News

JAKARTA / WAM/Reuters A Sriwijaya Air plane with 62 people on board lost contact after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight on Saturday and rescuers said suspected debris had been found in the sea off the city, Reuters reported. The Boeing 737-500, en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan, disappeared from radar screens after taking off …

Bloomberg India’s petroleum consumption fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and factories, hurting demand from one of the world’s largest users of the fuel. Total petroleum demand declined 10.8% last year from 2019, and was at a five-year low of 193.4 million tons, according to Bloomberg calculations of …

BAHRAIN / WAM Investcorp, a Bahrain-based asset manager that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, announced on Wednesday that its portfolio company, Impero, a provider of online student safety and classroom and network management software, has acquired Netop, an international software solutions provider to the education sector and corporates, from Consolidated Holdings A/S. Terms of the transaction were …

JEDDAH / WAM The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the signing of Al Ula Declaration by the leaders of the GCC member states at the 41st GCC Summit which took place in Al Ula Governorate, Saudi Arabia. The OIC’s Secretary-General Dr Yousef bin Ahmad Al Othaimeen praised the efforts of the GCC’s leaders.

Bloomberg Oil breached $50 a barrel as Saudi Arabia pledged a voluntary oil-production cut next month, while most of the Opec+ alliance agreed to hold its production steady. Futures in New York rose as much as 5.1%, topping $50 a barrel for the first time since February before easing off the high. Saudi Arabia didn’t provide a volume on the …

ISLAMABAD / WAM The UAE Ambassador to Pakistan, Hamad Obaid Alzaabi, has discussed with Zobaida Jalal, Pakistani Federal Minister for Defence Production, ways to further develop relations between the two countries and reviewed current regional and international developments. The two sides reviewed both countries’ experience in combating the coronavirus pandemic, the UAE’s humanitarian efforts in this regard and its aid …

Bloomberg For more than two decades Chinese companies have turned to the US stock market for capital and international prestige, raising at least $144 billion from some of the world’s largest investors. Now this pillar of China’s integration with the global financial system is increasingly under threat. The latest blow arrived on New Year’s Eve, when the New York Stock …

Bloomberg Iraq has selected a Chinese company for a multibillion-dollar oil-supply deal, as the nation seeks funds to bolster an economy reeling from the coronavirus-triggered collapse in energy prices. SOMO, which oversees Iraq’s petroleum exports, picked a Chinese firm after receiving bids from several traders, the official Iraqi News Agency(INA) reported, citing an interview with the head of SOMO, Alaa …

RIYADH / WAM Entry to Saudi Arabia by sea, land and air resumed following a two week entry ban over fears of a new coronavirus variant, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said that non-citizens entering from the UK, South Africa or any other countries where the new variant spread, will require to …

Bloomberg As one of the most tumultuous years in oil’s history ends, a delicate task now lies ahead for Opec+. The alliance of producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia must decide whether it can continue to restore crude supplies without disturbing the price recovery they spent most of 2020 working to achieve. Moscow believes that the group — which …