Dubai, UAE - The price of Bitcoin on Tuesday surged past $57,000, demonstrating the continued strength of the cryptocurrency market rally. The rise follows Bitcoin's climb above $54,000 on Monday, a milestone not reached since December 3, 2021. The cryptocurrency has been experiencing a bullish trend since January 11, when...

TEHRAN, IRAN – The Middle Eastern country has improved its global standing in steel production, becoming the ninth largest producer in January 2024, according to new data released by the World Steel Association (WSA).In the first month of 2024, Iranian steel mills produced a total of 2.6 million tons of...

The buyout is part of its plan to boost media business.

Dubai, Riyadh - Smartphone shipments in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region witnessed a remarkable surge, growing by 30% year-over-year (YoY) and 9% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) in the final quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint’s Market Monitor Service. The MEA region demonstrated the highest YoY growth globally during this period, attributed...

Dubai, UAE-- Morocco hopes to increase its exports by 12 percent this year, according to the kingdom's minister of industry and trade, Ryad Mezzour.In statements to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), on the sidelines of the opening day of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference hosted by the UAE in Abu...

Its revenue jumped to US$16.33 billion, a rise of 17.9 percent.

ABU DHABI, UAE – Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has unveiled its 2023 results, showcasing an extraordinary year of achievements and strategic milestones.EDB revealed a significant 80 percent surge in its contribution to the UAE’s industrial GDP, which has grown from US$653 million (AED2.4 billion) in 2022 to US$1.1 billion (AED4.3...

The two firms have signed a $1 billion private credit deal.

Abu Dhabi, UAE--China is willing to work with all parties to achieve more pragmatic results at the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held in Abu Dhabi, according to the country's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Sunday.During his meeting with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the WTO in...

The US aluminum producer will buy Alumina for US$2.2bn.

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- Applauding the UAE's commitment to trade liberalization, including development of green and digital trade globally, Ralph Ossa, Chief Economist at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said the country's focus on low tariffs, export diversification, and active participation in the multilateral trading system demonstrates its commitment to free...

The World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference (MC13), scheduled to run until Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is the first in two years. The WTO is hoping for progress, particularly on fishing, agriculture and electronic commerce.

Beijing, China--China's commercial vehicle sales soared 79.6 percent year on year to 324,000 units in January, according to industry data.Specifically, some 289,000 trucks were sold during this period, a surge of 81.8 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.A total of 35,000 coaches were sold...

ABU DHABI, UAE - The director general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Sunday launched a $50 million fund to help female entrepreneurs in developing countries to export more using the opportunities offered by the digital economy.The announcement came ahead of the 13th ministerial conference of the WTO which...

WASHINGTON, US  - In a shift from tit-for-tat tariffs and strong-arm tactics to tech restrictions and investment curbs, US policy towards China has become more targeted under President Joe Biden - though still hardline.Despite differences between Democrats and Republicans, analysts expect Washington's approach to Beijing will only become tougher, whether Biden...

With most banks out of service, the only exchange rate that matters to ordinary Sudanese is on the black market, where the dollar currently goes for around 1,200 Sudanese pounds. To make matters worse, a communications blackout since early February has hampered online transactions -- which Sudanese relied on to...

Manama, Bahrain--Bahrain will support Arab tourism in order to enhance social, cultural and historical integration among Arab people, according to Fatima bin Jaafar Al Sairafi, Bahrain's Minister of Tourism.According to the minister, this would raise the contribution of the tourism sector to Arab countries’ national development.In a statement to the...

It will carry out quality checks on pickup trucks.

AMMAN, JORDAN – Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Saturday discussed enhanced cooperation and investment partnership.The two sides pledged during a meeting to forge robust commercial relations, remove hindrances, reactivate bilateral agreements, exchange more visits by economic teams and hold joint exhibitions.Participants stressed...

ABU DHABI, UAE – Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan has announced that the UAE will provide a US$10 million grant to support key initiatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO), whose 13th Ministerial Conference is being held here.Sheikh Abdullah said that the grant to...

ABU DHABI, UAE- The aggregate capital and reserves of banks operating in the UAE increased 13.3 percent, reaching US$131 billion (AED481.5 billion) by the end of November 2023 compared to US$114.6 (AED424.9 billion) at the end of the same period of 2022, according to the Central Bank of the UAE's...

Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The economies of the UAE and Gulf countries will outpace the global forecast for 2024, helped by the domestic multi-year investment cycle in the region, a report says.Despite recent geopolitical headwinds and muted global recovery, national and regional growth is expected to be driven by the...

Beijing, China--Major Chinese cities reported falling home prices in January with narrowing declines, official data showed on Friday.The National Bureau of Statistics reported that 56 of 70 large and medium-sized cities saw month-on-month drops in new home prices, down from 62 in December 2023. Additionally, 68 such cities registered price...

