Sustainability Indonesia launches carbon emissions trading Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo launched his country’s first carbon emissions trading on Tuesday, as it aims to create a market that will fund efforts to reduce emissions. Indonesia, an archipelago home to the world’s third largest area of rainforest, is also one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. The Southeast Asian country has set […] September 26, 2023
Finance Turkey begins rolling back ‘costly’ lira protection scheme Turkey’s central bank has begun rolling back a costly scheme that protects lira deposits from FX depreciation by removing minimum interest rates, according to a document sent to banks and seen by two bankers. Last week the central bank raised its interest rate to 30 percent, which would have been the new minimum rate for […] September 26, 2023
Real Estate China’s unsold homes raise concerns over debt defaults Even China’s population of 1.4 billion would not be enough to fill all the empty apartments littered across the country, a former official said on Saturday, in a rare public critique of the country’s crisis-hit property market. China’s property sector, once the pillar of the economy, has slumped since 2021 when real estate giant China […] September 25, 2023
Transport Qantas warns rising fuel costs may hit fares Australia’s biggest airline Qantas Airways said on Monday it will spend more than previously planned to improve “customer pain points” but warned spiraling fuel costs may force it to raise fares from already-elevated levels. The update sent its shares down as much as 2.5 percent to a one-year low as investors questioned the airline’s ability […] September 25, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Supermarket chain Spinneys Dubai plans IPO next year Spinneys Dubai, the franchisee of the supermarket chain in the UAE and Oman, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of the business in the second quarter of 2024, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. Albwardy Investment, the franchise’s 100 percent owner, hired Rothschild & Co to advise on the planned IPO, […] September 25, 2023
Industry LG lithium plant in Morocco to start production in 2026 South Korea’s LG Chem Ltd has entered into partnership with China’s Huayou Group’s subsidiary Youshan to build a joint electric vehicle (EV) battery material plant in Morocco in an effort to diversify its portfolio. The plant, set to start production in 2026, aims to produce 50,000 metric tonnes of lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) cathode materials annually, enough […] September 25, 2023
Economy Egypt says IMF to merge two reviews of reform program Egypt said it had agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to merge the fund’s first and second reviews of its economic reform programme, after the first review was repeatedly delayed amid questions over Egypt’s progress in meeting the IMF’s terms. The IMF in December approved a $3 billion extended fund facility loan for Egypt, […] September 24, 2023
Finance Egypt’s central bank keeps key interest rates steady Egypt’s central bank, as widely expected, left its key overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying both economic growth and core inflation were slowing. The bank kept its lending rate at 20.25 percent and its deposit rate at 19.25 percent. The median forecast in a poll of 17 analysts had been for the bank’s monetary […] September 22, 2023
Finance Turkey hikes rates to 30% to strengthen hawkish turn Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by a lofty 500 basis points to 30 percent on Thursday, marking a second month of aggressive tightening after President Tayyip Erdogan set aside his long opposition to tight policy. The bank reiterated it is ready to raise rates further as needed to rein in inflation that […] September 22, 2023
Industry EU sets deadline for Arcelik and Whirlpool deal European Union (EU) antitrust regulators will decide by October 23 whether to clear Turkish domestic appliances maker Arcelik’s proposed purchase of Whirlpool’s European domestic appliances business, an European Commission filing showed on Thursday. Under the deal announced in January, the companies will set up a new entity made up of Arcelik’s European units such as […] September 22, 2023
Energy Oil firms cautious on drilling as energy transition looms Government policies to fight climate change are discouraging oil companies from investing heavily in new production even as they turn in record profits. It is a dynamic that could spell tight supply and high prices as clean energy alternatives seek to fill the void. Crude oil prices have surged above $90 a barrel and some […] September 22, 2023
Finance Egypt in talks with UAE bank to fund wheat purchase Egypt is in talks with an Abu Dhabi-based bank for a loan facility that would finance wheat purchases from Kazakhstan, three traders told Reuters. The move could give Egypt a cheap alternative to grain from Russia, which has supplied an increasing share of Egypt’s wheat since last year but recently blocked a deal for a […] September 22, 2023
Energy Saudi exports to China slip on Russia’s discounted oil Russia maintained its spot as China’s top crude oil supplier in August, Chinese government data showed on Wednesday, even as discounts on Russian crude continued to narrow and Moscow cut exports. China’s imports from Russia – including supplies via pipelines and seaborne shipments – jumped 26 percent from August last year to 10.54 million metric […] September 21, 2023
Tech Israeli cybersecurity startup Cato Networks raises $238m Israeli cybersecurity company Cato Networks said on Tuesday it had raised $238 million in a private funding round that valued the company at $3 billion. The round, one of Israel’s largest this year and Cato’s biggest, was led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, with the participation of Adams Street Partners, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Sixty Degree […] September 20, 2023
Industry Chinese EV maker Nio raises $1bn in convertible bond deal Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc said on Wednesday it had raised $1 billion in a two-tranche convertible bond from which it intends to use the proceeds to pay down debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The company raised $500 million in a six-year put-four convertible bond and the same amount in a seven-year put-five […] September 20, 2023
Energy Kenya extends oil supply deal with three Gulf companies Kenya has extended an oil supply deal with three Gulf-based companies, which is designed to manage demand for dollars, the energy regulator said on Tuesday. The East African nation entered the deal with Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) in March, switching from an open tender system […] September 20, 2023
Finance Egypt’s new capital developer plans IPO in 2024 Egypt is planning to float five to 10 percent of the shares of the company building its vast new capital 45 km east of Cairo by the second quarter of 2024, its chairman said on Monday. The sale on the stock exchange of shares in the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), now owned 51 […] September 19, 2023
Finance Singapore’s non-oil exports fall for 11th straight month Singapore’s annual exports fell for an 11th straight month in August as the trade-reliant economy continues to grapple with global headwinds on inflation and declining demand. Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell 20.1 percent year on year in August, official data showed on Monday, as both electronics and non-electronics exports to the US, Europe and China […] September 18, 2023
Industry Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, Anadolu Agency posted on social media platform X – formerly Twitter – on Sunday. Erdoğan asked Musk during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the United Nations in New York, the Turkish state-owned news agency said. […] September 18, 2023
Renewable Energy Solar energy shines in global survey beating fossil fuels More than two-thirds of the world’s population favours solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries […] September 17, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality NMC shareholder gets court nod to restructure A plan to restructure Abu Dhabi investment firm KBBO Group and its hospital unit received court approval on Friday following months of negotiations, said Deloitte, which is acting as trustee of the group. KBBO Group was one of the biggest shareholders of collapsed firm NMC Health. KBBO’s founder Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi filed for […] September 17, 2023
Finance Lebanon needs deep reforms on unstable outlook says IMF The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed new policies enacted by Lebanon’s central bank, but said deep reforms were still necessary as the crisis-stricken country’s “outlook remains difficult and unstable”. Lebanon’s nearly four-year economic meltdown has cost the local currency roughly 98 percent of its value and impoverished thousands, but authorities have been slow to […] September 17, 2023
