ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that following recent talks, Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached a consensus on the urgent need to eradicate terrorism. In an interview with Arab News Channel, the Khawaja Asif stated that the core objective of the agreement between the two neighbouring countries is to end terrorism, which has long … Read more
MOSCOW: The longer the prices for natural gas remain at record high levels in Europe this year, the stronger the markets feel that Russian gas should not be seen as a quick fix to the problem, at least not before this winter ends. “Overall gas production in Russia over the three quarters of 2021 was … Read more
CAIRO: Net foreign assets held by the Saudi Central Bank went down by a monthly rate of 3.3 per cent to reach SR1.63 trillion ($433 billion) in October, Arab News quoted newly released data by SAMA. The central bank’s net foreign assets declined by 2 per cent compared to last year’s October. Commercial banks’ net foreign assets … Read more
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s budget airline flyadeal aims at nurturing and promoting local women talent, as it is doubling its fleet by the end of the next year, its chief commercial officer told Arab News. Ahmed Albrahim said the low-cost airline’s fleet contains 15 A320 narrow-bodies, and it will continue to receive more aircraft of the A320 … Read more
RIYADH: The Opec+ group is likely to take a cautious stance when deciding next week whether to go ahead with the planned production increases; following the discovery of a new Covid-19 variant, Arab News quoted Geneva-based oil trader Vitol Group, as saying. The new variant, named Omicron, has rattled the oil market globally, pushing prices down to … Read more
RIYADH: The M3 monetary aggregate, known as “broad money”, posted an annual growth rate of 7.9 per cent in October, having decelerated slightly from the September value of 8.4 per cent, Arab News quoted the data published by the Saudi Central Bank. On a monthly basis, the M3 indicator grew SR10.6 billion ($2.8 billion) in October, or … Read more
RIYADH: The value of point-of-sale transactions in Saudi Arabia reached SR40.5 billion ($10.8 billion) in October, up 1.2 per cent, compared with the previous month, Arab News quoted the Saudi Central Bank, as saying. Some of the sectors that helped drive the increase were restaurants and cafes, hotels, food and beverages, clothing and footwear. For … Read more
KARACHI: The Balochistan government earlier this week banned fishing and trawling off the Gwadar coast after talks with protesters from the local fishing community, Arab News reported on Saturday. A group of protestors in the Gwadar port city staged a sit-in earlier this week, complaining the government was not doing enough to prevent “illegal trawling” in the … Read more
RIYADH: Foreign inflows in the Saudi capital market since 2019 have reached nearly SR135 billion ($35.98 billion), despite the kingdom being at an early stage in dealing with external investors, Arab News quoted Capital Market Authority chairman Mohammed ElKuwaiz, as saying. Opening the market for foreign investment supports diversification of funding sources for listed companies, ElKuwaiz said, … Read more
JEDDAH: flyadeal launched its first direct flight from Jeddah to Dubai on Thursday, signalling the company’s first international journey from the airport, Arab News reported. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Saudia, now operates six routes to the UAE on a daily basis, with the other five originating from Riyadh. “We selected Dubai as our first international … Read more
RIYADH: The Red Sea Development Company has entered into a partnership with the Ministry of Culture to deliver Saudi Arabia’s first underwater archaeological excavation, Arab News reported. The agreement with the ministry aims at uniting efforts in the fields of archeology, heritage, history and sustainable tourism along the kingdom’s Red Sea coast and will hopefully lead to … Read more
DUBAI: It seems only fitting that the world’s biggest computer chip, developed by US-based Cerebras, be deployed in the Middle East, home to some of the world’s entertaining superlatives, biggest tower, deepest swimming pool, among many other ‘firsts’, Arab News reported. But this chip, roughly 9 inches on each side, promises more than just entertainment and a … Read more
DUBAI: India, China, and Russia need to fully commit to reducing emissions for a global energy transition to happen quickly, US special envoy for Climate Change John Kerry said at a conference in Dubai, Arab News reported. Speaking at the Global Manufacturing and Industrial Summit, Kerry said there is “incredible movement” from global players, as well as … Read more
