Pakistan, India eye investments from Saudi Arabia as crown prince set to visit two countries

New Delhi/Islamabad: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is expected to announce investments in energy and infrastructure during a visit to India and Pakistan in coming days. The prince, known as MBS, is also expected to visit China, Malaysia and Indonesia during a tour that will be his first through the region since the […]

IMF sees no credit crunch in Oman, advises speedy fiscal reforms

DUBAI: Oman is not facing a credit crunch but the Gulf Arab oil producer should speed up implementation of fiscal reforms like the introduction of a value-added tax (VAT), an IMF official said. In December, rating agency Fitch downgraded Oman — among the hardest hit in the region by the drop in oil prices — […]

Middle East businesses to reap benefits by embedding AI into apps

Dubai: More data will be collected this year in the Middle East than has even been collected in the last 5,000 years ago, according to Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, Oracle’s senior vice-president for the Middle East, Africa and Central Eastern Europe. We are in an era of major transformation. We face challenges in every life […]

‘Winter is coming’ for global economy, says Al Abbar

Dubai: Winter is coming for the global economy, according to the founder of Emaar Properties, and “it’s going to be a long winter.” This pessimistic outlook for the health of the world’s financial system, shared by Mohammad Al Abbar, founder and chairman of Emaar Properties, was echoed by Tom Barrack, the financier and CEO of […]

India tea exports may shrink because of competition from Kenya

Tea exports from India, the world’s second-biggest producer, may shrivel this year as a bumper crop in Kenya raises the risk of oversupply. Shipments could drop by 8 million to 10 million kilograms in the year through March from a record of 256.57 million in 2017-18 as Kenya’s output is likely to rise by as […]

Trump backer Tom Barrack defends Saudi Arabia

Dubai: America is in no moral position to criticise Saudi Arabia, according to financier and key Trump backer Tom Barrack. Speaking on stage at the Milken Institute MENA Summit in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Barrack was asked by CNN’s Becky Anderson about the reputational damage to Saudi Arabia over the Jamal Khashoggi killing. In response, […]

Mubadala eyeing new sectors for investments

Abu Dhabi: Mubadala Investment Company, one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds in the world is looking at investing in new sectors such as technology, agribusiness and biotechnology to boost growth, its chief executive officer said in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. “From being a traditional investor, we have grown over the years by opening up […]