Kuwait Monday introduced a five per cent value-added tax (VAT) to come into force next year, as the country’s economy has gone into slow motion owing to struggling oil production. Country’s leader Sultan Haitham bin Tariq issued a decree for the next tax which will be imposed on goods and services except for certain products […]
Nowpay, a start-up based in Cairo and which provides a financial-wellness platform for employees in emerging markets, has raised $2.1 million to deepen its presence in the Middle East and North Africa Region and increase the capabilities of its platform. The Fin-tech start up in a statement said the investors emanates from the U.S, UAE, […]
The European Investment Bank, EIB, has said it plans to invest €78 million into expansion of Helwan Wastewater Treatment Plant in Egypt valued at € 200 million, Arab Finance reports. The lender in a statement, the online media notes, is expected to enhance the public health situation in Helwan district by improving water quality and […]
Egypt has approved a financing request of EGP 3 billion (about $191 million) by national carrier EgyptAir to be used to pay external debt, reports say. The Central Bank of Egypt will release the funds in form of loan, state-run Ahram online reports. EgyptAir, which resumed flying from July 1st after several months of hiatus […]
The United States announced on Thursday it would provide more than $720 million in humanitarian assistance for the response to the crisis in Syria. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun made the announcement on Syria at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. He said the money would go […]
Women and men doing same work in the private sector in the UAE, will get same salary, a decree signed by the President of the Gulf country Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered. The decree notes that the wages or salaries will no longer be determined by gender but by market standards. The […]
Saudi Industrial Investment Group (SIIG) and National Petrochemical Company (Petrochem), two of the kingdom’s petrochemical companies, are planning to merge after the two posted losses. SIIG Sunday indicated in a bourse filing to Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) that its board of directors has issued an approval to hold initial discussions with Petrochem, Zawya reports. The […]
Emirates NBD, UAE’s largest lender, Monday inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s biggest bank, as fruit of normalization between the two countries. The agreement announced by Dubai Media Office, Gulf Business reports, will allow Israeli clients to transact directly in the UAE. Bank Hapoalim’s CEO Dov Kotler announced the signing last […]
The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has announced in a statement the resignation of Georges Richani, the CEO of the bank’s International Banking Group. Richani resigned for personal reasons, according to the bank. NBK boasts local and international network, which includes branches, subsidiaries and representative offices in New York, Geneva, London, Paris, Turkey, China and […]
The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to Turkey to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) affected by the covid-19 pandemic to keep afloat. The loan to be released under the Turkey Emergency Firm Support Project will be implemented through two public banks. One portion, a $250 million line of credit to VakifBank […]