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 Samba Financial Group CEO Among 100 Most Powerful Women in the World

Samba Financial Group CEO Among 100 Most Powerful Women in the World

Saudi Arabia’s Rania Nashar, Samba Financial Group CEO, has been named in Forbes 100 most powerful women in the world for the second time. Nashar was ranked…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Dubai’s Non-oil Foreign Trade Rises 6% in Value

Dubai’s Non-oil Foreign Trade Rises 6% in Value

Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade volumes surged to 83 million tons in the first nine months of 2019, an increase of 22 percent year-on-year from 68 million tons…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business As Crisis Hits, Lebanese Businesses Fight for Survival

As Crisis Hits, Lebanese Businesses Fight for Survival

After decades of hard work, self-made Lebanese chocolatier Roger Zakhour thought he would finally be able to pass a successful business to his daughter. But…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Business Demands for a Saudi Agency on Innovation Governance

Demands for a Saudi Agency on Innovation Governance

A Saudi civil committee called for establishing a government agency concerned with innovation governance to support the impact associated with productivity,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Egypt Shows Strong Quarterly Financial Indicators

Egypt Shows Strong Quarterly Financial Indicators

Egypt's current account deficit narrowed to $1.382 billion from July to September 2019 from $2.012 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Lebanese Protesters Turn Their Ire on Banks

Lebanese Protesters Turn Their Ire on Banks

Dozens of Lebanese protesters held a brief sit-in inside a bank in Beirut and another in the country's south on Saturday, part of their focus on banking…

Business IMF Says Turkish Monetary Easing Went 'Too Far', Calls for Neutral Fiscal Policy in 2020

IMF Says Turkish Monetary Easing Went 'Too Far', Calls for Neutral Fiscal Policy in 2020

The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that Turkey’s monetary policy easing had “gone too far” and called on Ankara to ensure that fiscal policy…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Turkey Unveils First Fully Homemade Car in $3.7 Billion Bet on Electric

Turkey Unveils First Fully Homemade Car in $3.7 Billion Bet on Electric

Turkey unveiled its first fully domestically-produced car on Friday, saying it aimed to eventually produce up to 175,000 a year of the electric vehicle in a…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon Protesters Step in to Help in Face of Poverty

Lebanon Protesters Step in to Help in Face of Poverty

With volunteer kitchens, makeshift clinics, and donation centers, Lebanon's protesters are helping their compatriots survive the worst economic crisis since…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Business Global Markets Mostly Higher Amid Trade Optimism

Global Markets Mostly Higher Amid Trade Optimism

Global stock markets moved mostly higher on Friday amid optimism that US-Chinese trade relations are improving and on early reports that online Christmas…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon's Salameh: 'Nobody Knows' How Much Pound Could Weaken

Lebanon's Salameh: 'Nobody Knows' How Much Pound Could Weaken

Lebanon's central bank governor said on Thursday "nobody knows" how much more the cost of dollars could rise on the black market as a dire crisis piles…

Business Russia’s Angara, Saudi SABIC to Partner in Petrochemical Technology

Russia’s Angara, Saudi SABIC to Partner in Petrochemical Technology

The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has given Russia’s Angara Service a partnership opportunity to launch its business in the Saudi market. After…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business China’s Imports of Saudi Oil Jumps to Record High in November

China’s Imports of Saudi Oil Jumps to Record High in November

China's imports of crude oil from Saudi Arabia, its largest supplier, reached a record high in November, increasing over 25 percent, compared to same period in…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Sudan to Approve First Budget of the Transitional Government

Sudan to Approve First Budget of the Transitional Government

The Sudanese government discussed the report of the committee studying gradually scaling back fuel subsidies in the 2020 budget, before its approval on…

Mohammed Amin Yassin (Khartoum)
Business Saudi Aramco: Goldman Yet to Implement any Price Stability Transactions

Saudi Aramco: Goldman Yet to Implement any Price Stability Transactions

Saudi Aramco said Tuesday that Goldman Sachs may stabilize its shares after a record initial public offering earlier this month. Stabilization agents…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Emirates' Long-Serving Boss to Hand over the Controls Next Year

Emirates' Long-Serving Boss to Hand over the Controls Next Year

Tim Clark will retire as the president of Emirates Airline at the end of June 2020 after more than three decades at the state-controlled business that has…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon: Minister Slams Banks for 'Trapping' State Salaries

Lebanon: Minister Slams Banks for 'Trapping' State Salaries

Lebanon's caretaker finance minister accused the country's banks on Tuesday of "trapping" civil servants' salaries with withdrawal limits that have fuelled…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beirut)
Business Saudi Arabia: $2.4 Bn Contracts to Develop Jeddah Islamic Port

Saudi Arabia: $2.4 Bn Contracts to Develop Jeddah Islamic Port

The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) signed $2.4 billion build, operate, and transfer (BOT) contracts with global port operator DP World and regional port…

Asharq Al Awsat (Jeddah)
Business APICORP Agrees to $250 Mln Worth of Loans for Sonatrach Subsidiary

APICORP Agrees to $250 Mln Worth of Loans for Sonatrach Subsidiary

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) said it has agreed to two loans worth a combined $250 million with Sonatrach Petroleum Investment…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business Saudi Arabia: Work Visas Double to 1.2 M in 2019

Saudi Arabia: Work Visas Double to 1.2 M in 2019

Saudi work visa increased 100 percent during 2019 to reach 1.2 million workers, at a time when the number of Saudis in the workforce continues to grow to 1.8…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Sign Deal to Resume Joint Oil Output

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Sign Deal to Resume Joint Oil Output

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement to resume pumping at two major oilfields in a shared neutral zone on Tuesday. Kuwait’s Oil Minister Khaled Al…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business 6th Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit to Meet in Saudi Arabia to Discuss Future of Consumption

6th Retail Leaders Circle MENA Summit to Meet in Saudi Arabia to Discuss Future of Consumption

Leaders of the retail sector in the Middle East region are scheduled to discuss the sector’s future and consumption. Retail Leaders Circle (RLC), the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business  Novak Says OPEC+ to Consider Easing Oil Output Caps in March

Novak Says OPEC+ to Consider Easing Oil Output Caps in March

OPEC and other leading oil producers may consider easing oil output restrictions at their meeting in March, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an…

Business Saudi Arabia Signs Deal to Establish Floating Desalination Plants

Saudi Arabia Signs Deal to Establish Floating Desalination Plants

A 20-year strategic agreement, valued at SAR760 million ($202 million) was signed on Sunday between the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and Bahri, a…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)