Amman, Jordan--Jordan and Oman have signed a raft of agreements to boost direct investment in both the countries.The first memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was signed by the ministries of investment of Jordan and Oman's ministry of trade, industry, and investment promotion, called for cooperation between the two parties in...

Dubai, UAE-- The economy of Dubai would grow around five percent this year, according to Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers.Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the annual media briefing organised by Dubai Chambers, Al Ghurair said that the recent increase in interest rates would...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Ministry of Media and Google have joined forces in a strategic collaboration aimed at driving the digital transformation of Saudi Arabia's media sector. The announcement, made during the 3rd Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh, aligns with Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosary's declaration that 2024 is...

Manama, Bahrain--Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the $93 million monthly issue of Government Treasury Bills has been oversubscribed by 226%.The bills, carrying maturity of 182 days, are issued by the CBB, on behalf of the Kingdom of Bahrain.The issue date of the bills is February 25 and the...

The profit jumped to US$41.40m in 2023.

The company's revenue spiked to US$22.1bn.

It will collaborate with Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's trade surplus remained stable at SR97 billion ($25.8 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2023 sustaining a level comparable to the previous quarter. According to recent data from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the trade surplus in December 2023 was SR39 billion ($10.4...

DUBAI, UAE – President and CEO of Dubai Chambers Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah has revealed that 6,478 new Food and Beverage (F&B) companies joined Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2023, representing year-over-year growth of 19.4 percent.The total number of F&B companies registered with Dubai Chamber of Commerce – one of...

It will help customers to seamlessly process transfers.

Dubai, UAE-- In the month of May scores of airport developers, officials, and suppliers from around the world will troop into Dubai to participate in the world’s largest annual event dedicated to the airport industry. The 23rd edition of the three-day B2B event at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC),...

ABU DHABI, UAE - Oil prices could rise to $100 per barrel and gold prices could reach $3,000 per ounce within the next 12 to 18 months, subject to three potential catalysts, CNBC reported, citing Citi analysts.Aakash Doshi, Citi’s North America head of commodities research, told CNBC that gold is...

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi National Bank (SNB) commenced the US dollar-denominated senior unsecured sukuk issuance through a special-purpose vehicle.The sukuk are offered to qualified investors inside and outside Saudi Arabia. The amount and terms of offer of the sukuk will be determined subject to market conditions, the bank said in a statement to Tadawul.  This announcement does not constitute...

China last year recorded one of its worst annual growth rates since 1990, dampening hopes for a rapid economic recovery following the end of draconian Covid restrictions in late 2022. In January, consumer prices fell at their quickest rate in more than 14 years, piling pressure on the government to...

Beijing, China--China is moving away from traditionally energy-intensive industrial sectors toward green development across key sectors, in efforts to fulfill its goals of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, according to China Central Television.In June 2023, the Hunan Valin Xiangtan Iron and Steel power...

It plans to hike investments in the country to US$5 billion.

Its sales jumped 6% to US$27.2bn in half-year results.

Shenzen, China--The total number of high-tech enterprises in south China's Guangdong Province has exceeded 75,000, local authorities have said.By the end of 2023, the province's estimated annual research and development (R&D) expenditure topped 460 billion yuan (about 64.8 billion U.S. dollars), boasting 1.35 million R&D personnel and more than 665,000...

FUZHOU, CHINA - Construction of the main complex of a joint-investment ethylene project, which involves petrochemicals giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), began on Monday in east China's Fujian Province.The project, with a total investment of US$6.3 billion (44.8 billion yuan) from SABIC and Fujian Energy Petrochemical Group Co. Ltd.,...

TEHRAN, IRAN - The Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) reported that Iran and the 27 European Union member states traded over US$5 billion (€4.7 billion) worth of goods in 2023.Trade between Iran and the member states of the European Union recorded a decrease of 9 percent from January...

Overall, Israel's GDP grew by 2.0 percent in 2023, short of the 2.3 percent projection made by the Bank of Israel after the war's outbreak in October, the Central Bureau of Statistics figures showed.

SHARJAH, UAE - The Financial, Economic and Industrial Affairs Committee of Sharjah Consultative Council (SCC) held a meeting to discuss points to be raised on the policy of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), during the next session.A number of key issues related to stimulating economic growth and enhancing...

The Houthis, who control vast swathes of Yemen, have said the attacks, beginning in November, have targeted vessels linked to Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza. In December the United States announced a maritime security initiative, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to protect shipping in the area.

Its next-generation console will be delayed until 2025.

Doha, Qatar--The volume of real estate trading in sale contracts registered with the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice in January amounted to $521 million.The data of the real estate analytical bulletin issued by the Ministry of Justice revealed that (362) real estate transactions were recorded during...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Stock Market's general index (TASI) surged past the 12,500-point milestone on Sunday, reaching its highest level since August 2020. The increase can be attributed to the positive momentum generated by the disclosure of financial results, the majority of which met anticipated outcomes.The gains in...

Its gross profit jumped 3.1% to US$137.25m in 2023.