January Second Week Middle East Business Newsletter
Highlights:
– Business conditions in the United Arab Emirates ended last year with the weakest improvement in 11 months as waning demand prompted slower increases in output, new orders and employment.
– While domestic demand conditions are holding up relatively strong, weakness in the global economy led to a first decrease in new export business since August 2021.
Highlights:
– We see operating conditions remaining favorable in December, characterized by rapid growth in the non-oil activities and a robust labor market by the end of 2022, with both jobs and wages having far more momentum than previously thought,” said Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank.
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Highlights:
– Brent crude futures have slumped from almost $125 a barrel in June to less that $80.
– High interest rates and a strong dollar have weakened energy consumption among businesses in the US, Europe and China.
– Last month OPEC+, a producers’ cartel led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided to keep crude output steady after lowering it by 2 million barrels a day in October.
Highlights:
– Kuwait is home to one of the biggest wealth funds in the world, is one of the least indebted nations, and its historically strong banking system has plenty of liquidity. The country’s economy is estimated to have grown nearly 8% in 2022 thanks to high oil prices and it’s likely to bank a $23 billion surplus in the current fiscal year ending in March, according to economists at Kuwaiti consultancy Al Shall.
– Long-vaunted plans to become a business and commercial hub by 2035 with better regional and global connections haven’t moved beyond a blueprint.
Highlights:
– Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will invest more than $1 billion in Turkey for a logistics hub at Istanbul’s airport and a data center near the Turkish capital, said president Michael Evans.
– Alibaba is targeting Turkey for expansion because of its strong production capacity that could back e-commerce and become part of the company’s supply chain in Europe and the Middle East, Evans said.