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PM: Thailand Expects to Complete Free Trade Talks with EU Next Year

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, and France President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint statement ahead of a working lunch at the Elysee Palace Monday, March 11, 2024 in Paris. (Teresa Suarez/Pool via AP)
Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, and France President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint statement ahead of a working lunch at the Elysee Palace Monday, March 11, 2024 in Paris. (Teresa Suarez/Pool via AP)
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PM: Thailand Expects to Complete Free Trade Talks with EU Next Year

Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, and France President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint statement ahead of a working lunch at the Elysee Palace Monday, March 11, 2024 in Paris. (Teresa Suarez/Pool via AP)
Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, left, and France President Emmanuel Macron attend a joint statement ahead of a working lunch at the Elysee Palace Monday, March 11, 2024 in Paris. (Teresa Suarez/Pool via AP)

Thailand expects to complete negotiations over a free trade agreement with the European Union in 2025, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to draw trade and investment to boost the economy.
Talks on the Thai-EU FTA should be completed within one year and a half, Srettha said in a statement after meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to France.
Trade talks resumed last year after having been stalled for nearly a decade. The EU had halted negotiations in 2014 after a military coup ousted the civilian government in the Southeast Asian country.
Thailand exported $21.8 billion worth of goods to the EU last year, including autos, computers, jewelry and electric circuits, government data shows, making the bloc its fourth-largest trading partner.
Macron would support Thailand's request for visa exemption from members of Schengen states, Srettha said, adding the request would be considered after June and hopefully be completed by the end of the year.
Macron will also visit Thailand next year, Srettha added.

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Business

Gulf Markets Higher as US-Iran Ceasefire Holds

An investor watches a stock screen at the Saudi Stock Exchange in Riyadh (AFP)
An investor watches a stock screen at the Saudi Stock Exchange in Riyadh (AFP)
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Gulf Markets Higher as US-Iran Ceasefire Holds

An investor watches a stock screen at the Saudi Stock Exchange in Riyadh (AFP)
An investor watches a stock screen at the Saudi Stock Exchange in Riyadh (AFP)

Saudi Arabia's ⁠benchmark stock ⁠index rose 0.4% on Wednesday, with most constituents trading in positive territory. Gains were led by information technology, materials and healthcare stocks.

Saudi Arabian Mining Co added 4.5%, while Arabian Mills for Food Products surged 8% after reporting a 32% rise in first-quarter net profit.

US President Donald Trump said he would briefly pause an operation escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that carries about a fifth of global oil supplies and has been blockaded by Iran since late February, triggering a global energy crisis.

So the fragile US-Iran ceasefire held firm despite a fresh flare-up in tensions, allowing investors to turn their attention back to corporate earnings.

Dubai's benchmark stock index rose 1.5%, rebounding from losses in the previous session.

Among individual stocks, blue-chip developer Emaar Properties gained 1.7%, while Dubai's largest lender, Emirates NBD, added 1.5%.

The Abu Dhabi benchmark index advanced 0.5%, with most constituents trading higher. ⁠Gains were led by utilities, healthcare and technology shares.

Presight AI Holding jumped 5%, while Alpha Dhabi climbed 2.3%.

The Qatari benchmark index edged up 0.3%, as most stocks traded higher. Industries Qatar gained 0.7%, while Qatar Fuel Co added 0.6%.

Business

Saudi Non-Oil Private Sector Defies ‘Hormuz Winds’, Regains Growth Momentum

A commercial street in Riyadh (AFP) 
A commercial street in Riyadh (AFP) 
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Saudi Non-Oil Private Sector Defies ‘Hormuz Winds’, Regains Growth Momentum

A commercial street in Riyadh (AFP) 
A commercial street in Riyadh (AFP) 

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector posted a notable positive shift in April 2026, regaining growth momentum despite escalating geopolitical pressures and disruptions to international shipping routes — described as the “winds of Hormuz” — that affected supply chains and market expectations.

The Riyad Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 51.5 points, surpassing the neutral 50-point mark. The recovery reflected companies’ ability to increase output levels in response to an influx of new business and progress on existing projects, despite continuing geopolitical challenges in the region and ongoing global supply chain disruptions that continued to weigh on customer spending decisions.

