Business

Egypt Seeks Faster Progress on Libya Gas, Refining and Power Projects

Business Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a press conference with Minister of Information Diaa Rashwan (not pictured) in Cairo, Egypt, March 25, 2026. (Reuters)

Egypt Seeks Faster Progress on Libya Gas, Refining and Power Projects

Egypt aims to accelerate energy projects with Libya, including gas pipeline links, refining of Libyan crude in Egypt and an electricity interconnection,…

Business GCC transport ministers pose for a group photo following the 27th committee meeting in Kuwait. (GCC Railway Authority)

GCC: Railway Agreement Sets Joint Framework for Project Implementation and Operation

Jasem Albudaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said on Sunday that the signing of the General Agreement on the GCC Railway Project…

Asharq Al Awsat (Manama)
Business A factory in Madinah’s industrial city. (SPA)

Mega Projects Drive Growth for Saudi Small and Medium Factories

Mega projects in Saudi Arabia are offering increasing opportunities for small and medium-sized factories to expand their businesses and integrate into local…

Sara bin Shamran (Riyadh)
Business Majnoon oil field near the Iraqi city of Basra (Reuters)

Iraq Oil Output Exceeds 5 million bpd

Iraq produces more than 5 million barrels of oil per day (bpd), Oil Minister Basim Mohammed told state news agency INA on Saturday. According to Reuters, Iraq…

Asharq Al Awsat
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 UK Businesses Fear for Afghan Rug Weavers After Taliban Takeover

UK Businesses Fear for Afghan Rug Weavers After Taliban Takeover

Overseas businesses selling colorful handwoven rugs and vivid handblown glass from Afghanistan are concerned for their suppliers as the Taliban's takeover of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Iraq Says Looks Forward to Joint Industrial, Commercial Zone with Kuwait

Iraq Says Looks Forward to Joint Industrial, Commercial Zone with Kuwait

Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi stated that Iraq was looking forward to establishing a joint industrial and commercial zone with Kuwait to further develop an…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Egypt to Begin Offering Sukuk in 1st Half of 2022

Egypt to Begin Offering Sukuk in 1st Half of 2022

Egypt will begin issuing sukuk, or sharia-compliant Islamic bonds, in the first half of 2022, the finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The exact…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business ADNOC Signs $1 Billion Worth of Engineering Services Deals

ADNOC Signs $1 Billion Worth of Engineering Services Deals

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said Monday it had signed framework agreements worth up to $1 billion (3.67 billion AED) for Concept and Front-End…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Majid Al Futtaim Announces $4.2 Billion Revenues for H1

Majid Al Futtaim Announces $4.2 Billion Revenues for H1

Majid Al Futtaim announced AED 15.6 billion ($4.2 billion) in revenues for the first six months of 2021, marking a 10 percent decline from the same period last…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Dubai)
Business Profits of Saudi Listed Firms Double Four-Fold

Profits of Saudi Listed Firms Double Four-Fold

The results of the Saudi firms listed at Tadawul witnessed a four-fold rise in Q2 of the current year. Net profit totaled 129.5 billion riyals ($34.5…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business New Saudi Regulation to Support Entrepreneurs, SMEs

New Saudi Regulation to Support Entrepreneurs, SMEs

Saudi Arabia will exempt small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from commerce fees register for three years as the Kingdom plans to boost the number of startups…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business Mastercard: Digital Payments Increase Growth of SMEs in Middle East, Africa

Mastercard: Digital Payments Increase Growth of SMEs in Middle East, Africa

Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) confidence across most sectors is on the rise, even though different sectors were exposed to and impacted in diverging ways…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Libya’s Central Bank Calls for Boosting Oil Output by 40%

Libya’s Central Bank Calls for Boosting Oil Output by 40%

Libya needs to boost oil output by almost 40 percent of its current level to cover its spending needs and begin revamping the economy, Libya’s central bank…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Prices at Pump Soar in Lebanon After New Subsidy Cut

