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Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yasar Barnieh announced that the Damascus Stock Exchange will reopen on Monday, June 2, following the completion of necessary reviews and procedures. According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, the minister confirmed that measures have been taken to ensure compliance with anti-money laundering regulations and to prevent the misuse of the market. Initially, trading will be limited to three days per week. Barnieh stated that the reopening aims to help stimulate the economy and revitalize financial transactions. He also revealed that preparations are underway for a comprehensive development plan for Syria’s capital markets. This plan…

EU keeps UAE on watchlist Designation ‘not linked’ to talks Deal expected within six months The European Union has relaunched free trade talks with the UAE, even as it continues to keep the Gulf state on its money laundering watchlist, a designation that can pose risks for investors. In February last year the UAE was removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list after being praised for reforms to curb illicit financial flows.  But the EU has kept the UAE on its own watchlist, with lawmakers in Brussels blocking a proposal to take it off last year, citing…

HUMAIN, Saudi Arabia’s new AI start-up backed by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), will launch a $10 billion venture capital fund as part of the kingdom’s efforts to become a global AI leader, the company’s CEO, Tareq Amin, told the Financial Times (FT) on Wednesday. Amin said HUMAIN will launch its fund this summer and will focus on investing in start-ups in the US, Europe and Asia. HUMAIN is now looking for a US tech company to become an equity partner in its data center business, he said, adding that the company was in talks with OpenAI, venture capital firm…

China will grant ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain visa-free entry into China up to 30 days from June 9, 2025. China has already signed two separate visa exemption agreements with the UAE and Qatar, allowing nationals from these two countries to enter without a visa and stay for up to 30 days. On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said her country will trial the policy granting ordinary passport holders visa-free entry into China up to 30 days from June 9, 2025, to June 8, 2026, according to Xinhua, the official state-owned news agency.…

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan and his Chinese counterpart, Lan Fo’an, co-chaired the fourth meeting of the Financial Sub-Committee of the High-Level Saudi-Chinese Joint Committee which convened its fourth meeting on Wednesday via video conference. Senior officials and representatives from both sides participated in the meeting, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Discussions focused on strengthening bilateral and multilateral economic and financial cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China, improving the effectiveness of international financial institutions, and furthering the strategic partnership between the two countries. Participants exchanged views on enhancing collaboration in key areas including tax policy, capital markets, banking regulations,…

In April, Saudi property company Diriyah Co announced it had developed its own unique colour, “Diriyah Tan”. It did this in partnership with the Pantone Color Institute. The colour, says Diriyah, is inspired by the mud brick architecture of the Unesco World Heritage Site at At-Turaif. Pantone is a US company best known for its colour-matching system used by designers to plan palettes and ensure consistency in branding and design.  The Pantone Color Institute positions itself as a “source of colour expertise”, leading initiatives such as trend forecasting and, since 2000, the Pantone Colour of the Year. This year’s colour…

A federal court in New York handed President Donald Trump a big setback Wednesday, blocking his audacious plan to impose massive taxes on imports from almost every country in the world. A three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and justify the sweeping tariffs. The tariffs overturned decades of US trade policy, disrupted global commerce, rattled financial markets and raised the risk of higher prices and recession in the United States and around the world, The Associated…

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has sold $1 billion in 10-year US dollar-denominated Islamic bonds, or sukuk, in its first debt sale of the year, fixed income news service IFR said on Wednesday. Acting through the Mamoura Diversified Global Holding debt vehicle, Mubadala priced the bonds at 60 basis points (bps) over US treasuries, narrower than the 95 bps guidance given earlier in the day after receiving more than $4.75 billion in orders, IFR said. The wealth fund last raised AED1 billion ($272.3 million) from the sale of a 5-year sukuk in October. Mubadala this month reported a 9.1 percent…

OPEC+ agreed on Wednesday to establish a mechanism for setting baselines for its 2027 oil production. The 39th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was convened in light of the continued commitment of the participating countries in the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) to achieve and sustain a stable oil market. The participants reaffirmed the Framework of the DoC, signed on December 10, 2016, and further endorsed in subsequent meetings. They reaffirmed the level of overall crude oil production for OPEC and non-OPEC participating countries in the DoC as agreed in the 38th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting until December 31, 2026.…

Three companies based in the UAE have approached the Italian Treasury with a proposal to buy the Russian operations of UniCredit at a steep discount, a document seen by Reuters showed. UniCredit is under pressure both from the European Central Bank and Italy’s government to quit Russia, where it runs a commercial lender. It has so far resisted leaving at a loss, insisting instead on a gradual disengagement. This month it targeted ending its Russian retail business by mid-2026. Under the plan, Dubai-based investment firms Asas Capital and Mada Capital would set up a special purpose vehicle and team up with Inweasta, an…