EXCLUSIVE Giga-projects PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has ordered deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, slowing projects and triggering layoffs, people familiar with the matter have told AGBI. The sovereign wealth fund at the heart of the government’s economic transformation strategy is mandating a minimum 20 percent reduction in 2025 […] March 24, 2025
Finance Umm Al Qura shares soar as more Saudi IPOs approved Shares in Saudi Arabia’s Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction surged 30 percent on Monday, the maximum allowed on a first day of trading. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) also approved another three companies for initial public offerings. Within minutes of the opening of the Saudi Exchange, after Umm Al Qura raised SAR1.96 billion […] March 24, 2025
Economy Regulators take action to stabilise Turkish markets after arrests Efforts by Turkish regulators to stabilise the country’s money markets, which were thrown into turmoil by the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul last week, appear to be having some effect, with losses on the country’s stock market narrowing. Markets were rocked and political unrest ensued after the arrest and detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a […] March 24, 2025
OpinionTRADEIn Trump’s America, the Gulf sees a partner who speaks their language on almost every topicFrank Kane, Editor-at-Large
OpinionLeisure & HospitalityDuring Ramadan, hotels finally get the chance to refine their offerings behind the scenesCarla Falcon, Managing consultant, PKF Hospitality
OpinionECONOMYIn courting Trump it is a good idea to boast about the top line without sweating the detailsValentina Pasquali, Senior editor, AGBI
Aviation Narrow-body aircraft to push growth of Middle East fleets Gulf Arab airlines and other Middle East carriers will expand their fleets at almost double the rate of the global average over the next ten years, industry experts say. They will also increase the share of narrow-body planes over twin-aisle aircraft. Globally, fleet size is expected grow by 2.8 percent per year over the next […]
Analysis Renewable Energy Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030. […]
Economy Turkish political uncertainty casts economic cloud The detention of a leading opposition figure in Turkey just days before he was to be named as a candidate in presidential elections is likely to set back the country’s campaign against sky-high interest rates and persistent inflation, analysts have warned. Ekram İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul and leading member of the opposition Republican People’s […]
Agriculture Relief for Moroccan agriculture after heavy rainfall Morocco has reported so much rainfall this year that it is filling dams across the country to levels not seen in at least three years. That augurs well for the agricultural sector which accounts for about one-sixth of the economy and is a component of exports and therefore foreign exchange. The economy declined last year […]
Markets High hopes for Kuwait reforms lift its stock market Kuwait’s stock market is the Gulf’s top performer this year as local and foreign investors bet that economic reforms and increased infrastructure spending will bolster corporate profits. Investors seem more confident Kuwait will make good on its long-awaited plans following the suspension of parliament last May. Parliament and the government were often at loggerheads, derailing […]
Retail Majid Al Futtaim reports 6% profit drop as sales slow Shopping mall owner Majid Al Futtaim has reported a drop in profit for 2024, attributing the decline to lower retail revenue, a higher tax burden and currency devaluation in some of its international markets. Total revenue fell 2 percent to AED33.9 billion ($9.2 billion) and profit dropped 6 percent to AED2.5 billion in 2024, MAF […] March 24, 2025
Media & Advertising Warner Bros Discovery buys 30% stake in OSN Streaming Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has bought a stake in a subsidiary of Dubai-based satellite television company Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) Group, in an attempt to tap into the rapidly expanding Middle Eastern streaming market. The US-based media and entertainment conglomerate will acquire a 30 percent stake in OSN Streaming for KD17.5 million ($57 million), Kuwait […] March 24, 2025
Renewable Energy UAE’s Masdar expands renewable energy footprint Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar invested nearly AED30 billion ($8.2 billion) in equity last year and secured more than AED16.5 billion in project financing across nine countries. The company, which is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100 gigawatts by 2030, has developed and partnered in projects in more than 40 countries, the […] March 24, 2025
Oil & Gas UAE loses out as India opts for cheaper Russian naphtha The UAE, led by Abu Dhabi, has lost its position as India’s biggest supplier of the refined crude oil product naphtha as discounted Russian cargoes flood the market. Naphtha has many uses including as a precursor to gasoline and other liquid fuels, and as solvents or diluents for paints and the rubber industry. India is […] March 24, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar weighs stake in TotalEnergies’ Portuguese assets Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is exploring the acquisition of a stake in French oil major TotalEnergies’ Portuguese renewables assets, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Any deal would likely be done through Saeta Yield, the green energy company Masdar bought last year from Canada’s Brookfield, one of the sources said. Reuters could not […] March 24, 2025