Prices at Pump Soar in Lebanon After New Subsidy Cut

Lebanese fuel prices soared by up to 70 percent Sunday after yet another subsidy cut, official figures showed, heaping more pressure on people struggling to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Algeria Posts GDP Growth of 2.3% In the First Quarter

Algeria Posts GDP Growth of 2.3% In the First Quarter

Algeria's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.3% in the first quarter of this year helped by a better performance from the energy sector, official data showed…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon: Aoun Says Treasury to Bear Cost of Fuel Subsidies

Lebanon: Aoun Says Treasury to Bear Cost of Fuel Subsidies

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the government treasury will bear the cost of the continuation of fuel subsidies that was decided on Saturday. The…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia Remains Top Oil Supplier to China

Saudi Arabia Remains Top Oil Supplier to China

Saudi Arabia Remains Top Oil Supplier to China Saudi Arabia remained the largest supplier of crude oil to China for the ninth consecutive month in July, but…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business Egypt Seeks Power Linkage with Europe

Egypt Seeks Power Linkage with Europe

Egypt is continuously strengthening power linkage lines with neighboring countries such as Jordan, Sudan, and Libya, announced Minister of Electricity Mohamed…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Egypt Secures Strategic Stock of Commodities Despite COVID-19

Egypt Secures Strategic Stock of Commodities Despite COVID-19

Egypt succeeded in securing the strategic stock of commodities despite the negative repercussions of the coronavirus crisis on the local and global markets,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Afghanistan GDP May Slump 20% after Taliban Takeover, Says Fitch Solutions

Afghanistan GDP May Slump 20% after Taliban Takeover, Says Fitch Solutions

Afghanistan's economy could shrink by as much as 20% this year and its currency may slide further than it already has following the Taliban's takeover, Fitch…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia Starts Allocating Land for Renewable Energy Projects

Saudi Arabia Starts Allocating Land for Renewable Energy Projects

Saudi Arabia, represented by the Ministry of Energy, announced on Thursday the allocation of two plots of 12 million square meters for the development of two…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Initiative Aims to Reduce $10.6 Billion in Food Waste

Saudi Initiative Aims to Reduce $10.6 Billion in Food Waste

Saudi Arabia signed on Wednesday an agreement to reinforce food security initiatives under the National Transformation Program. The Kingdom inked the deal…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Housing Finance Jumps 11% in H1 2021

Saudi Housing Finance Jumps 11% in H1 2021

The demand for the subsidized residential real estate financing program in Saudi Arabia jumped 11% in H1 2021 at time when the Real Estate Development Fund…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business BNY Mellon to Begin Delivering Global Securities Services in Saudi Arabia

BNY Mellon to Begin Delivering Global Securities Services in Saudi Arabia

SNB Capital, the investment banking arm of Saudi National Bank, has partnered with global investments company BNY Mellon to offer global securities services to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Oil Prices in Longest Losing Streak since February 2020

Oil Prices in Longest Losing Streak since February 2020

Oil prices fell for a sixth day in their longest losing streak since February 2020, as a spike in COVID-19 cases worldwide fueled fears of lower fuel demand…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business IMF Stops Funds to Afghanistan, Reserves Blocked from Taliban

IMF Stops Funds to Afghanistan, Reserves Blocked from Taliban

Despite its swift takeover of the government in Afghanistan, the Taliban will not have access to most of the nation's cash and gold stocks, while the IMF…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business 'Export and Import' Launches New Phase with The Saudi Business Sector

'Export and Import' Launches New Phase with The Saudi Business Sector

The Saudi Export-Import Bank revealed a strategy to boost openness to the business sector to maximize the competitiveness of the Saudi product in global…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia Reduces Holdings of US Bonds

Saudi Arabia Reduces Holdings of US Bonds

At a time when the Saudi sovereign fund’s investments in the US markets increased, the Kingdom reduced its holdings of US bonds by $8.6 billion, around 6.3%,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)