Author: Steven Sahiounie

The OPEC report, issued on September 12, 2023, stated that “global economic growth is expected to continue the positive outlook on oil demand, especially in light of the recovery of tourism and air travel, to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and continue as well through 2024.” Accordingly, OPEC has fixed the forecast for oil demand growth at 2.25 million barrels per day during the coming year 2024, bringing the total to a new record of 104.25 million barrels per day. The majority of oil demand growth in 2024 is expected to come from non-OECD countries at around <> million barrels…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commented on Friday on the new policies adopted by the Central Bank of Lebanon, in light of the economic situation in the country, which remains difficult and unstable.Quotes  channel The International Monetary Fund welcomed the policies of the Central Bank of Lebanon in its statement, pointing out that the lack of urgent measures for reform in Lebanon exposes the economy to more pressure.Earlier, Wassim Mansouri, acting governor Central Bank of Lebanon, that the bank intervened to maintain monetary stability, and that this intervention was made outside the reserves. Source: Sputnik

The Council of the Union of Arab Chambers unanimously agreed to adopt the recommendation of the Federation of Syrian Chambers of Commerce to lift the unjust unilateral coercive sanctions on Syria, to be submitted to the United Nations, the European Union and the League of Arab States. In the presence of 17 Arab countries participated in the meetings of the 134th session of the Council of the Union of Arab Chambers, which was held in the Bahraini capital, Manama, and discussed mechanisms to activate the role of the joint Arab chambers in serving the Arab business sector and promoting intra-Arab…

RIYADH: Standard & Poor’s (S&P) confirmed its credit rating for Saudi Arabia in local and foreign currencies to “A/A-1” with a stable outlook in its recently issued report, Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. The agency explained the confirmation came against the backdrop of Saudi Arabia’s continued efforts with notable reforms in recent years, and its achievement of structural improvements that contributed to supporting the sustainable development of the non-oil sector. Saudi government efforts to manage public finances and maintain a balanced level of public debt also contributed to the rating. S&P also expected the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 0.2% during the current year,…

Roshn Real Estate Co., one of Saudi Arabia’s largest master developers, has lined up about 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion) in funds as it gears up to work on a slew of projects across the Kingdom. The firm, owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, raised the financing after securing a 6 billion riyal revolving credit facility from three local banks earlier this year. “We’ve got about 10 billion lined up in balance sheet credit although we haven’t drawn the first six yet because we actually have enough money within our business at the moment from our receipts,” Roshn…

Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) region, has made an investment in Erguvan, a climate and financial technology venture aimed at providing financial institutions and corporations with digital infrastructure, enabling them to manage the impacts and risks of climate change. The investment was made via Deniz Ventures, an investment fund launched by DenizBank A.S., Turkey under the umbrella of Emirates NBD Innovation Fund, the Corporate Venture Capital arm of Emirates NBD Group. The Group-wide fund was created to enable investments in strategically relevant FinTech, SustainTech, and tech companies and start-ups across…

Abu Dhabi’s Chimera Investment LLC has launched a new global alternate investment manager with $50 billion of assets under management. The new entity — Lunate — is owned by Chimera and Lunate’s senior management. It will focus on private markets and will invest in private equity, venture capital, credit, real assets and public equities, it said in a statement Friday. The firm is expected to start operations in the fourth quarter and plans to expand globally with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Murtaza Hussain and Seif Fikry are managing partners of Lunate and the company…

One of Dubai’s biggest gold refineries, suspended in July over concerns that its owners had ties to alleged money launderers, is being acquired by London-listed mining explorer. Rockfire Resources Plc is buying Dubai-based Emirates Gold DMCC in a reverse takeover under London’s Alternative Investment Market rules, it said in a statement Friday. Rockfire, valued at less than £7 million ($8.7 million) before trading was temporarily suspended on AIM, will pay a total of $20 million. The London-listed company said the deal is conditional on Emirates Gold being restored to the United Arab Emirates’s Good Delivery List. The UAE’s suspension of…

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco agreed to purchase a 100 percent equity stake in Chile’s Esmax Distribución SpA (Esmax) from Southern Cross Group, the company said in a statement on Friday.“The transaction is subject to certain customary conditions, including regulatory approvals,” the statement added. Source: Al Arabiya

Brussels opted to end the union’s restriction on imports of Kiev’s grain but several member states immediately rejected the move A temporary moratorium on the import of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds, imposed by the EU in early May, was lifted earlier this week. The move has split the eastern members of the bloc, with some voicing support for the decision and others vowing to defy the order. Why was the ban on Ukrainian grain purchases initially imposed? Earlier this year, several EU states voiced deep concerns over a massive influx of cheap agricultural produce from Ukraine, citing…