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EBRD will provide loan to TSKB Jobs for women and youth Extra 15% for earthquake regions The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a €75 million ($86 million) loan to Türkiye Sınai Kalkınma Bankası (TSKB), the country’s development bank, to support businesses that offer opportunities to women and young people. The funding will also back companies impacted by the 2023 earthquakes. At least 15 percent of the funds will be allocated to companies with policies that support youth employment, EBRD said in a statement last week. An additional 15 percent will be allocated to companies operating and…

Aligns with UAE’s Net Zero 2050 aims Credit to support green projects ENBD already provides green debt Emirates NBD (ENBD), Dubai’s largest bank by assets, and German multinational Siemens have signed an agreement to provide finance for green infrastructure projects in the UAE. The agreement aligns with the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative.   Siemens will develop and design the administrative, technical and structural aspects of the agreement, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported on Monday.  This collaboration will result in a credit framework supporting decarbonisation and green infrastructure projects throughout their entire lifecycle. No financial details…

Oil prices climbed on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of US-China talks that could pave the way for easing trade tensions and improve fuel demand. Brent crude futures rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $67.32 a barrel by 0330 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 23 cents, or 0.4%, at $65.52. On Monday, Brent had risen to $67.19, the highest since April 28, buoyed by the prospect of a US-China trade deal, Reuters said. US-China trade talks were set to continue for a second day in London as top officials aimed to ease tensions that have expanded…

Checkout competition intensifies New payments infrastructure Credit or splitting payments Gulf banks such as First Abu Dhabi Bank are moving to claw back billions of dollars in market share from buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financial technology companies, turning to new payments infrastructure to reassert control at the checkout.  Global payments technology company Visa says it is working with lenders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to expand its “Instalment Solutions” platform, which allows credit card holders to split payments into interest-free instalments, mimicking the core appeal of BNPL services. “We’ve set up the infrastructure for banks to offer customers the choice between…

Middle East economic data For more, go to our GCC economic data and Mena economic data pages Egypt economic indicators at a glance Egypt nominal GDP Egypt GDP per capita Egypt GDP growth Egypt’s GDP per capita has fluctuated greatly over the past decade. Its GDP growth rate has also fluctuated but is predicted to steadily increase from 2025 onwards. Egypt inflation Egypt debt & current account balance Government gross debt as a percentage of Egypt’s GDP is extremely high. It reached a peak of 95.9 percent in 2023 but has been decreasing since then. Egypt trade Egypt’s top 10…

View Article Middle East economic data For more, go to our GCC economic data and Mena economic data pages Turkey economic indicators at a glance Turkey nominal GDP Turkey GDP per capita Turkey GDP growth Turkey’s GDP has been growing since 2020 and is predicted to continue increasing. The GDP growth rate slowed in 2021 but should increase in 2025 onwards. Turkey inflation Turkey debt & current account balance Government gross debt as a percentage of Turkey’s GDP has been decreasing and will generally steady over the next few years. Turkey trade Turkey’s top 10 trade partners Turkey’s top trade…

Global financial markets are approaching a threshold that threatens to upend conventional economic thinking and throw the plans of international policymakers and business people into disarray – even in the well-resourced economies of the Arabian Gulf. Largely as a result of President Trump’s chaotic policies, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bills – supposedly the safest of investible American assets – is creeping up towards 5 percent. Most sensible economists view with trepidation the implications of the ominous “5 on 10” level – not just on the domestic US economy, but around the world. When that barrier was breached in…

Saudi GDP revised higher Q1 non-oil growth leads Investment drives momentum Saudi Arabia raised its economic growth estimate for the first quarter, driven by expansion in the non-oil sector. The General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) said on Monday that real GDP grew by 3.4 percent in the three months to March 31, compared with the same period last year. That also compared with its earlier estimate of 2.7 percent. Non-oil activities expanded by almost 5 percent, it said. “The critical story really remains on signs of strong ongoing non-oil GDP momentum underpinned by the investment programme,” said Monica Malik, chief economist…

China’s export growth slowed to a three-month low in May as US tariffs slammed shipments, while factory-gate deflation deepened to its worst level in two years, heaping pressure on the world’s second-largest economy on both the domestic and external fronts. US President Donald Trump’s global trade war and the swings in Sino-US trade ties have in the past two months sent Chinese exporters, along with their business partners across the Pacific, on a roller coaster ride and hobbled world growth. Underscoring the US tariff impact on shipments, customs data showed that China’s exports to the US plunged 34.5% year-on-year in…

Oman Islamic banking growth Fuelled by demand Banks opening Islamic units Islamic banks in Oman are growing at a faster pace than their conventional competitors, according to a report by the central bank. The sultanate’s two Islamic banks, Bank Nizwa and Alizz Islamic Bank, and sharia-compliant units at other banks recorded higher growth in loans and deposits in the year to April 30, the report showed. Islamic banking prohibits the payment or receipt of interest, considering it usury. Instead, income is earned through profit sharing or through transactions that are backed by tangible assets or services.  Financing by Islamic banks…