DUBAI: Amazon is reportedly surveying customers about features for a new messaging service, called Anytime, the retail giant is developing.
Reports from technology websites suggest the app would likely be an all-in-one service, enabling users to send messages, photos, and videos with special filters, play games both with individuals and groups, and more importantly engage with other Amazon services like shopping, music and food ordering.
With the app that Amazon, which recently completed its acquisition of UAE online retailer Souq.com, is developing, the e-commerce behemoth hopes to enhance its engagement with customers and keep them on the Amazon platform.
And should Amazon’s chat app take off amid a crowded market of messaging apps, the technology reports noted, Facebook would be most at risk.
Facebook is working hard to turn Messenger into a first point of contact between consumers and businesses, they said.
Facebook Messenger, which has now has more than 1.2 billion monthly users, is the most popular messaging app in 58 countries, including the United States and Canada.
Facebook said in February that 400 million subscribers use the voice and video calling features of Messenger and 1 billion messages are sent between people and businesses every month.
The mobile messaging service WhatsApp, another Facebook app, meanwhile said in January that they have more than 1.2 billion monthly active users.
Amazon messaging app to rival Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp reportedly in the works
Amazon messaging app to rival Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp reportedly in the works
PIF launches $4bn 2-part bond
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has launched a $4 billion two-part bond, Arab News has been told.
The sovereign wealth fund confirmed that it had sold $2.4 billion of five-year debt instruments at 95 basis points over US Treasuries and $1.6 billion of nine-year securities at 110 basis points over the same benchmark.
The move comes just weeks after PIF closed its first Murabaha credit facility, securing $7 billion in funding, in what was a key step in the fund's plan to raise capital over the next several years.
PIF manages $925 billion in assets, and is set to increase that to $2 trillion by 2030, a report from monitoring organization Global SWF forecast earlier in January.
Qatar drafting new laws aimed at boosting foreign investment
- Qatar plans new bankruptcy, PPP, and commercial registration laws
- Qatar aims for $100 billion FDI by 2030
DOHA: Qatar plans to introduce three new laws as part of a sweeping review of legislation designed to make the Gulf Arab state more attractive to foreign investors, the new minister of commerce and economy told Reuters.
Sheikh Faisal bin Thani said in an interview that Qatar plans to introduce new legislation including a bankruptcy law, a public private partnership law and a new commercial registration law.
“We’re looking at 27 laws and regulations across 17 government ministries that affect 500-plus activities,” he said, describing the legislative review.
Sheikh Faisal said he expects the new bankruptcy and public private partnership laws to be drafted before the end of March.
Qatar, one of the world’s top exporters of liquefied natural gas, has set a cumulative target of attracting $100 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) by 2030, according to the latest version of its national development strategy published last year.
But it has a long way to go to meet that target, and FDI inflows have significantly lagged behind neighboring Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.
Saudi Arabia, which also has a target to attract $100 billion in FDI by 2030 as part of its national investment strategy, saw FDI inflows of $26 billion in 2023, after a change to how it calculates FDI, while the Emirates, the Gulf region’s commercial and tourism hub, attracted just over $30 billion according to the UN’s trade and development agency.
In contrast, Qatar’s FDI inflows in 2023 were negative $474 million, down from $76.1 million in 2022. Negative FDI inflows indicate that disinvestment was more than new investment.
While Qatar does offer similar incentives to foreign investors as its neighbors, such as a favorable tax environment, free zone facilities and some long term residency schemes, the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia are considered far ahead in terms of regulatory reforms and business friendly laws.
Qatar’s new laws also come as part of the Gulf Arab state’s efforts to activate its private sector and transition away from government-funded growth.
Sheikh Faisal joined the government in November after serving at Qatar’s $510 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, most recently as chief investment officer for Asia and Africa.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surge 19.7%: GASTAT
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surged 19.7 percent year on year in November to reach SR26.92 billion ($7.18 billion), bolstering the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy.
According to the General Authority for Statistics, chemical products led the growth, accounting for 24 percent of total non-oil exports, followed by plastic and rubber products, which made up 21.7 percent of shipments.
Building a robust non-oil sector is a key goal of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program, which seeks to transform the Kingdom’s economy and reduce its reliance on oil revenues, with Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim revealing in November that these activities now constitute 52 percent of the gross domestic product.
In its latest report, GASTAT said: “The ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports increased to 36.6 percent in November 2024 from 34.8 percent in November 2023. This was due to a 19.7 percent increase in non-oil exports and a 13.9 percent increase in imports over that period.”
The Kingdom’s total merchandise exports fell 4.7 percent year on year in November, weighed down by a 12 percent drop in oil exports. This decline reduced the share of oil exports in total shipments to 70.3 percent, down from 76.3 percent a year earlier, signaling progress in Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification.
GASTAT reported that China remained Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner in November, with exports to the Asian nation totaling SR13.53 billion.
Other key destinations for exports included Japan with SR8.93 billion, the UAE with SR8.75 billion, and India with SR8.74 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s imports rose 13.9 percent year on year in November, reaching SR73.65 billion. However, the merchandise trade surplus declined by 44.3 percent during the same period, falling to SR16.89 billion.
