Tax Oman makes key changes to draft income tax law Oman has issued a new draft personal income tax law with key amendments, raising the exemption threshold and lowering proposed tax rates. The timeline for the law’s implementation remains uncertain. The latest draft, which was delayed last year, has been approved by the State Council and Majlis Al Shura and will now move to Sultan […] January 30, 2025
Analysis Tax GCC weighs impact of Trump’s global corporate tax moves Tax professionals in the Gulf are assessing how President Donald Trump’s pull-back of US support for an international corporate tax framework might affect GCC states’ implementation of it. In a day-one executive order last week, the returning US president repudiated “any commitment” made by the previous Biden administration toward the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and […] January 30, 2025
Manufacturing Gulf ceramics makers poised for 2025 rebound Following a turbulent 2024, the Gulf’s listed ceramics makers should perform better this year thanks to lower customs duties, rising demand for their products and fewer Red Sea shipping disruptions. For equity investors, Oman’s Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and the UAE’s RAK Ceramics provide a play on the Gulf’s rising population and mega infrastructure spending, […] January 30, 2025
OpinionArtificial IntelligenceChina may have scored against US AI supremacy, but DeepSeek might end up being an own goalNish Kotecha, Tech entrepreneur
OpinionArtificial IntelligenceDeepSeek’s arrival has huge implications for Arabian Gulf investment strategiesFrank Kane, Editor-at-Large, AGBI
OpiniontradeGCC economies do not appear to be targets of Trump beyond the message to produce more oilTim Fox, Partner, Capital Gate Advisors
Banking & Finance Kuwait ready to move on long-awaited mortgage law Kuwait is close to finalising a mortgage law that aims to increase homeownership among its citizens. At present, only the government-controlled Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB) can provide property loans to Kuwaiti citizens and companies. The law has been in planning since 2018, when the central bank submitted liberalisation proposals that would allow commercial banks to […]
Analysis Health Saudi privatisation push fortifies healthcare companies The revenues of listed Saudi healthcare companies should rise more quickly than the broader stock market thanks to government efforts to increase the private sector’s involvement, analysts have said. Nine-month profits have risen for 10 of the 11 companies analysed by AGBI, with eight posting increases of at least 10 percent. Almoosa Health was the […]
Analysis Construction Mena construction industry braced for rise in disputes Construction professionals working in the Middle East and North Africa are bracing themselves for a surge in disputes, driven by delays, cost overruns and changes in scope, research has found. In a survey of Mena businesses including contractors and developers, more than 80 percent of the 95 respondents said they anticipated a rise in disputes […]
Real Estate Saudi Arabia opens up holy cities to foreign property investors Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that foreigners will be allowed to invest in companies that own real estate in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The CMA said the decision would “stimulate investment” and “enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market”. It added that the reform would help the […]
Analysis Finance Vast Gulf wealth funds splinter to make targeted investments Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are increasingly doing business via wholly-owned or affiliated entities as they become too big to manage specialised investment efforts, industry watchers are saying. MGX, an Emirati artificial intelligence-focused vehicle founded last year by Abu Dhabi’s fund Mubadala and the artificial intelligence company G42, made a splash by being one […]
Tourism Growing number of Chinese celebrating new year in UAE The UAE has recorded an increase in the number of Chinese travellers making the journey for new year celebrations this year. Arrivals from China to the UAE have grown 9 percent year on year, a study by the travel insight specialist ForwardKeys has found. While exact details of the dates surveyed or total number of […] January 30, 2025
Manufacturing Gulf ceramics makers poised for 2025 rebound Following a turbulent 2024, the Gulf’s listed ceramics makers should perform better this year thanks to lower customs duties, rising demand for their products and fewer Red Sea shipping disruptions. For equity investors, Oman’s Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and the UAE’s RAK Ceramics provide a play on the Gulf’s rising population and mega infrastructure spending, […] January 30, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality Alpha Dhabi takes majority stake in ADX-listed hotel operator Alpha Dhabi Holding, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), has acquired a controlling 73.73 percent stake in the National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels (NCTH) via a swap deal. The stake was acquired after selling assets from Alpha Dhabi Hospitality Holding and Murban Energy to Abu Dhabi-listed NCTH in exchange for […] January 30, 2025
Analysis Tax GCC weighs impact of Trump’s global corporate tax moves Tax professionals in the Gulf are assessing how President Donald Trump’s pull-back of US support for an international corporate tax framework might affect GCC states’ implementation of it. In a day-one executive order last week, the returning US president repudiated “any commitment” made by the previous Biden administration toward the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and […] January 30, 2025
