Business

Gulf Railway Enters Implementation Phase, Targets 2030 Completion

Business Members of the GCC Transport and Communications Ministers Committee pose for an official photo in Manama (GCC). 

Gulf Railway Enters Implementation Phase, Targets 2030 Completion

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries signed an agreement in Manama on Sunday to advance a 2,117-kilometer railway linking all six member states by 2030, as…

Mirza al-Khuweildi (Manama)
Business A gold mine in Saudi Arabia (SPA) 

Saudi Gold Refinery Obtains 10 Gold Exploration Licenses in Tanzania

Saudi Gold Refinery Company (SGR) announced Sunday it has secured 10 licenses to explore gold in the Republic of Tanzania, covering a total area of nearly 1…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business A worker walks past oil pipes at a refinery in Wuhan, Hubei province March 23, 2012. (Reuters)

Oil Falls as Trump Says New Iran Attacks ‘Unlikely’

Oil prices fell at Monday's open after US President Donald Trump said he was highly unlikely to order new Iran attacks while talks to end the conflict make…

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 NEOM Kicks off Work on First Phase of Residential Complexes

NEOM Kicks off Work on First Phase of Residential Complexes

The NEOM company on Tuesday started construction work on the first phase of residential complexes dedicated to project workers’ housing. The first phase will…

Asharq Al Awsat (Neom)
Business Moody’s Says New Saudi Laws Boost Credit Quality, Attract Investment

Moody’s Says New Saudi Laws Boost Credit Quality, Attract Investment

A package of new laws drafted by Saudi Arabia as part of its Vision 2030 will attract more private investment and enhance the credit quality of the Kingdom's…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business IMF: Arab Countries Need to Provide 28m Job Opportunities in 7 Years

IMF: Arab Countries Need to Provide 28m Job Opportunities in 7 Years

Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour has said Arab countries need to provide more than 28…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Oil Prices Slip on Saudi Supply Reassurance

Oil Prices Slip on Saudi Supply Reassurance

Oil prices cooled on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia said full oil production would be restored by month's end. Brent crude futures dipped 0.26 percent to $64.38…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business US Pharmaceutical Company Files for Bankruptcy to Settle Lawsuits

US Pharmaceutical Company Files for Bankruptcy to Settle Lawsuits

Drug-maker Purdue Pharma, manufacture of the OxyContin drug, has filed for bankruptcy protection, as part of efforts to deal with thousands of lawsuits that…

Asharq Al Awsat (New York)
Business EWEC, ACWA Power Sign Deal for Abu Dhabi Desalination Facility

EWEC, ACWA Power Sign Deal for Abu Dhabi Desalination Facility

The Emirates Water and Electricity Company and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power have signed the water purchase agreement for the world’s largest sea water reverse…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dubai)
Business Bahrain's BAPCO Refinery Says Operations Uninterrupted after Saudi Attack

Bahrain's BAPCO Refinery Says Operations Uninterrupted after Saudi Attack

The National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) announced that BAPCO’s refinery operations remain uninterrupted, with no impact on the supply of oil products to the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Sudan to Stop Exporting Raw Material After Three Months

Sudan to Stop Exporting Raw Material After Three Months

The Sudanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry has given producers and manufacturers a three-month period to prepare for implementing the Premier’s directives…

Ahmed Khalil (Khartoum)
Business Iraq Signs Deals with GCC Interconnection Authority to Transmit Electricity

Iraq Signs Deals with GCC Interconnection Authority to Transmit Electricity

Iraq signed Sunday a landmark deal with the GCC Interconnection Authority (GCC IA) for a transmission line. Initially, the line would import 500 megawatts…

Fadhel al-Nashmi (Baghdad)
Business Saudi Arabia Successfully Contains Fallout of Attacks

Saudi Arabia Successfully Contains Fallout of Attacks

Saudi Arabia has succeeded in absorbing the first shock caused by the attacks on two Aramco facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais. The Wall Street Journal quoted…

Obeid Al-Suhaimi (Dammam)
Business French Pressure Pushes Lebanon to Combat Tax Evasion

