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Top stories

hasan al fardan

Fintechs having ‘no impact’, says remittances CEO

Fintechs are no threat to the UAE-based remittances company Al Fardan Exchange, its CEO Hasan Al Fardan has declared. Al Fardan said there was no intention to drop fees to compete with finance technology startups. To date, he said, fintechs have had “no material impact on our business or our operations. We are hitting record […]

Three Gulf region healthcare sector IPOs in the first half of 2024 were worth a combined $788 million

Healthcare sector props up Gulf IPOs in 2024

The healthcare sector has emerged as a significant contributor of initial public offerings in the Gulf region during the first half of 2024, according to a report by the Kuwait Financial Centre, known as Markaz.  This comes despite an overall decline in new listings. However, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hokail Academy Specialized Digital Polyclinics Company cancelled its […]

Population growth in the UAE is driving the real estate industry in areas such as Dubai and thus increasing interest in property tech

Middle East property tech draws venture capital interest

Venture capital is pouring into the Middle Eastern property technology industry, buoyed by continued growth in regional real estate. Property tech offerings encompass listing websites, rental management services and investment products, among others. In the first half of 2024 startups in the sector became the number one target for early-stage funding, beating fintech, which has […]

Trending

  1. Non-oil discounting brings Saudi inflation down

  2. PepsiCo growth defies Middle East boycott of Western brands

  3. Saudi Arabia’s PIF hires banks for Nupco’s $1bn IPO

  4. Henkel expands Gulf presence with Riyadh factory

  5. UAE issues visas for Nigerians after two-year hiatus

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

Indian cricket fans during a match against Pakistan in London. The sport could be Saudi Arabia's next major investment

Anyone for cricket? Saudi Arabia’s next big sports play

Saudi Arabia is aggressively courting much-needed foreign investment to commercialise its emerging sport sector, part of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify from its dependence on wealth from hydrocarbons. Basim Ibrahim, director of sport investment development at Saudi’s Ministry of Investment, said the kingdom, which has already put its football clubs up for sale, is […]

Turkey slashes current account gap by 84%

Turkey has cut its current account gap by more than 80 percent in a year, with improved trade data and strong portfolio inflows.  However, a slowing of foreign direct investment points to underlying caution by outsiders. The current account deficit for May was $1.2 billion, a report issued by the Turkish Central Bank on July […]

Logistics deals keep Kuwaiti real estate ticking over

A near doubling in the value of logistics deals drove an otherwise struggling real estate sector in Kuwait in the first six months of this year, as the Gulf state’s non-oil business activity keeps growing. The latest Ministry of Justice data, out this week, showed the value of transactions linked to warehouses totaled KD16.8 million […]

UK investors need to ‘change mindset’ on UAE economy

The possibility of a free trade agreement between the UK and the GCC – worth as much as £1.6 billion ($2 billion) a year – should prompt UK investors to reconsider their preconceptions about the economic approach of the UAE and its fellow members of the Gulf bloc. Bradley Jones from the UK-UAE Business Council […]

AI regulations double investment costs, says Mashreq Bank

Differing rules surrounding artificial intelligence and the lack of a global regulatory environment is doubling the cost of new investments and complicating business expansion, a leading UAE financial institution has revealed. Amith Rajan, executive vice-president at Mashreq Bank, told AGBI that a “patchwork” AI regulatory landscape has prevented the bank from entering some countries, and […]

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UAE latest

hasan al fardan

Fintechs having ‘no impact’, says remittances CEO

Fintechs are no threat to the UAE-based remittances company Al Fardan Exchange, its CEO Hasan Al Fardan has declared. Al Fardan said there was no intention to drop fees to compete with finance technology startups. To date, he said, fintechs have had “no material impact on our business or our operations. We are hitting record […]

The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after Dubai's Emirates suspended flights due to delayed repatriation of funds

UAE issues visas for Nigerians after two-year hiatus

The UAE government has started issuing visas for Nigerians after a halt of nearly two years. The governments of the UAE and Nigeria reached an agreement to resume travel between the two countries, Nigeria’s information minister said in a post on social messaging platform X. The UAE stopped issuing visas to Nigerians in 2022 after […]

More than 330 businesses are expected to operate from DP World's National Industries Park, which is set to open in Q4 2025

Aldar’s new Dubai logistics park to break ground in Q4

Aldar Properties, an Abu Dhabi-listed developer, will break ground on a new logistics park within DP World’s 21-sq km National Industries Park (NIP) in Dubai in the fourth quarter of 2024. The 1.55 million sq ft grade-A logistics park will cater to the emirate’s high demand for warehousing facilities. It will comprise three modular buildings […]

