JEDDAH: The board of executive directors of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to finance new development projects worth $244.4 million in Sudan, Jordan, Egypt, Mauritania, Cameroon, Kazakhstan and Niger, an IDB statement said.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, may record a budget deficit of $30bn this year, HSBC Holdings said, almost twice that of the government’s December estimate. The kingdom will record the same shortfall next year as well, Simon Williams, a Dubai-based economist at HSBC, said.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia may lure more international bankers as work in upstart financial centres elsewhere in the Gulf dwindles as they struggle to cope with the global economic downturn.

RIYADH: Three of Saudi Arabia’s largest banks posted lower fourth-quarter profit after booking higher provisions to cover local and foreign investments and growing lending activities.