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 Saudi Fozan, Sakan Sign Agreement to Provide Housing Units for Joodeskan Platform

Saudi Fozan, Sakan Sign Agreement to Provide Housing Units for Joodeskan Platform

Saudi Fozan signed an agreement with the National Housing Development Organization (Sakan) to provide 178 housing units, valued at $18.1 million, to provide…

Asharq Al Awsat (Al-Dammam)
Business Egypt, Bechtel Discuss Means of Bolstering Cooperation

Egypt, Bechtel Discuss Means of Bolstering Cooperation

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek el-Molla discussed with President for Regions and Corporate Relations at Bechtel Corporation Stuart…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Saudi Arabia to Explore Investment Opportunities in Space Industry

Saudi Arabia to Explore Investment Opportunities in Space Industry

Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday a plan to explore investment opportunities in the space industry. Newly appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business 7 Countries Flare 65% of Global Gas Associated with Extracting Oil, Report Finds

7 Countries Flare 65% of Global Gas Associated with Extracting Oil, Report Finds

Russia, Iraq, Iran, the United States, Algeria, Venezuela and Nigeria remain the top seven gas flaring countries for nine years running, since the first…

Asharq Al Awsat (Washington)
Business IEA: Oil Demand Drops as COVID-19 Surges

IEA: Oil Demand Drops as COVID-19 Surges

Oil demand dropped last month as the coronavirus surged in India and elsewhere, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. Nevertheless, the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Bahrain: GFH Financial Profits Up 217%

Bahrain: GFH Financial Profits Up 217%

GFH Financial announced Tuesday its financial results for Q1 2021, which ended on March 31. The Group reported net profit attributable to shareholders of …

Asharq Al Awsat (Manama)
Business Suez Canal Chief Says Southern Stretch to Be Expanded

Suez Canal Chief Says Southern Stretch to Be Expanded

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) plans to expand and deepen the southern stretch of the waterway where a container ship became jammed and blocked traffic for six…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Increasing Allocation of Residential Lands North of Riyadh Boosts Price Balance

Increasing Allocation of Residential Lands North of Riyadh Boosts Price Balance

Specialists hailed the directives of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to increase the allocation of new residential lands by an area of 20 million square…

Bandar al-Mosalam (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Economies Prepare for 2021 Pilgrimage Season

Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Economies Prepare for 2021 Pilgrimage Season

To optimize the experience of Muslim pilgrims visiting holy sites in Saudi Arabia this year’s Hajj season, local Hajj and Umrah guides have upped their…

Saeed al-Abyad (Jeddah)
Business Lebanon Faces Gasoline Crisis, Unprecedented Meat Price Hike

Lebanon Faces Gasoline Crisis, Unprecedented Meat Price Hike

With the imminent lifting of subsidies on basic supplies, a fuel crisis emerged in Lebanon in parallel with a further increase in the prices of food products,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Business IMF Approves Financing Plan of Debt Relief to Sudan

IMF Approves Financing Plan of Debt Relief to Sudan

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board approved on Monday a financing plan to help mobilize resources needed for the fund to cover its share of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia's Non-oil Economy Expanded 3.3%

Saudi Arabia's Non-oil Economy Expanded 3.3%

Saudi Arabia's economy shrank 3.3% in the first quarter from a year earlier, hit by oil output cuts, but the non-oil economy expanded 3.3%, recovering from the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business G7 Should Invest $1 Trillion per Year for Sustainable COVID Recovery - Report

G7 Should Invest $1 Trillion per Year for Sustainable COVID Recovery - Report

G7 countries should invest $10 trillion to stoke an investment-driven recovery that puts COVID-19 vaccines in arms and triggers a sweeping energy…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Egyptians Provided with Insurance When Traveling Abroad

Egyptians Provided with Insurance When Traveling Abroad

Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) has revealed that licensed insurance companies will provide insurance policies for citizens traveling abroad. …

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Israel and South Korea to Sign Free Trade Pact

Israel and South Korea to Sign Free Trade Pact

Israel will sign a free trade agreement with South Korea this week, marking the first such arrangement with an Asian market, Israel's economy ministry said on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Expert: Gulf Countries Have Opportunities to Lead Economic Change

Expert: Gulf Countries Have Opportunities to Lead Economic Change

Jarmo Kotilaine, Chief Economic Advisor of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Vice President of the Bahraini Tamkeen Fund, said that Gulf…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business Cash Balance Deepens Lebanon’s Fiscal Accounts Gaps

Cash Balance Deepens Lebanon’s Fiscal Accounts Gaps

Lebanon has entered the fifth month of exceptional management of the public budget, according to the twelve-month rule that allows disbursement and collection…

Ali Zeineddine (Beirut)
Business Sudan Takes Step Towards Debt Relief with IMF Review

Sudan Takes Step Towards Debt Relief with IMF Review

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it had reached a staff-level agreement with Sudan on completion of the second and final review under its staff…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business German Exports Grow for 11th Month Running

German Exports Grow for 11th Month Running

German companies defied the coronavirus crisis to increase their exports for the eleventh month in a row in March, data from the Statistics Office showed on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Japan Airlines Logs $2.6 Billion Loss Over Pandemic

Japan Airlines Logs $2.6 Billion Loss Over Pandemic

Japan Airlines posted an annual net loss of $2.6 billion Friday but did not release a forecast for the current financial year, citing uncertainty around the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Mubadala Reports Largest Total Comprehensive Income in Its History

Mubadala Reports Largest Total Comprehensive Income in Its History

The Mubadala Investment Company said it achieved in 2020 a total comprehensive income (TCI) attributable to the owner of AED72 billion for the year, compared…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Bahrain Sees $2.9 Billion Boost as King Fahd Causeway Reopens

Bahrain Sees $2.9 Billion Boost as King Fahd Causeway Reopens

Bahrain’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday revealed its members are anticipating a $2.9 billion surge in spending once the King Fahd Causeway re…

Asharq Al Awsat (Manama)
Business Turkish Cenbank Holds Rates at 19% After Inflation Rise

Turkish Cenbank Holds Rates at 19% After Inflation Rise

Turkey's central bank held its key interest rate steady at 19% as expected on Thursday and repeated a pledge to keep it above inflation, which the bank expects…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanese Judge Orders Asset Freezes for Individuals Tied to Major Banks

Lebanese Judge Orders Asset Freezes for Individuals Tied to Major Banks

A Lebanese judge has ordered a protective freeze of some properties and company stakes of 14 individuals with links to some of Lebanon’s biggest banks, a move…

Asharq Al Awsat