Banking & Finance Adia-backed bidders close in on Malaysia Airports buy-out A $4.2 billion bid to buy out Malaysia Airports backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), the emirate’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, has moved a step closer. Shareholder acceptance of the bid is above 95 percent. The offer is by a consortium called the Gateway Development Alliance (GDA), which is led by Malaysia’s sovereign […] January 29, 2025
Construction Contracts in Saudi Arabia rise 25% in value in 2024 The value of contracts issued by Saudi Arabia rose by almost a quarter year on year in 2024 to reach a record high of $146.8 billion. The kingdom accounted for more than half of all contracts issued across the GCC, which reached a new high of $273.2 billion. The growth in Saudi contracts was driven […] January 30, 2025
Markets Saudi poultry producer to list 30% stake on Tadawul Poultry producer Arabian Company for Agricultural and Industrial Investment (Entaj), plans to list a 30 percent stake on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul). The Capital Market Authority, the kingdom’s market regulator, approved the offering of 9 million shares on Tadawul in September 2024. The offering price will be set following the end of the institutional bookbuilding […] January 30, 2025
Economy Saudi economy grows 1.3% in 2024 after Q4 surge Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 1.3 percent in 2024 driven by a surge in the fourth quarter and growth in non-oil activities. Real GDP growth increased to 4.4 percent year on year in the last three months of 2024, having remained around 1.6 percent in the first half of the year. Growth in the non-oil […] January 30, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ to take joint stance on Trump oil policy The Opec+ group of leading oil producers is set to discuss President Donald Trump’s efforts to raise US oil production and take a joint stance on the matter, Kazakhstan said on Wednesday. Trump last week laid out a sweeping plan to help maximise oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to speed up permitting […] January 30, 2025
Analysis Health Saudi privatisation push fortifies healthcare companies The revenues of listed Saudi healthcare companies should rise more quickly than the broader stock market thanks to government efforts to increase the private sector’s involvement, analysts have said. Nine-month profits have risen for 10 of the 11 companies analysed by AGBI, with eight posting increases of at least 10 percent. Almoosa Health was the […] January 29, 2025
Renewable Energy Tunisia turns to waste to tackle power supply gap Tunisia needs to encourage investment in waste-to-energy projects in order to tackle a massive power supply gap of nearly 60 percent, an energy official was reported on Wednesday as saying. Incentives for such projects include the purchase of their production by the state-owned Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company, said Wael Chouchane, secretary of state for […] January 29, 2025
Manufacturing No investment, more efficiency, say GCC aluminium smelters Aluminium producers in the Gulf are not planning any fresh investments in 2025, despite a projected rise in global demand, an industry official said this week. Production in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries grew by around 120,000 tonnes to reach a record high of nearly 6.45 million tonnes in 2024, said Mahmoud Al-Daylami, […] January 29, 2025
Tech Qatar leads funding for quantum computing company Alice & Bob, a Paris-based quantum computing company, has raised $104 million in a Series B funding round led by an investment joint venture between Qatar Investment Authority and Bpifrance. The funding will accelerate the development of the French company’s quantum computing platform, which utilises its “cat qubit” technology. A qubit (quantum bit) is the […] January 28, 2025
Real Estate Design for new city in Iraq approved The design for a new city in Iraq to be built by an Egyptian developer that will house 700,000 people has been approved by the country’s ministry of construction and housing. Ora Developers, owned by the Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, was awarded the contract to build Ali Al-Wardi City a year ago. The company will […] January 29, 2025
Oil & Gas Kuwait ‘ready to go ahead with merger of state oil companies’ Kuwait’s plan to merge some of its eight state-owned oil companies is ready to go ahead, according to reports in the country. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), which manages the country’s hydrocarbon industry, is set to oversee the mergers. The plan was approved by the cabinet two years ago as part of a strategy to cut […] January 28, 2025
Aviation Oman Air cuts fleet size by 29% to reduce losses Oman Air, the Gulf state’s flag carrier, last year cut its fleet size by 29 percent year on year to 32 aircraft, lowering its operational cost as part of its turnaround strategy. The airline carried 5.4 million passengers, down 13 percent year on year. Annual Ebitda rose by 40 percent to OR24 million ($62.2 million), […] January 27, 2025
