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Field, Nature, Outdoors In 2023, El Niño arrived early, impacting crops. The Indian government reacted by banning exports of non-basmati white rice

Weather and politics keep pressure on price of rice

The status of rice as a global food staple means that it is also a political minefield for producer nations. So all eyes are on India as rice prices fluctuate at around a 15-year high.  Different varietals and markets command different prices, but trading on “contracts for difference”, which track benchmark prices, saw the cost of […]

The arts centre, designed by Tom Wiscombe, will be a futuristic building that straddles rugged mountains outside Riyadh

Futuristic architect lands arts centre in Saudi’s Qiddiya

Saudi sports and entertainment city Qiddiya is to build a performing arts centre designed by leading architect Tom Wiscombe, whose futuristic building will straddle rugged mountains outside Riyadh.  The centre will include 3,000 seats spread across three theatres including an amphitheatre with views of the capital.  Qiddiya, one of the Public Investment Fund’s giga-projects, said […]

People push a bus through water after heavy rains in Dubai. The emirate's Tasreef flood defence project will take 9 years to complete

Engineers measure up Dubai’s $8bn flood defence plan

After April’s once-in-a-century storm that put swaths of Dubai under water, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has cleared the way for a AED30 billion ($8 billion) stormwater management upgrade. The ambitious expansion of the emirate’s drainage system will provide a sevenfold increase in its capacity to handle rainwater, to more than 20 million cubic […]

Trending

  1. Drake & Scull opens nominations for new board

  2. Adnoc, Emirates Global Aluminium and the outlook for net zero

  3. Visas on offer as Esports World Cup hits Saudi Arabia

  4. Fourth Milling to offload 30% in IPO on Saudi bourse

  5. Global legal saga continues for Dubai entrepreneur

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

A miner inside a tunnel of the Parrilla silver mine, Mexico. Mexico is the world's biggest producer of mined silver.

Silver is riding high but the market remains volatile

With a gain in its spot price of nearly one-third since the start of the year, silver is now 2024’s best-performing precious metal.  It is a major industrial material with an important role in the green energy transition. Yet, while these factors are combining to give silver a moment, analysts are quick to warn of […]

Fees and procedures make UAE IPOs more complex 

UAE companies seeking to go public must undertake complex and often costly procedures to complete an initial public offering, although fees remain reasonable by international standards because of competition among advisers, according to experts. This decade, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have part-privatised many government-owned companies, sparking an IPO flurry that runs counter to slowdowns in […]

Iran, Iraq and Libya among worst offenders on gas flaring

Environmentally ruinous flaring of gas at upstream oil and gas facilities has risen to its highest level for five years, despite pledges to end the practice, the World Bank has said. Iran, Iraq and Libya were among the biggest contributors in 2023, according to a World Bank report published on June 20. Along with six […]

Construction is ‘cheaper in Dubai than Riyadh or Doha’

Dubai is only the third most expensive construction market in the Middle East after Riyadh and Doha, research has found. A real estate boom led by the leisure, hospitality and sports sectors, combined with a “distinct shortage of skilled labour”, have driven up construction costs in the Saudi capital to an average of $2,593 per […]

Foreigners turning back on Turkish real estate

Foreign buyers are increasingly shunning the Turkish property market, wary of high prices, the expensive cost of living and a less welcoming environment for overseas real estate investors. There were only 2,064 residential units sold to foreign buyers in May, 35 percent down on the same month last year, data issued by the state statistics […]

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UAE latest

Construction workers in Dubai. Contractor Drake & Scull has completed its restructuring process

Drake & Scull opens nominations for new board

Dubai contractor Drake & Scull International (DSI) has opened nominations for new board members, after the completion of a lengthy restructuring process. DSI is looking to fill seven positions, according to a filing to Dubai Financial Market (DFM), with nominations open until July 11. Earlier this week the board of directors tendered their resignations in […]

Dubai-based construction entrepreneur Riad Tawfiq Al Sadik must pay 85 percent of the legal costs incurred by Clyde & Co after his suit against the law firm was thrown out in April,

