2022, mainly due to the increase in mining, quarrying manufacturing activities. A monthly bulletin by the General Authority for Statistics said the mining and quarrying activity increased by 3 percent year...

  • Saudi Arabia’s GDP grows 8.7 percent in 2022, reaches $1 trillion for first time

    The growth rate is also the highest in the last decade, with crude oil and natural gas contributing 32.7%, government services 14.2%, and manufacturing other than oil refining 8.6%.

  • China consumer inflation drops to lowest level in a year

    China's consumer price inflation last month fell to its lowest level in a year, official data showed Thursday, as the country emerged from strict pandemic controls and a Lunar New Year spending binge. February's consumer price index (CPI) - the main gauge of inflation - rose one percent, down from...

  • TAQA Morocco to invest US$1.6bn in renewable energy solutions

    Dubai, UAE--TAQA Morocco is looking to invest $1.6 billion in renewable energy solutions in Morocco in order to lift up electricity production by 50 percent by 2030.  Owned by Abu Dhabi National Energy Co., the company plans to diversify its activities in clean energy and water desalination as part of...

  • OFID to provide $25m for Niger’s solar energy development

    Vienna, Austria - The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is offering a US$25 million loan for solar energy development in Niger, scaling up electrification and access to renewable energy in the country. The loan will be provided to Solar Plant Development and Electricity Access Improvement Project (RANAA). The OPEC...

  • US president’s budget plan to cut country’s deficit by US$3trn

    Washington, United States--President Joe Biden will unveil a proposed budget on Thursday that would reduce the US national deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade, in part by raising taxes, the White House said. The budget plan "will cut the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next 10 years,"...

  • Lebanon banks ‘have no liquidity,’ says bank association member

    Beirut, Lebanon - Lebanon's commercial banks do not have enough liquidity to pay back depositors, the secretary general of the country's banking association said on Wednesday The letter that laid out the banks' positions, was signed by the Association of the Banks of Lebanon (ABL)'s Fadi Khalaf.  The letter said...

  • Livelihoods destroyed as Lebanon fails to uphold right to electricity, says Human Rights Watch

    Decades of unsustainable policies and fundamental neglect, capture of state resources by elites, alleged corruption, and vested interests cripple the power sector in Lebanon.

  • Cash-strapped Egypt offers citizenship to foreigners investors

    According to state newspaper Al-Ahram, a decision by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli published in the official gazette,  says the premier can now "grant Egyptian nationality" to applicants that meet one of four conditions. Foreigners can either buy at least $300,000 of real estate in Egypt, invest $350,000 in the country,...

  • After widespread outcry, Tunisia’s president denies racism

    Reacting to howls of condemnation his controversial comments have ignited, Tunisia's President Kais Saied on Wednesday denied racism. Last month, the president ordered officials to take "urgent measures" to tackle irregular migration, claiming that a "criminal plot" was underway to change Tunisia's demographic makeup.

  • European Central Bank head pledges to tackle high inflation in Europe

    Last week, Lagarde said that more interest rate hikes might be needed in the eurozone after the half percentage point hike it has already signaled will come later this month.

  • US private sector employment surges by 242,000 jobs in Feb

    "We're seeing robust hiring, which is good for the economy and workers, but pay growth is still quite elevated," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, in a statement.

  • Fraudsters prowl digital world, robbing unwary people in Middle East

    Dubai, UAE-- Making payments digitally for every purchase may have become a universal thing, but it is not always the safest method, according to a new survey by Kaspersky. The survey revealed that some 18% of respondents from the Middle East experienced financial losses associated with threats when using online...

  • QFFD, EAA sign pacts to back education drive in Asia, Africa

    Doha, Qatar-- In order to ensure education for children in the least developed countries of Asia and Africa, Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and the Education Above All Foundation (EAA) signed four Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Senegal, Bangladesh, Liberia, and Burkina Faso. The four MoUs focus on opportunities to...

  • UAE and Jordan agree to share experiences to combat corruption

    Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The UAE and Jordan have resolved to draw on each other's experiences in order to combat corruption, and increase competence in the field of auditing. In this regard, a delegation from the UAE, headed by the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) and participants from Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority...

  • Egypt’s train derailment in north kills two and injuries 16

    In the latest rail tragedy to hit Egypt, two people were killed and many more injured at Qalyub north of Cairo. According to the country's health ministry, the injured are in a stable condition. An earlier toll provided by the ministry said that one person died and 16 were wounded,...

