Renewable Energy TotalEnergies starts building Iraq’s largest solar plant France’s TotalEnergies has started constructing Iraq’s largest solar power plant as part of a $27 billion energy deal it signed in 2023. The plant, based in the southern oil hub of Basra, has a production capacity of 1,000 megawatt (MW) and includes installing two million solar panels, the official news agency said, citing an Electricity […] March 7, 2025
Trade Lower oil exports widen Egypt’s trade deficit Sharply lower crude oil exports allied with a surge in imports of gas caused Egypt’s trade deficit to widen by nearly 13 percent in December, implying a call on foreign exchange reserves, official data showed on Tuesday. Total exports increased slightly to $3.7 billion in December 2024 from $3.6 billion in December 2023, the country’s […] March 6, 2025
Trade GCC exports to Japan slump by more than $10bn in 2024 Exports by wealthy Gulf nations to Japan, a major economic partner, plunged by $10 billion in 2024 following a decline in oil prices, according to a trade organisation. The decline combined with an increase in Japan’s exports to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to depress the Gulf group’s trade surplus by nearly $11 billion. […] March 6, 2025
Economy Higher current spending widens Jordan’s fiscal gap Higher current expenditure widened Jordan’s budget deficit last year despite growth in revenues, the country’s finance ministry has reported. Total spending was JD11.6 billion ($16.4 billion) in 2024 compared with JD11 billion in 2023, an increase of 5 percent, the ministry said in its January bulletin published on its website at the weekend. Current expenditure, […] March 6, 2025
Retail Ramadan sharply boosts Saudi consumer spending Saudi consumers increased spending to one of its highest ever weekly levels as they rushed to build up food supplies ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan, local figures show. Consumer spending in the largest Arab economy soared by 35 percent to 17.6 billion riyals ($4.7 billion) in the period February 23 to March 1, […] March 6, 2025
Trade Oman plans commercial court to attract foreign investors Oman intends to set up a commercial court to resolve business disputes in a bid to increase foreign investment, the state-owned Oman News Agency (ONA) has reported. The country is keen to encourage domestic and international investment to spur economic growth. It hopes this will create jobs for an expanding population as the country’s oil […] March 5, 2025
Banking & Finance Kuwait prepares banks ahead of potential new bond sales Kuwait has launched a plan to develop a new electronic system within its banking sector to prepare for the resumption of government bond sales to fund projects and shore up fiscal deficits, a local newspaper reported. The central bank of Kuwait invited representatives of banks to discuss preparations to launch the system that will give […] March 4, 2025
Oil & Gas Swathe of new oil and gas sites opened to bids in Egypt Egypt has invited international companies to bid to develop 13 new oil and gas sites in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez and the western desert as the country seeks to reverse a fall in natural gas production. The bids cover concessions that include seven undeveloped discoveries and six exploration areas, according to the […] March 4, 2025
Economy Oil revenues could trim Kuwait’s 2025 budget deficit Kuwait’s budget deficit for the fiscal year to March 31 2025 may be as much as 40 percent smaller than projected because of higher-than-forecast oil revenue, a local consultancy has said. Kuwait based its 2024-25 budget on a price per barrel of $70 but prices have been above this level for most of the fiscal […] March 3, 2025
Economy Egypt’s economic growth likely to accelerate, says bank Economic growth in Egypt, the third-largest Arab economy, is expected to accelerate this year, driven by expansion in several sectors including transport, financial services and housing, according to a European development bank. In the 2024-2025 fiscal year to June 30, growth may accelerate to 3.6 percent from 2.4 percent a year before, and 4.6 percent […] February 28, 2025
Economy Higher than forecast oil prices mean likely budget surplus for Oman Higher than projected oil prices look likely to give Oman a budget surplus for 2024, 10 months of data suggest. The country, which pumps about 1 million barrels of crude a day and depends in it for two thirds of its revenue, based its 2024 budget on a price of $60 a barrel. Last year, […] February 27, 2025
