SMEs in Arab world need more bank financing, say government leaders

Dubai: There is an urgent need to take steps to facilitate more lending for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East, participants at a high-level workshop at the World Government Summit said on Sunday. Around 90 per cent of companies in the region fall under the category of SME, yet only seven per […]

Najeeb asks ‘why be ashamed’ before first trial on 1MDB charges

Kuala Lumpur: Former Malaysian leader Najeeb Razzaq isn’t lying low ahead of his trial this week for graft and embezzlement, as he increasingly takes to social media to poke fun at the current government and attempts to shore up support after being ostracised by his own party. Crisp, tailored suits have recently made way for […]

Saudi Arabia allocates $3.1 billion for reimbursement of expat work permit fees

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has approved a scheme to reimburse some of the companies who struggled to pay steadily increasing fees for expatriate work permits in 2017 and 2018 and waive the fee hikes for some who weren’t able to pay, the labour minister said. The government is allocating 11.5 billion riyals ($3.1 billion) for […]

UK recession risk in next year climbs to 30%, economists say

London: There’s almost a one-in-three chance of a UK recession in the next 12 months, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The probability of two consecutive quarters of negative growth has increased to 30 per cent, the highest since the end of 2016, the survey of 10 economists found. That’s up from 25 per […]