Saudi Arabia Financial News

BRICS is all set to invite Saudi Arabia to join bloc, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. People familiar with the development also told the news agency that Egypt is another nation being invited to join, along with others in the Middle East.

QIA) agreed to invest ₹8,278 crore ($997 million) in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) at an equity valuation of ₹8.2 lakh crore ($100 billion), making it the single largest investment by the sovereign wealth fund of the gas-rich country in India. RRVL, the holding company of Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL), had diluted 10.1% stake and raised over $6 billion in 2020 from several financial sponsors and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) such as KKR, General Atlantic, TPG, Silver Lake, L Catterton, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala and Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. QIA and RRVL announced the deal on Wednesday. The capital raise, at a 97% premium to the last round (₹4.2 lakh crore), sets a new valuation benchmark for a larger $3-4 billion raise being planned by RRVL, said people in the know.Europe Meeting The funding round from financial investors including SWFs from South-East Asia is part of a value-unlocking exercise ahead of a planned listing, said people in the know. At $100 billion, RRVL, with over 18,000 stores, will outpace global peers such as Tesco, Carrefour, Uniqlo and JD.com. In India, Reliance Retail, the largest in the segment by sales and profit already, will be almost 3.5 times the value of the largest listed retail chain, Avenue Supermarts, which owns DMart.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have held closed-door discussions on the possible expansion of their BRICS economic bloc

OPEC+, which groups the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, agreed a broad deal in early June to curtail supplies until the end of 2024. Saudi Arabia at the time announced the additional voluntary cut which brought its oil production to a multi-year low of 9 million bpd. Earlier this month, Riyadh extended the voluntary cut into September, with the energy ministry saying that it could be «extended, or extended and deepened». «We think Saudi Arabia will extend the cut in full at least through October,» Richard Bronze, analyst at consultancy Energy Aspects said. «The kingdom is adopting a cautious approach after the weakness in oil markets over the first half of the year and will want to see global inventories significantly decline before starting to unwind the additional voluntary cuts,» he added. The Saudi energy ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brent oil prices in July were up 14% on the previous month, the biggest monthly increase since January 2022.

Investing.com — U.S. crude stocks fell by just over six million barrels last week, more than double the level forecast. But output of oil in the largest producing country hit new three-year highs, a government report showed on Wednesday, as supply-demand of the commodity remained volatile from persistent Saudi attempts to squeeze a market at a crossroads due to the sluggish economy in top importing nation China.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, says it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping are both absent as leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies open a three-day summit in South Africa

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be notably absent when Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders from the BRICS group of emerging economies begin a three-day summit in South Africa on Tuesday

NCR) during the G20 summit on September 9-10 for seamless movement of 30 leaders, including invitees and their entourages, according to people aware of the matter. The movement of residents of Delhi-NCR could be restricted for three days, from September 8-10, they said, as most of the invitees will arrive in Delhi on September 8 and depart either on September 10 evening or September 11, the people said. While September 9-10 is a weekend, September 8 might be declared a holiday in New Delhi owing to the security arrangements for the event, according to those in the know. Special arrangements are being made for movement of the media covering the G20 summit, they said. More than 20 hotels in the capital have been booked for the visiting leaders — Saudi Arabia, US and China are expected to send big delegations to the event.

COVID-19 pandemic. The BRICS group was formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was added in 2010.

Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, announced Tuesday it served 41.6 million passengers in the first half of this year — exceeding figures for the same period in 2019 as travelers return to the air after the lockdowns of the coronavirus pandemic. The airport, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates in skyscraper-studded Dubai, long has served as a barometer for the aviation industry worldwide. The new figures at the airport known as DXB reflect figures offered by the International Air Transport Association that traffic worldwide is at 94% of pre-COVID levels. «As we recover with our (half-year) traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels, we continue to remain committed to ensuring every guest who travels through our airport leaves with a smile,» Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, said in a statement announcing the figures. The 41.6 million passengers is up some 50% from the 27.9 million recorded the same time last year, as airlines now have more planes and routes running again. Passenger traffic this year largely has been driven by the airport's standard travel destinations — India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

The Sultanate of Oman, a 4.5-million populated nation, neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has launched a new crypto mining center, the second mining facility to open in the country in ten months. 

crude oil imports from Russia dipped for the first time in nine months, while inbound shipments from Saudi Arabia tumbled to their lowest in 2-1/2 years following OPEC+ cuts, tanker data from trade and industry sources showed. Both China and India, the world's biggest and third-biggest oil importers, cut imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia in July after prices rose and as the two oil producers reduced output and crude oil shipments. Saudi Arabia volunteered to cut output by another 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from July through September, and Russia will reduce exports in August by 500,000 bpd, part of a deal among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a grouping know as OPEC+, to curb supplies and support prices. India's overall imports also declined 5.2% from June to 4.4 million bpd oil in July, the data showed, as several refining plants are shut for maintenance during monsoon season.Russian oil imports declined 5.7% to 1.85 million bpd and Saudi shipments fell by 26% to 470,000 bpd, the data showed. India imports more than 80% of its overall oil needs. Indian refiners that have been diversifying their oil import sources to cut costs began snapping up Russian oil at a discount as some Western companies stopped purchasing from Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. India's import of Russian oil may now decline further in August and September, however, as refiners plan maintenance at their plants and as Russian crude prices are above the $60-a-barrel ceiling imposed by the European Union and G7 economies after spot discounts shrank, sources said. Russia was still the top oil supplier to India in July, though, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

BRICS economic alliance, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, are gathering in Johannesburg's financial district of Sandton for a three-day summit. The meeting is anticipated to witness discussions on ways to consolidate political and economic influence in the developing world, marking a pivotal moment in international diplomacy. China's President Xi Jinping's participation in the summit underscores the nation's continued investment in the BRICS alliance as a vehicle for its strategic aspirations.

HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. It compiled testimony from 38 Ethiopians who tried to cross the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, as well as four relatives or friends of migrants. Human Rights Watch said attacks against groups of migrants, who used remote mountain tracks to cross into Saudi Arabia by foot, were «widespread and systematic» and that the «killings are continuing». A Saudi official, who did not provide their name, said on Monday in an emailed response to questions to the government's media office that HRW's allegations were «unfounded and not based on reliable sources.» Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N.

lending rate by 10 basis points and left its five-year rate unmoved, in a surprise to analysts who had expected cuts of 15 basis points to both. The recovery in the world's second largest economy has been slowed by a worsening property crisis, weak spending and lower credit growth.

exports and imports of goods and services declined 2.5% on-year in January-June 2023 at $800.9 billion, think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said Monday. Exports of goods and services rose 1.5% to $385.4 billion in the first six months of the calendar year as against $379.5 billion in the corresponding period a year ago while imports dipped 5.9% to $415.5 billion from $441.7 billion in January-June 2022. In merchandise trade, exports fell 8.1% to $218.7 billion, while imports contracted 8.3% to $325.7 billion. “Data is showing modest decline due to weak global demand and losing competitiveness in labour intensive sectors,” said GTRI Co-founder Ajay Srivastava. Services exports during the six months grew 17.7% to $166.7 billion, while imports rose 3.7% to $89.8 billion. India exports goods to 240 countries and out of that, the country's outbound shipments declined in 134 destinations. Major countries where exports declined include the US, UAE, China, Bangladesh, and Germany.

Investing.com — Oil prices rose Monday, helped by another rate cut from China, the world’s largest crude importer, as well as the prospect of tighter supplies.

(Reuters) — Futures for Canada's main index edged higher on Monday, setting stocks for a rebound after a sharp selloff last week, driven by a rise in oil and precious metal prices, while investors await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech.

By Natalie Grover

By Yoruk Bahceli