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Morocco cannabis

Legal cannabis offers Morocco a route into Europe

The King of Morocco, Mohammed Vl, has taken the unprecedented step of pardoning more than 4,800 illegal cannabis farmers in the north of his country.  Mohammed El Guerrouj, the head of the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis-Related Activities (Anrac), said the decision was made to encourage farmers to grow cannabis legally and to […]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 11, 2024. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

The huge ambitions of PIF come at vast expense

The scale of the holdings is vast and the ambition is huge. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was the world’s highest-spending state-owned investor in the first half of 2024, according to Global SWF, a consultancy.   It is due to raise its annual spending to $70 billion in 2025, a year earlier than previously announced, according […]

Oman needs three listed companies with market caps above $2.19bn to get on MSCI’s Emerging Markets index. OQEP could be one

Oil IPO is latest step towards Oman’s emerging market status

An Omani state oil company’s $2 billion initial public offering will boost the sultanate’s chances of eventually being reclassified as an emerging market by the world’s leading stock index providers. If achieved, Oman’s blue-chips will receive sizeable inflows from passive funds that track the MSCI and FTSE emerging market benchmarks, increasing bourse turnover and likely […]

Trending

  1. Egypt plans to restore full gas output in 2025

  2. Second-half slide expected for Saudi petrochemical industry

  3. QIA looks at investments in Australia and Asia

  4. G42 links with Nvidia to launch climate tech lab

  5. Kuwait’s Alshaya delays Starbucks franchise stake sale

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

‘Bot traders’ defy Opec and determine the price of oil

Oil has been trading at its lowest levels in a year, posing a severe challenge to Opec in its efforts to impose a floor on prices. But analysts say that speculative financial players are also driving price determination, alongside traders who study the fundamentals of supply and demand. Opec has voiced frustration at what it […]

Ankara’s twin tech challenge to woo foreign experts and keep its own

Turkey wants to persuade foreign tech entrepreneurs and innovators to move to the country with a scheme providing a fast-tracked business permit and residency visa, as it seeks to position itself as a leading international technology hub.  Ankara has already made a call to tech-savvy travellers through a programme launched in April offering an easy […]

Dubai AI leaders call for global regulations

Digital economy leaders in the UAE called for the global unification of artificial intelligence regulations at the launch of DMCC’s AI Centre last week.  Dubai issued a universal blueprint for AI earlier this year, but a unified framework governing the growing AI technology sector is still lacking.  “How can you disregard the artificial intelligence sector […]

Oil production in Libya returns, but full recovery is uncertain

Oil production in politically divided Libya is slowly recovering, after a tumultuous August when fields across the country were shut down. But crude exports remain disrupted, and government revenues are still dampened, amid concerns over prolonged instability. Libyan factions failed last week to resolve crises over the central bank’s powers and oil revenues. Crude output […]

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UAE latest

G42 Nvidia

G42 links with Nvidia to launch climate tech lab

The UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 has formed a partnership with Nvidia, the US computer chip giant, to set up a climate tech laboratory in Abu Dhabi, aimed at better predicting the weather using AI. In what is Nvidia’s first partnership with the UAE company, the lab will “serve as a hub for research and […]

Sharjah is seen as a more affordable alternative to Dubai, making its real estate attractive

Foreign investors help Sharjah real estate thrive

Sharjah’s real estate sector recorded 22 percent growth in the number of foreign investors during the first half of the year compared with the same period last year, attracting investors from 100 different nationalities. The number of properties traded by foreign investors in the emirate during the first six months of this year reached almost […]

As of January 2024, women held less than 11 percent of board seats in the UAE

UAE company boards must appoint at least one woman

Private joint-stock companies in the UAE will have to appoint at least one woman to their board of directors starting from January next year, the Ministry of Economy has announced. The decision is part of the UAE’s efforts to enhance diversity in the corporate sector and increase women’s representation in leadership and decision-making roles. Abdulla […]

