Business

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Tunisia expects inflation to average 10.5% in 2023, up from 8.3% expected for 2022, as inflationary pressures continue to increase, economy minister Samir Saeed said on Monday.

The Tunisian government has no alternative to an agreement with the IMF, Saeed added, referring a $1.9 billion rescue package to help the country with its borrowing needs next year.

25 Dec 2022; MEMO: An Israeli ban on the entry of medical equipment into the Gaza Strip is putting the lives of hundreds of patients at risk, Palestinian authorities warned on Saturday, Anadolu reports.

Health Ministry official Ibrahim Abbas said Israeli authorities refuse to allow medical equipment, including diagnostic devices, into Gaza.

"Lack of medical service puts the lives of hundreds of patients at risk," he warned.

25 Dec 2022; MEMO: Kuwait said on Sunday that it has launched an investigation into suspicions of contracting with an Israeli company by a local bank, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, Finance Minister Abdulwahab Al-Rushaid said his ministry has formed a committee to investigate allegations that the Credit Bank has contracted with an Israeli company.

He said the bank had received a notice from the Audit Bureau that it was using a protection system for a company based in Tel Aviv.

25 Dec 2022; MEMO: A top Ukrainian official and presidential aide has called for the "liquidation" of Iranian factories producing missiles and drones, along with other measures to be taken against them and their suppliers.

In a Twitter post today, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Iran "blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions" and that it is "important to abandon nonworking sanctions" on the country and its government.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: American public relations firm, Edelman, has received some $10 million for helping Saudi Arabia clean up its image, according to the Guardian. ​

Richard Edelman, CEO of the $1 billion firm, signed deals with the kingdom over the past four years to sanitise its image despite being a leading campaigner against doing business with autocratic regimes.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: Germany's government is suspending state measures designed to foster business with Iran due to the repression of nationwide protests in the Islamic Republic, the economy ministry said on Friday.

The suspension will affect export credits and investment guarantees as well as Germany's manager training and trade fair programmes in Iran, the ministry said.

German-Iranian trade totalled 1.76 billion euros ($1.87 billion) in 2021.

22 Dec 2022; MEMO: The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources has announced that the Kingdom's mineral wealth is now valued in excess of $1.3 trillion, including deposits of copper, zinc, phosphates, uranium and gold, the Saudi Press Agency has reported. The announcement was made in an online meeting organised by the ministry's Assistant Undersecretary for Investment Development, Turki Al-Babtain, with a group of British investors on Tuesday.

23 Dec 2022; MEMO: Egypt is stalling the implementation of an agreement to hand over two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, only a week before its intended date amid ongoing disagreements with the United States.

21 Dec 2022; MEMO: The World Bank has approved $1.69 billion in financing for flood relief projects in Pakistan, it said in a statement issued according to Reuters.

The funds will be distributed across five projects to support rehabilitation, housing reconstruction and the restoration of crop production for vulnerable communities.

21 Dec 2022; MEMO: Qatar has estimated that it will make $17 billion in revenue after hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar News Agency (QNA) has reported. With 1.2 million visitors and the sale of three million tickets for matches, the immediate revenue will be linked directly to visitor spending.