#Economy

Gold climbs to highest in more than a year on Ukraine tensions

Spot gold rose as much as 1 per cent to $1,928.80 an ounce, the highest level since January 2021

Bahrain

Bahrain begins construction on United States Trade Zone

The USTZ will be initially spread across approximately 1.11 million sq m and built at a cost of around BHD75m

Dubai International Financial Centre achieves record company registrations in 2021

Last year, the financial centre also recorded its highest ever annual revenue and operating profit

Brazil

UAE’s Mubadala Capital raises $322m in first investment fund in Brazil

Mubadala Capital manages over $10bn of assets in third-party managed funds across its Brazil, private equity, public equities and venture capital businesses

Gold holds biggest gain since October as investors seek haven

Bullion’s appeal as a store of value is being burnished by risk aversion in markets and a surge in inflation worldwide

Saudi

Saudi Arabia’s economic growth stays near decade-high as oil powers rebound

The kingdom’s economy expanded 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2021

Dubai International Chamber to attract 50 multinational companies over three years

It also aims to support the international expansion of 100 Dubai-based companies

UAE corporate tax

UAE to introduce federal corporate tax on business profits from 2023

The Ministry of Finance has set a rate of 9 per cent for taxable income exceeding Dhs375,000

Dubai FDI

Dubai reports Dhs15.9bn of FDI in the first nine months of 2021

It ranked third globally in attracting greenfield foreign direct investments

Sharjah Islamic Bank

Sharjah Islamic Bank’s 2021 net profit up 27% to Dhs514.1m

Its general and administrative expenses at the end of last year stood at Dhs576.8m, compared to Dhs561.5m in 2020

Nasdaq Dubai

Nasdaq Dubai records $23.1bn sukuk and bond listings in 2021

The 30 listings undertaken in 2021 were 15.5 per cent higher than the number of listings the previous year

UAE economy forecasted to grow 4.2% in 2022

The growth in the oil sector’s gross domestic product is set to be at 5 per cent this year

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed approves Dubai budget of Dhs181bn for 2022-2024

It includes an expenditure of nearly Dhs60bn in 2022

Qatar capital Doha

Qatar pushes Gulf Arab energy company borrowing to record high

Gulf Arab energy firms borrowed $30.5bn in 2021, the highest level in at least 25 years

Warba Bank nasdaq dubai

Warba Bank lists $250m sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai

The total value of the Kuwaiti bank’s sukuk on the exchange stands at $898m

GCC-UK strategic partnership to create jobs and drive economic growth in the Middle East

The GCC and UK already cooperate in many areas including security, foreign policy, trade and investment

Saudi Crown Prince launches masterplan for SAR75bn Jeddah Central project

The project will include four landmarks – an opera House, museum, sports stadium and oceanarium, as well as 17,000 residential units

dirhams

UAE Central Bank extends economic support measures until June 30

Prudential relief measures regarding banks’ capital buffers and liquidity and stable funding requirements will be extended by six months

Covid-19: Bahrain to move to ‘yellow alert level’ over omicron concerns

The new alert level will be in place from Sunday, December 19, 2021, until Monday, January 31, 2022

UAE salaries to increase by an average of 3% in 2022-report

Up to 74 per cent of the respondents also confirmed that they intend to pay out bonuses in 2022, with 46 per cent looking at offering one- two months’ gross salary

UAE’s new labour law to largely align public and private sector benefits

Under the new law, employees in both sectors will get similar leaves and end-of-service benefits

Dubai’s Danube Group chairman on Covid-19 recovery, 2022 plans

The UAE’s economy has received a strong boost from Expo 2020 Dubai and is on its way back to growth, states Danube Group founder and chairman Rizwan Sajan

Abu Dhabi’s IHC approves merger of its real estate firm Al Tamouh with Al Qudra Holding

Investment holding company Al Qudra’s board has approved a new foreign ownership limit of 30 per cent of outstanding shares

Saudi Arabia sees 2022 budget surplus, first in eight years

Officials expect the economy to expand 2.9 per cent this year and grow by a further 7.4 per cent in 2022

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett arrives in the UAE on historic visit

The trip marks the first official visit by an Israeli PM after the two countries established diplomatic ties last year

Kuwait’s $33bn holding firm Kipco appoints Sheikha Dana as CEO

She will replace Faisal Al Ayyar, who will retire as the CEO after more than 30 years with the company

New UAE weekend: Private sector companies can decide whether to make a change

The UAE on Tuesday announced a new four-and-a-half-day working week for federal government entities

Saudi Crown Prince arrives in Oman on official visit

On the sidelines of the visit, Saudi Arabia and Oman signed 13 memoranda of understanding across different sectors

Dubai UAE

Dubai issues 55,194 new business licences during the first 10 months of 2021

The figure marks a 69 per cent increase over the same period in 2020 when 32,626 licenses were issued

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, UAE MOCCAE, Eugene Willemsen, and Aamer Sheikh

PepsiCo launches MENA edition of Greenhouse Accelerator programme

It has partnered with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment for the initiative