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 Sudan Declares State of Economic Emergency

Sudan Declares State of Economic Emergency

Sudan on Thursday decided to reactivate the state of economic emergency and establish joint forces to stop the deterioration of the pound, which triggered…

Mohammed Amin Yassin (Khartoum)
Business G20 Holds Onto Protection of Jobs

G20 Holds Onto Protection of Jobs

The G20 Labor and Employment Ministers have stressed the importance of protecting jobs and acknowledged the value of technology and a human-centered approach…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Lucid Motors Unveils its Much-Anticipated New Electric Vehicle

Lucid Motors Unveils its Much-Anticipated New Electric Vehicle

Lucid Motors, which seeks to set new standards for sustainable transportation with its advanced luxury electric vehicles (EV), unveiled on Thursday production…

Mosaed al-Zayani (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia, India Study Trade Opportunities

Saudi Arabia, India Study Trade Opportunities

Saudi Arabia and India discussed cooperation opportunities and boosting investment and commercial ties, at a time when business and economic activities were…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business Saudi PIF Ranks 8th Among World’s Top SWFs With $390b Assets

Saudi PIF Ranks 8th Among World’s Top SWFs With $390b Assets

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) maintained its 8th position among the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) for September 2020, recent data…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi ACWA Power Sells Stake in Photovoltaic Power Plant in Bulgaria

Saudi ACWA Power Sells Stake in Photovoltaic Power Plant in Bulgaria

The ACF Renewable Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, completed on Thursday a sale of its 100% stake in ACWA Power CF Karad PV Park EAD,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Palestinian Grape Farmers See Market Collapse Amid Virus Outbreak

Palestinian Grape Farmers See Market Collapse Amid Virus Outbreak

Palestinian grape farmers are boasting a bumper crop this year, helped in part by coronavirus lockdowns that gave many of them more time to till their vines…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Arabia to Establish Global Tourism Academy

Saudi Arabia to Establish Global Tourism Academy

Saudi Arabia will open a regional office for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Riyadh as well as a global academy for tourism training,…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business Egypt Sets Up Commodities Exchange

Egypt Sets Up Commodities Exchange

Egypt on Wednesday announced the formation of a commodities exchange which will initially trade wheat, oils, sugar and rice beginning in the first half of 2021…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Bahrain Sells $2 Billion in 2nd Bond Offering During 2020

Bahrain Sells $2 Billion in 2nd Bond Offering During 2020

Bahrain sold $2 billion in its second bond offering of the year on Wednesday, a dual-tranche issuance comprising seven-year sukuk and a 12-year conventional…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business UAE to Support SME Loans with Moveable Assets Law

UAE to Support SME Loans with Moveable Assets Law

The UAE will allow small and medium-sized enterprises to benefit from assets including tools and raw materials as collateral to back loans, in order to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Lebanon's Banking Association Seeks More Detail on Central Bank Demands

Lebanon's Banking Association Seeks More Detail on Central Bank Demands

Lebanon’s banking association has sought clarifications from the central bank about calls for the repatriation of deposits and other demands aimed at…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Amazon Seeks to Hire 33,000 People

Amazon Seeks to Hire 33,000 People

Amazon is on a hiring spree. In the latest sign of how it's prospering while others are faltering during the pandemic, Amazon said Wednesday it is seeking…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon Starts Central Bank Audit in Effort to Exit Financial Crisis

Lebanon Starts Central Bank Audit in Effort to Exit Financial Crisis

Lebanon has started a forensic audit of the central bank, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday, one of the steps donors want to see to help the nation claw…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Largest Logistics Center in Saudi Ports Starts Operating

Largest Logistics Center in Saudi Ports Starts Operating

Saudi Binzagr Company announced Tuesday that the Industrial Valley in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) started the trial phase for the largest integrated…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business UAE: New Smart System to Combat Illegal Financing

UAE: New Smart System to Combat Illegal Financing

UAE’s National Committee for Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism and Illegal Organizations announced in its sixth meeting, the launch of …

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business STC Returns to Talks on Vodafone Egypt Stake Acquisition

STC Returns to Talks on Vodafone Egypt Stake Acquisition

The Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the Middle East’s largest telecom company, is in discussions to reduce its non-binding USD2.39 billion offer for a majority…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia Ranks 1st among G20 in Digital Competitiveness

Saudi Arabia Ranks 1st among G20 in Digital Competitiveness

Saudi Arabia ranked first among the G20 member states in digital competitiveness in the last three years, revealed the World Competitiveness Report, released…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Bahrain Hires Banks for Second Bond Issuance of 2020

Bahrain Hires Banks for Second Bond Issuance of 2020

Bahrain has hired banks to arrange a multi-tranche sale of US dollar-denominated sukuk and bonds that would be the country's second bond issue this year, a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Amazon's Bezos Tops Forbes Richest List, Pandemic Knocks Trump Lower

Amazon's Bezos Tops Forbes Richest List, Pandemic Knocks Trump Lower

Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos topped Forbes’ list of richest Americans for the third year in a row, while US President Donald Trump’s ranking dropped as…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi: Domestic Tourism Revives Medinah Hotels

Saudi: Domestic Tourism Revives Medinah Hotels

After a period of stagnation that lasted for more than 3 months due to the total and partial closure in application of precautionary measures to combat the new…

Saeed al-Abyad (Jeddah)
Business Saudi Taxpayer Satisfaction Index Hits 80%

Saudi Taxpayer Satisfaction Index Hits 80%

The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) in Saudi Arabia has revealed significant progress at the level of digitization in its work. This comes in…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Real Estate Loans in Saudi Arabia Increase Despite COVID-19

Real Estate Loans in Saudi Arabia Increase Despite COVID-19

Despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, real estate loans in Saudi Arabia saw a rise by the second quarter, according to a report published by the Saudi…

Mohammed Helal (Riyadh)
Business German Machinery Industry Sees Big Production Drop This Year

German Machinery Industry Sees Big Production Drop This Year

A group representing Germany's machinery industry said Tuesday it expects production to drop 17% this year as the sector struggles with the fallout from the…

Asharq Al Awsat