Author: Steven Sahiounie

The first three LoCs issued under the arrangement have been settled before maturity, says official Kenya has disbursed 35.3 billion shillings ($238.84 million) to Gulf companies as part of the government-to-government fuel import credit scheme, a senior government official has disclosed. The first three letters of credit (LoCs) issued under the arrangement have been settled before maturity but it did not distort the forex market, Business Daily newspaper reported, citing National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Professor Njuguna Ndung’u. The government-to-government plan has been de-risked and more financing parties have joined in with others at advanced stages, he added. The names of…

The European Central Bank has called for governments to roll back subsidies introduced to help people cope with the spike in energy prices that followed the start of the Ukraine war Euro zone governments will try to bolster their public finances next year by withdrawing expensive energy price subsidies but slower economic growth and fear of angering voters are likely to limit fiscal tightening, officials said. The European Central Bank has called for governments to roll back subsidies introduced to help people cope with the spike in energy prices that followed the start of the Ukraine war, saying doing so…

Reduction includes redemption of AED3.3bln Sukuk, AED5.2bln repayments Dubai has reduced its public debt by AED29 billion ($7.8 billion) as it managed to settle some of its loans amid strong economic recovery. The reduction consequently brings down the emirate’s debt burden as a share of its gross domestic product (GDP) to 25%, the Dubai Media Office said on social media, citing the Public Debt Management Office of the Department of Finance. The decline is achieved across all debt classes in the government’s debt portfolio, including a full redemption of Sukuk certificates worth AED3.3 billion. It also includes the repayment of…

Turkey’s lira has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar, hitting 27.5155 per dollar on Tuesday before closing at 27.2176 Turkish liras per US dollar. Turkey’s national currency has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar on Tuesday, according to the latest trading data. The Turkish lira indicator was trading at 27.5155 per dollar, marking its lowest-ever rate before closing at 27.2176 Turkish liras per US dollar. It is worth noting that the Turkish lira has seen substantial cuts in value just after the results of the Turkish elections were announced in late May this year. This could…

Investor frustration has been growing since last week’s Federal Reserve meeting, during which the central bank hinted at the possibility of additional interest rate hikes in 2023. Wall Street on Tuesday experienced a decline in stock prices as traders remained concerned about the potential negative impact of elevated interest rates on economic growth, AFP reports. Investor frustration has been growing since last week’s Federal Reserve meeting, during which the central bank hinted at the possibility of additional interest rate hikes in 2023. Other sources of concern include the looming possibility of a government shutdown and the ongoing United Auto Workers strike. Approximately…

The Russian Duma is set to back a bill allowing for the export of liquified natural gas from areas of the Arctic region. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, is gearing up to pass a pivotal bill in October that would officially authorize the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from subsoil areas within the Arctic region situated north of the 67th parallel north, State Duma Energy Committee chairman Pavel Zavalny said Wednesday during a session of the Far Eastern Energy Forum. The forthcoming legislation, which seeks to amend Articles 2 and 3 of the federal law On…

Turkey will launch the export of 4 bcm of natural gas to Romania via pipelines starting October 1. Turkey will begin exporting four billion cubic meters of natural gas per day to Romanian oil company OMV Petrom by the beginning of October after an export agreement was inked between the energy giants, Turkey’s state-owned BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation said in a statement on Wednesday. “BOTAS has signed a significant agreement with OMV Petrom, one of the biggest energy companies in the region … Natural gas exports from Turkiye to Romania via pipelines will start on October 1, 2023, under the…

The speakers of the parliaments of Iran and Egypt weighed plans for the enhancement of relations between the two Muslim nations. Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives Hanafy Ali El-Gebali held a meeting on the sidelines of the 9th Parliamentary Forum of BRICS in South Africa’s Johannesburg on Wednesday. Describing Egypt as a major and influential Muslim state, the Iranian speaker stressed the need to promote cooperation among Islamic nations in West Asia and North Africa. Qalibaf also noted that closer parliamentary interaction between Iran and Egypt will contribute to the…

Israeli occupation forces today attacked Palestinian children and women celebrating Prophet Mohammad’s birthday in occupied East Jerusalem. Local sources said the forces beat up and detained an 8-year-old child and pushed and kicked women and girls hanging at Damascus Gate, one of the main gates to Jerusalem’s Old City where they were celebrating the Prophet’s birthday. The Israeli police also did not allow the Palestinian scouts and bands to march in the city streets as the tradition has been for years on the occasion of the Prophet’s birthday. At the same time, Jews were allowed to freely celebrate their religious…

In his new article Seymour Hersh said that the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines out of fear of losing its influence on Germany and Europe The terrorist attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was organized one way or another by the US and the UK, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that these countries were involved in what happened. “We don’t know who Mr. Hersh’s sources, but in any case, fundamentally, the information that he has published obviously coincides with the data that our special services have,” he said when asked to comment on the information provided…