Finance Umm Al Qura shares soar as more Saudi IPOs approved Shares in Saudi Arabia’s Umm Al Qura for Development and Construction surged 30 percent on Monday, the maximum allowed on a first day of trading. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) also approved another three companies for initial public offerings. Within minutes of the opening of the Saudi Exchange, after Umm Al Qura raised SAR1.96 billion […] March 24, 2025
EXCLUSIVE Giga-projects PIF spending cuts slow giga-projects and trigger layoffs Saudi Arabia’s $925 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) has ordered deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, slowing projects and triggering layoffs, people familiar with the matter have told AGBI. The sovereign wealth fund at the heart of the government’s economic transformation strategy is mandating a minimum 20 percent reduction in 2025 […] March 24, 2025
Energy Orascom wins $2.6bn contract for Saudi power plant A consortium comprising Egypt-listed Orascom Construction and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas has signed a contract to build a 3 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The consortium signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth around $2.6 billion for expanding the Qurayyah independent power project, Orascom said in a statement on Monday. In […] March 24, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco buys Peruvian fuel distributor Saudi Aramco has agreed to buy fuel distributor Primax, which has operations in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, Peruvian newspaper Gestion reported, citing sources familiar with the deal. Primax, owned by Peruvian conglomerate Grupo Romero, has 2,185 gas stations in the three South American countries. The deal with Aramco included a payment of around $3.5 billion, Gestion […] March 24, 2025
Finance International investors target Saudi IPOs and smaller caps Emerging market investors are increasingly targeting Saudi Arabia’s smaller listed companies and initial public offerings, because of their better stock price performance versus their bigger peers. Since early 2020, foreign investors have been net buyers of almost $34 billion of Saudi Arabian equities, a report by the Dubai-based consultancy Iridium Advisors has revealed. Much of […] March 24, 2025
Construction China asked by Kuwait to build housing for foreign labourers Kuwait has asked China to appoint a construction company to build six projects to house 220,000 foreign labourers, after accidents that claimed the lives of overseas workers because of improper conditions. The plan has been on the cards for several years but gained momentum last year after a fire in a labour housing complex in […] March 24, 2025
Banking & Finance Gulf Bank to pay dividend despite profit fall Shareholders of Gulf Bank, which trades on the Kuwaiti stock exchange, have approved the payment of an annual dividend and bonus shares for 2024 despite a drop in profit for the year. Shareholders on April 10 will be entitled to 10 percent cash dividends and 5 percent bonus shares, the lender said in a statement. […] March 24, 2025
Industry China’s GWM to build its first car plant in Algeria Great Wall Motor (GWM), one of China’s 10 biggest car manufacturers, plans to build its first factory in Algeria, joining others in the country including Fiat, Peugeot and Kia. GWM will build the car assembly plant as a joint venture with an Algerian partner, Elkhabar newspaper and other Algerian publications reported, without identifying the partner. A […] March 21, 2025
Economy Prime minister of Tunisia sacked by president The president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, has sacked his prime minister, Kamel Maddouri, less than a year after Maddouri’s appointment, as the country’s economy falters and it tries to cope with a worsening flood of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Saied named Sara Zaafarani, the minister of equipment and housing since 2021, as Maddouri’s replacement. Zaafarani, […] March 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ sets out new oil cut plan to offset excess output Opec+ on Thursday issued a new schedule for seven member nations to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above-agreed levels. This will more than overtake the monthly production hikes the group plans to introduce next month. The plan will represent monthly cuts of between 189,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 435,000 bpd, […] March 21, 2025
Aviation Qatar airport expansion boosts capacity to 65 million Qatar’s Hamad International Airport’s annual passenger capacity has reached 65 million passengers, following an expansion plan started in 2018. The terminal area has expanded by 14 percent to cover 845,000sqm, adding 17 new boarding gates to reach 62, the Government Communications Office said in a statement. The new concourses (D and E) will boost flight […] March 21, 2025
