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Top stories

A stand in Beirut displays Arabic newspapers featuring the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017. The Arab world has generally welcomed Trump's return to the White House

Arab world welcomes Trump back to the White House

The Arab world has hailed Donald Trump’s successful bid to return to the White House, with his long-standing personal, business and political ties to the region bringing hopes of closer bilateral relationships with the United States for the next four years. The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was the first GCC leader […]

Saudi Arabia fans wave flags before a World Cup qualifier in Jeddah. The country is sole bidder for the 2034 tournament

Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium

Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh. Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project. “What we don’t want is to design, […]

Morocco's King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron sign documents in Rabat: Macron’s recent visit saw a thawing of political relations

Macron’s Morocco trip the catalyst for $11bn in deals

France and Morocco have announced a series of deals, from railways to phosphates to renewables, worth up to $11 billion during a state visit last week by Emmanuel Macron, his first to the north African kingdom since becoming president in 2017.  The 22 deals followed French recognition of Morocco’s claims to the disputed Western Sahara […]

Trending

  1. Oil prices fall as Trump wins US election

  2. Adnoc Drilling JV M&A war chest to rise to $2bn

  3. Muscat maps out its future development plans

  4. QIA helps raise $318m for US electric aircraft maker

  5. UAE targets FDI surge to nearly $600bn by 2031

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

A stakeholder survey revealed that residents love the mountainous skyline of Muscat; new developments are planned to be a maximum of 25 storeys high

Muscat maps out its future development plans

Muscat is set to approve a plan that will create a central 55km spine where much of the future development of the Omani capital city will take place.  The city is predicted to double in size by 2040. The Greater Muscat Structure Plan, awaiting approval at cabinet level, provides a map of where future growth […]

How the UAE has made a global mining power grab

Embracing copper from Peru, lithium from Zimbabwe, tantalum from Kenya and bauxite from Pakistan, the UAE’s mining interests nowadays span three continents. Trade deals with Australia and New Zealand agreed in September may also soon see those interests Down Under. Certainly, Australia’s minister for trade and tourism, Don Farell, hopes so. “The negotiated package,” he […]

Formal Wear, Accessories, Tie

logistics

India and the GCC have a shared vision of a multi-polar world

John Manners-Bell, CEO, Transport Intelligence Ltd

UAE latest

An Emirates plane refueling. The UAE wants 1 percent of its jet fuel to be locallly produced SAF by 2031

Fujairah to provide 150m litres of ‘green’ aviation fuel 

The expansion of a biofuel facility in the UAE will provide nearly 10 percent of the world’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the project’s operators have claimed. Mercantile and Maritime Group, an energy and logistics company specialising in the physical trading of oil and gas, announced on Tuesday that its facility in Fujairah will be expanded […]

The Nasdaq-listed chipmaker GlobalFoundries expects adjusted profit per share to be in the range of 39-51 cents in the fourth quarter

Mubadala-backed chipmaker reports 29% drop in profit

GlobalFoundries, the world’s third-largest contract chipmaker, reported a year-on-year net income fall of 29 percent to $178 million in the third quarter of 2024. Revenue at GlobalFoundries, which is backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, was down 6 percent year on year to $1.7 billion. The company’s smart mobile devices end-market reported an 11 […]

Dubai ruler and UAE vice president Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the National Investment Strategy 2031 launch in Abu Dhabi

UAE targets FDI surge to nearly $600bn by 2031

The UAE has launched a national investment strategy targeting a threefold increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) to AED2.2 trillion ($599 billion) by 2031, vice president, prime minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said. The strategy intends to position the UAE as a global centre for strategic investment, the UAE state-run […]

Enertsol Deep Well Services

Adnoc Drilling JV M&A war chest to rise to $2bn

Enersol Energy Solutions, the joint venture between Abu Dhabi’s Adnoc Drilling and the investment company Alpha Dhabi, is looking to expand its war chest by $500 million to $2 billion. The company has already spent $800 million on acquisitions this year. In its latest deal, the fourth since January, Enersol has acquired a 95 percent […]

Nature, Outdoors, Sea

Revenues of six Adnoc subsidiaries reach $24bn

Six subsidiaries of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) collectively generated AED89 billion ($24.23 billion) in revenues and achieved net profits of AED16 billion in the first half of 2024. The performance was driven by strong growth strategies, state-run WAM news agency reported. Adnoc Distribution, 77 percent-owned by the UAE oil giant, saw a 12.9 […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Young Asian broker international stock traders working at night in office using computer and thinking.

