Banking & Finance Dubai floods third most costly disaster of 2024, says insurer The financial hit from last year’s Dubai floods, when the heaviest rains in the UAE’s history submerged roads, homes and airports, made it the third most costly disaster in the world in 2024, one insurance company has announced. Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, booked €138 million ($150 million) of losses from the April 2024 flooding, making it one of the company’s top five loss-events globally last year. That figure exceeds its exposure to the US Baltimore bridge collapse (€103 million) in March last year and losses caused by Hurricane Helene (€116 million) in September, and ranks only behind Hurricane […] April 15, 2025
Energy US and Saudi Arabia agree ‘pathway’ to nuclear power deal The US and Saudi Arabia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – are on a “pathway” towards co-developing a civilian nuclear programme for the kingdom, visiting US energy secretary Chris Wright has told reporters. This is the firmest US public statement yet of support for a Saudi nuclear power generating initiative, a topic of long-running debate between Washington and Riyadh. Agreement would allow Saudi Arabia to become the second Arab country after the UAE with nuclear power generating capacity. “It’s a major redirect on the issue of nuclear [power],” said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and energy policy programme […] April 14, 2025
Agriculture Frost and snow deal blow to Turkey’s biggest export crops Turkey’s agriculture sector is reeling after much of the country was struck by hard frosts last week, damaging vital crops such as hazelnuts and apricots and jeopardising export income. Temperatures plunged between April 10 and 12, with lows of -15C in some regions. More than a third of Turkey’s 81 provinces had frosts and snowfall. The extreme weather was described as the worst frost in three decades. It stretched from the southeast, near Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Syria, to the northern Black Sea coastal strip and along much of the western coastal provinces, all important agricultural areas. One of […] April 14, 2025
OpinionenergyIt is too early to bet on a US or China ‘winner’ – better to play for time and use energy diplomacyFrank Kane, Editor-at-Large
Opinionmedia & advertisingDubai chocolate may sound like a calculated branding exercise to promote the city. It’s notAustyn Allison, Middle East advertising expert
OpinionENERGYLower LNG prices beckon for all over the next 5 years. But Doha won’t mind so muchRobin Mills, CEO, Qamar Energy
Industry Gulf car buyers may benefit from competing non-US manufacturers The UAE and other Gulf markets may benefit from more competitively priced cars from China, Europe and Japan after the US imposed tariffs on imported vehicles this month and pledged to introduce similar duties on auto parts in May. The auto tariff has left international car exporters, of which China is the largest, scrambling to tap alternative markets, while US duties on auto parts could make US-made cars for export more expensive. The US is the world’s fourth-largest auto market. The Chinese market share in the UAE surged 86 percent last year by units sold, though that share is still […]
Analysis Manufacturing Jordan’s surging pharma industry may hit US tariff speedbump Growing Gulf spending on health is boosting Jordan’s pharmaceutical industry, but new US tariffs pose a risk to its future, according to analysts. Pharmaceutical exports from Jordan grew by 15 percent last year to $862 million. Another 11 percent growth was projected for this year and further expansion to $1.4 billion in 2029, according to market analysts BMI. “The prevalent focus on generic prescriptions within Mena – coupled with initiatives like mandatory health insurance in the GCC – drives further demand for Jordanian pharmaceutical products,” Lavni Varyani, founder of Dubai-based consulting company Pharma BP, tells AGBI. However, Jordan – which […]
Markets Special purpose companies proposed to boost Saudi IPOs Consultations on introducing special purpose acquisition companies to the Saudi stock exchange’s junior market in an effort to encourage initial public offerings and listings have been announced by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority regulator. A special purpose acquisition company, or Spac, is formed to raise money through an IPO, with the funds then used to buy another existing company. At its IPO, a Spac does not have business operations or necessarily stated targets for acquisition. “The draft proposed by CMA will enable qualified investors in the parallel market to invest in unlisted companies that were previously difficult to access directly,” […]
Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more developers to partner with banks to provide mortgages to owner-occupiers. That increases the risk for lenders, even if a shift in buyer type towards owner-occupiers reduces the likelihood of another crash in Dubai’s property market. The crash of 2008-11 and the more gradual downturn from […]
Agriculture Farmers at risk from North Africa locust swarm A locust outbreak in North Africa risks endangering the livelihoods of already hard-pressed farmers in the region. In recent weeks, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a UN agency, has issued a succession of warnings over a growing locust threat spreading from North Africa and across central Africa. In Africa’s north, adult groups of the insects have arrived in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Morocco. As spring progresses, the problem is expected to worsen, the FAO has warned. “Adult groups and small swarms will breed, causing hopper groups and bands to increase,” the FAO said. The […]
