Business
Qatar’s top bank Q2 profit slides over virus
Qatar National Bank, the largest lender in the Middle East, said Sunday its net profits for the second quarter sank over the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.QNB net profit in the second quarter plunged 25.8 percent to 2.84 billion riyals ($780 million) compared to $1.05 billion in the same
Dubai announces additional economic stimulus package of $1.7 billion
Dubai will release another economic stimulus package of $1.7 billion in three instalments, the emirate’s Crown Prince tweeted.The first package is worth $408 million and covers 15 initiatives, Hamdan bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum said on Twitter.The second package is valued at $898 million, with eig
Chinese banks prepare contingency plans over threat of US sanctions
Chinese state lenders are revamping contingency plans in anticipation of US legislation that could penalize banks for serving officials who implement the new national security law for Hong Kong, numerous sources have said. In worst-case scenarios under consideration by the Bank of China and Industr
Oil stable at $43 as rise in coronavirus cases stall economic recovery
Oil prices were steady on Wednesday, as rising US crude inventories and an increase in US coronavirus infections put the brakes on a recent recovery sparked by easing lockdowns. Brent crude futures rose 9 cents to $43.17 a barrel by 1340 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 8
Oman seeks $2 billion bridge loan from banks
DUBAI - Oman is seeking a $2 billion bridge loan from international and regional banks, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, confirming a report by LPC, a fixed income news service owned by Refinitiv. The Gulf state was in talks with banks earlier this year about funding options, inclu
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways to add more flights
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said on Tuesday it was resuming flights to more destinations after the United Arab Emirates this month eased travel restrictions on residents and citizens. State-owned Etihad said by August it planned to increase its network to up to 58 destinations, including Washington
Currency Crisis Impoverishes Iranians
Desperate to afford her daughter’s overseas university fees, 58-year-old retired Iranian teacher Maryam Hosseini withdrew all her savings from the bank to buy US dollars. It was not enough. With three years of study still to do, her daughter is heading back home, her future now on hold. Hoss
Egypt’s net foreign reserves recover slightly to $38.2 bln
Egypt’s net foreign reserves recovered some ground lost during the coronavirus outbreak, rising to $38.2 billion in June from $36 billion in May, the central bank said on Tuesday. Foreign reserves have dropped since March from a high of more than $45 billion, as investors pulled cash from eme
BNPL firms benefit from a shift to online shopping
Browsing online during lockdown, Jessica Friend spotted a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses she liked, but the price tag made the 30-year-old Ohio resident think twice. What persuaded her to click “buy,” Friend said, was the short-term credit offered by Afterpay, which split the $260 payment i
Analysts urge Canada to focus on boosting the economy
Canada should focus on boosting economic growth after getting pummeled by the COVID-19 crisis, analysts say, even as concerns about the sustainability of its debt are growing, with Fitch downgrading the nation’s rating just over a week ago. Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau will deliver
Shell boss weighs up moving headquarters to Britain
Royal Dutch Shell is not ruling out moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to Britain, the oil company’s CEO Ben van Beurden said in a Dutch newspaper interview published on Saturday. Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever said last month it plans to ditch its dual Anglo-Dutch leg
China’s tech titans fight for cloud control
For Chinese cloud services companies, the coronavirus outbreak has become a rainmaker, bringing in new business far and wide as firms shift work online, and authorities develop apps and systems to help contain outbreaks and manage social restrictions. For Tencent Holdings, in particular, it has als
Egypt’s aviation sector lost $62.23 million during three-month coronavirus lockdown
Egypt’s three-month suspension of flights due to the coronavirus pandemic weighed on the aviation sector, which lost up to $62.23 million during the period air travel was restricted. The country reopened its international airspace this week, although some restrictions were put in place to pre
Saudi Arabia can bridge budget gap through debt, says Citi Bank chief
Saudi Arabia has the capacity to help fund its budgetary needs during the COVID-19 crisis via a mixture of local and international capital markets, according to a senior banker. David Livingstone, chief executive officer for Europe, Middle East and Africa at American bank giant Citi, told Arab News
Kuwait Int'l Airport to Resume Commercial Flights from Aug. 1
Commercial flights at Kuwait International Airport will resume from Aug. 1, the government’s communications office said on Monday, after being suspended in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kuwait’s cabinet agreed on a three-stage resumption starting at 30% capacity, the statement
UK house prices fall for first time since 2012
Britain’s house prices fell in annual terms for the first time since 2012 in June as the country reeled from the coronavirus shock to the economy, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Wednesday.Nationwide said its measure of house prices fell by 0.1 percent compared with June of last year.
Saudi Arabia raises $2.27 billion in Islamic bonds
Saudi Arabia has raised 8.495 billion riyals ($2.27 billion) in sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in June, the finance ministry said on Sunday. The first tranche of the sukuk issue is 2.494 billion riyals, and the total tranche size is 5.017 billion riyals, maturing in 2027, a ministry statement said. The
Egypt strikes gold in Eastern Desert
Egypt has discovered a gold deposit estimated at more than one million ounces in the country’s southeast, the petroleum ministry said Tuesday.“The discovery is worth over $1 billion in investments over the next 10 years,” the ministry said in a statement.The deposit was found in th