China to sell dollar bonds in Saudi Arabia 

China will sell dollar bonds in Saudi Arabia this month, its first debt issuance denominated in the US currency since October 2021. The imminent issuance marks a further deepening of ties between Opec’s top oil producer and the world’s largest economy by purchasing power parity.   China is Saudi Arabia’s most important trade partner, buying 16 […]

Air freight has been an increasingly important method of transportation since the conflict in the Middle East erupted and shipping routes were disrupted

Saudi Arabia and US expand aviation deal to include cargo

Saudi Arabia and the US have expanded their bilateral aviation agreement to allow seventh freedom traffic rights for all-cargo flights. Seventh freedom allows airlines to carry on flights that originate in a foreign country, bypass its home country, and deposit the cargo or passengers at another international destination. The amendment will allow Saudi Arabian airlines […]

Saudi Arabia fans wave flags before a World Cup qualifier in Jeddah. The country is sole bidder for the 2034 tournament

Roshn seeks contractors for Riyadh World Cup stadium

Saudi real estate developer Roshn is inviting expressions of interest from international and local contractors for its 45,000-seat football stadium in Riyadh. Iain McBride, Roshn’s head of commercial, said the Public Investment Fund subsidiary was actively seeking partners “very early in the process” to help “de-risk” the project. “What we don’t want is to design, […]

Saudi Electricity Company reported an 18 percent year-on-year growth in net profit to SAR6.9 billion

Saudi Electricity Q3 profit rises as revenue jumps 18%

Saudi Electricity Company, 75 percent-owned by the sovereign Public Investment Fund, reported an 18 percent year-on-year growth in net profit to SAR6.9 billion ($1.84 billion). Revenue jumped 18 percent to SAR28.3 billion from SAR23.8 billion a year ago driven by an increase in electricity production revenue. There was also continued growth in the subscriber base and […]

Saudi Arabia's finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan on stage at the FII conference. The country's revenue has risen 12%

Saudi Arabia’s deficit rises again as oil output cuts bite

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit was SAR58 billion ($15.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, rising by SAR30 billion in the third quarter alone and confirming predictions of a funding crunch for the country’s giga-projects.  The finance ministry said in October that it expects to post an overall deficit of SAR118 billion this year […]

Around the Middle East

A KFC store in Cairo. Americana brands across the Mena region have been suffering from a customer boycott

Americana CEO says boycott ‘worst is behind us’

Americana Restaurants, the Middle East franchise owner for KFC, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme and Hardee’s, believes the company has weathered the worst of the boycott issues it faced this year, which led to a significant slump in its profit. CEO Amarpal Sandhu said it is not predicting a “hockey stick recovery” – a sudden and […]

Beta electric aircraft

QIA helps raise $318m for US electric aircraft maker

A funding round led by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has raised $318 mlllion for Beta Technologies, a US electric aerospace company that is developing all-electric aircraft and infrastructure.  Beta, based in Vermont, said the series C equity capital funding would help support the production, certification and commercialisation of its fixed-wing and eVTOL (electric vertical […]

More oil could come from Opec producer Iran as Tehran has approved a plan to increase output by 250,000 barrels per day

Oil trades in tight range ahead of US election result

Oil prices traded in a narrow range on Tuesday ahead of what is expected to be an exceptionally close US presidential election, after rising more than 2 percent in the previous session as Opec+ delayed plans to hike production in December. Brent crude futures were up 45 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $75.53 a barrel by 12:26 […]

The 44.01 team. Together with Adnoc the company mineralised 10 tonnes of CO2 in Fujairah in under 100 days

Adnoc and Oman’s 44.01 scale up carbon-to-rock project

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Omani company 44.01 have announced plans to scale up their carbon-to-rock project in the emirate of Fujairah following the successful completion of a pilot initiative. Muscat-based startup 44.01 – named after the molecule mass for CO2 – uses technology to accelerate a natural process in which carbon dioxide […]

A Volkswagen plant in Emden, Germany. Qatar's substantial investment in the carmaker could have provided better returns elsewhere

Volkswagen’s troubles sour Qatari investment

Volkswagen’s shares have tumbled by more than two-thirds from a 2021 peak, slashing the value of Qatar’s stake in the German conglomerate, as shrinking margins, weakening sales and production overcapacity weigh on the troubled automaker’s bottom line. Even with several billion dollars accrued in dividends since Qatar Holding invested in 2009, Volkswagen’s problems suggest the […]

Passengers in Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport. The UAE and Saudi Arabia reported respective air traffic growth of 39 percent and 30 percent

Gulf air traffic rebounds but fares still high

Air traffic in the Middle East and North Africa region has rebounded beyond pre-pandemic levels, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE marking the highest gains in volume. Traffic up to the second quarter of 2024 has also surpassed levels seen before 2020, according to a study by Airports Council International (ACI).  Bahrain (+24 percent), Qatar […]

If the Maaden deal goes ahead it will create the seventh largest aluminium manufacturer in the world

