Muscat, Oman--Oman's gross domestic product (GDP) at constant prices recorded an increase of 4.7 per cent to reach $22.59 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2023. The GDP at constant price was $21.71 billion in the first quarter of 2022, according to the initial data issued by...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The International Security Alliance (ISA) has seized narcotics estimated to be worth US$750 million from a large transnational drug trafficking ring, and arrested 597 suspects, in a wide operation spread over many continents, dealing a big blow to organized criminal groups trafficking in drugs. The ISA, a working...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- The emirate of Abu Dhabi has approved the disbursement of housing benefits worth US$844 million to citizens in order to lift up their standard of living. In this connection, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu...

In spite of economic sanctions imposed by the Western governments against Iran, the country has seen its oil exports surge in May to 1.9 million barrels per day. According to its oil minister, the energy diplomacy and its strengthening relations with countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have helped...

Dubai, UAE--The Dubai Police and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) have signed an agreement to back the social initiative, "Bayti", with $5.44 million to support people with low-income in home construction and furnishing. The ‘Bayti’ initiative was recently launched by Dubai Police General Command, the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable...

Abu Dhabi, UAE--The UAE airports have received nearly 31.8 million passengers in the first quarter of 2023, a rise of 11.5 million passengers from the same period in 2022, when about 20.4 million passengers were recorded, according to the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE). Indicating that the civil aviation...

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

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-- In order to boost the travel and tourism industry in the kingdom, Saudi Arabia will offer instant e-visa options to visitors, facilitating UK, US, and Schengen visa holders, as well as permanent residents of UK, US, and any EU country to obtain tourist e-visas. Saudi Arabia had...

Sharjah, UAE--The Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) has signed a deal with Infinite Mining and Energy to set up a multifunctional oil refinery with a daily production capacity of 10,000 barrels and an annual refining capability of up to 3.6 million barrels. In this connection, Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, director...

Phnom Penh, Cambodia-- The UAE and Cambodia have agreed to boost economic ties, expanding the bilateral non-oil trade from the current US$ 407 million to more than US$1 billion within five years. The resolve to deepen trade ties was expressed during the visit of Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi,...

Doha, Qatar-- Rich Qataris are pouring millions of dollars into the country's luxury real-estate market, with residential sector and office sector being their main investment target. The conclusion was drawn in a report "Destination Qatar" prepared by leading global property consultancy, Knight Frank. With Qatar boasting the fourth highest GDP...

Abu Dhabi, UAE-- Abu Dhabi has succeeded in curbing the use of plastic bags by around 95 percent since the banning of the single-use bags in June 2022. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) claims it has prevented over 172 million bags from entering the environment. In 2020, EAD...

Sharjah, UAE-- In order to supply water from Al Zubair station to Al Shanouf suburb, Sharjah Electricity Water and Gas Authority (SEWA) has concluded the extension project of a crucial main pipeline with a diameter of 800mm. This significant endeavour, initiated in mid-July 2022, utilised environmentally friendly materials to ensure...

Al Hilal football club officials are in Paris to seal a mega-deal with Lionel Messi, who is leaving Qatar-owned Paris-Saint Germain. The officials will meet Messi's agent, Jorge, with the aim of completing the signing. One source said Saudi delegation has one goal: "to return with Messi official approval to...

Dubai, UAE-- Some 27 million taxi rides were undertaken in Dubai in the first three months of 2023, up one million from the same period last year. According to the Roads and Transport Authority, the latest figures underscored the sector's “remarkable growth” over the past five years. The increase in...

The company will follow it up with a listing on QSE.

Dubai, UAE-- In order to increase Dubai's water security and keep pace with the increase in demand, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has commissioned a water reservoir in the Lusaily area. The project has a storage capacity of 60 million imperial gallons (MIG) and investments totalling $42.85 million. Saeed...

Sharjah, UAE-- The emirate of Sharjah has seen a 22 percent growth in population to 1.8 million inhabitants, as against 1.4 million in 2015, according to the results of Sharjah Census 2022. The findings of the census were unveiled by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, deputy ruler...

The sacking of the general made no difference to the fighting on the ground in both Khartoum and Darfur even as the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that more than one million people have been displaced by the power struggle between Sudan's de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his...