Sharjah Microsoft China

Sharjah’s Microsoft deal ‘will not harm China relationship’

Sharjah, the third largest emirate by population in the UAE, will not undermine its growing relations with China through its AI partnership with the American giant Microsoft, a prominent investment official has said. This week Sharjah unveiled the first AI-generated trade licence system in the world, developed jointly by Invest in Sharjah, Sharjah Publishing City […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 11, 2024. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY

The huge ambitions of PIF come at vast expense

The scale of the holdings is vast and the ambition is huge. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was the world’s highest-spending state-owned investor in the first half of 2024, according to Global SWF, a consultancy.   It is due to raise its annual spending to $70 billion in 2025, a year earlier than previously announced, according […]

Saudi petrochemical

Second-half slide expected for Saudi petrochemical industry

With higher shipping and logistic rates and stable prices of raw materials, Saudi petrochemical producers are likely to report lower earnings in the second half of the year, an expert has said. The companies reported margin peaks in the second quarter of the year, but they are likely to face pressures on profit margins in […]

Salic MHP chicken processing

PIF subsidiary takes stake in Ukraine poultry producer

A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has taken a stake in the Ukraine-based poultry producer MHP in a deal worth more than $13.5 million. MHP, more fully Myronivsky Hliboproduct, which trades on the London Stock Exchange, is an international food and agrotech company, founded in Kyiv in 1998. It has a strong presence […]

Halo Space, a Madrid-based company, said Saudi Arabia would play a key role in construction of the craft

Halo Space to manufacture capsules in Saudi Arabia

Spanish company Halo Space plans to localise most manufacturing of its high-altitude balloon capsule to Saudi Arabia, it said this week before its first test launch in the kingdom.  The Madrid-based startup is due to stage an unmanned test flight from the Al-Aflaj oasis 330km south of Riyadh within the next two weeks, depending on […]

Around the Middle East

Maaden will become the second-largest shareholder in Alba, holding a 20.62% stake on completion of the deal

Maaden to acquire Sabic’s stake in Bahrain’s Alba

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) will acquire Saudi Basic Industries Corporation’s (Sabic) 20.62 percent share in Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) as part of its global growth strategy. The Saudi-listed mining major aims to grow ten times by 2040, with its aluminium business being the core contributor. Maaden will become the second-largest shareholder in Alba, holding a 20.62 […]

Work has commenced on Morocco's Khouribga pipeline project, which will have a total annual capacity of 80 million cubic meters

Moroccan company gets $108m to tackle water scarcity

A new €100 million ($108 million) loan from a World Bank unit will help Morocco tackle water scarcity, which has been hindering economic growth. The loan is being provided through the International Facility Corporation (IFC) to Casablanca-based OCP Group, a producer of plant nutrition solutions and phosphate-based fertilisers. It will fund the construction of a […]

Agility Korek

Iraqi telecoms firm loses appeal against $1.5bn corruption award

A $1.5 billion decision against an Iraqi telecom operator and a prominent Iraqi businessman has been upheld by the International Court of Arbitration, part of the  International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The arbitrators found that Korek Telecom and its chairman and top shareholder, Sirwan Saber Barzani, had “participated in a corrupt scheme” to defraud the […]

Saipem's EPC contract will help sustain production at QatarEnergy LNG's North Field offshore natural gas reservoir

QatarEnergy LNG awards $4bn contract to Saipem

QatarEnergy LNG, one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies, has awarded a $4 billion contract to Italy’s Saipem to boost its gas production. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract will aid in sustaining production at the North Field natural gas reservoir off the northeast coast of Qatar. The work scope includes the […]

Computer, Electronics, Laptop Iraq's central bank has conducted thorough studies before establishing the regulatory framework for licensing digital banks Iraq bank