Global legal saga continues for Dubai entrepreneur

Riad Tawfiq Al Sadik, a construction entrepreneur based in Dubai, must pay 85 percent of the legal costs incurred by Clyde & Co after his suit against the law firm was thrown out in April, a UK court ruled this week, according to a report from City AM. The case stemmed from Al Sadik’s staggering […]

The Palm Jumeirah monorail in Dubai. The emirate is investing more than $10 billion in PPP for fields including infrastructure

UAE releases details of new PPP regime

The Emirati Ministry of Finance this week released guidelines for its new framework aimed at encouraging wider adoption and execution of public-private partnerships in the UAE. The new manual seeks to define PPP stakeholders’ specific roles and responsibilities, and standardise relevant regulations and procedures, according to the Wam news agency. “Case studies around the world […]

People push a bus through water after heavy rains in Dubai. The emirate's Tasreef flood defence project will take 9 years to complete

Engineers measure up Dubai’s $8bn flood defence plan

After April’s once-in-a-century storm that put swaths of Dubai under water, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has cleared the way for a AED30 billion ($8 billion) stormwater management upgrade. The ambitious expansion of the emirate’s drainage system will provide a sevenfold increase in its capacity to handle rainwater, to more than 20 million cubic […]

An EGA employee looks out over its Al Taweelah facility in Abu Dhabi. The electricity used in aluminium smelting makes up 60% of its carbon footprint

Adnoc, Emirates Global Aluminium and the outlook for net zero

It is a tall order. The UAE is striving to develop its industrial capacity while also decarbonising in a world that needs a 40 percent-plus reduction in emissions by the end of the decade to avoid devastating climate change. Two of the country’s biggest state-owned enterprises – Adnoc and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) – are […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Moammar Riyadh

Riyadh IT company wins $10m project with Saudi AI authority

Al Moammar Information Systems, a Riyadh-based technology company, has secured a SAR39 million ($10 million) project with the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA). Al Moammar, a listed company formed in 1996, invested $5 million in the giant American artificial intelligence research company OpenAI earlier this year. OpenAI is known for its large language AI […]

Boulevard City, Riyadh, where the first Esports World Cup will take place

Visas on offer as Esports World Cup hits Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is offering electronic visas for ticket holders for the first Esports World Cup, which starts next week at an entertainment district in Riyadh called Boulevard City. The event is being held over eight weeks from July 3. Around 1,500 players from 500 international clubs will compete for this year’s record total prize money […]

A ship at Porth Arthur, Texas. The port provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico for LNG from the Sempra facility

Aramco ventures further into US LNG market

Saudi Aramco continues its push into the US liquefied natural gas sector with an initial agreement to buy a stake in Sempra’s Texas LNG export plant and for the supply of the fuel. Aramco has signed a non-binding agreement to buy 5 million tonnes per year of LNG for 20 years and a 25 percent […]

The arts centre, designed by Tom Wiscombe, will be a futuristic building that straddles rugged mountains outside Riyadh

Futuristic architect lands arts centre in Saudi’s Qiddiya

Saudi sports and entertainment city Qiddiya is to build a performing arts centre designed by leading architect Tom Wiscombe, whose futuristic building will straddle rugged mountains outside Riyadh.  The centre will include 3,000 seats spread across three theatres including an amphitheatre with views of the capital.  Qiddiya, one of the Public Investment Fund’s giga-projects, said […]

Nujuma, operated by Ritz Carlton, is the third Red Sea Global resort to open to visitors

Saudi Red Sea resorts aims for 19m tourists by 2030

Saudi Arabia hopes to attract 19 million tourists a year to its Red Sea giga-projects and other resorts being built along the country’s west coast.  Mohammed Al Nasser, CEO of the Saudi Red Sea Authority, said it intends to issue licences for up to 60 marinas over the next two years. It recently licensed six […]

Around the Middle East

Mumtalakat's investment aims to support the expansion of Racing Force’s helmet factory in Bahrain

