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China’s DiDi Invests in Middle East Ride-Hailing Service Careem

Ride-hailing app Careem. (AFP)
Ride-hailing app Careem. (AFP)
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China’s DiDi Invests in Middle East Ride-Hailing Service Careem

Ride-hailing app Careem. (AFP)
Ride-hailing app Careem. (AFP)

China's largest ride-hailing firm DiDi Chuxing has invested in Careem, the Dubai-based Middle East online taxi service.

This new partnership deal marks Didi's latest international expansion against rival Uber.

DiDi is seeking to turn up the heat on ride-sharing pioneer Uber via a string of partnerships with regional players in Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa and now the Middle East. It has previously done similar deals in Latin America as well as with Uber's US rival Lyft.

DiDi said on Tuesday it would invest in Careem to strengthen its market position across the region. The two companies said they would cooperate on smart transportation technology, product development and operations.

Careem and DiDi declined to comment on the size of the Chinese company's investment in Careem.

Founded five years ago, Careem has 12 million customers in 80 cities ranging from Pakistan to Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.

It is ahead of Uber in Pakistan and a strong second player to Uber in other regional markets, according to research firm SimilarWeb, which tracks consumer mobile and web usage habits.

DiDi's ride-hailing system covers cities representing 60 percent of the world’s population in 1,000 cities in North America, Southeast Asia, South Asia and South America, it said.

Over the past few weeks, DiDi has announced a similar investment in Estonian-based ride-hailing firm Taxify to help it to expand in Europe and Africa.

DiDi and its backer SoftBank Group have also said they would contribute the bulk of a new $2.5 billion investment into Grab, a major online taxi player in south east Asia.

DiDi is the world's second most valuable venture-backed start-up after Uber, having last been valued at $50 billion according to venture investment tracking firm CB Insights, having raised $13 billion in funding over the past five years.

In July, Kingdom Holding Company of billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $62 million in Careem.

The Kingdom Holding Company announced the roughly 7 percent acquisition of the ride-hailing service, giving it a seat on app's board of directors.

The Kingdom Holding Company has a broad range of global investments, including in other technology firms such as Lyft, Uber's competitor in the US.

Last year, the Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund invested $3.5 billion in Uber.

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Business

French Economy Stalls in Q2, Inflation Speeds Up

Passengers wait as the traffic is suspended following a fault in the electrical system at the Montparnasse railway station in Paris on August 27, 2026. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
Passengers wait as the traffic is suspended following a fault in the electrical system at the Montparnasse railway station in Paris on August 27, 2026. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
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French Economy Stalls in Q2, Inflation Speeds Up

Passengers wait as the traffic is suspended following a fault in the electrical system at the Montparnasse railway station in Paris on August 27, 2026. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
Passengers wait as the traffic is suspended following a fault in the electrical system at the Montparnasse railway station in Paris on August 27, 2026. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)

France's economic growth stalled in the second quarter, statistics office Insee said Friday, revising down its initial forecast while reporting a sharp rise in inflation in August.

GDP growth was flat in the quarter, instead of the 0.2 percent growth Insee first reported last month.

That followed a 0.2 percent decline in the first quarter -- also a downward revision from the previous estimate of 0.1 percent.

"These revisions reflect the even more deteriorated state of agricultural production compared with the information available at the end of July," Insee said.

The French economy has been slowing since the third quarter of last year, hit by weak consumer spending and, more recently, the surge in energy prices from the war against Iran.

Inflation in the EU's second-biggest economy rose to 2.4 percent in August after 2.1 percent in July, Insee said.

Insee also said household purchasing power fell 0.5 percent in the second quarter after slipping 0.1 percent in the first.

The data puts further pressure on the French government as it tries to negotiate steep spending cuts for the 2027 budget, aiming to reduce a budget deficit that stood at 5.1 percent of GDP last year, well above the three-percent limit set for members of the eurozone.

