Tag Archives: debt

Oil giant Aramco, whose dividend remains vital to helping Saudi Arabia contain a huge deficit, may have to sell assets and borrow more to fulfil its fiscal role amid uncertainty in oil prices, market specialists said. While Saudi Arabia has increased non-oil revenues this year, Aramco still accounted for more …

Saudi Electricity Company, which runs the Kingdom’s power generation and distribution, has unveiled a far-reaching restructuring of its finances and regulatory set-up to “to provide its services with higher levels of efficiency and reliability.” As part of the shake-up, the government will turn its liabilities from SEC – amounting to …

Saudi Aramco 2222.SE said on Monday it has hired a group of banks ahead of a multi-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bond issuance, as the world’s largest oil company seeks to raise cash amid lower oil prices. The announcement comes as Gulf issuers show no sign of slowing this year’s blitz on …

When Lebanon’s financial crisis pushed Vartkes to leave for Armenia this summer, he never imagined he would volunteer to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. The young Lebanese-Armenian didn’t think twice, however, when the conflict between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces erupted soon after his move. “I wanted to go that night,” Vartkes, …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday the Chinese Communist Party was operating as a “predator” in Sri Lanka, as the top U.S. diplomat kept up tough criticism of China on a tour of Asia. Pompeo arrived in Sri Lanka from India as part of a four-leg tour …

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally Lebanese leaders to …

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, former premier Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally have Lebanese leaders to …

The U.S. ambassador to Turkey said on Wednesday companies will consider abandoning its market if it fails to fully meet debt payments to American pharmaceutical firms, and he criticised a new Turkish law clamping down on big social media sites. Addressing a trade conference streamed online, David Satterfield said debts …

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday Lebanese political leaders had agreed to form a government of experts in the next two weeks and that he expected the government to start delivering on a roadmap of reforms within six to eight weeks. “There is no blank cheque,” Macron told a …

Lebanese banks that cannot increase their capital by 20% by the end of February 2021 will have to get out of the market, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh told Reuters on Thursday. Those leaving would do so by giving their shares to the central bank, Salameh added. He said he …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to visit Sudan in the coming days, a Sudanese government official said on Sunday. Sudan has been normalising relations with the United States since the overthrow of former leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 but is still seeking removal from a list of …

Sudan on Tuesday confirmed having contacts with Israel, saying the United Arab Emirates’ decision to normalise relations with Israel is “a brave and bold step”, according to its foreign ministry spokesman. Under the U.S.-brokered deal announced last week, the UAE becomes the just third Arab country to forge full relations …

The U.S. government supports Lebanese demonstrators’ right to peaceful protest and urges all involved to refrain from violence, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut said on Saturday. The embassy also said in a tweet that the Lebanese people “deserved leaders who listen to them and change course to respond to popular …

About 2,000 Israelis rallied outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday as protests mounted against him over his handling of a worsening coronavirus crisis and alleged corruption. Wearing protective masks, the demonstrators marched from Netanyahu’s official residence to Israel’s parliament, holding up signs that read “Crime Minister” …

Zawqan Abdelkhalek, a nurse at the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) medical centre since 2012, was laid off on Friday along with hundreds of colleagues as even hospitals buckle under the weight of Lebanon’s economic collapse. “I have a baby daughter, I need to get her food and water and …

Sudan’s decision to lift the death penalty and flogging as punishment for gay sex was hailed by LGBT+ activists on Thursday as a promising sign after almost four decades of Islamist rule, with calls for prison sentences to be abolished as well. Others criticised the relaxation of the law in …

Sudan will permit non-Muslims to consume alcohol and strengthen women’s rights, including banning female genital mutilation (FGM), its justice minister said late on Saturday, in a reversal of almost four decades of hardline Islamist policies. About 3% of Sudan’s population is non-Muslim, according to the United Nations. Alcoholic drinks have …

Sudan’s prime minister replaced the finance, foreign, energy and health ministers and three other senior cabinet post-holders on Thursday as part of a sweeping reshuffle, the government said. Authorities had said a reshuffle was coming, but few had expected the exit of Ibrahim al-Badawi, who as finance minister led efforts …

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Thursday protests over the economic slowdown could soon turn violent as restrictions to contain the coronavirus are reimposed and state assistance for the jobless lags. Alarmed by a new spike in COVID-19 cases, conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week ordered a slew …

European Union finance ministers failed to agree in all-night talks on more support for their coronavirus-hit economies and their chairman said on Wednesday morning he was suspending the discussions until Thursday. Diplomatic sources and officials said a feud between Italy and the Netherlands over what conditions should be attached to …