EGSH

Dubai launches one-stop hub to streamline government services

People in Dubai can now obtain an Emirates ID, register a company, open a bank account and more under one roof following the opening of the Emirates Government Services Hub (EGSH). Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of the Dubai Royal family, EGSH allows clients to access all essential […]

In association with
Adnoc liquid gas

Adnoc Gas awards $550m Northern Emirates pipeline contract

Adnoc Gas has awarded a $550 million engineering procurement and construction contract for the next phase of Estidama, its natural gas pipeline network project. It has also transferred the ownership of Estidama, worth $2.4 billion, to its parent company, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The contract, awarded to NMDC Energy of Abu Dhabi and Galfar […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Saudi inflation June 2024. Clothing and footwear prices in Saudi Arabia were down 3.2 percent year on year in June, and 0.2 percent month on month

Non-oil discounting brings Saudi inflation down

Saudi Arabia’s year-on-year consumer inflation rate fell to a low of 1.5 percent as non-oil businesses competed over prices but the wholesale price index remained at a high of 3.2 percent, reflecting high prices globally.  The consumer price index was down from 2.7 percent in June 2023. The CPI was also down from the 1.6 […]

Saudi fishing trawlers

Saudi fishing industry bolstered by support plan

Saudi Arabia’s fishing industry has landed a financial support programme from the government as part of plans to develop and safeguard the sector. Fish production in the kingdom increased 80 percent in 2023 year on year to 214,600 metric tonnes. The goal is to increase that by 7 percent to 230,000 tonnes this year. The […]

Saipem signed a 12-year framework agreement in 2020 with Aramco to cover onshore engineering and construction activities

Italy’s Saipem awarded Aramco contracts worth $500m

Saipem, an Italian oil services company, has been awarded contracts for two offshore projects worth $500 million from Saudi Aramco as part of its existing long-term agreement with the Saudi oil giant. The first project’s work scope involves engineering, procurement, construction and installation of a crude trunkline for the Abu Safa field. The second project involves […]

PIF subsidiary Nupco was established in 2009 with capital of SAR 1.5 billion

Saudi Arabia’s PIF hires banks for Nupco’s $1bn IPO

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has hired banks for the initial public offering of its wholly owned subsidiary, National Unified Procurement Company (Nupco), a media report said. The sovereign wealth fund has appointed global and local bankers, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and SNB Capital, to manage Nupco’s flotation, Bloomberg reported, […]

A Henkel factory in Düsseldorf, Germany. The facility in Riyadh will manufacture products under the Pert brand

Henkel expands Gulf presence with Riyadh factory

German consumer goods group Henkel has opened a beauty care production facility in Riyadh amid a localisation drive by the Saudi government. The facility in Riyadh will produce a range of products under the Pert brand, including shampoos, conditioners and other specialised items. No details were given on the production capacity and cost of the facility. […]

Around the Middle East

Almost 300,000 European visitors contributed to Oman's hotel revenues growing by more than 10 percent

Oman hotel revenues increase more than 10%

Hotel revenues across Oman were up by more than 10 percent in the first five months of 2024, fuelled by an increasing number of Asian and European visitors to the sultanate. Three-to-five star hotels reported revenues of OR108 million ($281 million) at the end of May, the latest data from the National Centre for Statistics […]

Ball, Football, Soccer

Qatar’s beIN to pay €100m to broadcast French football games

Qatar broadcaster beIN has agreed to pay €100 million ($109 million) annually for the rights to broadcast one French Ligue 1 football match per week, according to a news report. The sports channel is paying a premium per game as its package includes the most sought-after fixtures, the Financial Times reported, citing informed sources. DAZN, […]

Omani CO2 44.01

Amazon fund invests in Omani startup

Amazon is among a group of investors backing the Omani CO2 mineralisation startup 44.01 with $37 million in fresh funding. 44.01 won the 2022 Earthshot Prize for its development of a technique that harnesses the natural power of mineralisation in peridotite, a mineral that is found in abundance in the sultanate. The Series A funding […]

A view of Unesco World Heritage Site Aït Benhaddou. Morocco is aiming to attract more than 17.5 million tourists by 2026