China remained the dominant supplier of goods to the Kingdom, accounting for SR20.11 billion of imports, followed by the US at SR7.52 billion and the UAE at SR3.90 billion.
King Abdulaziz Sea Port in Dammam emerged as the top entry point for imports, handling goods valued at SR18.19 billion, representing 24.7 percent of total inbound shipments.
Oil Updates — prices extend losses on uncertainty over Trump tariff impact
SINGAPORE: Oil prices dipped in Asian trade on Thursday, extending losses amid uncertainty over how US President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and energy policies would impact global economic growth and energy demand.
Brent crude futures fell 38 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $78.62 a barrel by 10:16 a.m. Saudi time in a sixth straight day of losses, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell for a fifth day, easing 39 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $75.05.
“Oil markets have given back some recent gains due to mixed drivers,” said senior market analyst Priyanka Sachdeva at Phillip Nova. “Key factors include expectations of increased US production under President Trump’s pro-drilling policies and easing geopolitical stress in Gaza, lifting fears of further escalation in supply disruption from key producing regions.”
The broader economic implications of US tariffs could further dampen global oil demand growth, she added.
Trump has said he would add new tariffs to his sanctions threat against Russia if the country does not make a deal to end its war in Ukraine. He added these could be applied to “other participating countries” as well.
He also vowed to hit the EU with tariffs, impose 25 percent tariffs against Canada and Mexico, and said his administration was discussing a 10 percent punitive duty on China because fentanyl is being sent to the US from there.
On Monday, he also declared a national energy emergency. That is intended to provide him with the authority to reduce environmental restrictions on energy infrastructure and projects and ease permitting for new transmission and pipeline infrastructure.
There will be “more potential downward choppy movement in the oil market in the near term due to the Trump administration’s lack of clarity on trade tariffs policy and impending higher oil supplies from the US due to the...drive to make the US a major oil exporter,” said OANDA’s senior market analyst Kelvin Wong in an email.
On the US oil inventory front, crude stocks rose by 958,000 barrels in the week ended Jan. 17, according to sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.
Gasoline inventories rose by 3.23 million barrels, and distillate stocks climbed by 1.88 million barrels, they said.
Qatar’s duty to help Syria, global debt poses economic crisis: Finance minister
- Syrian leadership’s promises ‘very positive,’ Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari tells World Economic Forum
- Fiscal deficit, rising borrowing affecting many countries are ‘problems that few want to discuss’
DAVOS: Qatar considers it a duty to support Syria and its new administration after 14 years of devastating civil war, Qatari Finance Minister Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari said on Wednesday.
The cost of reconstructing Syria is estimated at $400 billion, as the country needs to rebuild the housing, industrial and energy infrastructure damaged during the conflict.
Since 2011, Qatar supported Syrian opposition factions that captured the seat of power in Damascus in early December 2024.
Doha also avoided reestablishing diplomatic relations during the twilight months of the Assad regime, which rejoined the Arab League in 2023.
Al-Kuwari, who visited Syria last week, said: “The whole world is supposed to help Syria (right now). The words and promises from the leadership there are promising and very positive.”
He added that the new leadership, led by rebel-turned-statesman Ahmed Al-Sharaa, recognizes that the task ahead is transitioning from insurgency to building Syrian institutions.
“This task will need the help of the world. We can’t afford Syria going back to the (years) of bloodshed again,” Al-Kuwari said.
“We’ll invest in education (to help the Syrians) because educated people will work hard, they’ll make money, they’ll prosper and grow.”
The Qatari minister made these comments during the “Navigating the Fiscal Squeeze” panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which discussed challenges for financial growth, global debt and rising inflation.
The panel included speakers from the International Monetary Fund, the UCLA School of Law, the London Stock Exchange Group, and Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube.
Qatar has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, making it one of the wealthiest nations due to its abundant natural gas and oil reserves.
However, the country dealt with several challenges following the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an inflation rate of 5 percent in 2022.
Doha was not alone in facing these difficulties; the pandemic contributed to a nearly 4.4 percent contraction of the global economy in 2020.
Al-Kuwari said Qatar is pursuing a policy of fiscal discipline, which has allowed the country to maintain a budget surplus and low debt levels, as well as effectively manage any economic challenges it encounters.
“We’ve developed a medium-term fiscal policy framework for the upcoming 20 years, with different scenarios of revenues based on oil prices, taxation and spending scenarios ... (Based on that) we decide to invest or save,” he said, adding that the fiscal deficit and rising borrowing affecting many countries are “problems that few want to discuss,” which poses the threat of a financial crisis.
An IMF report projected that global debt — including government, business and personal borrowing — will exceed $100 trillion, about 93 percent of global gross domestic product, by the end of 2024. It is expected to reach 100 percent of GDP by 2030.
“There will be a huge impact if we don’t do anything about it today,” Al-Kuwari warned. “So many people focus on economic growth and creating quick wins for their economy while the fiscal issues get forgotten.
“The fiscal balance should complement the economic growth, and we shouldn’t have growth at the expense of the fiscal.”