Industry Gulf car buyers may benefit from competing non-US manufacturers The UAE and other Gulf markets may benefit from more competitively priced cars from China, Europe and Japan after the US imposed tariffs on imported vehicles this month and pledged to introduce similar duties on auto parts in May. The auto tariff has left international car exporters, of which China is the largest, scrambling to tap alternative markets, while US duties on auto parts could make US-made cars for export more expensive. The US is the world’s fourth-largest auto market. The Chinese market share in the UAE surged 86 percent last year by units sold, though that share is still […]
Analysis Manufacturing Jordan’s surging pharma industry may hit US tariff speedbump Growing Gulf spending on health is boosting Jordan’s pharmaceutical industry, but new US tariffs pose a risk to its future, according to analysts. Pharmaceutical exports from Jordan grew by 15 percent last year to $862 million. Another 11 percent growth was projected for this year and further expansion to $1.4 billion in 2029, according to market analysts BMI. “The prevalent focus on generic prescriptions within Mena – coupled with initiatives like mandatory health insurance in the GCC – drives further demand for Jordanian pharmaceutical products,” Lavni Varyani, founder of Dubai-based consulting company Pharma BP, tells AGBI. However, Jordan – which […]
Markets Special purpose companies proposed to boost Saudi IPOs Consultations on introducing special purpose acquisition companies to the Saudi stock exchange’s junior market in an effort to encourage initial public offerings and listings have been announced by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Markets Authority regulator. A special purpose acquisition company, or Spac, is formed to raise money through an IPO, with the funds then used to buy another existing company. At its IPO, a Spac does not have business operations or necessarily stated targets for acquisition. “The draft proposed by CMA will enable qualified investors in the parallel market to invest in unlisted companies that were previously difficult to access directly,” […]
Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more developers to partner with banks to provide mortgages to owner-occupiers. That increases the risk for lenders, even if a shift in buyer type towards owner-occupiers reduces the likelihood of another crash in Dubai’s property market. The crash of 2008-11 and the more gradual downturn from […]
Agriculture Farmers at risk from North Africa locust swarm A locust outbreak in North Africa risks endangering the livelihoods of already hard-pressed farmers in the region. In recent weeks, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a UN agency, has issued a succession of warnings over a growing locust threat spreading from North Africa and across central Africa. In Africa’s north, adult groups of the insects have arrived in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and, to a lesser extent, Morocco. As spring progresses, the problem is expected to worsen, the FAO has warned. “Adult groups and small swarms will breed, causing hopper groups and bands to increase,” the FAO said. The […]
Construction Wood share price rises after Sidara’s new offer Wood Group, the indebted British engineering company, enjoyed some rare good news yesterday as its shares closed up following a revised takeover offer from Dubai’s Sidara. The share price finished 4.4 percent higher at 26.10 pence on Monday. At one point in the morning they had risen more than a quarter to 32 pence. That is still far below their 2013 high of 927 pence, according to Reuters. Persistent problems at the engineering and oil services company has led to its share price dropping by almost 50 percent this year and as much as 74 percent in the past six […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Al Ansari says BFC buyout will lift revenues by a fifth Dubai-listed Al Ansari Financial Services expects a 13 percent rise in profits and a 20 percent increase in revenues following its acquisition of BFC Group Holdings, a competing money exchange business, the company CEO has said. “After completing the BFC deal, we have become the largest exchange company in the UAE and Bahrain and the third largest in Kuwait,” CNBC Arabia reported, quoting CEO Rashed Al Ansari. Last week the remittance and foreign exchange company acquired BFC for $200 million, expanding its footprint in Bahrain, Kuwait and India. The move increased the group’s customer base by 29 percent and the […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Dubai floods third most costly disaster of 2024, says insurer The financial hit from last year’s Dubai floods, when the heaviest rains in the UAE’s history submerged roads, homes and airports, made it the third most costly disaster in the world in 2024, one insurance company has announced. Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, booked €138 million ($150 million) of losses from the April 2024 flooding, making it one of the company’s top five loss-events globally last year. That figure exceeds its exposure to the US Baltimore bridge collapse (€103 million) in March last year and losses caused by Hurricane Helene (€116 million) in September, and ranks only behind Hurricane […] April 15, 2025