Agriculture Livestock imports from Qatar and Egypt banned by China China has banned imports of sheep and goats from Egypt and animals and meat products from Qatar and nine other countries after outbreaks of highly infectious disease in those countries. The ban, which includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after China’s General Administration of Customs issued a series of announcements outlining the outbreaks in several countries based […] January 27, 2025
Logistics Oman’s Asyad to invest $3bn in shipping projects Asyad, Oman’s state-run shipping company, will this year invest $2.7 billion to expand its fleet by more than a third. Asyad was established in 2003 and is owned by Oman’s sovereign wealth fund. It operates a fleet of 89 vessels and the expansion plan in 2025 will add a further 33 – a mix of […] January 27, 2025
Analysis Trade Turkey becomes a short-term investor haven from Trump Turkey is being seen as a relatively safe harbour among emerging markets by investors looking to shield their funds from aggressive US trade policies, although Ankara is not immune to Washington’s ire. There has been a recent move back into Turkish debt stock, with local bonds attracting $1.9 billion in foreign capital in the first […] January 29, 2025
Economy Saudi Arabia in talks for $6bn Turkish arms deal Turkey expects to strike a $6 billion agreement with Saudi Arabia for the sale of warships, tanks and missiles. The deal may include Saudi Arabia joining Turkey’s fighter jet development project, which could be signed during the visit of President Tayyip Erdoğan to the kingdom in March, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed officials. Ankara aims to […] January 28, 2025
Aviation Istanbul Airport remains Europe’s busiest Daily flight arrivals in Turkey’s Istanbul Airport have surpassed major European airports such as Amsterdam, London, and Paris in 2024, making it the continent’s busiest. The airport received an average of 1,401 daily flights last year, an increase of 2 percent year on year, thus retaining its position as the busiest air hub in Europe […] January 27, 2025
Banking & Finance Credit and debit card use rises steeply in Turkey Cash could be dethroned as king in Turkey as consumers increasingly turn to plastic when paying for goods and services. But the rise in card usage also comes at a cost, as more Turks fall behind in servicing their debt. Credit and debit card spending reached a total of TL14.87 trillion ($420 billion) in 2024, […] January 24, 2025
Economy Turkey cuts interest rate by 250 basis points Turkey’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 45% as expected on Thursday, carrying on an easing cycle it launched last month alongside a decline in annual inflation that is expected to continue. The central bank indicated it would continue to ease policy in the months ahead, noting that it anticipated a rise in trend inflation in January, […] January 23, 2025
Real Estate Design for new city in Iraq approved The design for a new city in Iraq to be built by an Egyptian developer that will house 700,000 people has been approved by the country’s ministry of construction and housing. Ora Developers, owned by the Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, was awarded the contract to build Ali Al-Wardi City a year ago. The company will […] January 29, 2025
Agriculture Livestock imports from Qatar and Egypt banned by China China has banned imports of sheep and goats from Egypt and animals and meat products from Qatar and nine other countries after outbreaks of highly infectious disease in those countries. The ban, which includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after China’s General Administration of Customs issued a series of announcements outlining the outbreaks in several countries based […] January 27, 2025
Finance Bonyan gets approval to list on Egyptian bourse Bonyan, an Egyptian real estate investment company, has secured approval to list on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) within the first half of 2025. The listing is subject to regulatory approval by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority and the stock exchange. No details of the IPO were given. “The listing reinforces our ambition to make real […] January 27, 2025
Logistics Shipping giants not yet ready to resume Red Sea route Two shipping giants said on Friday that they are in no rush to resume routes through the Suez Canal after a Yemeni militia announced earlier this week it will scale back hostilities against vessels transiting through the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea if the ceasefire in Gaza holds. Danish shipper Maersk and Abu Dhabi […] January 24, 2025
Transport Suez Canal extension to be operational in first quarter The Suez Canal expansion, which will extend the waterway’s two-way section by 10km, is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2025, the authority’s chairman has said. Egypt announced on Saturday that the new stretch, near the canal’s southern end and close to Little Bitter Lake, was successfully tested without incident. Osama Rabie, chairman of […] January 22, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump’s bravado fails to spook minerals market – so far Ordinarily, commodity markets tend to react strongly when leaders of major global economies announce plans for war and conquest. If those plans involve disrupting one of the world’s most important sea lanes and reversing centuries of peace with two major allies, you might even expect a certain panic. Yet, when US President-elect Donald Trump declined […]
Analysis Media & Advertising The million-dirham draw of digital billboards Revenues for billboard operators have grown as much as eightfold in the past few years as digitalisation has given out-of-home (OOH) advertising a notable boost. Sometimes seen as a bellwether for the local economy, billboards get plenty of viewing time in places such as Dubai during morning and evening traffic rush hours when cars are […]
