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 Egypt's August Inflation Rate Falls to 7.5% Y/Y, Lowest in Years

Egypt's August Inflation Rate Falls to 7.5% Y/Y, Lowest in Years

Egypt’s annual urban consumer-price inflation rate declined to 7.5 percent in August from 8.7 percent in July, the lowest rate in years, according to the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business IMF Projects 2.9% GDP Growth in Saudi Arabia in 2019

IMF Projects 2.9% GDP Growth in Saudi Arabia in 2019

Saudi non-oil growth is expected to continue recovering in 2019, accelerating to 2.9 percent this year, revealed a report by the International Monetary Fund …

Business ADNOC: $11 Trillion Needed to Meet Future Global Energy Demand

ADNOC: $11 Trillion Needed to Meet Future Global Energy Demand

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, said Monday that the long-term outlook for global…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Abdulaziz bin Salman: Saudi Arabia Wants to Enrich Uranium for Nuclear Power

Abdulaziz bin Salman: Saudi Arabia Wants to Enrich Uranium for Nuclear Power

Saudi Arabia wants to enrich uranium for its nuclear power program, Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Monday. The world’s top oil…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Finance Minister: Egypt Overhauling Tax Procedures to Lure Investors

Finance Minister: Egypt Overhauling Tax Procedures to Lure Investors

Egypt hopes to boost feeble foreign direct investment (FDI) by automating and simplifying customs and tax processes, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business New Saudi Energy Minister Says Kingdom's Oil Policy Will Not Change

New Saudi Energy Minister Says Kingdom's Oil Policy Will Not Change

Saudi Arabia's new energy minister suggested on Monday that oil producers would need to share greater responsibility to balance the market in comments that…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business SAMA’s Announcement Provides Saudi Banks Right to Reduce Customers’ Service Fees

SAMA’s Announcement Provides Saudi Banks Right to Reduce Customers’ Service Fees

Saudi banks have revealed that Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency’s (SAMA) announcement on the maximum limit of fees for banking services does not bind banks to…

Fatehelrahman Yousif (Riyadh)
Business KSA: ACWA Power Says to Focus More on Renewable Energy Projects

KSA: ACWA Power Says to Focus More on Renewable Energy Projects

ACWA Power plans to focus more on renewable energy projects, lifting their share of its portfolio to 70% over the next decade, its chief executive and…

Asharq Al Awsat (Abu Dhabi)
Business Egypt: International Bonds Worth Up to $7 Bln in 2019-20

Egypt: International Bonds Worth Up to $7 Bln in 2019-20

Egypt intends to issue international bonds worth $3 billion- $7 billion in the 2019-2020 financial year, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Monday. …

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Oil Rises as Saudi Arabia Signals OPEC Cuts to Continue

Oil Rises as Saudi Arabia Signals OPEC Cuts to Continue

Oil prices rose on Monday after Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude, named oil veteran Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as its new energy minister,…

Asharq Al Awsat (Riyadh)
Business UAE Energy Minister Says Oil Producers Committed to Balancing Market

UAE Energy Minister Says Oil Producers Committed to Balancing Market

United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Sunday that OPEC and non-OPEC producers are “committed” to achieving oil…

Asharq Al Awsat (London)
Business World Bank, Yemeni Govt. to Boost Central Bank Abilities, Stabilize Exchange Rate

World Bank, Yemeni Govt. to Boost Central Bank Abilities, Stabilize Exchange Rate

The Yemeni government said on Sunday it reached an agreement with the World Bank on enhancing the abilities of the country’s Central Bank to stabilize the…

Abdulhadi Habtor (Riyadh)
Business Saudi Arabia Launches Military Industrial Licensing Program

Saudi Arabia Launches Military Industrial Licensing Program

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had begun accepting license applications for firms in the military industrial sector, a major target under plans to diversify…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Tunisia Attracts 6 Million Tourists since Beginning of 2019

Tunisia Attracts 6 Million Tourists since Beginning of 2019

Tunisia's Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts has affirmed that tourists exceeded six million by the end of August 2019. The record is the first over the past…

Mongi Saidani (Tunis)
Business Egypt Considers Tax Incentives for SMEs

Egypt Considers Tax Incentives for SMEs

The new draft law on the development of small, medium and micro enterprises, includes many tax and non-tax incentives to support this vital sector, as one of…

Business Deals Worth $26 Billion Signed at 2019 China-Arab States Expo

Deals Worth $26 Billion Signed at 2019 China-Arab States Expo

A total of 287 deals worth about 185.42 billion yuan (26 billion US dollars) have been signed at the fourth China-Arab States Expo in northwest China's Ningxia…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business Erdogan Says Expects Turkish Interest Rates to Fall Further

Erdogan Says Expects Turkish Interest Rates to Fall Further

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday he expected the central bank to keep cutting interest rates, five days before its monetary policy board…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Chinese-Arab Trade Hit $244 Bn in 2018

Chinese-Arab Trade Hit $244 Bn in 2018

The third round of the four-day China-Arab States Business Summit was concluded Friday in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region…

Asharq Al Awsat (Beijing)
Business Bahrain’s Fiscal Balance Program Reduces Deficit by 37.8%

Bahrain’s Fiscal Balance Program Reduces Deficit by 37.8%

The finance ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain praised the positive results of Bahrain’s fiscal balance program, which…

Asharq Al Awsat (Manama)
Business Hariri: France Satisfied with Investment Plan Progress

Hariri: France Satisfied with Investment Plan Progress

French President Emmanuel Macron is satisfied with Beirut's progress on starting an infrastructure investment program, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's…

Asharq Al Awsat
Business Trump Says China Will Suffer as Data Shows Trade War Hurting US

Trump Says China Will Suffer as Data Shows Trade War Hurting US

President Trump said on Tuesday that Chinese manufacturing would “crumble” if the country did not agree to the United States’ trade terms, as newly released…

Ana Swanson (Washington)
Business Two Agreements Signed to Explore Oil, Gas in Western Desert of Egypt

Two Agreements Signed to Explore Oil, Gas in Western Desert of Egypt

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources, Tarek El-Molla has signed two agreements between the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and the…

Asharq Al Awsat (Cairo)
Business Turkey Faces Up to $3 Billion in Trade Losses Under No-deal Brexit

Turkey Faces Up to $3 Billion in Trade Losses Under No-deal Brexit

Turkey may lose trade with Britain worth up to $3 billion in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan has warned. Pekcan,…

Saeed Abdulrazek (Ankara)
Business Saudi Aramco Expands Presence in Chinese Oil Market

Saudi Aramco Expands Presence in Chinese Oil Market

Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producing company, said on Thursday that it signed a Memorandun of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Zhejiang free trade…

Asharq Al Awsat (Dammam)