Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US Treasury securities stood at $126.9 billion in January, reflecting a $10.6 billion decrease from December, according to the latest US Treasury data. This marks a 7.71 percent month-on-month decline. The change could reflect market fluctuations or potential portfolio rebalancing as the Kingdom navigates global economic conditions. Official data showed that Saudi Arabia retained […]
Russia’s budget deficit for the first two months of 2025 reached 2.7 trillion rubles ($31.6 billion), driven by a 30.6% year-on-year increase in spending and more modest revenue growth, Finance Ministry data published Tuesday showed. Revenues rose 6.3% to 5.34 trillion rubles, while expenditures surged to 8.45 trillion rubles in January and February. Russia’s Finance Ministry attributed […]
Russia’s Central Bank held its key interest rate at 21% on Friday, maintaining unprecedented borrowing costs as the country struggles with soaring inflation. Prices have been rising rapidly across the Russian economy for months, driven by surging military spending and severe labor shortages. Annual inflation exceeded 10% last month for the first time in two […]
The Dangote oil refinery has commenced the startup of its polypropylene facility in Lagos. Our correspondent gathered that the polypropylene facility will be officially unveiled soon. S&P Global also reports that starting up Dangote’s 830,000 metric tonnes per year polypropylene site was one of the last outstanding milestones for the oil refining and petrochemical complex […]
Nigeria and Germany are poised to enhance their bilateral economic relations, with a particular focus on trade and investment. In 2024, trade between the two nations demonstrated significant activity, with Germany importing goods worth €142 million from Nigeria and exporting €84.6 million to Nigeria in November alone. This resulted in a trade deficit of €57.5 […]
British finance minister Rachel Reeves will meet financial, environmental and health regulators on Monday to unveil an “action plan” to cut red tape by reducing the number of bodies overseeing sectors seen as crucial to boosting economic growth. Days after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would abolish a body which oversees the state-funded […]
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has revealed that reforms in the oil and gas sector, driven by the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and Executive Orders issued by President Bola Tinubu, attracted about $17bn in foreign investment in 2024. The Executive Vice President of Upstream, Udy Ntia, disclosed this during an investor […]
Chinese AI startup Zhipu AI secured 500 million yuan ($69.04 million) in funding from state-owned Huafa Group, just one week after announcing a separate 1 billion yuan capital raise. Huafa Group, a state conglomerate based in Zhuhai in Guangdong province, announced its investment in Zhipu in a statement on Wednesday, as Chinese cities compete to […]
Deutsche Bank on Thursday forecast increased revenue in 2025 at its investment bank and three other main business units. The outlook, published in its latest annual report, is the bank’s most detailed projection yet for its expected performance in 2025. The current year is a crucial one for CEO Christian Sewing, who is striving to […]
The Third International Future Technologies Forum held February 20 and 21 in Moscow, which sets the stage for groundbreaking scientific exploration, where emerging ideas, still taking shape in laboratories and research centres, are discussed and refined. This year’s forum focused on chemistry and the application of new materials – cross-cutting fields that will play a decisive role […]