Opinion Media & Advertising Dubai chocolate is the golden ticket of city branding Food is part of a place's cultural identity. Plenty of cities and countries have dishes associated with them April 14, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Presight plans international expansion of its AI business Abu Dhabi is stepping up efforts to expand its artificial intelligence and digital services business as part of a billion-dollar push to diversify its economy. Presight, a data analytics company backed by Abu Dhabi-owned AI group G42, is planning to nearly double its overseas revenue as a share of the total. The company, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, is seeking new business around the Gulf – including Saudi Arabia – in Southeast and Central Asia, and in Latin America, its CEO Thomas Pramotedham told AGBI on the sidelines of a media briefing last week. That would […] April 14, 2025
Banking & Finance Sources say Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria’s World Bank debts Saudi Arabia plans to pay off Syria’s debts to the World Bank, sources have told Reuters, paving the way for the approval of millions of dollars in grants for reconstruction and to support the country’s paralysed public sector. The plans were revealed by “three people familiar with the matter”, Reuters said. It would be the first known instance of Saudi Arabia providing financing for Syria since Islamist-led rebels toppled the country’s former leader, Bashar al-Assad, last year. It may also be a sign that crucial Gulf Arab support for Syria is beginning to materialise after previous plans, including an initiative by the […] April 14, 2025
Energy US and Saudi Arabia agree ‘pathway’ to nuclear power deal The US and Saudi Arabia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – are on a “pathway” towards co-developing a civilian nuclear programme for the kingdom, visiting US energy secretary Chris Wright has told reporters. This is the firmest US public statement yet of support for a Saudi nuclear power generating initiative, a topic of long-running debate between Washington and Riyadh. Agreement would allow Saudi Arabia to become the second Arab country after the UAE with nuclear power generating capacity. “It’s a major redirect on the issue of nuclear [power],” said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and energy policy programme […] April 14, 2025
Real Estate Egypt and Saudi Arabia plan joint real estate fund Saudi Arabia and Egypt are planning to create a joint fund to carry out real estate projects in the two countries, an Egyptian official has revealed. Egypt, which is locked in an IMF-recommended programme to stimulate its economy, also wants Saudi investors for new projects in central Cairo, in line with a plan to be announced later this year. “We are working to set up a joint Egyptian-Saudi real estate fund,” said Abdul Khaliq Ibrahim, Egypt’s assistant housing minister, at an Egyptian-Saudi investment forum in Cairo at the weekend. “There are also plans to organise meetings to discuss joint real […] April 14, 2025
Analysis Transport Tesla trumpets Saudi launch but China is waiting Tesla’s well-publicised launch event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week attracted a large and boisterous crowd. But the competition is stiff, especially from the Chinese, now the world’s largest maker of EVs, and the charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles in the world’s second-largest oil producer is still lacking. Saudi Arabia wants 30 percent of the cars on its roads to be electric vehicles by 2030. That implies average annual sales of one million EVs for the next five years. “Tesla won’t be a pioneer in the market,” Tatiana Hristova, a vehicle sales forecast director at S&P Global, told the […] April 14, 2025
Aviation Saudi Arabia invites bids for charter airline Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator is inviting bids to set up a national charter airline. The General Authority of Civil Aviation opened the bid process on April 13 and has set a submission deadline of May 21, it said in a statement. All the bids will be opened on May 22. In February the regulator announced plans to allow foreign charter airlines to operate domestic flights in the country. The reforms are scheduled to take effect in May. Saudi Arabia is investing or seeking investment of around $100 billion in aviation. It aims to treble passenger traffic by 2030, to serve […] April 14, 2025
Renewable Energy Chinese company to build $200m wind turbine plant in Oman China’s Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group has signed a $200 million agreement to build a wind turbine factory in Oman’s central industrial city of Duqm. Duqm, which sits on international shipping routes, has attracted over $15 billion in project spending, including a 230,000 barrels power day oil refinery, a crude oil storage facility, a free […] April 15, 2025