The 10-year sukuk was priced with a 4.875% coupon rate.

Amman, Jordan--The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has applauded Jordan for its tight monetary and financial policies that have ensured macroeconomic stability and access to international capital markets. The IMF made the remarks at the end of their visit to Jordan after conducting the sixth performance review of the government's economic...

Manama, Bahrain--The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) announces that the monthly issue of the Sukuk Al-Salam Islamic securities has been oversubscribed by 197%. Subscriptions worth BD 84.706 million were received for the BD 43 million issue, which carries a maturity of 91 days. The expected return on the issue, which...

The government sold a 9.5% stake for US$121.6mn.

Doha, Qatar--Qatar Chamber (QC) has urged Vietnamese companies to benefit from the investment climate in Qatar and the investment incentives and facilities granted by the state to foreign investments in all sectors. Qatar Chamber board member Ali Abdullatif Al Misnad lauded the close relations between Qatar and Vietnam in all...

The profit rose to US$22mn on the back of higher revenue.

Its net profit fell 7 percent to US$50 million in Q1 of 2023.

The firm's net profit soared to US$27.14mn in Q1 of 2023.

Muscat, Oman--The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has raised $36.35 million by way of allotting treasury bills on Tuesday, the bank said in a statement. The statement said the value of the allotted treasury bills amounted to $26 million, for a maturity period of 28 days. The average accepted price...

Doha, Qatar— More than ten million passengers traveled through Qatar’s Hamad International Airport in the first quarter of the current year, marking a 44.5 percent jump. The airport, according to Qatar News Agency, received 3.56 million passengers in the month of January, followed by 3.24 million in February, and 3.5...

The insurance firm's net profit fell to US$12.36 million.

The aluminium giant's profit fell 68% to US$126.2mn.

Tehran, Iran--Iran has reported a large increase in its purchases of domestically-grown wheat in the months of April and May. Saeid Raad, CEO of Government Trading Corporation (GTC) of Iran, said on Saturday that wheat purchases in seven provinces with warm climate in south and southeastern Iran had reached some...

The US$218mn capital infusion will foster bank's growth.

Its consolidated revenues rise to US$3.53bn in Q1 of 2023.

Cairo, Egypt-- Egypt's trade with Japan dropped 26.3 percent to US$1.1 billion in 2022, but the value of Japan's investments in the North African country shot up 98.7 percent to $73.7 million during the 2021-2022 period. According to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, Egypt exported goods worth...

Its net profit soared 33% to US$7.49mn for Q1 of 2023.

Tehran, Iran--Iran and the European Union traded $847 million worth of goods during the first two months of 2023, registering a 9.2% fall compared with the same period of the year before. Data released by Eurostat show Germany was the top trading partner of Iran in the EU region during...

Amman, Jordan--The volume of trade exchange between Jordan and the US shot up in January and February 2023 to $745 million compared to $561 million for the same period in 2022. Foreign trade data issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS) showed that the value of Jordanian exports to the...

Vienna, Austria— Continuing with its initiative to support businesses across the world, the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is providing a US$50 million loan to Banco Continental in Paraguay for on-lending to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in agricultural and livestock sectors. The investment is part of...

A grim UNICEF report warns of a potential outbreaks of polio and measles in children who didn't get vaccinated because of the disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic. The report said that more than" a decade of hard-earned gains in routine childhood immunization have been eroded" and that getting back...

The bank's net profit vaulted to US$15mn in Q1, up 80%.

The US airline posted a quarterly loss of US$194mn.

DUBAI, UAEI--Dubai saw remarkable growth in medical tourism in 2022 with 674,000 medical tourists spending $270 million in the year. According to a report issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), 39% percent of the medical tourists who came to Dubai were from Asian countries, 22% from Europe and the...

Its revenue for 2022 rose to US$2.8bn, a 78% jump.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Alistithmar Capital has joined hands with Safa Investment Co. to set up several real estate funds worth around $292.9 million.    The two companies will combine their strength to enable Saudi Arabia's growth in the real estate sector through funds that target the residential space in main cities with...

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

Its IPO had been oversubscribed by 136 times.

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

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...

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...