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 Lebanese C.Bank Sets 3,900 Pound/Dollar Rate for Essential Food Industries

Lebanese C.Bank Sets 3,900 Pound/Dollar Rate for Essential Food Industries

The Lebanese central bank will provide foreign currency at a fixed exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds per dollar for importers and manufacturers of…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Private Sector Financing Support Program Exceeds $13Bn

Saudi Private Sector Financing Support Program Exceeds $13Bn

The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) announced Sunday that its private sector financing support program has exceeded its SAR50 billion ($13 billion)…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Oman Signs Oil Exploration Agreement with Tetheys Oil

Oman Signs Oil Exploration Agreement with Tetheys Oil

The Sultanate of Oman signed a new exploration and production sharing agreement with Tetheys Oil for the right to explore and develop the concession Block 58. …

Business Kuwait Oil Ministry: Production Resumes at 2 Oilfields Shared with Saudi Arabia

Kuwait Oil Ministry: Production Resumes at 2 Oilfields Shared with Saudi Arabia

Crude oil production resumed early July at the Wafra oilfield, shared by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, after a five-year halt, the Kuwaiti oil ministry said on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business With Mounting Coronavirus Cases, India Is Third Worst-Hit Country

With Mounting Coronavirus Cases, India Is Third Worst-Hit Country

India has overtaken Russia with the world's third-highest number of novel coronavirus cases, at nearly 700,000, according to the latest data, as the outbreak…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Return of Inflation as Economic Activity Revives in Saudi Arabia

Return of Inflation as Economic Activity Revives in Saudi Arabia

As the economic life regains normalcy after the lifting of the Kingdom-wide lockdown in Saudi Arabia, estimates predict an anticipated return of inflation for…

Mohammed al-Hamidi (Riyadh)
Business Lebanon: Food Prices Soar, Increasing By 100% in 2 Weeks

Lebanon: Food Prices Soar, Increasing By 100% in 2 Weeks

Food prices in Lebanon are rising on a daily basis as a result of the constant change of the dollar exchange rate. Prices of foodstuffs have risen by 72…

Inas Sherri (Beirut)
Business French Companies Seek to Invest in Saudi Tourism, Food Sectors

French Companies Seek to Invest in Saudi Tourism, Food Sectors

A number of specialized companies and businessmen in France are seeking to enter the Saudi market through investments in the sectors of tourism, food, and some…

Saeed al-Abyad (Jeddah)
Business Greece Says Won't Accept Strict EU Conditions on Virus Aid

Greece Says Won't Accept Strict EU Conditions on Virus Aid

Greece will not accept strict European Union conditions on the use of the coronavirus emergency aid, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told the Financial…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Power Crisis Stifles the Lebanese Amid Lack of Feasible Solutions

Power Crisis Stifles the Lebanese Amid Lack of Feasible Solutions

Lebanon’s electricity crisis severely worsened over the past few days, with power outages extending to 20 hours per day even in the capital. Many generator…

Inas Sherri (Beirut)
Business Turkey Inflation Jumps to 12.6%

Turkey Inflation Jumps to 12.6%

Inflation in Turkey jumped more than expected to 12.6% year-over-year in June, drifting further from a central bank target, data showed. June's annual…

Asharq Al Awsat (Ankara)
Business Second Phase of Development of Al-Ula Airport Completed

Second Phase of Development of Al-Ula Airport Completed

The Royal Commission for Al-Ula announced on Friday the completion of the second phase of its project to develop the Al-Ula airport in northwestern Saudi…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Air France Considers Cutting Thousands of Jobs

Air France Considers Cutting Thousands of Jobs

Air France is meeting with personnel representatives Friday to discuss thousands of job cuts after the virus pandemic grounded most flights and darkened…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Office of Lebanon's Finance Minister Says Talks with IMF Ongoing

Office of Lebanon's Finance Minister Says Talks with IMF Ongoing

Lebanon's talks with the IMF are ongoing, the office of Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said Thursday after a newspaper report that the negotiations were on hold…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business VAT Increase to Support Fiscal Imbalance, Preserve Reserves in Saudi Arabia

VAT Increase to Support Fiscal Imbalance, Preserve Reserves in Saudi Arabia

Saudi economists confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s move to increase its value-added tax (VAT) to 15 percent does not primarily aim at increasing state revenues, it…

Mohammed al-Hamidi (Riyadh)
Business Lebanon: Retailers to Shut Down amid Debilitating Crisis

Lebanon: Retailers to Shut Down amid Debilitating Crisis

Major retailers in Lebanon announced on Thursday they will temporarily shut down in the face of an increasingly volatile currency market and their inability to…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Ministry of Housing Approves 300,000 Real Estate Loans in H1 2020

Saudi Ministry of Housing Approves 300,000 Real Estate Loans in H1 2020

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Housing (MoH) has been rolling out a number of initiatives since 2017 to increase the availability of affordable housing and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Tunisia Inaugurates First Solar Power Station

Tunisia Inaugurates First Solar Power Station

Tunisia has inaugurated its first solar power station as part of the government’s ambitious program to secure about 30 percent of its energy needs through…

Mongi Saidani (Tunis)
Business UAE Considers Return of ‘Boeing 737 Max’ to Its Airspace

UAE Considers Return of ‘Boeing 737 Max’ to Its Airspace

The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday it is currently considering the return of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft to its airspace. The General Civil…

Business Emirates Airline Says Issued Over $517 Mln in Refunds in Past Two Months

Emirates Airline Says Issued Over $517 Mln in Refunds in Past Two Months

Emirates, one of the world's biggest long-haul airlines, has processed close to 650,000 refunds over the past two months, refunding over 1.9 billion dirhams (…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company

UAE’s TAQA, ADPower Form 3rd Largest Publicly Traded Company

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) announced the successful completion of its transaction with Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) creating one of the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business World Food Price Index Registers First Increase in 2020 -UN

World Food Price Index Registers First Increase in 2020 -UN

World food prices rose in June to post their first increase of 2020 and mark a slight rebound after the sharp falls triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Black Businesses See Increased Sales Amid Racial Reckoning

Black Businesses See Increased Sales Amid Racial Reckoning

When Mahdi Hashemian was looking for a bicycle for his 7-year-old daughter Zeynab last week, the Cambridge, Massachusetts, resident decided to skip his local…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Saudi Non-Oil Economy to Witness Fast Recovery With Resumption of Normal Life

Saudi Non-Oil Economy to Witness Fast Recovery With Resumption of Normal Life

SAMA Management Governor Dr. Ahmed Abdulkarim Al-Kholifey said that the Saudi non-oil sector would witness a fast recovery after the total lifting of the…

Mohammed Al-Ayed (Riyadh)