Business

IMF: Any Slowdown in AI-driven Growth Would be Factor for Central Banks

Business IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during the Annual Meetings Plenary at the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok on October 16, 2026. (Photo by Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP)

IMF: Any Slowdown in AI-driven Growth Would be Factor for Central Banks

Central bankers around the world would need to consider any slowdown in AI-driven growth as they assess steps in their fight against inflation, International…

Asharq Al Awsat
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 Richard Attias, CEO of the Future Investment Initiative, addresses robots during one of the conference sessions. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Future Investment Initiative Calls for Taking Advantage of AI to Address Global Challenges

The Future Investment Initiative (FII) called for taking advantage of Artificial Intelligence in facing challenges, and to benefit from the rapid…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan and his Turkish counterpart Mehmet Simsek (SPA)

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia Sign MoU to Enhance Financial Cooperation

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Türkiye's Minister of Finance and Treasury Mehmet Simsek to…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Business Nicolas Aguzin (Asharq Al-Awsat)

HKEX CEO to Asharq Al-Awsat: Significant Opportunities Present in Saudi Market

Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a comprehensive developmental phase, which has created numerous investment opportunities, said Nicolas Aguzin, the CEO of…

Mohammed Helal (Riyadh)
Business The CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA) Jerry Inzerillo (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Inzerillo to Asharq Al-Awsat: International Investors Eager to Invest in Diriyah

The CEO of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority (DGDA), Jerry Inzerillo, shared that the Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum in Saudi Arabia offered an…

Mohammed Helal (Riyadh)
Business The World Customs Organization (WCO) logo

Saudi Arabia Re-Elected President of WCO Working Group

The World Customs Organization (WCO) has re-elected to a second term Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz bin Mohammad Al-Ouhali as chairman of the data and statistics…

Asharq Al Awsat (Brussels)
Business Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi. GCC

GCC Says All Elements of Cooperation Available to Deepen Economic Ties with Georgia

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi affirmed that all elements of cooperation are available to deepen the economic and trade…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Public Investment Fund (PIF)

PIF, Pirelli Announce Joint Venture on Leading Tire Manufacturing Facility in Saudi Arabia

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Pirelli Tyre S.P.A (Pirelli), a leading global tire manufacturer, announced on Thursday the signing of a joint venture (JV…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business The MoUs were signed in the presence of Minister of Investment Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih. SPA

Saudi Ministry of Investment Signs 3 MoUs at FII7

The Saudi Ministry of Investment has signed three memoranda of understanding (MoU) in the fields of biotechnology, medicine, financial services, education and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,989.50 per ounce. Reuters

Gold Steadfast on Mideast Jitters

Gold climbed back towards last week's five-month peak on Thursday, undeterred by a stronger US dollar and bond yields, as investors looked to the safe-haven…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Saudi Minister of Finance, Mohammed al-Jadaan, speaking at a session of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia No Longer Focuses on GDP Numbers, Rather on Developing Non-Oil Sector

Saudi Arabia is no longer focusing on gross domestic product numbers but instead on the development of the non-oil sector, announced Saudi Finance Minister…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The investment is a significant step towards positioning the Kingdom as a regional hub for attracting space investments and technologies. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

$266.5 Mln to Establish First Satellite Manufacturing Company in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has announced the completion of investment procedures by Chinese company ASPACE of 1 billion Saudi riyals ($266.576 million). This investment…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly meets with officials of the Belgian company “Jan De Nul” for building and maintaining marine infrastructure. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt Studies Plan to Export Green Electricity to ‘Europe’

The Egyptian government on Tuesday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company and Belgian…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva (Asharq Al-Awsat)

IMF’s Georgieva to Asharq Al-Awsat: Vision 2030 Reforms Highly Successful

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, has declared that Saudi Arabia's commitment to reform is what has…

Hala Saghbini (Riyadh)
Business The Kingdom's move to relocate regional headquarters to Riyadh aims to boost investment and generate jobs (SPA)

Saudi Arabia to Enforce January Deadline for Moving Regional Headquarters to Riyadh

Saudi Arabia will implement its January 2024 deadline requiring international firms to relocate their regional headquarters to Riyadh if they wish to secure…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim meets with Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio. SPA

Saudi Economy Minister, Finnish Foreign Trade Minister Discuss Enhancing Bilateral Cooperation

Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim has discussed with Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio the enhancement of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business A Palestinian man prepares salted fish to be sold in a market ahead of Eid al-Fitr in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 26, 2022. (AFP)

UNCTAD: Gaza Needs Billions in Aid to Reverse Years of Restrictions

Gaza needs billions of dollars in international economic aid to compensate for years of restrictions that have stifled its economy and curbed its development,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday. (FII)

FII7 Highlights Importance of AI

The seventh Future Investment Initiative (FII7) forum kicked off in Riyadh on Tuesday under the theme “The New Compass,” focusing on Artificial Intelligence on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva attends a signing ceremony with Thailand to host the 2026 International Monetary Fund and the World Bank annual meetings on the last day of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, following last month's deadly earthquake, in Marrakech, Morocco, October 15, 2023. (Reuters)

IMF: Israel-Hamas War Will Impact Economies of Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan 

The raging war between Israel and Hamas is already battering the economies of nearby countries, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund told a…

Business Two workers in an Algerian oil field (Sonatrach)

Algeria Calls on Europe to Increase Investments in Energy

Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab has called on Italian and European companies to increase investments in the energy sector in Algeria. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Ravenna)
Business S&P Global downgrades Israel's outlook to "negative" from "stable" - Reuters

Israel to Amend Budget, Gaza War Direct cost at $246ml Daily

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday the 2023-2024 national budget was "no longer relevant" given the Gaza war and would be amended, and…

Business Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz speaking at the Future Investment Initiative forum in the Kingdom (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Energy Minister Calls for Stable Oil Market to Witness Global Economic Growth

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has confirmed that the total value of global oil trading is worth $2 trillion. He underscored the importance…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Riyadh)
Business A general view of Cadablanca, Morocco. (AFP)

Morocco, African Development Bank Sign Financing Agreements worth $282ml

Morocco has signed three financing agreements with the African Development Bank worth more than 2.9 billion dirham ($281.96 million), Morocco state news agency…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. SPA

Saudi Crown Prince Meets with World Bank President on Sidelines of FII Forum

Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has met with the President of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, on the sidelines…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Lebanon's caretaker Energy Minister Walid Fayad speaks during a conference during Beirut energy week in Dbayeh, Lebanon September 21, 2023. (Reuters)

Lebanon Wants TotalEnergies' Consortium to Drill Second Well in Gas Block 9

Lebanon wants a consortium led by TotalEnergies to drill another well at offshore Block 9 quickly, after a first well did not find enough natural gas to be…