Mining Gulf investors in talks to buy stake in US copper project Middle East investors are in talks with HudBay Minerals to buy a stake of as much as 30 percent in the Canadian company’s US copper project, a news report said. The stake sale in HudBay Mineral’s flagship Copper World project in Arizona has drawn interest from investors in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Japan, Bloomberg […] March 21, 2025
Analysis Markets Foreign investors still underweight on Gulf stocks International investors have pumped more than $60 billion into Gulf stocks over the past five years but their share of ownership is still relatively low, putting into question the success of GCC states’ economic diversification policies. Governments in the world’s largest oil-producing region have long sought to increase foreign direct investment into their economies and […] March 21, 2025
Economy Regulators take action to stabilise Turkish markets after arrests Efforts by Turkish regulators to stabilise the country’s money markets, which were thrown into turmoil by the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul last week, appear to be having some effect, with losses on the country’s stock market narrowing. Markets were rocked and political unrest ensued after the arrest and detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a […] March 24, 2025
Finance Turkey central bank rate hike fails to calm nervous markets Turkey’s central bank has raised its overnight lending rate, a move designed to tighten liquidity and reassure markets it is prepared to intervene in response to financial instability stemming from the arrest this week of a leading political opposition figure. The move has so far failed to settle the markets. The detention of İstanbul mayor Ekram […] March 21, 2025
Economy Turkish political uncertainty casts economic cloud The detention of a leading opposition figure in Turkey just days before he was to be named as a candidate in presidential elections is likely to set back the country’s campaign against sky-high interest rates and persistent inflation, analysts have warned. Ekram İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul and leading member of the opposition Republican People’s […] March 20, 2025
Markets Istanbul mayor’s arrest sends Turkish markets crashing Markets in Turkey were thrown into turmoil on Wednesday after the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading political opposition figure, with the stock exchange, lira and bonds all recording sharp losses. İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, was expected to be named on Sunday as the Republican People’s Party candidate for Turkey’s next presidential election. He […] March 19, 2025
Analysis Oil & Gas Final kink obstructs reopening of Iraq-Turkey pipeline Iraq’s oil pipeline through Turkey – which has been closed for two years – is not just a pipeline. It raises a cornucopia of issues: declining Russian oil exports to Turkey, US pressure on Iraq to stop illicit Iraqi oil exports to Iran, peace with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey, how […] March 17, 2025
Energy Orascom wins $2.6bn contract for Saudi power plant A consortium comprising Egypt-listed Orascom Construction and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas has signed a contract to build a 3 gigawatt gas-fired power plant in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The consortium signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth around $2.6 billion for expanding the Qurayyah independent power project, Orascom said in a statement on Monday. In […] March 24, 2025
Manufacturing China to invest in solar panel glass production in Egypt A Chinese company will reportedly invest $700 million to establish a solar panel glass manufacturing facility in Egypt. Hong Kong-listed Xinyi Glass will develop the project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in two phases, the Egypt Today newspaper reported. The facility is expected to produce 1.5 million tonnes of solar panel glass and 1.1 […] March 21, 2025
Markets Cairo bank EFG to list its buy-now, pay-later unit Egypt’s EFG Holding will list its buy-now, pay-later subsidiary on the Egyptian stock exchange as part of a restructuring process, the bank has announced. As part of the restructuring plan, the Cairo-listed investment bank intends to pay its 2024 profit by distributing a 20.5 percent stake in U Consumer Finance, known by its brand name, […] March 20, 2025
Banking & Finance Emirates NBD downplays reports of Egyptian acquisition Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has refuted media reports that it is undertaking due diligence on a state-owned Egyptian bank ahead of potentially buying a stake in the lender. Last week, Kuwaiti and Egyptian media published articles detailing how Emirates NBD – which has an Egyptian subsidiary – had begun examining the books […] March 18, 2025
SPECIAL REPORT Trade Bolstering Egypt’s trade with Africa Egypt's portfolio of multilateral trade deals includes the largest continental free trade agreement in the world. We look at how it can do more business in Africa – a market of 1.5 billion people March 18, 2025 In association with
Analysis Oil & Gas Final kink obstructs reopening of Iraq-Turkey pipeline Iraq’s oil pipeline through Turkey – which has been closed for two years – is not just a pipeline. It raises a cornucopia of issues: declining Russian oil exports to Turkey, US pressure on Iraq to stop illicit Iraqi oil exports to Iran, peace with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey, how […]
