Regional News

  RIYADH / TNS Foreign investments in the Kingdom recorded a rise of 9 percent, equivalent to SR94.32 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year. The total value amounted, by the end of the first quarter of this year, to SR1.135 trillion, compared to SR1.041 trillion by the end ...

  Reuters Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, regained its position as China’s top crude supplier in June, after losing out to Russia over the previous three months, customs data showed on Thursday. China imported 4.569 million tonnes of crude from Saudi Arabia in June, or 1.112 million barrels per day (bpd), down 14.2 percent on the year but ...

  REUTERS Egypt’s central bank governor said that the time was not right to float the Egyptian pound, which has come under intensifying pressure in recent weeks, but he left the door open to a possible devaluation. Economists say a devaluation is all but inevitable. But the timing is crucial to maximise its impact while mitigating the inflationary effect, particularly ...

  REUTERS OPEC member Algeria’s trade deficit widened to $10.83 billion in the first six months of 2016, 27.2 percent more than in the same period last year due to a fall in energy earnings as oil prices tumbled, data showed. Oil and gas exports, which accounted for 93.55 percent of Algeria’s sales abroad, dropped 33.6 percent to $11.86 billion ...

  REUTERS Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu National Petrochemical Co (Yansab) beat analysts’ forecasts as its second-quarter net profit trebled due to higher production and sales. The firm, a subsidiary of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), made a net profit of 689.3 million riyals ($183.8 million) in the three months to June 30, up from 227.4 million riyals in the same period ...

  BLOOMBERG Saudi Arabian mobile-phone operator Etihad Etisalat Co. started talks with lenders about refinancing 8 billion riyals ($2.1 billion) of debt to get better terms, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Mobily, as the company is known, began discussions with banks after putting the sale of its mobile towers on hold, some of the proceeds of which ...

  Reuters Telecom Egypt, the country’s state-owned landline monopoly, is in talks with banks about a 5 billion Egyptian pound ($563.07 million) loan to acquire a 4G licence, banking sources said. The sources said Etisalat Egypt was also in talks with banks for a 5 billion pound loan to acquire the licence. “TE is negotiating to acquire five billion pounds, ...

  Manama / TNS Gulf countries need to seriously consider nuclear power as an alternative source of energy, a new study has said. “With a growing need for electricity and a scarcity of water, along with shortages of oil and gas reserves and fluctuation of prices, resorting to nuclear energy as a strategic option could be a choice for many Arab ...

  WAM Bahrain experienced a pronounced pick-up in its headline growth during the first quarter of the year. According to the latest Bahrain Economic Quarterly (BEQ) issued by the Economic Development Board (EDB), growth reached 4.5%, its highest level since 2014, led by the 12.1 percent year-on-year growth in the oil sector. According to Bahrain News Agency, the report also ...

  WAM Oil exports from the eastern Libyan terminal of Hariga have resumed after a pay protest by guards ended, but production at the major eastern oil field of Sarir would remain suspended, officials said on Wednesday. Port director Yassin Ahmed said a Maltese-flagged tanker had docked at Hariga after guards had been promised two years of unpaid wages, and ...