Renewable Energy Morocco steps up solar power drive to meet 2030 target Morocco is intensifying investment in solar power in the hope of hitting a target to raise the use of renewables in its energy mix to more than half. The country has set a target of 52 percent renewables by 2030 after achieving previous targets, local media reported. Newspapers said on Friday that hydrocarbon-poor Morocco has […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Oman targets $5bn investment with port expansion Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone is seeking to draw in billions of dollars in additional investment, as the first phase of the project nears full occupancy, according to a media report. The expansion will increase annual throughput to more than 2.5 million tonnes of cargo, over $5 billion in investment and an addition of 500 […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Morocco seeks operator for Africa’s largest shipyard Morocco is seeking global companies or consortiums to run what it says will be Africa’s largest shipyard in Casablanca, according to a news report. State-owned National Ports Agency issued a tender last week, inviting bids from shipyard operators to develop, equip and operate the 52-acre facility for 30 years, Bloomberg reported citing communications director Abdellatif […] April 14, 2025
Trade China and Turkey imports widen Tunisia’s trade gap Tunisia’s trade gap rose by two thirds in the first quarter as the government prioritised goods from China and Turkey, official figures show. Imports increased by 5 percent to 20 billion Tunisian dinars ($6.8 billion) in the first three months of 2025 from 19 billion dinars in the same period last year, the National Institute […] April 14, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas Libya courts oil investors but risks loom large The country's long-term stability will ultimately determine investment success April 11, 2025
Banking & Finance Takeover raises Oman bank competition concerns Oman’s second-largest lender by assets, Sohar International Bank, has secured approval from a smaller rival, Ahli Bank, for it to acquire Ahli. The takeover comes as concerns are raised that consolidation in the country’s banking sector could limit choice and competition, and raise costs for customers. Ahli Bank, which was set up in 2007, said […] April 11, 2025
Industry Gulf car buyers may benefit from competing non-US manufacturers The UAE and other Gulf markets may benefit from more competitively priced cars from China, Europe and Japan after the US imposed tariffs on imported vehicles this month and pledged to introduce similar duties on auto parts in May. The auto tariff has left international car exporters, of which China is the largest, scrambling to […] April 11, 2025
Agriculture Frost and snow deal blow to Turkey’s biggest export crops Turkey’s agriculture sector is reeling after much of the country was struck by hard frosts last week, damaging vital crops such as hazelnuts and apricots and jeopardising export income. Temperatures plunged between April 10 and 12, with lows of -15C in some regions. More than a third of Turkey’s 81 provinces had frosts and snowfall. The extreme weather was described as the worst frost in three decades. It stretched from the southeast, near Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Syria, to the northern Black Sea coastal strip and along much of the western coastal provinces, all important agricultural areas. One of […] April 14, 2025
Economy Turkey says oil price under $65 will tame inflation Turkey’s finance minister Mehmet Simsek said that if the oil price remains below $65 a barrel, it will lower year-end inflation by 1 to 1.6 points this year. Responding to a Reuters question on the impact of a fall in oil prices following recent global trade measures, Simsek said persistent oil prices below $65 could also mean Turkey’s current account deficit stays below 1.5 percent of gross domestic product. The central bank’s year-end inflation estimate currently stands at 24 percent, while according to the government’s medium-term programme the current account deficit-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 2 percent this year. […] April 14, 2025
Oil & Gas Turkey expands African energy foothold with Somali agreement Turkey is expanding its presence in the Somali energy sector after striking a deal to conduct preliminary surveys for oil and gas deposits across the African country as it seeks to reduce its reliance on energy imports, notably from Russia. Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar and his Somali counterpart Dahir Shire Mohamed this week signed an agreement in Ankara opening up three blocks covering 16,000 square kilometres of land for preliminary exploration and survey by Turkey’s state-owned oil and gas firm Turkish Petroleum. This search for hydrocarbons is part of Turkey’s efforts to expand its energy sources at home and […] April 11, 2025
Trade Turkey looks for positives from tariff fallout Turkey is eyeing a potential upside in its international trade as Donald Trump takes on China and much of the rest of the world in a trade war. As one of the countries initially hit with Trump’s baseline 10 percent tariff, many in Turkey had nonetheless forecast export doors to the US would open for sectors such as chemicals and textiles. There was an expectation that the pricing competitiveness of competing exporting nations faced with even higher duties on their exports to the US could be weakened. Even with the April 9 announcement of a temporary suspension in the higher, […] April 11, 2025
Food & Drink Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than locals. However, tastes have changed during the past 10 years. Many Turks – along with a growing international market – have acquired a taste for Japan’s bite-sized portions as well as for ready-to-eat meals. The latest company to dive into the sushi market is Kocaman […] April 11, 2025