Iraq reviews 70 digital bank applications

Iraq’s central bank is reviewing applications for 70 digital banks to drive fintech growth. Digital banks are prevalent worldwide, managing financial transactions between $5 to $7 trillion annually, state-run Iraqi News Agency reported, citing Central Bank of Iraq governor Ali Al-Alaq. He said Iraq has conducted thorough studies before establishing the regulatory framework for licensing […]

The Aramco-Bapco pipeline can transport up to 350,00 barrels per day of crude oil

BlackRock buys stake in Saudi-Bahraini oil pipeline

Bahrain’s state-run Bapco Energies has sold a minority stake in an oil pipeline linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to a fund managed by US investment bank BlackRock. The BlackRock Diversified Infrastructure fund purchased a stake in the Saudi Bahrain Pipeline Co (SBPC), which owns a section of the 112-km pipeline. It supplies crude oil from […]

A view of Oman's Al Rusayl Industrial City. Manufacturing industries expanded 6.3 percent year on year in Q1 2024

Industrial growth in Oman beats global rate

Oman’s industrial sector expanded by 9.2 percent year on year, ten times faster than the global rate. Production value reached OR951 million ($2.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2024. The sector contributed 10 percent to the Gulf state’s GDP, data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information shows. The basic chemical industries led […]

Opec says worldwide oil demand is going to fall this year and next

Opec trims oil demand outlook again

Opec has reduced its oil demand forecast for 2024 for the second consecutive time, but it remains optimistic despite bearish markets. The oil producers group said on Tuesday that it was revising down world oil demand by 80,000 barrels per day to about 2 million bpd “reflecting data received so far this year”. It also […]

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HYDROGEN
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OPEC
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Turkey Latest

Botas and TotalEnergies executives sign the long-term LNG supply deal in the presence of Turkish energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar

Turkey’s Botas signs 10-year LNG deal with TotalEnergies

Turkish energy company Boru Hatları ile Petrol Taşıma AŞ (Botas) has signed a deal to purchase 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from France’s TotalEnergies. The 10-year deal will start from 2027, Anadolu Agency reported, citing Turkish energy and natural resources minister Alparslan Bayraktar. The deal offers flexible and competitive terms, […]

Turkey tech visa digital nomad

Ankara’s twin tech challenge to woo foreign experts and keep its own

Turkey wants to persuade foreign tech entrepreneurs and innovators to move to the country with a scheme providing a fast-tracked business permit and residency visa, as it seeks to position itself as a leading international technology hub.  Ankara has already made a call to tech-savvy travellers through a programme launched in April offering an easy […]

Turkey, Ankara, 2024-02-10. Togg T10X fully electric SUV produced by Turkish car manufacturer Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (Togg) during 6th Efficiency and Technology Fair held by Ankara Science University at ATO Congresium International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The fair aims to exhibit advanced technological products that contribute to increasing productivity in the country with establishing close relations with international companies and organisations.

Turkey’s automotive sector is decelerating sharply

Output in Turkey’s powerful automotive sector decelerated sharply in August, in a year-long trend that has seen domestic production fall and exports slow. Local manufacturers say they are facing competition from imports and grappling with sky-high interest rates.  Total vehicle production in August was 53,000, down 27 percent compared to the same month last year, […]

Almost half of all Turkish accommodation and food service providers took advantage of IT, up from 36 percent in 2022

Shortage of IT specialists slows Turkish business growth

A shortage of trained IT specialists is slowing Turkish companies’ growth and their development of artificial intelligence applications, according to a new report.  The report, issued by Turkey’s state statistics agency Turkstat, found some sectors had a strong uptake of ecommerce sales and services. Almost half of all accommodation and food service providers took advantage […]

A cafe in the Cengelkoy district on the Asian side of Istanbul: cafe and restaurant prices have risen by more than two thirds

Hard-pressed Turks must wait longer for inflation to drop

Turkey’s main inflation rate may have fallen from the 75 percent-plus high seen earlier this year, but the latest forecasts suggest Turks will have to live with a rising cost of living for some time to come, maintaining pressure on consumers and producers alike.  On September 5, the Turkish government released revised medium-term economic projections, […]

