Economic

IMF visits Myanmar for annual economic checkup

Washington - Muslimchronicle

An International Monetary Fund delegation visits Myanmar this week for an annual economic checkup of a country whose treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority has put it in the international spotlight. The Article 4 mission, a yearly assessment that the Fund conducts of each of its member states' economies, begins on Monday, an IMF spokeswoman said. This will be theRead more

China's Xi sends rare message to North Korea's Kim

Beijing - Muslimchronicle

Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un a rare message "out of politeness," Beijing said Thursday, in his first public communication with his wayward neighbour for more than a year. The note signalled a possible improvement in their strained relationship, which has soured over Pyongyang's growing weapons ambitions even though Beijing is its longtime ally andRead more

Gender inequality widening after decade of progress

Geneva - Muslimchronicle

A decade of slow progress towards better parity between the sexes has screeched to a halt, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Thursday, warning the global gender gap was now widening. In recent years, women have made significant progress towards equality in a number of areas such as education and health, with the Nordic countries leading the fray. But theRead more

Fewer tuk-tuks, more hardhats: Sri Lanka tackles labour crisis

Colombo - Muslimchronicle

Asitha Udaya Priyantha has found the dream job: the 22-year-old is already his own boss, cruising Sri Lanka's streets in his autorickshaw, earning good money on his own time. But this is not what the island government wants its young people doing as one million jobs in booming sectors such as construction go unfilled, and businesses look abroad for labourersRead more

UK house price growth picks up in October, Nationwide says

London - Muslimchronicle

British annual house price growth edged up to a three-month high in October, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Wednesday, although the outlook for the housing market remained subdued. House prices rose 2.5 percent on the year compared with 2.3 percent in September. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted house price inflation would slow to 2.2 percent. On the month, pricesRead more

GCC-EU talks focus on combating terrorism

Riyadh - Muslimchronicle

Officials from the EU and the GCC on Monday discussed ways to boost economic and political cooperation between the two groups in all fields, including regional and international efforts for security development and combating terrorism. The meeting was held at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh between Michele Alliot-Marie, the visiting chairperson of the Committee on Relations with the Arab PeninsulaRead more

Saudi Arabia to extract uranium for ‘self-sufficient’ nuclear program

ABU DHABI - Muslimchronicle

Saudi Arabia plans to extract uranium domestically as part of its nuclear power program and sees this as a step toward “self-sufficiency” in producing atomic fuel, a senior official said on Monday. Extracting its own uranium also makes sense from an economic point of view, said Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, head of the Saudi government agency tasked with the nuclearRead more

Saudi women seize new business opportunities

London - Muslimchronicle

With a 130 percent increase in the number of women employed by the private sector in Saudi Arabia over the past four years, the Kingdom’s workforce is undergoing a transformation aimed at ushering in a new economic era. When Wafaa Al-Ashwali launched a startup in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, she tapped into a burgeoning community of established female entrepreneurs.Read more

Emir accuses blockade countries of wanting 'regime change'

Washington - Muslimchronicle

Qatar's emir in an intervew airing Sunday accused Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies of seeking to topple his government with its nearly five month old political and economic embargo of the tiny Gulf state. "They want a regime change. It's... so obvious," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told CBS' 60 Minutes. "History as well tells us, teaches us theyRead more

Bank Sohar achieves 47 per cent growth in net profit

Muscat - Muslimchronicle

Bank Sohar’s net profit grew by 46.60 per cent to OMR18.98 million for the first nine months ended September 30, 2017 against OMR12.94 million during the same period in 2016. The bank is continuing with its efforts to achieve sustainable and profitable growth despite the volatile liquidity situation in the domestic market as a result of low oil prices andRead more