Business

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

Business A worker carries loaves of bread for sale at a bakery in the capital city of Cairo, Egypt November 4, 2026. (Reuters)

World Food Prices Dip in October, but Remain Higher Than a Year Ago

World food prices edged lower in October as weaker import demand contributed to monthly declines in cereal, dairy and meat prices, but were still nearly 6%…

Business Copper at the Aurubis copper smelting and refining plant in Hamburg, Germany. (Reuters)

Copper Falls, Set for Worst Week Since March on AI Rout

Copper dropped on Friday and was set for its biggest weekly drop in London since March, as a rout in technology stocks battered markets. Benchmark three…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Workers walk at Kalyon Karapinar solar power plant in Karapinar, Konya province, Türkiye, Oct. 14, 2026. (AP)

Emerging Economies Set to Match Advanced Nations’ Renewable Capacity Additions, IEA Says

Emerging ‌and developing economies outside China are expected to add as much new renewable energy capacity as advanced economies for the first time over…

Business Gold bracelets displayed in a shop window on Green Street, east London, UK, April 30, 2024. (AFP)

Gold Drops Over 1% on Higher Oil Prices; US Payrolls Data in Focus

Gold prices slipped on Friday as oil prices rebounded, fanning inflation worries and higher-for-longer interest rate expectations, while investors awaited key…

Business A pumpjack operates near Bakersfield, California, on Oct. 16. (AFP)

Oil Set for Sharp Weekly Drop but Middle East Supply Concerns Provide Floor

Oil prices are set for a sharp weekly drop on expectations of a de-escalation of the Iran war after US President Donald Trump's party suffered election losses,…


Business It is expected that the number of users of digital banking services will reach 2.5 billion by 2024, up from 1.9 billion in 2020 (Reuters)

Saudi FinTech Firms Secure $23 Million Funding in March

Saudi Arabia’s financial tech sector has scored over $23 million in funding since March, marking a surge from last year’s 51% share. The sector saw…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business From the participation of the Health Sector Fund in the previous year's International Healthcare Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (SPA)

Saudi Health Fund’s 34 Agreements, Partnerships Shape 2023 Operations

The Saudi Health Sector Fund has shown how healthcare is changing during Ramadan, breaking previous records. More than 4 million individual donations were made…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business The Federation of Saudi Chambers has announced the formation of the first-of-its-kind national committee for military industries (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia to Expand Private Sector Role in Military Industries

The Saudi private sector is stepping up its involvement in military industries to boost sector development and ensure long-term project success. The aim is…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business Mawani announced the addition of the new shipping service 'NRS' by Folk Maritime to Jeddah Islamic Port.

Mawani Introduces New Shipping Service at Jeddah Islamic Port

The Saudi Ports Authority, Mawani, has announced the addition of the new shipping service 'NRS' by Folk Maritime to Jeddah Islamic Port that aims to connect…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Marked ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a cart at the Krastsvetmet non-ferrous metals plant in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk/File Photo

Gold Hits Record High

Gold prices rose to a record high on Monday, as a softer US inflation report cemented bets that the Federal Reserve would deliver its first interest rate cut…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs and Oil Minister Hayan Abdul Ghani said the MoU aligns with the ministry’s plan to utilize associated gas for electricity production. Iraqi News Agency

Iraq Signs MoU with Siemens, Shlumberger for Investment in Gas

Iraq on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding with Siemens Energy and Schlumberger to tackle curb gas flaring and channel the captured resource to boost…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Business A woman wearing a face mask checks shoes in a shopping mall in Beijing, China, 31 March 2024. EPA/WU HAO

China's March Factory Activity Expands for First Time in Six Months

China's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in six months in March, an official factory survey showed on Sunday, offering relief to policymakers…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business This handout photo released by QatarEnergy's Public Relations and Communication office shows the headquarters of the Gulf state's main energy facility in the capital Doha on November 8, 2022. (AFP)

QatarEnergy to Charter 19 LNG More Vessels Expanding Fleet Further

QatarEnergy CEO Saad Al Kaabi announced on Sunday that the company has finalized a number of charter contracts with several Asian ship owners to bolster its…

Business The world's commercial aircraft fleet is set to balloon by a third by 2034, according to Oliver Wyman. Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP/File

Maintenance Staff Shortage Could Clip Aviation Industry's Wings

The United States is grappling with a shortage of maintenance workers in the aviation industry, with baby boomers retiring and others changing jobs during the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva speaks meets with Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly in the presence of the Governor of the Central Bank and Minister of Finance. (IMF Director on X)

