UAE

Uber suspends taxi booking option in Saudi Arabia

DUBAI (Reuters) - Uber Technologies has suspended the option to book regular taxi services through its app in Saudi Arabia until further notice, a company statement said on Friday.

Saudi Arabia is in virtual lockdown and has suspended regular, accredited taxi services as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. It has reported 344 cases of the virus.

“As per the measures announced by the Ministry of Interior, we are suspending Uber Taxi in the Kingdom until further notice”, an Uber spokesman told Reuters.

Iran president expects coronavirus restrictions to ease within three weeks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that social distancing measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak in the country, including travel restrictions, will apply for only two to three weeks as he expects the crisis to ease by then.

Iran “has to do everything necessary to return economic production to normal,” he said in comments broadcast on state TV. He also accused “counter-revolutionaries” of plotting to shut down economic production.

Qatar eases exit restrictions on migrant employees in the oil and gas industry

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar has removed exit visa requirements for an additional segment of its foreign labour force, including some of those working in the oil and gas industry, according to official tweets posted on Friday.

Qatar in 2018 eliminated exit visas for many foreign migrant workers. But the reform did not apply to domestic workers, government and public institution staff, the oil and gas sector, and workers employed at sea and in agriculture.

Flydubai temporarily suspends services to India

Mumbai, Mar 17 (PTI) Gulf airline flydubai has temporarily suspended its services to India for a month due to travel and visa restrictions in the wake of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

The pandemic is adversely impacting the airline industry world over with carriers cancelling or cutting down services across their international network.

UAE pledges $27B in stimulus as Mideast works to slow virus

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The central bank of the United Arab Emirates, home to the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai, on Sunday announced a $27 billion stimulus package to deal with the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will go toward supporting the country’s banks, and regulatory limits on loans will be eased.

Saudi Aramco asked to boost oil output capacity to 13 million bpd: CEO

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco has been directed by the Ministry of Energy to raise its oil production capacity to 13 million barrels per day (bpd) from 12 million bpd now, the company’s Chief Executive Amin Nasser said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The company is exerting its maximum efforts to implement this directive as soon as possible,” Nasser added.

ADEX Approves AED550 Million To Finance UAE Exports In 2020

ABU DHABI, Mar 8 (NNN-WAM) – The Executive Committee of the Abu Dhabi Exports Office, ADEX, approved the allocation of AED550 million ($150 million), to support the strategic expansion of the nation’s export businesses and continued diversification of the UAE economy.

The announcement came during a meeting the committee held, where they discussed a number of requests to finance exports, as well as, reviewed the strategies developed, to promote services provided by ADEX locally and globally for the coming period.

Aramco trades below IPO price for first time, after OPEC pact unravels

DUBAI (Reuters) - Shares of Saudi state oil company Aramco (2222.SE) slumped below their initial public offering (IPO) price on Sunday for the first time since they began trading in December, after OPEC’s pact with Russia to restrict oil supplies fell apart on Friday.

Aramco shares were down 6.2% at 30.85 riyals ($8.22) at 0852 GMT, their sharpest percentage fall in a day, and below the IPO price of 32 riyals. The Saudi market .TASI was down 7.4%.

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