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China approved 11.29 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power plants in the first three months of 2025, already exceeding the 10.34 GW approved in the first half of 2024, a new Greenpeace report showed on Thursday. Last year, Chinese approvals of new coal-fired power capacity fell 41.5% year-on-year to 62.24 GW, the first annual decline since 2021. The new data suggest approvals are tracking higher this year. While all the approved projects may not be built, the growing pipeline signals a continued reliance on coal. Reducing coal use to cut emissions is key to China’s goal to hit peak carbon…

Kuwaiti SWF is world’s oldest Fund keeps analysts guessing $1trn assets under management Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is not only the oldest Gulf sovereign wealth fund, but also the most opaque.  It publishes little information about its assets and usually invests abroad through asset managers rather than directly. Its low-profile approach contrasts with the likes of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) which announced themselves on the global stage through multi-billion-dollar purchases of trophy assets. “The KIA has yet to do the kind of co-investments or the investing abroad in sectors…

Remittances from Egyptian expatriates hit a new record in the first nine months of fiscal year 2024/2025, driven by renewed confidence in the economy. Inflows surged by 83 percent to $26.4 billion between July 2024 and March 2025, compared with $14.4 billion a year earlier, Egypt Today reported, quoting the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) data. In the third quarter –  January to March 2025 – remittances rose by 87 percent annually to $9.4 billion.Remittances climbed by 64 percent year on year to $3.4 billion in March, the report said. The country’s fiscal year starts on July 1 and runs…

Lebanon has made progress on reforms needed to revive its economy but still has key steps to take and will need external funding on concessional terms, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday after a week of meetings in Beirut. Lebanon’s economy went into a tailspin in late 2019, prompted by decades of profligate spending by the country’s ruling elite. Reforms required to access IMF funding were repeatedly derailed by political and private interests, according to Reuters. Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, both of whom took office in early 2025, pledged to prioritize reforms and…

Oil prices slipped on Friday but were on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping resumed trade talks, raising hopes for growth and stronger demand in the world’s two largest economies.Mike Blake | ReutersOil prices slipped on Friday but were on track for their first weekly gain in three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping resumed trade talks, raising hopes for growth and stronger demand in the world’s two largest economies.Brent crude futures fell 12 cents, or 0.2%, to $65.22 a barrel as of 0133 GMT.…

Lebanon has made progress on reforms needed to revive its economy but still has key steps to take and will need external funding on concessional terms, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday after a week of meetings in Beirut. Lebanon’s economy went into a tailspin in late 2019, prompted by decades of profligate spending by the country’s ruling elite. Reforms required to access IMF funding were repeatedly derailed by political and private interests. Lebanon’s new president and prime minister, both of whom took office in early 2025, pledged to prioritise reforms and secure an IMF financing agreement. However, the…

Several Asian companies are in talks to list in Saudi Arabia as the kingdom considers a new listing regime to pave the way for share sales of foreign issuers, the chief executive of the Saudi bourse told Reuters. Conversations are underway with Asian companies that are evaluating opportunities to tap into Saudi Arabia’s deep and increasingly diverse investor base, stock exchange CEO Mohammed Al-Rumaih said in an email interview on Wednesday. “We’re seeing growing momentum around cross-border capital market activity, and Asia is a natural partner in this regard,” Al-Rumaih said, without providing further details on issuers. He said that as…

Chairman of the Management Board at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) Nikolai Podguzov revealed plans to cooperate with GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, to develop energy infrastructure. Podguzov told Asharq Al-Awsat that the bank, which is the international financial organization that operates in Central Asia and in Eurasia, works on implementing a working plan based on three strategies. “Every year we execute around 30-40 new projects and set up agreements,” he said. “The investments of the bank are growing at least 20% each year,” Podguzov revealed. “We are quite a fast developing bank. Uzbekistan has just joined the bank this…

The Saudi government has granted the General Authority for Food Security (GFSA) the authority to expand its revenue sources through investment initiatives and strategic partnerships with the private sector. The new move is intended to enhance the Authority’s capacity to fulfill its mandate, align with national goals, and operate within regulatory frameworks, while also cultivating a competitive investment environment within the food security sector. Recently, the Council of Ministers approved the formal organization of the GFSA, further reinforcing its role in safeguarding national interests and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. This development follows the Cabinet’s decision in January 2023 to…

Institutional investors will be able to start subscribing to the Riyadh-based Sport Clubs Company’s initial public offering (IPO) from June 22. The subscription period will run for five days, the company said in a statement. In March, the Capital Market Authority, the market regulator, approved the sale of 34.3 million shares, or 30 percent of its share capital, on the main market. The float includes 10.4 million new shares and the sale of 23.9 million existing shares. The retail tranche, consisting of 6.86 million shares, will open for one day on July 8. The final allocation of offering shares will…