Economy Qatar to invest over $7bn in Egypt’s economy Qatar has pledged to invest $7.5 billion in Egypt as the North African country seeks to attract new money and boost economic growth, the countries said in a joint statement. The commitment was given during a meeting between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad A-Thani, the state-owned State Information Service reported. No details of the proposed investment were given. Egypt is in the middle of a IMF-mandated reform programme under which it is committed to sell state assets but its economy has been hit by inflation, exchange rate depreciation, and an unresolved system of […] April 15, 2025
Real Estate Egypt and Saudi Arabia plan joint real estate fund Saudi Arabia and Egypt are planning to create a joint fund to carry out real estate projects in the two countries, an Egyptian official has revealed. Egypt, which is locked in an IMF-recommended programme to stimulate its economy, also wants Saudi investors for new projects in central Cairo, in line with a plan to be announced later this year. “We are working to set up a joint Egyptian-Saudi real estate fund,” said Abdul Khaliq Ibrahim, Egypt’s assistant housing minister, at an Egyptian-Saudi investment forum in Cairo at the weekend. “There are also plans to organise meetings to discuss joint real […] April 14, 2025
Manufacturing Egypt’s Hassan Allam to build concrete hub for Ras El Hekma Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding has said one of its subsidiaries has signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi-listed Modon Holding to supply construction materials for the Ras El Hekma megaproject on the Mediterranean. 3S Ready Mix, one of the country’s largest ready mix concrete suppliers, will develop a ready mix factory and a concrete products hub in the newly announced industrial zone adjacent to Ras El Hekma project, the company said in a statement. No other details were given. Last year, ADQ, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, appointed Modon as the master developer for the $35-billion mega development. Last […] April 14, 2025
Infrastructure Egypt hires US company to modernise locomotives Egyptian National Railways has awarded three contracts worth more than $235 million to US company Progress Rail to modernise its rail locomotive fleet. The contracts include the modernisation of 1,000 diesel-electric locomotives valued at $185 million and a 15-year agreement to supply parts for 141 locomotives worth $42 million, the US Embassy in Egypt said in a statement. A third deal includes a five-year technical assistance services contract for 141 diesel-electric locomotives valued at $5 million, with an option to extend for an additional five years. The Egyptian railway network is one of the oldest in the world but has […] April 14, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas Libya courts oil investors but risks loom large The country's long-term stability will ultimately determine investment success April 11, 2025
LUNCH WITH FRANK KANE Energy Ahmed Al Azkawi: ‘We are the national champion for oil and gas’ The chief executive of OQEP gives our Editor-at-Large a crash course in Omani energy past, present and future
Leisure & Hospitality Corporate art collections on the rise in the UAE A shiny office tower in the heart of Downtown Dubai may not be an obvious home for a growing international art collection but ICD Brookfield Place is becoming just that. Among the works or exhibitions it has showcased recently are Canadian visual artist Jordan Söderberg Mill’s light and glass installation Standing Wave, Emirati artist Hashel Al Lamki’s oil painting Anees, and Palestinian-American ceramicist Lena Kassicieh’s Cloud Hopping. At the other end of the Sheikh Zayed Road, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Mubadala Investment Company is building a collection of regional and global art, the Mubadala Corporate Collections. In December, it announced its […]
Analysis Tech Gulf urged to add more to its data centre offerings Data centres are big business across the Gulf. But experts say the industry faces some major challenges: developing value-added goods and services, increasing research and development funding and identifying the right energy mix to power them. Sales in the GCC data centre market were worth nearly $3.5 billion last year, according to estimates by Research and Markets. This will almost treble before the end of the decade as the development of artificial intelligence demands more and more of this underlying physical infrastructure. Data centres are energy intensive and accounted for about 1 percent of worldwide electricity consumption in 2024, International […]
Analysis Trade The golden question: where next for the UAE-India Cepa? Earlier this week it emerged that Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) and a US institutional investor had between them acquired a minority stake of 6 percent in Haldiram’s, an Indian snack maker, valuing the company at $10 billion. The IHC investment contributes to the UAE’s ranking as the seventh-largest foreign direct investor in India – 3 percent of India’s total FDI. Meanwhile, India has invested $15 billion in the UAE, accounting for 5 percent of overseas direct investment, according to India’s Press Information Bureau. The UAE has also become India’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China, […]