Egypt Latest

Workers at Egypt's Zohr gas facility. It is unclear if the drop in output is due to technical issues or lack of investment

Egypt plans to restore full gas output in 2025

Egypt plans to restore its natural gas production to normal levels by June 2025, the prime minister has said.  The country has become a net importer of fuel amid declining domestic output and increasing energy demand.  Falling output from Zohr – Egypt’s largest natural gas field developed by Eni of Italy – led to daily […]

Saudi Arabia’s new investment of $5bn will be separate from its deposits with the central bank, Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said

Egypt explores new mega deals like Ras El-Hekma

Egypt is planning new developments along the Red Sea coast, with at least five new areas identified for deals similar to Ras El-Hekma, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. The UAE sovereign fund ADQ unveiled plans in February to invest $35 billion to build the “largest new city” in Egypt to promote tourism and drive […]

Egypt hotel Jaz Belvedere

Plan announced to build six new hotels in Egypt

Plans to open six new hotels in Egypt in 2025 at a cost of $215 million have been revealed by the CEO of an Egyptian hotel company. Alaa Akel, chief executive of Jaz Hotel Group, a subsidiary of the Egyptian travel and tourism company Travco, said the group will open two new hotels on Egypt’s […]

An Acwa Power wind farm near Tangier. Its plans for Egypt include a 1.1GW wind power project on the Red Sea

Egypt to receive half of Acwa Power’s $30bn Africa investment

Saudi energy company Acwa Power is hoping for financial close on the first phase of a scheme to invest $15 billion in Egypt over the next six years, as part of a plan to quadruple its total investment in Africa. A flagship green hydrogen scheme in Egypt, as yet unnamed, could become the second-largest of […]

Scuba diving in the Red Sea off Egypt. The Ras Banas headland is close to the St John's coral reef system, a scuba-diving hotspot

Egypt offers Red Sea peninsula for development

Egypt has started promoting another sizeable Red Sea peninsula, the Ras Banas headland, to tourism developers. Egypt’s minister of housing and urban communities Sherif El Sherbiny said on Saturday that the area is being offered in a deal similar to the Ras El Hekma scheme on the Mediterranean coast agreed in February.  The state retained […]

Features

Lionel Messi poses for a photo at Dubai Expo 2020. He and his Argentina teammates will soon be appearing on 'giant billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road' to advertise property

Project stardust: why Dubai developers still want celeb tie-ins

Lionel Messi, Rohit Sharma and Chris Hemsworth are just some of the famous faces who have promoted UAE real estate in recent years. Superstar sportsmen and Hollywood heroes do not come cheap, but are they really a good investment for developers or just an excuse for the CEO to get a selfie?  Many industry observers […]

Saudi Arabia plays the long game in a high-stakes market

Saudi Arabia has so far channeled $38 billion into the esports sector through its Public Investment Fund subsidiary Savvy Games Group. This includes high-profile acquisitions such as the $4.9 billion purchase of the Monopoly Go developer Scopely and the $1.5 billion buyout of ESL FaceIt Group, one of the world’s largest esports companies. Critics have […]

ESG-focused companies ‘give better shareholder returns’

Middle East listed companies that score highly on environmental, social and governance criteria provide a bigger total return for shareholders than their less ESG-conscious rivals. The Hawkamah Middle East and North Africa ESG Index includes the top 50 companies by ESG score from the 150 blue-chip stocks that constitute the wider S&P Pan Arab Composite […]

‘Common sense has returned’ to fintech investment market

There was a 31 percent increase in unique investors in the fintech market in Mena during the first half of 2024. But there was a distinct lack of “mega-deals”. Gautam Jain, head of investments at SC Ventures, told AGBI that he believes this is a good thing for the future of the market. “People were […]

