RIYADH: Chocolate, yogurt and fish production in Saudi Arabia will increase after investment deals worth SR232 million ($61.8 million) were signed by the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones.
The organization, also known as MODON, has awarded seven contracts covering 99,400 sq. meters which will primarily benefit the Kingdom’s food and beverage sector.
LONDON: Lockheed Martin on Friday announced its participation in and sponsorship of the Bahrain International Airshow 2024. The company will have a stand in the exhibition hall and a dedicated chalet at the event.
“A relationship spanning decades, Bahrain was the first country in the region to adopt Lockheed Martin’s F-16 aircraft, for the Royal Bahraini Air Force, and in early 2023 became the first country in the world to receive delivery of the first F-16 Block 70 fighter jet from the manufacturer,” UK-based airshow consultancy Farnborough International said.
RIYADH: Gold prices were en route to their worst week since early February on Friday as the dollar strengthened after US Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell reiterated that more interest rate hikes were in the offing, according to Reuters.
Spot gold was up 0.4 percent to $1,921.29 per ounce by 1543 p.m. Saudi time, yet stayed close to a three-month low hit earlier in the session. Prices are down 1.8 percent for the week.
US gold futures gained 0.4 percent to $1,931.40.
CAIRO: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) kept its key overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, saying commodity prices appear to be falling and economic growth is likely to recover in the fiscal year that begins next week.
As expected, the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the lending rate steady at 19.25 percent and the deposit rate at 18.25 percent. Not one of 17 analysts polled by Reuters on Monday had forecast a change.
RIYADH: Oil prices fell for a second straight session and were headed for a weekly decline of more than 3 percent on Friday, as a higher-than-expected interest rate hike in Britain and warnings about looming rate rises in the US ignited concerns over demand, according to Reuters.
Brent futures slipped 51 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $73.76 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 42 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $69.09 at 3:40 a.m. Saudi time.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s financial market has advanced seven places to the third position in the competitiveness indicators among G20 nations this year, revealed Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development in its latest report.
According to the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook for 2023, the Kingdom’s performance epitomizes the ongoing efforts of the Capital Market Authority to implement global best practices.
RIYADH: A rebound in oil and non-oil activities is expected to help the UAE maintain its projected growth rate of 4.3 percent in 2024, the latest quarterly report from the apex bank showed.
In its economic review report for the first quarter, the Central Bank of the UAE forecast the country’s oil and non-oil gross domestic product in 2024 will grow at 3.5 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.