Morocco nears 2024 tourism target as numbers surge 14%

Morocco has almost achieved 50 percent of its tourism target for 2024, according to a news report. The country received 7.4 million tourists in the first six months of 2024, an increase of 14 percent year on year, Morocco World News reported, citing tourism ministry data. The annual target has been set at 15 million. […]

According to the US International Trade Administration, Kuwait holds about 7 percent of global oil reserves and has a current production capacity of about 3 million bpd

‘Huge’ oil discovery could change the game for Kuwait

Kuwait has announced a significant discovery of light oil and associated natural gas in its offshore Al-Nokhatha field. The state-owned Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) – a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) – reported on Sunday that the field, located east of the Kuwaiti island of Failaka, holds approximately 2.1 billion barrels of light oil […]

The Chittagong ship-breaking yard in Bangladesh. The industry is estimated to provide at least 50% of the country's steel

Bahrain signs ship recycling deal with Maersk

Bahrain has signed an agreement with Danish shipping and logistics company A.P. Møller-Mærsk to create a ship recycling plant in the country.  Maersk – the parent company of APM Terminals Bahrain and operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP) – will supply old vessels to the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company, which will dismantle […]

Non-oil sector growth in Kuwait and the surge in warehousing activity may have a 'delayed ripple effect' on other real estate segments

Logistics deals keep Kuwaiti real estate ticking over

A near doubling in the value of logistics deals drove an otherwise struggling real estate sector in Kuwait in the first six months of this year, as the Gulf state’s non-oil business activity keeps growing. The latest Ministry of Justice data, out this week, showed the value of transactions linked to warehouses totaled KD16.8 million […]

Investcorp owns and manages more than 16,500 beds across 25 student housing investments

Investcorp buys US student housing assets for $160m

Investcorp, Bahrain’s alternative asset manager, has acquired two student housing properties in the US for $160 million, as university enrolment numbers surge. The two properties, the University of Florida in Gainesville and the University of Texas at Austin, have a combined 914 beds. The two universities are ranked among the top 10 public universities in […]

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Turkey Latest

Turkey deficit factory

Turkey slashes current account gap by 84%

Turkey has cut its current account gap by more than 80 percent in a year, with improved trade data and strong portfolio inflows.  However, a slowing of foreign direct investment points to underlying caution by outsiders. The current account deficit for May was $1.2 billion, a report issued by the Turkish Central Bank on July […]

The Byd booth at the Auto Shanghai show in April 2023. The new Byd factory in Turkey will boost its access to the EU

Chinese EV maker Byd to open $1bn plant in Turkey

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Byd will construct a $1 billion plant in Turkey, according to a news report. The agreement was signed between the Chinese company and Turkey’s industry and technology ministry on Monday in the presence of Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan. Bloomberg reported citing officials that the announcement planned on Monday. The electric […]

The average value of Turkish contractors' projects increased to $92.3 million in the first half of 2024, up from $65 million in 2023

Turkish contractors bag $7.6bn worth of overseas projects

Turkish contractors have started work on overseas projects valued at $7.6 billion in the first half of 2024, according to official data. The number of projects reached 82 in the January-June period, state-run Anadolu Agency said, quoting trade ministry data. The average project value increased to $92 million in the first half of 2024, up […]

Turkey manufacturing textile factory

Turkish manufacturers struggle to regain momentum

Turkey’s powerful manufacturing sector is still pessimistic about the country’s short-term economic prospects, with new orders slowing further and reduced employment levels, a closely watched survey of confidence has revealed.  There were, however, some hopes that a softening of inflation could herald better sales later in the year, the survey found.  The Istanbul Chamber of […]

Tesla introduced a Model Y variant in Turkey with a single motor and power output under 160KW

Tesla outpaces Togg with Turkey-specific model

Tesla sales in Turkey surpassed those of the local brand Togg in June, following the introduction of a model tailored for the Turkish market. The US electric vehicle (EV) maker sold 2,670 units of the Model Y RWD sport-utility vehicle (SUV), designed to avoid high taxes on vehicles exceeding 160 kilowatts of power, the Daily […]

Egypt Latest

Company executives at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new container terminal at Egypt's Ain Sokhna port

Expansion work begins at Egyptian Red Sea port

Construction has commenced on expanding a container terminal at Egypt’s Ain Sokhna Port on the Red Sea. Red Sea Containers Terminals, jointly owned by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports, France’s CMA Terminals and China’s Cosco Shipping Ports, has appointed Cairo-headquartered Edecs as the main contractor to work on constructing the infrastructure, yards and buildings.   The […]

