Business

Bahraini Transport Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Each Country to Finance Its Share of Gulf Railway Project

Business A conceptual rendering of the Gulf railway interconnection project. (X)

Bahraini Transport Minister to Asharq Al-Awsat: Each Country to Finance Its Share of Gulf Railway Project

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states took a new step toward completing the railway interconnection project by signing the project's general…

Merza al-Khuwaldi (Manama)
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 Washington, Pittsburg G20 Summits and the Model of Economic Balance

Washington, Pittsburg G20 Summits and the Model of Economic Balance

“Just like yesterday.” The phrase has been uttered a lot these days when referring to past and the upcoming G20 summit. Even though the coronavirus pandemic…

Muath Alamri (Washington)
Business Fahad Almubarak and the Story of the Trusted G20 Sherpa

Fahad Almubarak and the Story of the Trusted G20 Sherpa

With Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 for 2020, attention has been shifted – among many things – to Minister of State Fahad Almubarak who has been the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Aramco Hires Banks for Multi-Tranche Bond Deal

Saudi Aramco Hires Banks for Multi-Tranche Bond Deal

Saudi Aramco said on Monday it has hired a group of banks ahead of a multi-tranche US dollar-denominated bond issuance, as the world's largest oil company…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi G20 Presidency Led to Initiatives Supporting Recovery of Global Economy

Saudi G20 Presidency Led to Initiatives Supporting Recovery of Global Economy

The G20, under the presidency of Saudi Arabia this year, is set to support initiatives that facilitate trade, raise competitiveness and stimulate SMEs. The…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business G20 to Address Economic Pitfalls of ‘Taxation,’ ‘Digitalization’

G20 to Address Economic Pitfalls of ‘Taxation,’ ‘Digitalization’

The 2020 G20 Riyadh summit is actively seeking solutions to challenges facing the global economy and alternatives that facilitate business and protect supply…

Saeed al-Abyad (Jeddah)
Business G20 Toronto Summit: Austerity vs. Consumerism

G20 Toronto Summit: Austerity vs. Consumerism

At Group of Twenty (G20) summits in 2009 and 2010, heads of state directed serious focus at challenges facing global trade, alarmed by statistics showing signs…

Business Saudi Arabia Approves EGP 100m to Support Digitization, Local Craftsmanship in Egypt

Saudi Arabia Approves EGP 100m to Support Digitization, Local Craftsmanship in Egypt

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat announced on Saturday that the Saudi Grant Management Committee provided a funding worth EGP 100…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Tunisia Supplementary Budget Cuts Planned 2020 Budget Deficit to 11.4%

Tunisia Supplementary Budget Cuts Planned 2020 Budget Deficit to 11.4%

Tunisia will reduce its planned 2020 budget deficit to 11.4% of GDP in its supplementary budget bill from 14% previously, according to a government document…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business High OPEC+ Compliance with Oil Production Cuts in Oct

High OPEC+ Compliance with Oil Production Cuts in Oct

The compliance of OPEC+ with oil production cuts in October was seen at 101%, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters on Friday, maintaining a strong level of…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business G20 Strikes Historic Debt Pact to Help Poorer States Hit by COVID

G20 Strikes Historic Debt Pact to Help Poorer States Hit by COVID

The United States, China and other G20 countries on Friday agreed for the first time on a common approach for restructuring government debt as the coronavirus…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business GFH Posts $23.17 Million Net Profit for Nine Months

GFH Posts $23.17 Million Net Profit for Nine Months

GFH Financial Group B.S.C reported net profit attributable to shareholders at USD23.17 million for the nine-month period of 2020 compared with USD64.53 million…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business Cairo Highlights Importance of Strengthening Energy Cooperation with Athens

Cairo Highlights Importance of Strengthening Energy Cooperation with Athens

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confirmed that the newly-signed deal of maritime border demarcation between Egypt and Greece would maximize the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo) Waleed Abdul Rahman (Athens )
Business IEA Cuts 2020 Global Oil Demand Forecast

IEA Cuts 2020 Global Oil Demand Forecast

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Thursday cut its 2020 global oil demand forecast, citing a resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, with vaccines unlikely…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Egypt Exempts Bonds Offered Abroad from Taxes

Egypt Exempts Bonds Offered Abroad from Taxes

The Egyptian Cabinet approved Wednesday a draft law to exempt bonds that are offered for overseas investors from all taxes and fees. Beltone Financial…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business OPEC Expects Virus Outbreak to Curb Oil Demand Recovery Into 2021

OPEC Expects Virus Outbreak to Curb Oil Demand Recovery Into 2021

Global oil demand will rebound more slowly in 2021 than previously thought because of rising coronavirus cases, OPEC said on Wednesday, hampering efforts by…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business MSCI Adds Kuwait Stocks to Emerging Market Index

MSCI Adds Kuwait Stocks to Emerging Market Index

MSCI, the world’s largest index provider, on Wednesday reclassified Kuwait stock indexes to emerging markets status from frontier, a move that could funnel at…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Alibaba's Singles Day Sales Top $74 Billion, Planned Rules Hit Shares

Alibaba's Singles Day Sales Top $74 Billion, Planned Rules Hit Shares

Alibaba sales for its post-COVID-19 Singles' Day shopping extravaganza hit $74 billion, a haul that was overshadowed by a 10% drop in its shares on Wednesday…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Riyadh, Baghdad Sign Deals Worth Tens of Billions of Dollars

Riyadh, Baghdad Sign Deals Worth Tens of Billions of Dollars

The meetings of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council, which concluded in Baghdad on Tuesday, brought about agreements and MoUs worth tens of billions of…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Business ADNOC, TOTAL Deliver 1st Unconventional Gas from UAE

ADNOC, TOTAL Deliver 1st Unconventional Gas from UAE

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, and TOTAL announced on Wednesday the delivery of the first unconventional gas from the UAE, Emirates News Agency…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business UAE: Total VAT Revenues Amount to $3.1b During January, August

UAE: Total VAT Revenues Amount to $3.1b During January, August

The UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that from the beginning of January until the end of August 2020,the total value-added tax (VAT) revenue amounted to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Egypt's Headline Inflation Quickens to 4.5% In October

Egypt's Headline Inflation Quickens to 4.5% In October

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation rose to 4.5% in October from 3.7% in September, official statistics agency CAPMAS said on Tuesday. Month-on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Saudi Exports to Launch 'Made in Saudi Arabia' Program to Support Local Products

Saudi Exports to Launch 'Made in Saudi Arabia' Program to Support Local Products

The Saudi Export Development Authority will launch a “Made in Saudi” initiative in the first quarter of 2021 to accelerate the industrialization process and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia’s TAQA Expands Oilfield Chemicals Capabilities

Saudi Arabia’s TAQA Expands Oilfield Chemicals Capabilities

Saudi Industrialization and Energy Services Company (TAQA) announced that it has agreed to acquire a stake in OPT Petroleum Technologies Company which is…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business ADNOC, ADQ Launch Joint Venture to Drive Growth in UAE Chemicals Sector

ADNOC, ADQ Launch Joint Venture to Drive Growth in UAE Chemicals Sector

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, and ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies announced TA’ZIZ as the name of the new joint venture, JV,…

Asharq Al Awsat