French Pressure Pushes Lebanon to Combat Tax Evasion

During a recent visit, the French envoy in charge of following up the decisions of the CEDRE Conference urged Lebanon to put an end to tax and customs evasion,…

Mahasen Morsel (Beirut)
Business Experts Reaffirm High Oil Market Confidence in Saudi Arabia

Experts Reaffirm High Oil Market Confidence in Saudi Arabia

Saudi oil experts reasserted that global markets maintained their trust in Saudi Arabia despite the recent terror attack on Aramco refineries. Praising the…

Business Siemens, Orascom to Rebuild Vast Iraq Power Plant

Siemens, Orascom to Rebuild Vast Iraq Power Plant

Iraq on Saturday signed a $1.3 billion deal with German industrial conglomerate Siemens and Egypt's Orascom Construction to rebuild a major power plant complex…

Asharq Al Awsat (Baghdad)
Business Saudi Arabia: Unemployment Declines to 12.3% in Q2

Saudi Arabia: Unemployment Declines to 12.3% in Q2

The unemployment rate among Saudi Arabian citizens dropped to 12.3 percent in Q2 2019 compared to 12.5 percent in Q1, according to data from the Saudi General…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Tourism in Saudi Arabia Yields $9.6B in Two Months

Tourism in Saudi Arabia Yields $9.6B in Two Months

Tourism spending in Saudi Arabia exceeded SAR36 billion (USD9.6 billion) during July and August of 2019 compared to SAR33 billion (USD8.8 billion) of the same…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia Says It Will Keep Committing to OPEC+ Oil Cuts

Saudi Arabia Says It Will Keep Committing to OPEC+ Oil Cuts

Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Thursday that the kingdom would continue to overcomply with oil output cuts agreed by the…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Advanced Electronics Company Signs Deal with L3 Harris Technologies on Rotorcraft Simulators

Advanced Electronics Company Signs Deal with L3 Harris Technologies on Rotorcraft Simulators

Advanced Electronics Company (AEC), a Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) firm, has signed a teaming agreement with L3Harris Technologies to collaborate…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business Algeria Studying to Allow Foreign Ownership in Some Sectors

Algeria Studying to Allow Foreign Ownership in Some Sectors

Algeria is looking into allowing majority foreign ownership in non-strategic sectors of its economy, the government said in a statement on state media on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019 Discusses Development of Financial Sector

Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2019 Discusses Development of Financial Sector

The Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference 2019 will kick off in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 18-19 September, organized by Euromoney Institutional Investor, in…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business OPEC Cuts 2020 Oil Demand Forecast

OPEC Cuts 2020 Oil Demand Forecast

OPEC on Wednesday cut its forecast for growth in world oil demand in 2020 due to an economic slowdown, an outlook the producer group said highlighted the need…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business Egypt to Start Work on $2.4-Billion Telecom Network for 1st Phase of New Capital City

Egypt to Start Work on $2.4-Billion Telecom Network for 1st Phase of New Capital City

Egypt’s communications ministry will begin work on a 40 billion Egyptian pound ($2.44 billion) telecommunications network in the first phase of a new capital…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Lebanon Draft 2020 Budget Deficit Lower than 2019's, Says Finance Minister

Lebanon Draft 2020 Budget Deficit Lower than 2019's, Says Finance Minister

Lebanon's draft 2020 budget, which was passed to the government for discussion on Wednesday, contains a lower deficit projection than in the 2019 budget,…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business UN Report Warns of Near-Collapse of Palestinian Economy

UN Report Warns of Near-Collapse of Palestinian Economy

The reasons behind the near-collapse of the Palestinian economy are the tightening grip of occupation, the suffocation of Gaza’s local economy, a 6 percent…

Asharq Al Awsat (Ramallah)
Business Saudi Aramco Prepared for Foreign Float with Primary Local Listing

Saudi Aramco Prepared for Foreign Float with Primary Local Listing

Saudi Aramco is primed to float on international markets to complement a planned primary listing at home, the oil giant's chief executive Amin Nasser said on…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)