Business

S&P Affirms China’s ‘A+’ Rating, Sees Growth Above 4% as Fiscal Support Continues

People interact with a humanoid robot outside the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on August 26, 2026. (AFP)
People interact with a humanoid robot outside the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on August 26, 2026. (AFP)
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S&P Affirms China’s ‘A+’ Rating, Sees Growth Above 4% as Fiscal Support Continues

People interact with a humanoid robot outside the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on August 26, 2026. (AFP)
People interact with a humanoid robot outside the 2nd World Humanoid Robot Games at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing on August 26, 2026. (AFP)

S&P affirmed China's sovereign credit rating at "A+" on Friday, citing its expectation that the country's economy will likely continue to grow by 4% or more over the next one to two years.

S&P said the outlook on the ‌rating remained "stable", reflecting ‌the agency's view that ‌China ⁠will provide larger fiscal ⁠support to keep the economy growing.

China's finance ministry said on Friday that it welcomed S&P's decision to affirm China's ratings and outlook and vowed to continue ⁠to implement more proactive ‌and effective macroeconomic ‌policies.

China's "strong progress" in strengthening supply chains, technological ‌capabilities and manufacturing prowess has ‌allowed its economy to remain resilient in the face of global uncertainties, including trade tensions with the US and ‌the Iran war, S&P said.

However, the ratings agency flagged ⁠weakness ⁠in domestic demand, citing a prolonged property-sector downturn and subdued consumer spending.

Separately, ratings agency Fitch warned earlier this week that China risks slipping back into deflation without a more pronounced recovery in domestic demand, despite signs of improving price pressures earlier this year.

Business

Oil on Track for Weekly Loss Even as Iran Tensions Simmer

Crude oil processing facilities at the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Germany, 26 August 2026. (EPA)
Crude oil processing facilities at the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Germany, 26 August 2026. (EPA)
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Oil on Track for Weekly Loss Even as Iran Tensions Simmer

Crude oil processing facilities at the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Germany, 26 August 2026. (EPA)
Crude oil processing facilities at the PCK refinery in Schwedt, Germany, 26 August 2026. (EPA)

Oil prices fell on Friday and are on track to snap a two-week winning streak, despite settling higher in the previous session following a report that US President Donald Trump is not interested in returning to previous deal terms with Iran.

Brent crude futures were down 60 cents, or 0.67%, to $89.10 a barrel at 0636 GMT. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 64 cents, or 0.77%, to $82.89.

Both benchmarks were poised to end the week lower, with Brent down 5.3% and ‌WTI falling ‌4.3%.

"Despite diplomatic efforts hitting a roadblock, there ‌are growing ⁠signs of additional ⁠oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," ING analysts said in a note. "As the conflict persists, producers are adapting to the new realities and becoming increasingly comfortable navigating the strait."

Goldman Sachs on Thursday estimated recent total Gulf exports at 15 million to 16 million barrels per day (bpd), 7 million to ⁠8 million bpd below pre-war levels but ‌5 million to 6 million above ‌the lowest point in March.

Citing people familiar with the matter, ‌the Wall Street Journal report said the Trump administration has ‌repeatedly told mediators it has no interest in reviving the June memorandum of understanding, complicating diplomatic efforts to restart talks.

Earlier on Thursday, Washington said it was not in talks with Iran despite diplomatic ‌efforts by other countries to re-engage the two sides.

On Monday, the US announced what it ⁠called ⁠the "toughest sanctions in history" on Iran. Tehran said the sanctions were an "inhumane and hostile act" that had lost their effectiveness.

Elsewhere, geopolitical tensions escalated after Moscow warned it could strike British military targets inside and outside Ukraine in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian territory using British-supplied long-range cruise missiles.

Trump, however, said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attack a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) country, and he downplayed media reports that CIA Director John Ratcliffe this week had warned Russian officials against such an attack. Britain is one of the founding members of NATO.