Mumtalakat invests in Italian motorsport safety products

Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, has invested in Italian Racing Force, the parent company of Racing Force Group (RFG), makers of motorsport safety products. The investment, made through its wholly owned subsidiary, aims to support the expansion of Racing Force’s helmet factory in Bahrain. Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, CEO of Mumtalakat, said that collaborating […]

QatarEnergy CEO and Qatar's energy minister Saad Al Kaabi. The company has secured sales of 25 million tonnes of LNG in the past year

QatarEnergy profits down by 31%

Annual profits at QatarEnergy have dropped by almost a third after gas prices fell from the highs caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The state-owned company reported net profits of QR106 billion ($29 billion) for 2023 on Wednesday, down from the QR155 billion the previous year, when the start of the conflict in Eastern Europe […]

Shoppers in the Marrakech souk, Morocco. Inflation has dropped partly due to lower prices of certain food products

Morocco lowers interest rate as inflation falls

Morocco’s central bank has reduced its benchmark interest rate to 2.75 percent, down 25 basis points – the first change in almost a year – amid falling inflation. Inflation stood at 6.6 percent in 2022 and 6.1 percent in 2023 but has returned to low levels, averaging 2.1 percent over the first five months of […]

Gas flaring at a plant in Veracruz state, Mexico. The country is one of the biggest contributors to global flaring, along with Iran, Iraq and Libya

Iran, Iraq and Libya among worst offenders on gas flaring

Environmentally ruinous flaring of gas at upstream oil and gas facilities has risen to its highest level for five years, despite pledges to end the practice, the World Bank has said. Iran, Iraq and Libya were among the biggest contributors in 2023, according to a World Bank report published on June 20. Along with six […]

'We need to be extra cautious, but... also opportunistic', says Bahrain FinTech Bay CEO Bader Sater about the country's approach to crypto

Bahrain remains cautious but crypto pursuit advances

Bahrain will not sacrifice its position as a trusted financial centre as it chases cryptocurrency millions, according to the boss of fintech incubator Bahrain FinTech Bay. Earlier this month the kingdom’s central bank gave BitOasis Bahrain, a regional crypto trading platform, a so-called Category 2 crypto-asset services licence. The regulatory approval means that the broker-dealer […]

Properties overlooking the bay in Muscat. Property prices in the capital fell more than 5 percent

Oman’s real estate sector continues to slide

Apartment prices in Oman dropped more than 17 percent in the first quarter of 2024, while villa prices rose a meagre 0.8 percent, according to the latest government figures. Residential real estate prices were down across the board quarter on quarter, including those for land. The Musandam region recorded the largest overall decline at 15.7 […]

Ooredoo ad in Doha. The company is investing $1bn to increase its data centre capacity

Qatar’s Ooredoo signs AI deal with chipmaker Nvidia

US chipmaker Nvidia has signed a deal with Qatari telecommunications provider Ooredoo Group to bring its artificial intelligence technology to five countries in the Middle East, the companies announced on Sunday.  Ooredoo will be the first company in the region to offer direct access to Nvidia’s AI and computer chips to its customers in Qatar, […]

Oman's Film City iwill provide more than 100 job opportunities for Omanis and aims to produce and export films

Oman to build $31m Film City

Oman is to build an OR12 million ($31.2 million) ‘Film City’ to boost its entertainment sector, a news report said. The project follows the outcomes of workshops held in March by the ministry of sports, culture and youth, Oman Daily Observer reported, citing a government official. The city is expected to provide more than 100 […]

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Turkey Latest

The e& stand at World Mobile Congress. The GlassHouse acquisition is its latest, following ventures in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

UAE’s e& buys Turkish cloud provider GlassHouse

The UAE telecom operator e&, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group company and Etisalat, has acquired the Turkish cloud services provider GlassHouse through its wholly owned subsidiary e& enterprise. A binding agreement has been signed between e& enterprise and Mediterra Capital, a private equity firm that provides investments in Turkey, to take over 100 percent of GlassHouse […]

Tourists among houses in Bodrum. Turkey's housing costs rose 93 percent year on year, well above the general inflation rate of 75 percent