SPECIAL REPORT Trade Bolstering Egypt’s trade with Africa Egypt's portfolio of multilateral trade deals includes the largest continental free trade agreement in the world. We look at how it can do more business in Africa – a market of 1.5 billion people In association with
Analysis Finance Growth-stage investment heats up as Gulf IPOs gain traction Global investors are increasingly vying for stakes in later-stage Gulf startups, betting on the region’s economic expansion and stronger exit opportunities, as the regional IPO markets gain momentum. The region, long overlooked for growth-stage capital – minority investments in established companies aimed at accelerating expansion – is witnessing a surge of interest from giants such […]
Analysis Employment Barriers remain high for women seeking jobs in the Middle East A “shocking” lack of care facilities for the elderly, few options for childcare, unsafe transport and poor access to credit all combine to make it hard for even highly educated women in the Middle East and North Africa to progress in their careers. That is the belief of Hela Cheikhrouhou, a senior official with the […]
Retail Chinese car makers target UAE’s Ramadan bargain hunters Chinese car makers look set to win big over traditional manufacturers from the US, Japan and Europe among Ramadan bargain hunters in the UAE this year. For years, Japanese, American, and European carmakers have relied on Ramadan promotions, offering free insurance, extended warranties and zero percent financing, to increase sales. But buyers, squeezed by inflation, […]
Opinion Employment New UAE gratuity scheme could leave staff worse off Replacing end-of-service benefit with a defined contribution fund could cost expat workers thousands
Opinion Food & Drink Rising prices open door for Saudi Arabia to lead coffee market With its favourable topography and climate, the Arabian Peninsula has the potential to be a major producer
Analysis Food & Drink Dubai restaurants risk out-pricing customers on alcohol costs The cost of eating out in Dubai’s restaurants is rising, especially if you’re washing your meal down with an alcoholic drink. Last year, Dubai was named the third-most expensive city in the world for a half-litre of draught beer at an average of $10.89, according to price comparison website Numbeo. Qatar was number one, followed […]
Analysis Tourism Moroccan tourism startups build momentum ahead of World Cup Startup innovation and entrepreneurship are helping to fuel growth in Morocco’s tourism industry. The sector’s importance to the economy is increasing as the country prepares to co-host the Fifa World Cup in 2030. Morocco welcomed 17.4 million international tourists in 2024, a 20 percent increase on 2023, the latest data from the UN World Tourism […]
Opinion Media & Advertising What’s in a (badly spelt) brand name? Brands – and their branding and PR agencies – like to feel special
Analysis Health Tech specialists tap into Gulf’s market of the sleep deprived People in the Gulf are among the worst sleepers in the world, research has found – and that makes the region a rousing proposition for sleep-aid businesses such as the US pair Whoop and Eight Sleep. A survey of 2,727 people across the GCC, published last month, found that only half manage to sleep for […]
Opinion Leisure & Hospitality Sotheby’s first Saudi auction: a test of Gulf’s market potential The 150 lots will feature everything from Picasso to Hermès handbags, at prices up to $1.5m
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 […]
Oil & Gas Opec+ hesitant on oil output rise amid US sanctions Opec+ is debating whether to raise oil output in April as planned or freeze it, as its members struggle to read the global supply picture because of fresh US sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and Russia, eight Opec+ sources said. Opec+ usually confirms its supply policy one month in advance to have time to allocate crude […]
Agriculture UAE’s Aqua Bridge to build aquaculture farm in India A UAE aquaculture company linked to the ruling Al-Maktoum family of Dubai has agreed to develop an aquaculture farm and research centre in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at an initial cost of $461 million. Aqua Bridge Group, whose chairman is Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, said the partnership project in the […]
Trade InvestSaudi to open second US office in Miami Saudi Arabia’s investment promotion authority, InvestSaudi, will establish its second office in the United States in Miami to target flows to and from North and South America. Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi investment minister, made the announcement on Thursday at the Future Investment Initiative summit in the South Florida city. “By selecting Miami as our […]
Oil & Gas Brazil joins Opec+ oil producers’ group Brazil, the largest oil producer in South America, has officially joined the Opec+ group of more than 20 countries that attempts to manage global oil output. The participation formalises an initial announcement in November 2023, a statement by Opec said. Brazil’s membership will be limited to the Opec+ Charter of Cooperation, a permanent forum between […]