Analysis Sustainability Companies scramble to meet UAE carbon emissions laws UAE companies have less than six months to comply with the country’s new emissions laws, but experts warn that some details are still unclear and a proposed carbon credit trading system may not meet its goals. The UAE introduced two pivotal pieces of environmental legislation last year. Cabinet Resolution No 67 on carbon credits came […]
Tech UAE space company launches earth-monitoring craft Space42, a space technology company that has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, deployed the second phase of its Foresight satellite constellation on Tuesday as the UAE continues its push to compete with the world’s leaders in the industry. The project is in collaboration with ICEYE, a provider of high-resolution images of the earth’s surface. The […]
Analysis Banking & Finance Strong post-IPO performance bodes well for Saudi flotations Recently floated Saudi Arabian companies have thrived since listing on Riyadh’s bourse, thanks in part to astute pricing of initial public offerings and foreign institutional investors’ growing participation. Since the start of 2024, there have been 14 IPOs in Saudi Arabia that raised more than $100 million, according to data compiled by AGBI and London […]
Opinion Media & Advertising Television: Who watches the watchers? Saudi Arabia is taking a long-awaited step forward in audience measurement
Health Health insurance shake-up for care in Northern Emirates Mandatory health insurance in the poorer Northern Emirates of the UAE is likely to lead to an expansion of healthcare facilities and increased M&A activity, experts have said. In March last year the UAE announced a plan to introduce mandatory health insurance for all workers in the Northern Emirates – Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, […]
Opinion Tourism Oman hopes tourism can foster entrepreneurship and create jobs The Sultanate has only recently begun to use its history as an economic attraction
Economy Turkey faces $3bn payout for pensioners and wage support Turkey will have to pay out an estimated TL110.8 billion ($3.12 billion) after increasing minimum pension payments and wage support to companies. Vedat Isıkhan, the labour minister, announced on January 7 that the minimum monthly state pension would be increased by 15.75 percent, taking the base rate payment to TL14,469 ($409). Nearly 3.87 million pensioners will benefit […]
Opinion Manufacturing How China won over the car market in the UAE Japanese, American and Korean brands retreated following the pandemic
Education Gems Education announces $100m Dubai school Gems Education has revealed plans to open the most expensive school in the Gulf, which is set for completion later this year. It is spending $100 million to develop Gems School of Research and Innovation in Dubai Sports City. Annual fees will start from AED116,000 ($31,582) for early-years education and rise to AED206,000 by the […]
Opinion Employment UAE and Saudi Arabia are magnets for global talent Recruiters say the region is attracting applications from global workers on an unprecedented scale
Analysis Employment UAE and Kuwait companies struggling to hire staff Companies in the UAE and Kuwait are struggling to afford new staff as a result of squeezed margins, according to the latest business sentiment survey. For the third successive month, non-oil companies operating in the UAE highlighted a reduction in prices charged, with discounting used to support sales amid a highly competitive market. This was […]
Artificial Intelligence Tech sell-off deepens as DeepSeek triggers AI rethink Technology shares fell on Tuesday on the day after a global market rout sparked by the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model, with investors questioning the sky-high valuation and dominance of AI bellwethers. Shares of Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom in recent years, dragged US stocks lower, sinking 17 percent on Monday and wiping $593 […]
Agriculture Livestock imports from Qatar and Egypt banned by China China has banned imports of sheep and goats from Egypt and animals and meat products from Qatar and nine other countries after outbreaks of highly infectious disease in those countries. The ban, which includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after China’s General Administration of Customs issued a series of announcements outlining the outbreaks in several countries based […]
Giga-projects Italian insurer guarantees $3bn Saudi giga-project loan Sace, an Italian state-owned insurance company, has guaranteed a multi-currency loan of $3 billion provided by nine international banks to support projects in Neom, Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion giga-project. The announcement coincided with an official visit by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni to Saudi Arabia, where she and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed an […]
EXCLUSIVE Renewable Energy China renewables pivot to Middle East to avoid Trump tariffs Chinese renewables manufacturers are looking to move some operations to the Middle East to avoid higher tariffs under US president Donald Trump, a senior executive from one of the sector’s largest players has told AGBI. Vincent Wu, vice president of sales at global solar panel manufacturer Trinasolar, said the region is the right place to […]