In this context, Riyad Bank Chief Economist Naif Alghaith said the results confirmed that the non-oil sector remained on a constructive and resilient trajectory, supporting the strategic goals of economic diversification under Saudi Vision 2030.

He added that the return of the index to expansion territory demonstrated that underlying business conditions remained fundamentally strong, with domestic demand and purchasing power offsetting the noticeable weakness in export orders. This, he noted, highlighted the growing importance of the Kingdom’s domestic economic engine in reducing reliance on external cycles.

Operationally, April saw a rapid and unprecedented increase in cost burdens, with input prices rising at the fastest pace since the survey began in August 2009. Sharp increases in raw material prices, shipping costs and logistics expenses resulting from regional disruptions pushed companies to implement near-record increases in selling prices in an effort to pass costs on to customers.

Alghaith said supply chain dynamics remained a key area of focus, particularly as delivery times continued to lengthen, prompting companies to adopt proactive behavior by increasing inventories as a precautionary measure to ensure business continuity.

Although the pace of overall business expansion remained slow by historical standards due to investor and customer caution surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, future expectations remained optimistic. The survey showed an improvement in business confidence regarding activity over the next 12 months, driven by long-term expansion prospects and major domestic infrastructure projects.

Alghaith said the Kingdom’s stable and robust economic fundamentals positioned it strongly to sustain long-term growth and stability, adding that optimism and strong domestic demand continued to reinforce confidence in Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation path.

For his part, Osama bin Ghanem Al-Obaidy, adviser and professor of commercial law, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the rise in the Purchasing Managers’ Index reflected the ability of Saudi companies to deal with the Strait of Hormuz crisis and its repercussions on the economy and global supply chains.

He said the improvement was driven by increased domestic demand, national economic diversification programs, Vision 2030 projects and infrastructure development, as well as stronger purchasing activity, reflecting the growing positive momentum of the Kingdom’s non-oil economic activities.

Al-Obaidy added that the improvement came despite mounting cost pressures resulting from higher raw material prices, transportation costs and rising wages.

 

 

Business

Saudi Arabia’s Money Supply Breaks $882 Billion Barrier for 1st Time in History

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Money Supply Breaks $882 Billion Barrier for 1st Time in History

The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)
The Saudi capital, Riyadh (SPA)

Saudi Arabia’s money supply surpassed the $882 billion mark for the first time in its history at the end of March 2026, as broad money (M3) rose to SAR3.307 trillion ($882 billion), according to data from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

The record increase in liquidity comes in line with the Kingdom’s accelerating economic growth under its Vision 2030 program. Annual growth in money supply reached 8.25 percent, compared with SAR3.055 trillion in March 2025, reflecting strong financial activity and robust capital spending.

Analysts attributed the continued upward trend since the start of the year to faster financing of major projects and growth in credit extended to the private sector, boosting money circulation within the domestic economy.

On a monthly basis, money supply increased by around SAR18 billion from February 2026, when it stood at SAR3.289 trillion, extending its upward trajectory since the beginning of the year.

Time and savings deposits recorded the strongest growth among liquidity components, rising from SAR1.075 trillion in March 2025 to SAR1.243 trillion, an annual increase of more than 15.6 percent.

The sharp rise was attributed to growing savings awareness among individuals and companies, as well as the attractiveness of deposit returns amid elevated interest rates, prompting customers to favor longer-term savings instruments to secure stable returns.

By contrast, currency in circulation outside banks grew by around 2 percent year-on-year, increasing from SAR251.5 billion to SAR256.4 billion, indicating the success of the Kingdom’s strategy to promote digital payments and reduce reliance on cash transactions.

Demand deposits rose from SAR1.461 trillion to SAR1.504 trillion, marking annual growth of nearly 3 percent and reflecting sufficient immediate liquidity to cover private-sector operating needs and daily consumer spending.

Other quasi-monetary deposits increased year-on-year from SAR266.8 billion to SAR302.9 billion over the same period.