Egypt to Receive First Tranche of IMF Loan Next Week amid Increasing Dollar Flows

Egypt will receive the first tranche of an expanded loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business SABIC recorded the highest loss among companies in the sector. (SABIC website)

Saudi Oil Companies Incur Losses in 2023 Due to Slow Global Demand, Falling Product Prices

Analysts said that the large losses recorded by oil companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) were due to the slowdown in the global economy,…

Mohammed al-Mutairi (Riyadh)
Business AlUla is one of the top tourist destinations in Saudi Arabia. (Royal Commission for AlUla)

Saudi Arabia Sets Record Inbound Tourism Spending of SAR135 Billion in 2023

Saudi Arabia has set a new record in foreign visitors spending in 2023, as per preliminary data from the Saudi Central Bank regarding the travel item in the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business FILE PHOTO: A general view shows a crowd and shops at Al Ataba, a market in central Cairo, Egypt February 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo

IMF Approves Egypt's Expanded, $8 Bln Loan Program

Egypt received approval on Friday from the International Monetary Fund's executive board for an expanded, $8 billion financial support program that enables the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business Saudi Arabia’s Green Financing Framework enhances trust among investors (SPA)

Fitch: Saudi Arabia’s Green Financing Framework Facilitates Sustainable Funding

Bashar Al Natoor, global head of Islamic finance at Fitch, praised Saudi Arabia’s launch of its “Green Financing Framework” as a key move to support…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Turki Badhris, head of Microsoft Arabia (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Microsoft Says it Aims to Make Saudi Arabia Global Innovation Hub

Microsoft recently announced a major partnership with the Saudi Ministry of Investment under an initiative focused on innovation. This move aims to push…

Nassim Ramadan (Riyadh)
Business A pedestrian passes an electoral poster displaying Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul on March 25.Photographer: Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images

Goldman Says Key Istanbul Vote to Have Positive Impact on Lira

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts believe that the high-stakes municipal vote in Istanbul on Sunday will have a positive impact on the Turkish lira, amid…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business A general view of Tanger-Med container port in Ksar Sghir near the coastal city of Tangier, Morocco, June 26, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal/File Photo

China EV Battery Maker to Build Cathode Plant in Morocco

The Moroccan government gave the green light on Friday for Chinese electric battery maker BTR New Material Group to build a factory near Tangier to produce key…

Business Russia said it would cut its oil output and exports by an additional 471,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter. Reuters

Russia to Cut Oil Output in Q2 to Catch Up with Other OPEC+ Countries

Russia has decided to focus on reducing oil output rather than exports in the second quarter in order to evenly spread production cuts with other OPEC+ member…

Asharq Al Awsat (Moscow)
Business A view shows residential buildings damaged during a Russian missile and drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the city of Kamianske, Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine March 29, 2024. Press service of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk region/Handout via REUTERS

Ukraine Receives $1.5 Bln Funding Tranche Under World Bank Program

Ukraine has received a $1.5 billion tranche of funding under a World Bank program, the country's prime minister said on Friday. "984 million dollars come…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Al-Ghais said that the door is still open for Angola to return to the OPEC family (Reuters)

OPEC Secretary General: World’s Need for Oil Will Continue for Years, Decades

Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Haitham Al-Ghais stressed the importance of the decisions taken by the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Vienna)
Business Year-to-date issuance is USD20.1 billion, already surpassing the 2023 total of USD15.2 billion. Reuters

Fitch Ratings: GCC Bank US Dollar Debt Issuance to Increase Strongly

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks’ US dollar debt issuance is on track for its strongest quarter ever in 1Q24, with issuance already exceeding the full-year…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Sam Bankman-Fried, second from right, stands flanked by his attorneys, Marc Mukasy, left, and Torrey Young, right, while Judge Kaplan announces his sentence in Manhattan federal court, Thursday, March. 28, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Fallen Crypto Mogul Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud on hundreds of thousands of customers that unraveled with…

Asharq Al Awsat (New York)
Business The Saudi market constitutes an attractive investment environment for international companies. (Photo: Reuters)

Government Incentives Increase Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Investment Flows

Figures of net foreign direct investment (FDI) flows published in the fourth quarter of 2023, which amounted to about 13 billion riyals ($3.4 billion),…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The fourth quarter of 2023 witnessed an increase in the number of female workers. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Unemployment Among Saudis is Close to Vision 2030 Target

The unemployment rate among Saudis approached the target of 7 percent, which was set in Vision 2030. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, unemployment…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)