SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook Inc. said it will start charging businesses to run Offers on its social network, turning a previously free service into a potential revenue generator at a time when Wall Street is demanding new sources of growth and profit from the company.
Facebook launched Facebook Offers earlier this year, letting retailers and other local merchants send deals to their Facebook fans. Users claim the offers from their News Feeds and redeem the vouchers at stores to get discounts.
The service has been free, but in coming weeks Facebook will require merchants to pay at least $ 5 on related ads to promote each Facebook Offer to a targeted audience of fans and friends of fans. The cost will vary based on the size of a company’s Facebook pages.
Since Facebook went public in May, the company has been under pressure from Wall Street to show how it can turn its giant social network into a money machine. Facebook shares have lost about 40 percent of their value since the IPO.
The commerce potential of Facebook, known as f-commerce, has yet to materialize, partly because retailers have been able to feast on a host of free tools on the social network to attract customers.
Tying Facebook Offers to a paid ad service suggests the company is working to change this.
“We think this aligns incentives nicely,” said Gokul Rajaram, director of product management for Facebook’s advertising and Pages businesses. “The best results on Facebook Offers will come from organic distribution plus paid distribution.”
In the past, some Facebook Offers have not been relevant to all users, partly because some people saw deals in their News Feeds from merchants located far away from where they live, Rajaram added.
“The requirement to pay for related ads will focus merchants on who and where they want the offer to reach,” he said.
Facebook is also expanding Offers to online-only businesses, he added. Before, the service was available only to merchants with physical locations.
Facebook is also adding barcodes for offers, so customers can redeem offers more easily. The barcodes work globally, Rajaram noted.
The executive declined to disclose how many Facebook Offers have been run so far, how many merchants have taken part, or how many deals have been claimed and redeemed by consumers.
However, he said Facebook is “very happy” with the success of its Offers business.
“That’s why we’re expanding and investing more in it,” Rajaram said.
Facebook to charge for promotional offers
Facebook to charge for promotional offers
Gulf-EU value chain integration signals shift toward long-term economic partnership: GCC secretary general
RIYADH: Value chains between the Gulf and Europe are poised to become deeper and more resilient as economic ties shift beyond traditional trade toward long-term industrial and investment integration, according to the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai, Jasem Al-Budaiwi said Gulf-European economic relations are shifting from simple commodity trade toward the joint development of sustainable value chains, reflecting a more strategic and lasting partnership.
His remarks were made during a dialogue session titled “The next investment and trade race,” held with Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s special representative for external affairs.
Al-Budaiwi said relations between the GCC and the EU are among the bloc’s most established partnerships, built on decades of institutional collaboration that began with the signing of the 1988 cooperation agreement.
He noted that the deal laid a solid foundation for political and economic dialogue and opened broad avenues for collaboration in trade, investment, and energy, as well as development and education.
The secretary general added that the partnership has undergone a qualitative shift in recent years, particularly following the adoption of the joint action program for the 2022–2027 period and the convening of the Gulf–European summit in Brussels.
Subsequent ministerial meetings, he said, have focused on implementing agreed outcomes, enhancing trade and investment cooperation, improving market access, and supporting supply chains and sustainable development.
According to Al-Budaiwi, merchandise trade between the two sides has reached around $197 billion, positioning the EU as one of the GCC’s most important trading partners.
He also pointed to the continued growth of European foreign direct investment into Gulf countries, which he said reflects the depth of economic interdependence and rising confidence in the Gulf business environment.
Looking ahead, Al-Budaiwi emphasized that the economic transformation across GCC states, driven by ambitious national visions, is creating broad opportunities for expanded cooperation with Europe.
He highlighted clean energy, green hydrogen, and digital transformation, as well as artificial intelligence, smart infrastructure, and cybersecurity, as priority areas for future partnership.
He added that the success of Gulf-European cooperation should not be measured solely by trade volumes or investment flows, but by its ability to evolve into an integrated model based on trust, risk-sharing, and the joint creation of economic value, contributing to stability and growth in the global economy.
GCC–EU plans to build shared value chains look well-timed as trade policy volatility rises.
In recent weeks, Washington’s renewed push over Greenland has been tied to tariff threats against European countries, prompting the EU to keep a €93 billion ($109.7 billion) retaliation package on standby.
At the same time, tighter US sanctions on Iran are increasing compliance risks for energy and shipping-related finance. Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization and UNCTAD warn that higher tariffs and ongoing uncertainty could weaken trade and investment across both regions in 2026.
