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UK Chancellor unlocks $8.4 bn of trade, investment deals on Gulf visit

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UK Chancellor unlocks .4 bn of trade, investment deals on Gulf visit



British business and jobs are set to benefit from a £6.4-billion (~$8.4-billion) boost after UK Chancellor of the Treasury Rachel Reeves helped secure a major two-way trade and investment package during a visit to Saudi Arabia.

The deals came as the Chancellor led the largest UK delegation ever to the Future Investment Initiative (FII).

The package includes up to £5 billion in financing support from UK Export Finance for projects in Saudi Arabia that will unlock supply contracts for British suppliers, and a new Barclays regional headquarters in Riyadh.

British business and jobs will gain from an $8.4-billion boost after UK Chancellor of the Treasury Rachel Reeves helped secure a major two-way trade and investment package during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
The package includes up to £5 billion in financing support from UK Export Finance for projects in Saudi Arabia that will unlock supply contracts for UK suppliers, and a new Barclays office in Riyadh.

Other major deals include a £37-million investment from Saudi cybersecurity firm Cipher to launch its European office London, and a £75-million investment from Saudi investors and bankers into British digital bank Vemi, a uK government release said.

Reeves and Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih co-chaired a growth and investment roundtable with UK and Saudi businesses leaders where she showcased UK investment opportunities.

The Chancellor also met ministerial counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar to accelerate progress on a trade deal between the UK and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

She made clear that securing such trade deals is important for reversing the damage caused by decline of the past, including Brexit, austerity and the mini-budget, and is key to delivering more money in the pockets of working people through growth opportunities for business.

A trade deal with the Gulf is expected to increase trade between both nations by 16 per cent, add £1.6 billion to UK gross domestic product every year, and contribute an additional £600 million to UK workers’ annual wages in the long term.

This developed built on last month’s UK-Saudi Great Futures Summit in London that celebrated over £4.1 billion in deals, creating more than 4,100 UK jobs and bringing the total value of two-way trade and investment to over £10 billion in under 18 months.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)



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Nigeria’s textile imports up 47.43% YoY in Jan-Sept 2025

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Nigeria’s textile imports up 47.43% YoY in Jan-Sept 2025



Nigeria’s textile imports rose to N 814.27 billion in the first three quarters this year—a 47.43-per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase despite repeated government claims of the sector’s revival. Rising imports indicate a weak domestic textile industry.

The country imported textile and textile materials worth N 228.83 billion in the first quarter (Q1) this year, N 337.12 billion in Q2 and N 248.32 billion in Q3.

Industry experts blame policy failure, weak execution of credit initiatives, abandonment of promised institutional reforms, pervasive corruption and structural bottlenecks like weak cotton farming, insecurity and the inability to scale locally-produced polyester for the decline, according to Nigerian media reports.

Nigeria’s textile imports rose to N 814.27 billion in January-September 2025—a 47.43-per cent YoY rise despite repeated government claims of the sector’s revival.
Rising imports indicate a weak domestic textile industry.
Industry experts blame policy failure, weak execution of credit initiatives, abandonment of promised institutional reforms, pervasive corruption and structural bottlenecks for the fall.

Hamma Kwajaffa, director general of the Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association, lamented that the 10-per cent tax on imported textiles—which was introduced when the ban on textile imports was lifted so that the amount collected can be ploughed into domestic textile production—has not been directed to improve the private textile sector.

Kwajaffa pointed to the failure to create a dedicated textile development fund domiciled with the Bank of Industry.

Conflicting positions among top officials had stalled any action related to the sector and repeated workshops and announcements without execution had yielded no tangible outcome, Kwajaffa added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)



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CFDA to implement fur ban at NYFW from September 2026

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CFDA to implement fur ban at NYFW from September 2026















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ECB keeps interest rates unchanged, upgrades growth outlook

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ECB keeps interest rates unchanged, upgrades growth outlook



The European Central Bank (ECB) has decided to leave its three key interest rates unchanged, signalling continued confidence that inflation will stabilise at its 2 per cent target over the medium term. The deposit facility rate remains at 2.00 per cent, while the main refinancing operations rate stays at 2.15 per cent and the marginal lending facility at 2.40 per cent.

According to updated Eurosystem staff projections, headline inflation is expected to average 2.1 per cent in 2025, easing to 1.9 per cent in 2026 and 1.8 per cent in 2027, before returning to 2.0 per cent in 2028. Inflation excluding energy and food is forecast at 2.4 per cent in 2025, gradually declining to 2.0 per cent by 2028. Inflation for 2026 has been revised upward, mainly due to expectations that services inflation will fall more slowly than previously anticipated, the Governing Council of the ECB said in a press release.

European Central Bank has kept its key interest rates unchanged, maintaining confidence that inflation will stabilise at the 2 per cent target.
Updated projections show inflation easing gradually over the coming years, with a slight upward revision for 2026 due to persistent services prices.
Economic growth forecasts have been revised higher, supported by stronger domestic demand.

The ECB also revised its economic growth outlook higher compared with its September projections. Growth is now expected to reach 1.4 per cent in 2025, 1.2 per cent in 2026 and 1.4 per cent in 2027, with expansion projected to remain at 1.4 per cent in 2028. The improvement is driven largely by stronger domestic demand across the euro area.

The Council reiterated its commitment to ensuring that inflation stabilises sustainably at the 2 per cent target. It emphasised that future monetary policy decisions will remain data-dependent and assessed on a meeting-by-meeting basis, without pre-committing to any specific interest rate path.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)



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