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  • EU announces 1 billion euros in aid for Lebanon amid a surge in irregular migration

    The European Union announced Thursday an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — much of which will go to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus and Italy.

  • Saudi Awwal Bank reports 16 percent growth in Q1 net profit at SR2 bn

    Lubna S. Olayan, chair of the board of directors of Saudi Awwal Bank, announced the bank’s financial results for the period ending March 31. SAB recorded a net profit after zakat and income tax of SR2.04 billion ($543.9 million) for the period ending March 31, representing an increase of 16 percent compared to the same period of 2023. The total operating income rose 7 percent to SR3.44 billion.

  • Banking Giants Race to Riyadh as MBS Steps Up Pressure Campaign

    The move is intended to lure business from international financial centers like Hong Kong and Singapore and particularly nearby Dubai. And bankers say Saudi pressure to expand on the ground goes beyond the new law: During discussions, senior Saudi officials persistently ask if executives plan to spend more time in the kingdom or expand existing offices, while offering to fast track licenses for those committing to live with their families in Riyadh. Government representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment.

  • Uganda to get $295m loan from Saudi’s Islamic Development Bank

    The money will finance construction of a bridge crossing the River Nile in northwest Uganda and roads totalling 105 kilometres, according to the ministry.

  • Saudi banks’ aggregate profit down 7% to SAR 6.9B in March

    Banks operating in Saudi Arabia reported a 6.7% decline in aggregate net profit before Zakat and tax to nearly SAR 6.93 billion in March, compared to SAR 7.4 billion a year earlier, monthly data issued by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) showed.

  • The Siren Call of an Israeli Invasion of Lebanon

    lthough much of the world is breathing a sigh of relief that Iran and Israel appear unwilling to push their exchange of missile and drone attacks further, potentially plunging the Middle East into a wider war, the danger of another escalation has not passed. Rather, the concern has shifted to a possible Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel has threatened this, and U.S. officials and others in the region fear that such a plan has been in the works for months.

  • Oil price could exceed $100 a barrel if Middle East conflict worsens, World Bank warns

    A serious escalation of tensions in the Middle East would push the price of oil above $100 (£80) a barrel and reverse the recent downward trend in global inflation, the World Bank has said.

    The Washington-based institution said the recent fall in commodity prices had been levelling off even before the recent missile strikes by Iran and Israel – making interest rate decisions for central banks tougher.

    But it added that its forecast that crude prices would average $84 a barrel this year would prove too optimistic in the event of the crisis worsening.

  • Israel’s Next Front? Iran, Hezbollah, and the Coming War in Lebanon

    Over the past six months, tensions along Israel’s border with Lebanon have escalated dramatically. Israel has now deployed 100,000 troops to its north to confront the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, and the fighting there has steadily intensified. Nearly 400 Lebanese—including around 70 civilians and three journalists—have been killed, 90,000 Lebanese civilians have been displaced from around 100 towns and villages along the Israeli-Lebanese border, and Lebanese villages and olive groves have incurred widespread damage from phosphorus bombs.

  • The Urgent Need for Transparency Reform in Gulf Central Banks

    The currencies of Gulf Arab states are pegged to the dollar, limiting in significant ways the room for maneuver in central banks’ decision making, as their interest rates need to follow the decisions of the U.S. Federal Reserve. Transparency remains important nonetheless to these banks’ broader governance and accountability framework as well as to their independence from political interference. And conversely, lack of transparency can lead to uncertainty about the ability of Gulf monetary authorities to continue defending the peg, which may encourage speculation and eventually the collapse of the fixed exchange rate regime.

  • Saudi Energy Giant ACWA Power Secures $80 Million Loan From Bank Of China For Uzbekistan Solar Drive

    Saudi-based ACWA Power recognized as the world’s largest private water desalination company and a frontrunner in energy transition with a focus on green hydrogen, secured an equity bridge loan from the Bank of China amounting to $80 million to fund its Tashkent 200MW Solar PV and 500MWh BESS project in Uzbekistan.