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STC Returns to Talks on Vodafone Egypt Stake Acquisition

STC resumes negotiations over the purchase of stake in Vodafone Egypt, Asharq Al-Awsat
STC resumes negotiations over the purchase of stake in Vodafone Egypt, Asharq Al-Awsat
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STC Returns to Talks on Vodafone Egypt Stake Acquisition

STC resumes negotiations over the purchase of stake in Vodafone Egypt, Asharq Al-Awsat
STC resumes negotiations over the purchase of stake in Vodafone Egypt, Asharq Al-Awsat

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 stake in Vodafone Egypt, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

In January 2020, STC signed a non-binding MoU with UK-based Vodafone Group to acquire its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt.

The MoU was extended for a 90-day period in April 2020, due to delays linked to the coronavirus pandemic, while a further 60-day extension was confirmed in July.

STC has been told by the Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority that it must also offer to buy the entirety of the Vodafone Egypt stake, including the shares owned by Telecom Egypt, under the provisions of a 1992 law mandating a tender for any outstanding shares.

According to Bloomberg, the two companies will work during this period to proceed with transaction procedures, as specified in the memorandum of understanding, and they will later announce any substantial developments in this regard.

STC, in a statement published at Tadawul, said that in light of the logistics challenges caused by the novel coronavirus and the time needed to complete the procedures of the deal, Vodafone and STC had agreed to extend the MoU for another 60 days, starting today.

The statement also said that, in the event of completing this deal, the two parties intend to conclude a market partnership agreement that permits the use of the Vodafone brand, and other Vodafone services.

Nevertheless, any binding deal will be subject to obtaining the necessary approvals from the boards of directors at STC and Vodafone, in addition to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.

The cash offer is for Vodafone’s 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt, the remaining part of which is held by state-owned Telecom Egypt. STC had said that the offer gives the Egyptian business an enterprise value of $4.35bn.

The final price of the acquisition will be set when the binding offer is signed.

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Business

Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
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Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and Israel, on Monday hailed the benefits of the Iran war for his country's exports and foreign currency reserves.

The libertarian Milei, who has backed Washington and Israel's strikes on Iran, said he expected an "improvement" in oil and agricultural exports as a result of the 10-day-old conflict, said AFP.

Oil soared past $100 a barrel for the first time in four years on Monday, as Iran fired a new barrage of missiles at its US-allied oil-rich Gulf neighbors and signalled that the Strait of Hormuz would likely remain shut.

Argentina is Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer.

"Argentina, in this context, will see an improvement in its terms of trade because oil prices are rising, and Argentina is a net exporter," Milei told Argentine radio station FM NOW.

"Furthermore, all the grains that Argentina exports, soybeans, corn, and sunflower, are also rising in price," Milei said in an interview from New York, where he was participating in an investment promotion event.

Last week, wheat reached its highest level in a year and soybeans hit their highest point since June 2014 as the war drove up energy and fertilizer costs.

Milei emphasized that the war would boost Argentina's efforts to build up its foreign currency reserves, as demanded by the International Monetary Fund in return for a new $20 billion loan agreement signed last year.

The oil and gas sector accounts for 13.5 percent of Argentina's exports, second behind the agricultural sector, which accounts for more than 60 percent of foreign sales.

Soybeans amount to 24.6 percent of total exports.

Business

China Starts Year with Booming Trade, Despite US Exports Drop

People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
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China Starts Year with Booming Trade, Despite US Exports Drop

People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)

China's trade surged by a fifth in the first two months of the year, official data showed Tuesday, significantly outpacing forecasts as a plunge in shipments to the United States was offset by sales to other major markets.

The boost is a lifeline for the world's second-largest economy as domestic consumer activity has slumped, and adds to the record surplus achieved last year.

Official figures for the first two months of the year -- usually combined to account for distortions arising from the varying Lunar New Year holiday -- showed a strong start to 2026, before war broke out in the Middle East.

Exports climbed 21.8 percent year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs said, beating the 7.2 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

"Exports are likely to remain robust given the recent decline in US tariffs and strong demand for semiconductors," said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics.

Many of China's key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition.

Globally, China saw significant increases in exports of products including automobiles, clothing and household appliances during the two-month period, the customs data showed.

The reading comes as Chinese leaders gather for a closely watched annual political meeting, which last week saw the government announce its lowest economic growth target in decades.

Among the challenges is a years-long slump in domestic spending, which has failed to recover since the end of the pandemic.

But in a sign of rebounding activity, the latest figures showed imports soared 19.8 percent in January-February, smashing the seven percent estimated in the Bloomberg survey.

- Oil imports surge -

The jump follows official data on Monday that revealed consumer prices rose last month at their fastest pace in three years.

Exports to the United States sank 11.0 percent, however, as President Donald Trump pressed ahead with his tariff campaign.