Bahrain’s Alba looking to Europe after Maaden deal

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) will keep exploring mergers and acquisitions, with a particular eye on Europe, once it completes its multi-billion dollar deal with Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden). The deal is expected to be signed off in the first half of next year. The two companies penned a non-binding agreement in September and are in […]

Investors check prices at Oman's stock exchange. OQ Base Industries is due to list in December

OQ’s methanol unit is latest in Oman’s privatisation push

OQ Base Industries is to sell up to 49 percent of its shares through an initial public offering in Oman – the fourth flotation of an OQ subsidiary since March 2023. The Omani state oil company raised OR748.8 million ($1.94 billion) in October by offloading a 25 percent stake in its upstream subsidiary OQ Exploration […]

Topics:

Neom
HYDROGEN
SAUDI VISION 2030
IPOs
mergers & acquisitions
crypto
Electric cars
israel-hamas war
FOOD SECURITY
islamic finance
ukraine-russia war
OPEC
SPACE

Turkey Latest

Coca-Cola Turkey

Boycotts help send Turkey’s Coca-Cola sales down

A boycott of brands seen as supporting Israel in the Middle East has helped bring a double-digit drop in third-quarter sales in Turkey and Pakistan for a Coca-Cola subsidiary. Coca-Cola Icecek (CCI), which is based in Istanbul, said sales in Turkey in Q3 fell 12.2 percent, while sales in Pakistan were down by 22.9 percent. […]

UAE Turkey trade DMCC

More Turkish companies open in UAE after trade deal

A free trade agreement between the UAE and Turkey has been followed by a jump in the number of Turkish companies opening offices in the UAE.  The signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) between the two nations in March 2023 was designed to create greater collaboration and remove tariffs on a range of […]

Turkish Airlines' fleet consists of 467 aircraft, with Airbus and Boeing split at 56 percent and 44 percent, respectively

Turkish Airlines profit falls despite revenue rising 8%

Revenue at Turkish Airlines rose 8 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2024 to $17 billion, driven by increased passenger numbers. The airline flew 65 million passengers from January to September, rising 2 percent annually, according to its latest investor presentation. Passenger revenue climbed 3 percent year on year to $14 billion, […]

Trendyol

Alibaba-backed Trendyol plans $2bn Gulf investment

Trendyol, Turkey’s largest ecommerce platform, is to invest $2 billion in the Gulf region over the next three years. The company is backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and has established a presence across all six GCC countries. It has had rapid growth in Saudi Arabia, now its second-largest market, in particular. Its group president, […]

A greengrocer at a food market in Uskudar, Istanbul. Turkey's October inflation figure was higher than expected

Turkish inflation sticks on food and rental costs 

Turkey’s inflation remains stubbornly resistant to efforts to bring it under control, easing only marginally in October as food and rental pricing pressures continued to build.  Annualised inflation dipped to 48.5 percent in October, down slightly from 49.3 percent the preceding month. Month on month, consumer prices were up 2.8 percent, just under September’s 2.9 […]

Egypt Latest

Water, Waterfront, Construction

Suez Canal Economic Zone plans $3bn investment

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ) plans to invest $3 billion on infrastructure over the next few years to attract new investors, chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein said. “We have been able to attract more than $6.3 billion of investments in various sectors and logistics and ports,” he told Reuters, expecting the number of projects to […]

The undersea cable will connect Duba (pictured) in Saudi Arabia with Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt

First Saudi Arabia-to-Egypt subsea cable announced

Mobily and Telecom Egypt have signed an agreement to lay the first subsea cable between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the companies announced in a joint press statement on Monday. The new cable will connect the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with the Saudi city of Duba. Egypt already has landing points for 18 […]

Eni had paused its operations at the Zohr gas field but plans to resume drilling in Egypt by the end of the year

Italy’s Eni will restart gas drilling in Egypt and Libya

Italian energy company Eni is reviving its exploration operations on Zohr, Egypt’s largest natural gas field, by the end of the year, its CEO confirmed on Monday. “After some time, we were not really working on Zohr, we will restart drilling by the end of the year, and we are going to drill another well […]

IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly at a press conference

Egypt awaits $1.3bn loan from IMF as review begins

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will conduct its fourth review of Egypt’s loan programme on Tuesday, after which $1.3 billion is expected to be released, Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. The IMF team will collaborate with officials from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and various ministries, local media reported, citing Madbouly’s speech […]

United Marine Egypt Shipping will receive an undisclosed number of the Regent seaglider

Egyptian company buys into Neom-backed seaglider

United Marine Egypt Shipping will be the launch customer for a large passenger seaglider that is designed to travel at high speeds over water.  US maritime transport company Regent said UME will be the first to receive its Monarch seaglider. The Monarch is a 50-to-100-passenger electric craft that Regent says will travel up to 650km […]

