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  • Saudi education panel bans abaya in exam halls

    The Saudi Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) announced yesterday that young female students will not be allowed to wear abaya, the traditional Saudi dress for women, during examination period. The ETEC stressed that female students should abide by school uniforms while inside exam halls adding that the uniform should comply with effective regulations while also adhering to public decency.

  • Gulf central banks raise key rates, mirroring Fed move

    Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the region's two largest economies, both increased rates by 50 basis points. The Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, lifted its repo and reverse repo rates to 5% and 4.5%, respectively. The UAE increased its base rate to 4.4%, effective on Thursday.

  • Turkish court sentences Erdogan rival to jail with political ban

    A Turkish court sentenced Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu to jail on Wednesday and imposed a political ban on the opposition politician who is seen as a strong potential challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan in elections next year. Imamoglu was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison along with the ban, both of which must be confirmed by an appeals court, for insulting public officials in a speech he made after he won Istanbul's municipal election in 2019.

  • Dubai Is a New Hotspot for Idle Bankers Chasing IPO Deals

    As listings dwindle in London, Hong Kong and New York, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have emerged as new IPO hotspots buoyed by high oil prices and investor inflows. Listings in the region have fetched $22.6 billion this year — over half of the proceeds in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Investor demand is strong, with this week’s dual listing of Americana Restaurants International Plc drawing $105 billion of orders for a $1.8 billion offering.

  • Saudi Wealth Fund In Talks to Buy Egyptian Bank for About $600 Million

    Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in advanced talks to acquire Egypt’s state-owned United Bank in a deal that could be worth about $600 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter, as the kingdom extends its support for the North African nation. The $620 billion Public Investment Fund would carry out the acquisition through Saudi Egyptian Investment Co. unit, which it set up earlier this year to invest in swathes of Egypt’s economy, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.

  • Saudi’s Crown Prince, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister discuss bilateral ties

    Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, during which bilateral relations between the two countries were discussed, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday. “The Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom’s keenness about Lebanon’s security and stability, and on the continuation of the humanitarian support, ” provided by the Kingdom to the Lebanese people, SPA said.

  • Saudi Arabia to place $5B deposit in Turkish central bank

    Saudi Arabia will make a $5 billion deposit at Türkiye's central bank "within days," according to a statement by the kingdom's finance minister, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, on Wednesday.

  • Saudi National Development Fund launches operations at SME Bank 

    In a move to bridge the financing gap in the small and medium enterprises sector, Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund has announced the start of operations at the Small and Medium Enterprises Bank. The opening of the new bank will help the SME sector contribute as much as 35 percent to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product in line with the Saudi Vision 2030.

  • Lebanese cabinet to meet after long hiatus, financial reforms not on agenda

    Lebanon's caretaker government will hold its first session in more than six months next week but the agenda, seen by Reuters, omits any mention of possible steps towards fulfilling reforms required for an IMF deal to ease the country's financial crisis. Lebanon, long hobbled by factional feuding and endemic corruption and mismanagement, is in the fourth year of an economic meltdown that has gone largely unaddressed, leaving four in five people poor according to the United Nations.

  • Uncertainty over Iran’s morality police after official’s ‘disbanded’ remarks

    There is uncertainty over the status of Iran's morality police, which enforces its dress code, after a senior official suggested that it had been disbanded. When asked about the Guidance Patrol at a conference, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said they "have been shut down from where they were set up". However, the government did not confirm the move and local media reported that his remarks had been "misinterpreted".