RIYADH: Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said first quarter net profit jumped by more than 30 percent to SR81.44 billion ($21.7 billion).
Sales also gained by more than a fifth to SR272.1 billion, helped by higher crude prices, improved downstream margins and the consolidation of SABIC the Kingdom’s largest petrochemicals producer.
Aramco declared a first quarter dividend of $18.8 billion, to be paid in the second quarter of the year, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Tuesday.
“The momentum provided by the global economic recovery has strengthened energy markets, and Aramco’s operational flexibility, financial agility and the resilience of our employees have contributed to a strong first quarter performance,” said Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser. “Given the positive signs for energy demand in 2021, there are more reasons to be optimistic that better days are coming. And while some headwinds still remain, we are well-positioned to meet
Iraqis with perceived links to Daesh face barriers to obtaining documentation or returning to their homes
Aid agencies fear children and women left stranded in camps may become a permanent underclass
Updated 04 May 2021
May 03, 2021 23:43
NINEVEH/IRBIL/BOGOTA: Since the collapse of Daesh’s so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria, many Western nations have been reluctant to allow the families of fighters to return for legal, political and security reasons. But the issue is equally complicated in the two war-weary Arab countries that the “caliphate” straddled while it lasted.
More than three years after the territorial defeat of Daesh in Iraq, more than a million Iraqis remain trapped in a precarious state of displacement. Those with perceived association with the terrorist group face added barriers to obtaining documentation or returning to their homes.
Proper tea: Mideast investors snap up British homes in 2021
Figures from Knight Frank found that over the last decade (2010-2020), GCC states, excluding Oman, together invested £8 billion into London’s office market, £1.2 billion of that since 2018
Updated 03 May 2021
May 03, 2021 22:01
DUBAI: Middle Eastern investors are making a return to the British property market, as the UK begins to emerge from the lockdown restrictions as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the latest data compiled by global property consultancy Knight Frank, investors from the Middle East made up 16 percent of all sales to overseas buyers in the first three months of this year, compared to less than 10 percent during the second and third quarters of 2020.
DUBAI: The UAE had the fastest mobile network speed in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest data from global Internet intelligence firm Ookla.
The country is one of the three Gulf nations in Ookla’s top 10 list – with Qatar landing on the third spot, and Saudi Arabia in fifth spot.
According to Ookla’s Speed Test Global Index, the UAE had an average download speed of 178.52 Mbps, where the global average sat at 48.40 Mbps.
The index assesses over 135 countries, and compares Internet speed data from around the world on a monthly basis. It derives data from tests taken by real users.
Both the Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil benchmarks have gained more than 30 per cent year to date, supported by vaccination drives in developed economies, stimulus packages and relaxed restrictions in several countries.
The global economy is set to expand by 6 per cent this year from an earlier 5.5 per cent forecast as developed economies rebound, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Aramco s revenue for the first three months of the year rose by 21 per cent to $72.5bn while capital expenditure during the period stood at $8.2bn.
Cash flow from operating activities reached $26.5bn while free cash flow hit $18.3bn.