Turkey announces plans to drop cap on rent increases

Turkey is set to remove a two-year-old cap on residential rental increases, but some analysts warn that the lifting of restrictions may spark a further rise in rents and feed into already high inflation.  On May 20 treasury minister Mehmet Şimşek announced restrictions on rental increases would be abandoned at the beginning of July, saying […]

Mubadala injects $250m to revive Turkey’s Getir

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company will invest $250 million in Turkish grocery delivery startup Getir as part of a restructuring programme that will split it into two standalone units. The first standalone business will focus on domestic online groceries and food delivery services, with Mubadala, an existing shareholder, holding the management and majority stake, Reuters […]

Shoppers choose vegetables in Istanbul; inflation means people are spending on essentials

Turkish retailers’ confidence wavers as inflation bites

Confidence is falling among Turkish retailers, according to a survey from the country’s statistics agency Turkstat. Shoppers have been scaling back on big-ticket purchases, spending instead on basic consumer goods as inflation piles pressure on household incomes. May’s business confidence report, released by Turkstat on June 24, showed sentiment in the retail sector at its […]

The new economic reform package is expected to be discussed soon in parliament, said Turkish finance minister Mehmet Şimşek

Turkey to impose minimum corporate and income taxes

Turkey has finished work on a proposed new economic reform plan, which includes a minimum corporate and income tax to increase the take from direct taxes. The package, which will be submitted to the parliament soon, proposes a minimum 15 percent corporate tax on multi-national companies with more than €750 million ($804 million) in annual […]

Egypt Latest

A money exchange centre in Cairo. The World Bank funding is intended to support private sector growth in Egypt

World Bank’s $700m push for Egypt’s private sector

The World Bank will provide $700 million in funding to Egypt to address short-term economic challenges. The development policy financing (DPF) will aid in supporting the Egyptian government’s focus towards more private sector participation. The financing will further advance structural reforms to level the playing field to support private sector growth, build macroeconomic and fiscal […]

Water is handed out to pilgrims in Mecca. Hundreds of pilgrims without a Hajj permit died during extreme heat last week Video length: 07:15

Egypt shuts down 16 travel companies after Hajj tragedy

Egypt has withdrawn the operating licences of 16 travel companies for organising unlicensed Hajj trips to Saudi Arabia. A statement from the Egyptian government said the companies would be prosecuted and fined, with the funds used to compensate pilgrims’ families for their loss.  Hundreds of Egyptians were among 1,301 people who died of exposure to […]

A floating production unit in Israel's Karish gas field in the eastern Mediterranean. Carlyle is creating a new oil and gas company to manage the field

New Carlyle entity to manage East Med gas projects

Carlyle, the Nasdaq-listed private equity company, is creating a new oil and gas company to manage recently-acquired assets in the Mediterranean hydrocarbons market. The new as yet un-named entity will be led by former BP CEO Tony Hayward and will manage a portfolio of gas-weighted exploration and production assets in Italy, Egypt and Croatia, according […]

A stall holder in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. People in Istanbul faced rises in the cost of living this year, as soaring inflation impacted wages

Cairo and Istanbul feel biggest cost of living squeeze

Dubai has become the most expensive city in the Middle East for expatriate workers, while Cairo and Istanbul were among the cities that saw the biggest rise in the cost of living this year, as soaring inflation impacted wages. Dubai, the UAE’s largest city, saw rental prices rise by about a fifth in the last […]

Features

Saudi sport

Saudi sports push ‘winning global audiences’

Saudi sports investments are winning a global audience as the kingdom tries to overcome charges of “sport washing”, a major survey of media coverage said this month. Media analytics consultancy Carma found that coverage of human rights in Saudi Arabia fell in favour of “a sports-related narrative” around the world, including in the West. The […]

Aramco adopts heat-sensing construction helmets

Saudi Aramco is deploying advanced safety helmets equipped with heat stress sensors to protect workers on some of its construction sites, a critical concern in the Gulf region’s scorching climate. The helmets, developed by Dubai and Saudi Arabia-based construction tech startup WakeCap, utilise internet-of-things (IoT) technology that monitors worker attendance, location, and safety incidents in […]