  • Quake damages more than $100 billion in Turkey alone: UNDP

    The World Bank estimated last week that the devastating quake, which flattened entire cities, had caused damage worth more than $34 billion in Turkey, with recovery likely to double that sum. But Louisa Vinton of the UN Development Program said the Turkish government had calculated far higher damage.

  • Tunisia’s economic woes to worsen after World Bank lending pause

    Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa faced violence and many were made homeless since Saied ordered "urgent measures" against them. In response, World Bank defers a key board meeting on Tunisia.

  • KEZAD, Emtelle ink agreement

    Emtelle to invest $50m to build manufacturing facility.

  • Japan allots US$1.6bn to contentious Australia hydrogen project

    In a statement, HESC said the project has entered its commercial demonstration phase with money from Japan's Green Innovation Fund, which will be used to design and build facilities to liquefy and ship hydrogen from Australia's Victoria to Japan. The project aims to produce and liquefy hydrogen from a type...

  • Qatar appoints new PM, after resignation of Sheikh Khalid

    Doha, Qatar-- Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al Thani has resigned from his job, according to Qatar News Agency. And in the wake of the resignation, the country's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has appointed Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani in...

  • Agility launches data center sites in Saudi, Kuwait and Egypt

    Dubai, UAE--Agility Logistics Parks (ALP) today announced the launch of data center campus sites in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and Ghana. The sites are being readied at ultra-modern ALP warehousing complexes in fast-growing markets and mega-cities that are looking to add hyperscale data center capacity and resolve data latency, security...

  • Oman to award solar energy projects worth US$777m to investors

    Muscat, Oman -Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) is set to award solar energy projects worth $777 million to international investors after securing approvals from the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR). According to media reports, the Manah 1 and 2 projects, which will jointly produce a total of...

  • China agrees to restructure bankrupt Sri Lanka’s loans for IMF bailout

    Colombo, Sri Lanka--Sri Lanka's president said Tuesday that China had agreed to restructure its loans to the bankrupt island nation, clearing the final obstacle to an International Monetary Fund bailout. China's state-owned Exim Bank "sent a letter to the IMF" on Monday night expressing Beijing's willingness to "restructure" credit to Sri...

  • UN culture chief vows to help rebuild conflict-hit, heritage-rich Iraq

    Years of war and insurgency have taken a heavy toll on the many Mesopotamian, Islamic and Christian treasures in a country home to six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Iraq is the cradle of civilizations, where writing and the first cities emerged, but decades of unrest have left many priceless cultural...

  • Energy sector vital to solving climate challenge: Dr Al Jaber

    Emphasizing that the oil and gas industry was vital in the fight against climate change, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said that energy leaders have the knowledge, experience, expertise and the resources needed to address the dual challenge of driving sustainable progress while...

  • Debunking India-Indonesia maritime connectivity

    To establish connectivity in the Indian Ocean, the two countries need to look at various other aspects, such as setting up a shipping chamber, holding conferences, and appointing transportation attachés at their diplomatic missions to facilitate shipping ventures between Indian and Indonesian firms, he adds.

  • Saudi Arabia to deposit $5 bn in quake-hit Turkey’s central bank

    Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Saudi tourism minister and board chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, signed an agreement with Turkish central bank governor Sahap Kavcioglu "to make a significant $5 billion deposit", the Saudi government said in a statement. "This deposit is a testament to the close cooperation and...

  • Judge to quiz Lebanese central bank head in embezzlement case

    Lebanon opened its probe following a request for assistance from Switzerland's public prosecutor probing more than $300 million in fund movements by Riad Salameh and his brother. Last month, Swiss media reported that 12 banks in the European country had received a large part of the money Salameh is alleged...

  • Dubai Land Department launches new feature to streamline procedure

    DUBAI, UAE - The Dubai Land Department (DLD) has launched the Instant Sale feature, which utilizes smart evaluation technology in real estate transactions without the need for audits. This move is in line with DLD's efforts to enhance the use of innovative solutions and achieve the goal of the Dubai...

  • Norway earns record oil, gas revenue after Ukraine war prices rise

    Norway earned 1.5 trillion kroner ($140 billion) in revenues from oil and gas, according to estimates by Statistics Norway (SSB). It was "by far the highest ever recorded in the statistics" and almost three times the 498 billion kroner earned in 2021, according to SSB.

  • Dubai wins crown in TRENDS poll on best city in GCC

    The city has won a huge following among the people who see it not just as a city for business, but as one where families can co-exist with big money.