RIYADH: Hotel operator Marriott International has signed an agreement with Saudi’s Sela Sport Company to develop two new luxury hotels in Saudi Arabia, Arab News reported. The St Regis Riyadh and The Jeddah Edition are expected to open in prime city locations in 2022. The former is to be located at the entrance of the Diplomatic Quarter … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated that his government is willing to allow India to transport wheat to Afghanistan via Pakistan after finalising procedural details, Arab News reported. Prime Minister Khan recently assured a ministerial delegation from Afghanistan to consider the transit of Indian wheat on humanitarian grounds. The delegation, which was led by Afghan foreign … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi General Authority for Competition has approved the acquisition of Saudi’s fast-food chain Kudu Food and Catering Co by Tahalof Al Tamm Investment Co, Arab News quoted the authority’s Twitter account. The authority has approved 101 acquisitions since the beginning of 2021, which is the highest number of approved acquisitions within one year the authority achieved … Read more
DUBAI: The UAE’s industry minister has said that the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic taught the world several lessons and there is a need to strengthen industrial capabilities and control costs, Arab News reported. Sultan Al-Jaber was speaking at the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit at the Dubai Expo. Al-Jaber focused on ways to accelerate the recovery from … Read more
RIYADH: The Arabian Centers Co, announced the opening of The View center in Riyadh, Arab News quoted a bourse filing, as saying. This is the 23rd centre in the firm’s commercial centres portfolio, the company said in the statement. Total leasable space in the centre is 52,000 sq-metres with over 170 shops. The company will … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Development Fund has said it had deployed SR2 billion ($533 million) on tourism projects worth a total of around SR6 billion since its establishment last year until the end of September this year, Arab News reported. The remaining SR4 billion for the projects have come from the private sector, the fund said in … Read more
MOSCOW: Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasury securities recorded slight change in September, Arab News reported. The total value of the securities held by Saudi residents stood at $124.3 billion as of the end of September, up 0.2 percent from $124.1 billion in August, according to the latest data from the US Department of Treasury. … Read more
Saudi Arabia held its position as the biggest supplier of crude oil to China for an 11th month in a row in October, with volumes up 19.5 per cent from a year ago, Arab News quoted Customs data, as showing. Saudi oil arrivals totalled 7.1 million tonnes, or 1.67 million barrels per day (bpd), data from the … Read more
DUBAI: The clients of global banking group Citi are seeing “significant opportunities in Saudi Arabia,” Arab News quoted CEO Jane Fraser, as saying, as the bank ends a high-profile delegation visit to the kingdom. The delegation, led by Fraser, met with key government officials and selected clients to talk about Citi’s work in the region’s … Read more
Credit ratings of global financial institutions experienced a weaker decline during the pandemic, compared with the previous crises in the 21st Century, Arab News quoted Fitch Ratings, as saying in a report. On an average, global financial institutions ratings decreased 0.15 of a notch, a method of comparing ratings of debt issuers used by credit … Read more
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s government offered SR-denominated Sukuk worth SR614.179 million ($164 million) for the November issuance, Arab News quoted the National Debt Management Center (NDMC), as saying in a statement. The issuance comes under the Saudi Arabian government SR-denominated Sukuk programme. The kingdom collected a total amount of SR74.2 billion of Sukuk in monthly issuances … Read more
RIYADH: The Bitcoin price is likely to continue rising until at least the second quarter of 2022 amid continuing global inflation fears, predicts the CEO and founder of deVere, Nigel Green, Arab News quoted. He was speaking as the world’s dominant cryptocurrency hit another all-time high at $69,000. It followed data revealing that inflation has … Read more
CAIRO: The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is still examining some emerging technologies, including distributed ledgers and blockchain, before it makes any decision, Arab News quoted a report from Al Eqtisadiah. SAMA is one of the first central banks in the G20 countries to experience distributed ledgers and blockchain technologies through the ‘Aber’ digital currency project. These efforts … Read more
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Friday that the greatest challenge being faced by the modern media was the dissemination of false propaganda through fake news. Addressing a seminar on “politics and journalism in the age of fake news” organized by Arab News he said that the phenomenon of fake … Read more
RIYADH: Irish businesses visiting the kingdom this week have been discussing Irish-Saudi trade worth over $1 billion/annum, as well as potential new investment opportunities in food, agriculture, and financial technology, Arab News reported. A trade delegation was briefed on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Federation of Saudi Chambers of Commerce on investment opportunities that … Read more