Analysis Finance After 2 years without a central banker, Souaid divides Lebanon Last Thursday the Lebanese cabinet approved Karim Souaid as the sixth governor of the country’s central bank, Banque du Liban. Souaid, a former investment banker and asset manager, takes up the post after two years in which Lebanon had no formal banking chief and as the country enters a seventh year of economic and political turmoil. His most pressing task will be to address the $76 billion in customer deposits ostensibly frozen in Lebanon’s ramshackle banking system. Banque du Liban has been under the interim control of deputy governor Wassim Mansouri since July 2023, following the departure of Riad Salameh. […]
Analysis Real Estate Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]
Lifestyle Shisha smokers turn to healthier alternatives In the same way that non-alcoholic drinks are now a regular feature in restaurants and bars in the UAE, hookah smokers are increasingly turning to healthier substitutes to satisfy their shisha fix. “People are seeking alternatives that are better for their health yet do not impact lifestyle choices,” said Naim Madaad, a founding member of […]
Employment Kuwaitis earn nearly five times as much as expats Kuwaiti nationals earn nearly five times as much as their expatriate colleagues, and more than four in every five Kuwaitis work for the government, data from the Central Statistics Administration has revealed. Of 450,000 working Kuwaitis at the end of September, 375,000, or 83 percent, were in the public sector, with the remainder in the […]
Analysis Artificial Intelligence AI ‘employees’ make their mark in the Gulf From customer service to the C-suite, AI “employees” are climbing the corporate ladder in the Gulf as the technology behind them improves. Regional wealth funds such as ADQ are now using AI “boardroom advisers” to help make decisions according to Middle East AI News, while startups are raising capital and launching so-called “AI employees”. These […]
Analysis Aviation Saudia ‘still a flag carrier’ ahead of Riyadh Air launch Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia is upgrading its fleet with new Boeing and Airbus aircraft even as the government prepares to start a new airline later this year. The 80-year-old carrier has 118 aircraft on order, most of which will replace older models in its existing fleet of 147, and are scheduled to arrive through […]
Analysis Tax Bahrain considers raising taxes to reduce deficits Bahrain’s plan to end a long string of government budget deficits could prove burdensome to both businesses and people as it considers a raft of tax measures. The country is discussing a 12-point plan for its two-year budget, with measures including the introduction of a wider corporate tax, an increase in value added tax (VAT) […]
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 […]
Entrepreneurs 60 seconds with Satish Sanpal, chairman of ANAX Holding Satish Sanpal established ANAX Holding in Dubai in 2018 as a diversified investment entity. Today, ANAX Holding operates across multiple sectors, including real estate development, hospitality and financial services. ANAX Developments, one of its key subsidiaries, has emerged as a prominent real estate developer in Dubai, delivering high-demand projects across the city. What one piece […] In association with
Economy Arab Monetary Fund gives Somalia $307m of debt relief The Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has signed a $307 million debt relief agreement with Somalia to support the African country’s economic reform programme. The agreement covers the restructuring of the debt owed by Somalia to the AMF, the 22-nation-backed fund said in a statement, without giving any further details. Somalia’s finance minister Bihi Egeh said the agreement was crucial to the country’s debt relief efforts and fundamental to reengagement with the fund to achieve economic growth, Somalia’s state news agency Sonna reported. Last year Somalia secured the cancellation of almost all its debt owed to the “Paris Club” […]
Opinion Trade South Africa courts Gulf in $5.5bn infrastructure push Some of the UAE’s leading international investors are already present in the South African market
Finance Sanabil leads $110m funding for Saudi-Bangladesh startup Sanabil Investments, a venture capital arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has made its first investment in South Asia. The PIF unit and the US venture capital fund Valar Ventures, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal, are jointly leading the $110 million funding round for SILQ Group, a new e-commerce platform, Bloomberg reported. SILQ has been created through the merger of ShopUp, a Bangladeshi business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform, and Sary, a Saudi Arabia-headquartered B2B marketplace. The new business said it intended to target markets across the Gulf region and emerging Asia. Qatar Development Bank is part […]
Business of Sport Former Saudi owner of English soccer club returns to pitch The former Saudi royal owner of the English Championship side Sheffield United, Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is returning to the football market with a sports investment fund worth as much as SAR1 billion ($266 million). Prince Abdullah told the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh this week that his group intends to contribute to 20 percent of the fund. “We’re preparing to launch the new fund, where we’ll reinvest in new clubs, using the lessons we’ve learned from past experiences,” he told the conference in the Saudi capital. “The focus of the fund’s investments will primarily be […]