Egypt arrears foreign companies power cuts students

Egypt pays $1.3bn arrears to foreign oil and gas companies

Egypt cleared $1.3 billion of outstanding payments to foreign oil and gas companies operating in the country in June and has established a plan to reimburse the remaining dues within the next month, according to the government. The payment accounted for about 20 to 25 percent of the arrears owed to the companies, Prime Minister […]

Egypt recorded its highest foreign exchange reserves ever in June

IMF postpones $820m Egypt loan meeting

An executive meeting between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss the North African country’s next loan instalment has been postponed to the end of the month. “The IMF executive board meeting on Egypt’s third review under the extended fund facility has been rescheduled to July 29th,” the IMF’s Egypt mission chief, Ivanna […]

The new mixed-use project in Cairo will overlook Warraq Island in the river Nile

UAE developer to build $500m project in Egypt 

KSH Investment Company, a UAE-based real estate developer, is planning to build an EGP24 billion ($500 million) mixed-use project in Cairo. The deal, finalised with Egypt’s Safwat Kaliouby Group, involves the development of three residential and commercial towers along with a five-star hotel in an area overlooking the Nile’s Warraq Island, Egyptian state-owned Mena news […]

Features

Alula Sharaan

AlUla plans Nabataean resort carved into Saudi mountains

Saudi Arabia is spending around $15 billion on the ancient site of AlUla, including a resort for the super-rich chiselled into the face of its rock formations and mountains.  AlUla is the site of the pre-Islamic Nabataean kingdom that was based in Jordan’s Petra. The resort, called Sharaan, will include 38 suites “carved into sandstone […]

Pezeshkian has a strong mandate – and a slew of problems

It was not supposed to be this way. Masoud Pezeshkian, the sole reformist candidate, has won the second round of Iranian presidential elections to replace Ebrahim Raisi, and the fears of conservatives in the Iranian regime have come to pass.   Conventionally, conservative candidates withdraw at the last minute ahead of a first round of voting, […]

Gulf IPOs: what companies must do to go public

Owners of private Gulf companies mulling going public should ensure their businesses have a compelling narrative to tell investors and clear separation between shareholders and management, according to the chief financial officer of Dubai-based retailer Spinneys. In May the supermarket chain became the first company registered in the offshore Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) to […]

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 […]

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 […]

People & Lifestyle

Dubai Humanitarian hosts a community of around 80 members comprised of UN organisations, non-profits and NGOs Video length: 03:25

Dubai Humanitarian and the Mena aid challenge

The Mena region requires nearly $14 billion in humanitarian aid, according to the UN. Dubai Humanitarian, formerly known as International Humanitarian City, plays a vital role in bringing together aid organisations and mobilising both funds and relief to countries affected by conflicts and climate emergencies. Dubai Humanitarian sends 1,300 dispatches of aid worth up to […]

Patients from the GCC are travelling to India, Thailand or Egypt for cheaper medical treatment

Affordable healthcare in the GCC: a prescription for profit

The GCC’s affordable healthcare market is ripe for investment, research suggests, as patients are forced to travel to India, Thailand or Egypt to find cheap treatment. Low-income inhabitants make up about 38 percent of the Gulf’s total population, according to Mansoor Ahmed, executive director for healthcare at Colliers Middle East in Dubai. The proportion ranges […]

A cinema in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Demand for non-English and Arabic content is growing rapidly in the Middle East

Arabic films gain star status in Middle East cinema

An Emirati family’s life spirals out of control when the behaviour of their son Ahmed, a once softly spoken, confident young boy changes – with terrifying consequences. As his actions become increasingly unpredictable, the lives of those around him are placed in serious danger. Some counsel medical intervention, but the boy’s mother Maryam is convinced […]

Middle East carriers have hundreds of aircraft on order – and need pilots to fly them

Middle East airlines in race to recruit as pilot shortage bites

A shortage of pilots is threatening the ambitions of the Middle East’s growing aviation industry, analysts have warned, forcing airlines to bolster their recruitment efforts. The global industry will be short nearly 80,000 pilots by 2032, according to management consultancy Oliver Wyman. The Middle East is projected to account for up to 18,000 of that […]

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 […]

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Around the world

renewables target dam

World is off track to meet Cop28 renewables goal

The world is far from reaching its 2030 renewables target, the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) said on Thursday. Countries committed at the Cop28 summit in Dubai last year to treble renewables capacity in order to limit global warming to 1.5C. To stay on course global capacity growth needs to accelerate to a minimum rate […]