Banking & Finance Turkey, Saudi and other emerging markets take on $4.5trn of debt Emerging markets took on $4.5 trillion of debt last year, according to the Institute of International Finance, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey were among the biggest borrowers. Global debt increased by nearly $7 trillion to $318 trillion in 2024, the highest figure on record, the Washington-based institute said in a report shared with AGBI. Emerging […] February 26, 2025
Banking & Finance Iraq plans digital currency to replace paper notes Iraq’s central bank is planning to issue its own digital currency to gradually replace local paper notes. The country’s central bank governor Ali Al-Allaq told a local press conference in Baghdad that the new currency is part of “radical” changes in the global financial and banking system. “These changes include the decline of paper notes […] February 26, 2025
Finance Egypt tops Arab list for international project investment Egypt received more international project investment than any other Arab country in the first 11 months of last year, with the UAE the biggest international investor. Egypt, the third largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia and the UAE, attracted almost $30 billion in 122 international projects, equivalent to a third of all such projects in […] February 26, 2025
Employment Iraq sets ambitious unemployment target The Iraqi government, which faces re-election later this year, has set ambitious targets to slash double-digit unemployment despite previous attempts foundering due to persistent instability. Mudhar Saleh, an adviser to prime minister Mohammed Al-Sudani, told the official Iraqi news agency last week that the government wants to gradually cut the jobless figure “from a double-digit […] February 24, 2025
Food & Drink Bring back smoking, say Jordan restaurateurs Bring back smoking! That is how desperate restaurateurs and cafe owners feel in Jordan after a drop in tourism last year, linked primarily to the wars in the Middle East. Among other measures, restaurateurs want the return of the shisha, the waterpipe smoking device that is popular across the Arab world, and over which smokers can […] February 21, 2025
Banking & Finance Oliver Wyman joins EY in Iraq bank restructuring Iraq has hired two of the world’s most prominent financial consulting firms to help restructure its banking sector, which has been wrecked by long-term violence, according to an adviser to the prime minister. London-based EY and Oliver Wyman of the US will prepare a roadmap for a plan that could include merging the country’s two […] February 21, 2025
Economy Higher tax income cuts Tunisia’s 2024 budget deficit Higher than anticipated tax income helped Tunisia bring down its budget deficit last year. The ministry said last weekend that the deficit declined despite a 5 percent rise in actual spending and was funded through borrowing, Ultra Tunisia reported. Last year’s budget deficit stood at 10 billion Tunisia dinars ($3 billion), down from 11 billion […] February 20, 2025
Economy Public wage bill cuts into infrastructure spend, Kuwait bank says Kuwait’s government is spending too much money on wages and not enough on pressing infrastructure needs, the country’s largest bank has said. “Kuwait is still facing structural challenges in its fiscal policy because allocations for wages and social aid account for nearly 80 percent of total spending,” the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said. Kuwait, […] February 19, 2025
Banking & Finance Arab banks draw up plan to rebuild Syria’s ailing banking sector A three-year plan to restructure Syria’s ailing banking sector, which is suffering from massive non-performing loans, is being prepared by the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), an industry association, with the help of unnamed European institutions. The Beirut-based UAB’s secretary general, Wisam Fatouh, told the Saudi Arabic language daily Aleqtisadia on Monday that the restructuring plan involves […] February 18, 2025
Oil & Gas Two new LNG terminals in Iraq to replace Iran gas Iraq is planning to build two offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to tackle a persistent electricity supply shortage, its oil minister said on Monday. One facility to receive imported LNG needed to run its power stations will be located in the Faw port under construction in southern Iraq. The other will be at the […] February 17, 2025
Economy New Kuwait debt law could unlock billions for projects Kuwait is close to finalising long-moribund legislation around government borrowing that will allow it to take more debt and better finance infrastructure and other projects, its finance minister said. Speaking to local reporters on Sunday, Noura Al-Fassam said the borrowed money would be used in partnership with the private sector. “The debt law is now […] February 17, 2025
