Russian ruble strengthens slightly as West imposes new sanctions

By 11:03 a.m. Saudi time, the ruble was 0.4 percent stronger against the dollar at 79.93 (Shutterstock)
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Updated 19 May 2023
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Russian ruble strengthens slightly as West imposes new sanctions

LONDON: The Russian ruble firmed on Friday, pushing back past the level of 80 to the US dollar, helped by higher oil prices but still hampered by reduced foreign currency supply and the latest Western sanctions, according to Reuters.

By 11:03 a.m. Saudi time, the ruble was 0.4 percent stronger against the dollar at 79.93, and had gained 0.4 percent to trade at 86.22 versus the euro. It had firmed 0.3 percent against the yuan to 11.37.

Limited activity by exporters in terms of foreign currency sales has seen the ruble weaken from about 76 to the dollar in the last week.

Analysts do not expect the ruble to fall much further in light of approaching month-end tax payments, which usually lead exporters to convert foreign currency revenues to meet local liabilities.

Brent crude oil, a global benchmark for Russia’s main export, was up 0.6 percent at $76.34 a barrel.

On Friday, the G7 said it was imposing more sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine and the UK separately targeted companies linked to the theft of Ukrainian grain and those involved in the shipment of Russian energy.

Russian stock indexes were lower.

“New sanctions restrictions in the run-up to the weekend could limit purchases on Friday,” said Alor Broker in a note.

The dollar-denominated Russia Trading System Index was down 0.3 percent at 1,030.6 points. The ruble-based Moscow Exchange Russia Index was 0.7 percent lower at 2,615.4 points.


Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyadh

Updated 50 min 48 sec ago
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Real Estate Registry signs 10 agreements at forum in Riyadh

RIYADH: The Real Estate Registry concluded its participation in the Real Estate Future 2026, as a partner of the forum, with a distinguished presence that included the launch of its business portal, the signing of 10 agreements and memoranda of understanding with entities from the public and private sectors, the organization of specialized workshops, and the awarding of the Gold Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards.

During his participation in the forum, the CEO of the firm, Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, reviewed the latest developments in real estate registration in the Kingdom in a keynote speech, highlighting the pivotal role of the Real Estate Registry in building a unified and reliable system for data. He also announced the launch of the national blockchain infrastructure, which aims to enable the microcoding of real estate assets, enhance transparency, expand investment opportunities, and support innovative ownership models within a reliable regulatory framework.

On the sidelines of the forum, Al-Sulaiman met with Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa. During the meeting, they discussed areas of joint cooperation, exchanged experiences and advice on shaping the future of the real estate sector, and reviewed best practices in implementing real estate registration systems that enhance reliability and improve the efficiency of property registration.
efficiency of property registration systems.

The Real Estate Registry’s participation included organizing three specialized workshops that focused on the role of geospatial technologies in identifying ownership, enhancing transparency, and improving the quality of real estate data. 

The workshop “Empowering the Real Estate Registry for the Business Sector” reviewed digital solutions that enable the business sector to manage its real estate assets more efficiently and enhance governance and technical integration. The workshop “From Off-Plan Sales to Title Deed” focused on the journey of documenting real estate ownership and the role of the registry in linking the stages of development and documentation within an integrated digital system.

On the sidelines of the forum, the Real Estate Registry signed 10 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a deal with Yasmina Information Technology Co. to utilize real estate data in developing smarter insurance solutions that support the real estate sector and enhance service reliability. 

Partnerships were also signed with Haseel, NewTech, and Sahl, as well as HissaTech and Droub, to develop innovative digital solutions in property ownership, fractional ownership, and asset tokenization, as well as real estate finance and investment within a trusted regulatory framework.

Further collaborations included an MoU with ROSHN Group, an agreement with the Saudi Water Authority to enable data integration and quality enhancement, an agreement with the Saudi National Bank, and a partnership with Saudi Post to link the national address with the property registry as a unified geospatial identifier supporting data accuracy and integration.

The registry’s participation was crowned with the Golden Award at the Real Estate Excellence Awards in the category of Excellence in Property Documentation, in recognition of its role in building a model based on transparency, accuracy, and speed, as well as advanced digital technologies and specialized legal expertise, contributing to rights protection and increasing the sector’s attractiveness.

The Real Estate Registry emphasized that its participation reflects its continued role as a key enabler of the real estate sector, a trusted data source, and an active partner in driving digital transformation, enhancing market efficiency, and building investor and financier confidence, in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives for a fully integrated and sustainable digital real estate ecosystem.