One year on, Atlas earthquake still highlights Morocco’s divide

Last Sunday marked one year since a devastating earthquake hit Morocco, flattening entire villages in the Atlas Mountains and killing around three thousand people. Within a week of the disaster, the country’s deadliest earthquake in 63 years, King Mohammed VI pledged MAD120 billion ($11.6 billion) over five years for reconstruction of the area.  That included […]

People & Lifestyle

Executive, Person, Adult

Recruitment portals try to ease logjam in Saudi labour market

Saudi Arabia presents a golden opportunity for recruitment platforms that seek to match multitudes of job seekers with a plethora of employers looking to hire, labour market specialists say.   There are around 168 Public Investment Fund companies working on the $1.25 trillion Vision 2030 economic diversification programme, as well as foreign companies setting up offices […]

Turkish transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that the user rights of social media accounts belonging to Turkish citizens will be protected

Turkey lifts ban after Instagram agrees to demands

Turkey has lifted its more than week-long ban on Instagram after the social media company agreed to collaborate with the government to address its concerns. The ban was removed on Saturday night after Instagram promised to work on demands regarding “catalogue crimes” and censorship on users, transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a […]

Oman biofuels

Oman’s entrepreneurs hope to turn biofuels into liquid gold

A bus powered partly by date kernels launched on the streets of Muscat at the end of 2022. It was a Sultan Qaboos University project, set up as Oman strives to develop sustainable sources of energy. The bus successfully runs on a mix of biodiesel made from the oil extracted from date kernels and conventional […]

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at social media platforms on Monday after his government blocked Instagram

Turkey’s Instagram ban hits $57m-a-day ecommerce trade

For four days and counting, Instagram has been blocked in Turkey – not only putting a dent in the social lives of millions of users but also placing additional pressure on an economy under strain.  Turkish regulators gave no reason when they imposed a ban on the Meta-owned platform on August 2.  However, the shutdown […]

'Growing local talent is not a luxury' – experts say the UAE must move beyond hiring AI workers from abroad

Local talent vital for UAE to achieve AI ambitions

The UAE is on a quest to lead the artificial intelligence sector but one of the stumbling blocks it is striving to address is the lack of local professionals coming into the industry. AI is expected to contribute $320 billion to the Mena region’s economy by 2030 – $96 billion of which will be attributed […]

Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

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Around the world

Redbird Spectator

Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI sells The Spectator for $131m

RedBird IMI, a US investment group backed by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, has sold the British magazine The Spectator to hedge fund boss Paul Marshall. The deal with Marshall, through his Old Queen Street Ventures fund, was worth £100 million ($131 million). Marshall is co-founder and chief investment officer of the global hedge fund […]

Motorcyclists riding in Jakarta last month to celebrate the 79th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence. GCC investments in the country are worth $25m

Indonesia-GCC trade talks start in Jakarta

The GCC has formally opened negotiations with Indonesia over a free trade agreement. The bloc of six – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – started the trade talks in Jakarta on Monday. Total trade between Indonesia and the GCC in 2022 was $16 billion. The amount of investments from the Gulf […]

A container vessel docked at Jeddah Islamic Port, which handled 5.58m containers in 2023

New shipping route links Jeddah to major Indian ports

Saudi Arabia has launched a new shipping route between Jeddah Islamic Port and Mundra and Nhava Sheva, two of India’s largest ports.  The 10-day service, operated by Folk Maritime Services, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund, started this month. The new route aims to increase the movement of goods such as petrochemicals, aligning with […]

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. If the Fed cuts US interest rates, UAE banks will feel the effect because of the dollar peg

US interest rate cut will impact UAE bank margins  

UAE banking sector profits have soared as higher-for-longer interest rates boosted margins and loan defaults remained low. Yet analysts predict that imminent US interest rate cuts will squeeze profitability, despite the likelihood of reduced borrowing costs bolstering loan growth. Dubai’s Emirates NBD reported a record first-half profit of AED13.8 billion ($3.76 billion), while First Abu […]