Agencies As the US-Israel war on Iran stretches past its 80th day and continues to upend global naval shipping, a growing number of Chinese investors in Iran are turning to railway and overland transport routes to keep their businesses afloat. While disruptions to ship traffic in the Strait of Hormuz show little sign of abating,…
The stronger case emerges if such a project is structured not as a purely government-funded undertaking, but through a properly designed joint venture, Build-Operate-Transfer, or Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer arrangement. Under such a framework, government would primarily provide land access, regulatory support, and ease-of-doing-business reforms, while foreign investors would shoulder the capital expenditure, technology, operational expertise, and commercial…
The Bank of Israel cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 bps to 3.75% during its May 2026 meeting, as widely anticipated, after keeping it unchanged in February and January. The decision was driven by a strong shekel, contained inflation, and prospects of a potential agreement to end the war with Iran, despite still significant…
Two tankers carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a supertanker with Iraqi crude oil have resumed transit through the Strait of Hormuz after a prolonged halt caused by military conflict in the region. The vessels are heading to Pakistan and China, concluding nearly a three-month delay related to the blockage of this strategic maritime route….
The Israeli shekel strengthened to around $2.88, its strongest level since 1993, after a massive 20% appreciation over the past year. In May, the Bank of Israel cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 bps to 3.75%, in line with expectations, citing stabilising inflation, a stronger shekel and signs that Washington and Tehran are moving…
China and India are increasingly turning to Brazil to make up for lost oil supplies as the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran continues to disrupt energy trade through the Strait of Hormuz. With oil harder to access and Russian supply largely constrained by sanctions, Asian buyers are scrambling for crude from suppliers seen as safer…
Kirill Rubinski, the Jewish CEO of the Azerbaijani group NEQSOL Holding, has spent much of his career moving between worlds that do not usually sit easily together: Soviet Moscow and Paris, Jewish identity and Muslim-majority Azerbaijan, private equity and strategic infrastructure. Now, as the newly appointed CEO of one of the region’s largest conglomerates, he…
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is tightening oversight of large infrastructure projects across Africa as Gulf states intensify competition for strategic influence The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) is tightening oversight of large infrastructure projects across Africa as Gulf states intensify competition for strategic influence, trade access and resilient logistics corridors amid…
New Delhi: Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture, chaired by Janata Dal (United) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha, will meet on Monday. It will hear views of Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, on the subject ‘Implications of the West Asia Crisis on India’s Maritime Trade, Shipping Infrastructure and Seafarer Safety.’Representatives from the…
Singapore maintained its 2026 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 2 to 4 per cent despite significantly higher downside risks arising from the US-Israel-Iran conflict, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on 25 May 2026. In its latest economic survey report, MTI said the Singapore economy performed better than expected in the first…