Features

Saudi riyadh expo 2030

The remaking of Riyadh ahead of World Expo 2030

Expo 2030 is already propelling real estate development in Riyadh six years before the international fair is scheduled to take place – and, along with other giga-projects, is helping to shift the city’s core to the north. The World Expo, which typically takes place in a different city every five years, is expected to occupy […]

UK is ‘actively seeking’ Gulf investors, says trade minister

“Britain is back and Britain is open for business,” UK trade minister Douglas Alexander has told AGBI.  In an interview at the Future Investment Initiative summit taking place this week in Riyadh, Alexander said the Labour government’s budget on Wednesday would seek to “raise the level of investment in the UK economy”. “The kind of […]

Diwali gold buyers change their approach as prices rise

Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali, is seen as an auspicious time to buy gold by the Gulf’s roughly three million Hindus. But as the price of gold hits record levels consumers are shopping differently, gold traders told AGBI. Gold’s price has surged by 34 percent in the past year alone. This trend is being […]

US sanctions unlikely to stop Iran’s oil smugglers

Tighter US economic sanctions are unlikely to disrupt Iran’s oil exports in the long run because Tehran has developed a sophisticated system of oil smuggling, using a dedicated fleet of tankers and middlemen in multiple countries, industry observers say. The regime in Tehran has been under US sanctions since the Islamic revolution of 1979.  But […]

People & Lifestyle

A perfume shop in Sabya, Saudi Arabia. The country's fragrance sector is worth $2.3bn

Investors scent riches in Middle East perfume

The retail offering of Al Majed for Oud Company was more than nine times oversubscribed this week, as investors rushed to buy up the first tranche of 1.5 million shares in the Riyadh-based perfume and oud products manufacturer. The full listing of 7.5 million shares, or a 30 percent stake in the company, will raise […]

Saudi Arabia tourism projects Dragon Ball theme park

Arab Disneyland and Da Vinci: Saudi Arabia’s two great hopes

Saudi Arabia is spending billions on tourism projects at the heart of its grand plan to transform a once isolated kingdom into a global tourist destination. But a nagging question is haunting policymakers: will the world pay attention?   Tourism numbers are rising, hitting 27.4 million in 2023, but half of those were religious visitors.  The […]

Lionel Messi poses for a photo at Dubai Expo 2020. He and his Argentina teammates will soon be appearing on 'giant billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road' to advertise property

Project stardust: why Dubai developers still want celeb tie-ins

Lionel Messi, Rohit Sharma and Chris Hemsworth are just some of the famous faces who have promoted UAE real estate in recent years. Superstar sportsmen and Hollywood heroes do not come cheap, but are they really a good investment for developers or just an excuse for the CEO to get a selfie?  Many industry observers […]

Around 3.5 million bottles of Champagne were shipped to the Gulf states in 2023, an increase of about 40 percent

Champagne shipments to the Gulf slow but still flowing

The growth in champagne shipments to the Gulf has slowed in recent years but the market is still one of the strongest in the world, bucking a global trend for declining sales. Around 3.5 million bottles of champagne were shipped to the Gulf states in 2023, an increase of about 40 percent, according to data […]

Around the world

Swiss gold

Record gold price dents demand for Swiss bullion in Gulf

Swiss gold exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE have slumped in the past year, as its price rose by more than 30 percent driven by geopolitical challenges. Gold passed $2,700 per ounce on Friday for the first time ever. A year ago it was $1,980 per ounce, and a month ago $2,559. While global […]

Manara's stake in First Quantum Minerals’ Zambian operations could be worth between $1.5bn and $2bn

PIF’s Manara in talks to buy minority stake in Zambian mines 

Manara Minerals, a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Maaden) and the sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), is in advanced talks to acquire 15 to 20 percent in Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals’ Zambian copper and nickel assets. The stake could be potentially valued between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, Reuters reported, citing informed […]

Visitors tour the exhibition halls at Gitex Global. This year's expo runs until October 18

Tech startups drive rise in Ireland’s exports to UAE

Exports from Ireland to the UAE rose by 21 percent last year, driven by Irish technology and healthcare companies.  The trade agency Enterprise Ireland says exports to the GCC increased 13 percent last year, reaching €532.5 million ($580 million). Qatar had the region’s fastest growth in exports from Ireland last year, with a rise of […]

A Mitsubishi H3 rocket on the launchpad in Japan. The UAE will use the model in its asteroid belt mission

UAE and Mitsubishi sign agreement for asteroid belt mission

The UAE has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to provide services for its 2028 mission to the asteroid belt.  The Emirates Mission to the Asteroid Belt – the first multiple-asteroid tour and landing mission to the main belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter – will launch the Mohammed Bin Rashid Explorer spacecraft […]