flynas Says Direct Flights Between Riyadh, Milan Start Thursday
flynas has announced the launch of direct flights connecting Riyadh with Milan, SPA reported.
Starting Thursday, the airline will operate three weekly direct flights between King Khalid International Airport and Milan Malpensa Airport.
Qatar Launches Wealth Fund Division for Domestic Investments
Qatar's prime minister announced on Sunday the creation of a new division of the Qatar Investment Authority dedicated to developing domestic investments.
"We aim to expand the role of the private sector in driving Qatar's economic growth," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said as he announced the new division, Doha Investment, at a special edition of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York.
The annual gathering was cancelled in May, following weeks of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Gulf states, including Qatar, according to Reuters.
"It will support our strongest companies, help emerging businesses grow, deepen capital markets and attract international capital and expertise to contribute to this effort," he added.
The new division will operate as the dedicated manager of QIA's local portfolio, initially overseeing 45 state-owned enterprises that represent roughly one-third of the wealth fund's total assets, according to Sheikh Faisal bin Thani Al Thani, Qatar's minister of commerce and industry. He will serve as managing director and vice-chairman of Doha Investment.
Sheikh Faisal described the division not as a new creation but a consolidation, adding that the step has been under consideration for more than a decade.
PIF Launches Tawrid to Provide Supply-Chain Financing Products in Saudi Arabia
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) on Sunday announced the launch of Tawrid Company for Financing Solutions, an innovative digital platform providing supply-chain financing products to companies in the Saudi Arabian market. Tawrid has obtained the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) permit to operate under the regulatory Sandbox environment.
The financial services industry is a strategic enabler of the six ecosystems that PIF announced recently as part of its 2026-2030 strategy.
Supply-chain financing products help companies to fund their broader activities. Tawrid’s digital offering will further strengthen the Saudi private sector, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, SPA reported.
Tawrid will play a significant role in connecting buyers, suppliers, and funders through its digital platform. It will offer products such as early settlement options against approved invoices, enabling businesses to expand their operations, enhance their working capital efficiency, and improve their liquidity management.
The launch of Tawrid is in line with PIF’s strategy to increase the Saudi private sector’s contribution to PIF’s projects and portfolio companies and to grow the private sector’s share of the local economy. Its platform will enable local banks registered on its network to engage with registered suppliers, strengthening supply chains and further supporting the diversification of financial services and the digitalization of trade in Saudi Arabia.
PIF’s investment in supply-chain financing is a natural evolution that builds on its efforts to advance the growth, resilience, and robustness of supply chains in the Saudi market. PIF has expanded opportunities for local suppliers and stimulated them to develop their capabilities in line with PIF’s strategic objectives to engage the private sector and enable it to contribute to a more diversified economy with deep, local, tech-enabled supply chains.
Head of Financial Institutions in MENA Investments at PIF Sultan Alsheikh said: “Tawrid will make Saudi supply chains stronger and more resilient by further enabling companies to access financing and improve their liquidity management. Its supply-chain financing products will enable businesses to operate with greater agility and efficiency, creating opportunities for the Saudi private sector in particular.”
Tawrid has started operations and has already signed binding agreements with local banks and companies, including Gulf International Bank (GIB), Saudi National Bank (SNB), Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF), ROSHN Group and Nesma & Partners.
PIF is one of the world’s most impactful investors, with a long-term investment strategy to further drive the economic transformation of Saudi Arabia and deliver sustainable financial returns.
IFAD President to Asharq Al-Awsat: Sanctions Are the Biggest Challenge for Remittance Channels
Money sent by migrants to their families is no longer simply a means of covering living expenses. In many low- and middle-income countries, these flows have become a financial safety net for households during crises, a source of savings and investment, and a channel whose effects extend to rural economies and local markets.
Remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached $728.6 billion in 2025, an increase of 94 percent since 2016, making them larger than foreign direct investment in these countries and more than four times the amount of global official development assistance in the same year, according to the latest report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
But the scale of these flows does not necessarily mean that households can access them more easily. As sanctions and financial compliance requirements have tightened in some markets, remittance channels face a dual challenge: maintaining the integrity of the financial system on the one hand, while ensuring that legitimate funds continue to reach households at the lowest possible cost on the other.