The future of DXB: airport could be turned into a city

The $35 billion plan to turn Al Maktoum International into the busiest airport in the world has everyone talking about the remaking of Dubai South. Perhaps a bigger challenge is the redevelopment of the city’s main airport – Dubai International, or DXB. DXB is near some of the city’s most densely populated neighbourhoods and the […]

Wealthy migrants to UAE boost luxuries but stir inflation

The UAE is likely to attract a new surge of ultra-rich migrants, lured by low tax rates, high-privacy settings and a luxurious lifestyle, at a time of global geopolitical upheaval and heightened anti-money laundering measures in developed countries.  But, while the wave of wealth is likely to stimulate specialised sectors of the economy, the arrivals […]

People & Lifestyle

The Villaggio Mall in Doha. Qatar's prime malls are succeeding but others are experiencing growing vacancy rates

Premium Qatar malls thrive despite online competition

Large high-end malls in Qatar are winning the favour of consumers who still choose to shop in person amid intensifying competition from the internet. However, other shopping venues are suffering from reduced footfall and growing vacancy rates. The flagship Doha Festival City announced last month that it is fully leased after clinching its 500th retail […]

A stall holder in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul. People in Istanbul faced rises in the cost of living this year, as soaring inflation impacted wages

Cairo and Istanbul feel biggest cost of living squeeze

Dubai has become the most expensive city in the Middle East for expatriate workers, while Cairo and Istanbul were among the cities that saw the biggest rise in the cost of living this year, as soaring inflation impacted wages. Dubai, the UAE’s largest city, saw rental prices rise by about a fifth in the last […]

Adult, Female, Person

Private jets to flamingos: the personal shopping lists of the super rich

The luxury e-commerce retailer Pastor & Co, which boasts it can supply clients with everything from Picasso paintings to swans, is aiming to pass $10 million in profits this year, buoyed by strong interest from the rich and famous across the Mena region. The personalised shopping service gets requests to source anything from a rare Fendi […]

Hotel franchising is a well established model in the West and is becoming more popular in the Gulf Video length: 07:12

Hotel franchising model takes off in the Gulf

Global hospitality brands are aggressively expanding across the Gulf, stepping up competition and giving disgruntled owners unprecedented freedom to choose how and by whom their hotels should be run. Some hotel owners are opting for franchising agreements and third-party management arrangements. “Operators have become more flexible when offering their brands under a franchise than they […]

A pilgrim prays on Mount Arafat, Mecca. Saudi Arabia has been enforcing a strict crackdown on performing Hajj without a permit Video length: 07:15

Hajj pilgrims feel the pinch as costs rise

The costs of Hajj are getting ever higher for pilgrims coming from around the world to perform the annual rites, which are a duty for every able-bodied Muslim to perform once in a lifetime.  Even pilgrims coming from within Saudi Arabia, for whom the costs are cheaper, are paying around SAR23,500 ($6,266) for up to […]

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

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Around the world

ADIA Hargreaves Lansdown

ADIA group raises offer for UK stock trading platform

A consortium including Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign wealth fund is poised to buy stock trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown after making an improved non-binding offer for the British company. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s (ADIA) wholly owned subsidiary Platinum Ivy has teamed up with private equity firms CVC and Nordic Capital to offer £11.40 ($14.51) per share […]

Two companies are dominant in the lithium industry – Chile’s SQM and US business Albemarle. In 2023, each commanded about 20 percent of global supply

Saudi Arabia targets Chile for lithium investments

Saudi Arabia’s mining minister Bandar Alkhorayef will visit Chile next month to negotiate a deal to secure lithium to support the kingdom’s ambition to expand its electric vehicle (EV) sector, a news report said. Alkhorayef will meet with his counterpart in Santiago, Reuters reported, quoting a Chilean government statement. The report said the two officials will discuss […]

Turkey foreign property sales

Foreigners turning back on Turkish real estate

Foreign buyers are increasingly shunning the Turkish property market, wary of high prices, the expensive cost of living and a less welcoming environment for overseas real estate investors. There were only 2,064 residential units sold to foreign buyers in May, 35 percent down on the same month last year, data issued by the state statistics […]