Hezbollah does not oppose foreign aid to Lebanon, even from the International Monetary Fund, as long as the help does not impose conditions that harm the national interest, its leader said on Friday. In a televised speech, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his Shi’ite movement, which backs the government, refused conditions …

Lebanon announced it cannot meet its debt payments and halted a March 9 bond payment of $1.2 billion on Saturday, setting the heavily indebted state on course for a sovereign default as it grapples with a major financial crisis. In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Hassan Diab …

A set of Lebanon’s bond holders are to step up efforts to form a creditor group in the coming days after the country’s presidency signaled on Saturday it would default, one of the members of the group said. The move from Lebanon will come just two days before a $1.2 …

Oman’s bond investors gained some respite this week as Fitch affirmed its rating for the indebted country and the government published encouraging deficit figures, potentially paving the way for the Gulf oil producer’s next debt sale. Rated junk by all three major rating agencies, Oman has relied heavily on borrowing …

Egypt’s finance minister said on Wednesday the government will weigh up in January how to proceed with further state company sales, with five share offerings planned to take place by the end of this year. Egypt hopes the privatisation drive will spur investment and private-sector growth, which has been moribund …

After years of stinging austerity measures, Greece emerged on Monday from its third and last bailout, although officials warn the country still has a “long way to go”. The European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loaned debt-wracked Greece a total of €289 billion ($330 …

Saudi Arabia has embarked on an ambitious reform drive, known as Vision 2030, as it seeks to reduce dependence on oil, diversify its income streams and modernise the economy The International Monetary Fund has called on Saudi Arabia to keep public spending under control, even as a partial recovery of …

Gross commercial long term borrowings of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) governments are expected to come down by 15 per cent this year to $68 billion (Dh250 billion) from $80 billion in 2017, according to ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. S&P anticipates sovereign borrowing in the Middle East and North African …

Iraq received pledges of $30 billion, mostly in credit facilities and investment, on Wednesday from allies but this fell short of the $88 billion Baghdad says it needs to recover from three years of war. Donors and investors gathered in Kuwait to mull ways to rebuild Iraq’s economy and infrastructure …

On Dec. 15 his 10-vehicle convoy, complete with soldiers toting AK-47 assault rifles, roared into a congress of the ruling ZANU-PF party. It was one of several displays of power by Zimbabwe’s generals since they helped oust Mugabe, the southern African nation’s ruler of 37 years, on Nov. 21. Ostensibly …

Leading UAE banks have reported robust improvement in performance with overall profitability and return on equity (RoE) higher in the third quarter of 2017, according to an analysis of key performance metrics by global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A & M). Almost all of the metrics applied by …

Egypt has reached a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund for an instalment of about $2 billion more from a three-year, $12 billion loan programme, the IMF said in a statement on Friday. The payment, which is still subject to IMF executive board approval, will bring total disbursements under …

In the context of persistent low oil prices resulting in lower economic growth across the oil exporting countries, the GCC countries need to continue fiscal consolidation at a gradual phase, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest Regional Economic Outlook. Lower oil prices have contributed to large fiscal …

President Xi Jinping thrust China into a new era of strongman politics on Wednesday, unveiling a leadership team without a likely successor among the six officials who will help him rule for the next half decade. In a nationally televised ceremony, Mr. Xi introduced the new members of China’s highest …

I do not want to be a purveyor of doom, but I dare say the business community’s financial troubles are even close to being over. In fact, current circumstances don’t warrant any analytical skills to surmise that this is all set to continue for a couple of years at least. …

Nearly half of residents in the UAE are still in debt, while a significant number are failing to save money, according to figures from Payfort. The company owned by Amazon revealed in a report published this week that about five in ten people in the UAE (46.7 per cent, or …

When it comes to using credit cards, it appears that most UAE consumers have smartened up and learned to avoid at least one major blunder that can lead to mounting debt levels. A new study on consumer behaviour in UAE found that the majority (70 per cent) of credit cardholders …

Toys ‘R’ Us Inc, the largest U.S. toy store chain, filed for bankruptcy protection late Monday, the latest sign of turmoil in the retail industry that is caught in a viselike grip of online shopping and discount chains. The Chapter 11 filing is among the largest ever by a specialty …

President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans rebuked him on Wednesday after his threat to shut down the U.S. government over funding for a border wall rattled markets and cast a shadow over congressional efforts to raise the country’s debt ceiling and pass spending bills. “I don’t think anyone’s interested in having …

President Donald Trump had personal liabilities of at least $315.6 million to German, U.S. and other lenders as of mid-2017, according to a federal financial disclosure form released late on Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. He had roughly $20 million in income from his new marquee Washington …