Beijing and Washington were locked in a blistering trade war last year -- which at one point saw reciprocal levies in the triple digits.

There are hopes that tensions could cool, with Trump set to travel to China at the end of the month.

Shipments to the United States totaled $67.24 billion in January-February, the figures showed, compared with $75.56 billion in the same period last year.

That was offset, though, by exports to the European Union surging 27.8 percent, while those to ASEAN climbed 29.2 percent.

However, "events in the Middle East will increase China's oil import bill but weigh on its import volumes", Huang said in a note.

Worries about the global economy have intensified this month after the US-Israel war on Iran sent oil prices soaring to their highest since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The conflict has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global oil travels -- effectively shut off.

With tensions already rising last month, imports of oil by China -- the world's largest importer of the commodity -- jumped 16 percent in January-February combined, the customs data showed Tuesday.

The strong export growth will likely "reinforce" the argument of trading partners concerned about China's ballooning trade imbalance, wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Commerce minister Wang Wentao acknowledged that China's trade needed balancing when he spoke at a news event Friday on the sidelines of the "Two Sessions" political meeting in Beijing.

"Exports and imports are like the two wheels of a vehicle. If they are balanced, the vehicle runs smoothly and goes further," Wang said.

Pinpoint's Zhang added that strong exports and a lower official growth target "suggest that China is unlikely to launch stimulus any time soon".

Business

Crude Plunges, Stocks Rally as Trump Says War 'Pretty Much' Complete

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 02: A sign displays prices for gasoline at a station on March 02, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 02: A sign displays prices for gasoline at a station on March 02, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
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Crude Plunges, Stocks Rally as Trump Says War 'Pretty Much' Complete

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 02: A sign displays prices for gasoline at a station on March 02, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 02: A sign displays prices for gasoline at a station on March 02, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Oil prices tanked and equities rallied Tuesday following a wild day of swings that came after Donald Trump said the US-Israel war on Iran would be ending earlier than thought.

As the crisis in the crude-rich Middle East continued into a second week, with seemingly little sign of a conclusion on the horizon, the US president said that the campaign was far ahead of his initial timeline of around a month, AFP said.

"I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they've got no air force," Trump told CBS News by phone.

"If you look, they have nothing left. There's nothing left in a military sense," he added.

Trump told the US broadcaster that the United States was "very far" ahead of his initially stated war time frame of four or five weeks.

He later told a news conference in Florida that "it's going to be ended soon, and if it starts up again they'll be hit even harder".

When asked if he thought the war could end in days or weeks, he replied: "I think soon. Very soon."

The US leader also threatened an attack of "incalculable" size if Tehran blocks oil supplies coming through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global supplies pass.

His remarks come just days after he issued a statement saying Iran's "unconditional surrender" was the only acceptable outcome for ending the war, which sent shivers through markets fearing an elongated war.

Still, Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded by saying that they, not the Americans, would "determine the end of the war".

Investors jumped on the comments, sending crude prices plunging around 10 percent Tuesday.

That came a day after extreme swings that saw the commodity rocket 30 percent to a peak above $119 a barrel before plunging to as low as $84.

The recovery had already begun earlier Monday after it emerged that finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized nations would discuss tapping stockpiles to ease supply constraints.

Trump also said he would waive some Ukraine war-linked sanctions on Russian oil sales to India, with White House officials reassuring G7 partners that the move would only be temporary.

And Asian stock markets rallied, with Seoul up more than six percent and Tokyo gaining more than three percent. There were also healthy advances in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.

That came after all three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply higher, having reversed early heavy selling.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts focused Monday on the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked to nearly all oil tankers.

French President Emmanuel Macron said France was working with allies on a "purely defensive" mission to reopen the waterway.

About 10 vessels in or near the Strait of Hormuz have come under attack since Iran blocked the strait in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes, shipping experts say.

Global shipping giant MSC announced it was formally halting some export shipments from the Gulf, while Bahrain's state-owned energy company Bapco joined counterparts in Qatar and Kuwait in declaring "force majeure" -- a warning that events beyond its control may lead it to miss export targets.

The Saudi defense ministry said Monday it had thwarted a drone attack targeting an oil field in the kingdom's east, near the Emirati border.

"It has been an incredibly wild ride for traders and investors to navigate the price action put to them over the past 24 hours, with breathtaking reversals taking place across many parts of the financial markets," Chris Weston, an analyst at Pepperstone.

"The pressure valve has clearly been released for now. However, volatility across energy markets remains exceptionally elevated.

"While the most extreme stress has eased, markets are still pricing a significant degree of uncertainty and risk.

"The geopolitical backdrop remains fluid, and traders should expect volatility to remain a defining feature of the trading environment in the days ahead."