Wassim Elaify is not short of work. Quite the opposite. Indicators, the accountancy firm he manages in Riyadh, is receiving more requests to be taken on as clients from expanding Saudi companies and newly arrived international groups than it can handle. Saudi Arabia‘s non-oil economy is expanding at more than four times the rate of […]
Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […]
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 […]
Opinion
OIL & GAS
Between them, the ‘Big Three’ could firmly set the world’s crude output levels and determine prices
Opinion
ECONOMY
Kuwait has failed to develop non-oil income in the way that Saudi Arabia has in recent years
Opinion
OIL & GAS
Like Gulf oil, Gulf LNG faces a bearish headwind from American energy dominance
Improvements in the availability and quality of digital infrastructure and services have yet to impact productivity growth in the Gulf economies in any meaningful way, according to IMF officials, past and present. The digitalisation of government services – through online portals for administrative tasks or e-procurement platforms – as well as the advent of tele-health […]
Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia is upgrading its fleet with new Boeing and Airbus aircraft even as the government prepares to start a new airline later this year. The 80-year-old carrier has 118 aircraft on order, most of which will replace older models in its existing fleet of 147, and are scheduled to arrive through […]
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 […]
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 […]
Two years of unusual stability, post-Covid and Russia’s war on Ukraine are at an end
Schedule shift signals a busy summer for Middle East airlines
John Grant, Partner, Midas Aviation
Abu Dhabi petrochemicals company Borouge will seek shareholder approval to buy back up to 2.5 percent of its shares, it said on Monday, after its share price plunged on this month’s news of its merger deal with Austria’s Borealis. Borouge’s majority shareholder Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s OMV said they had agreed to merge […]
State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) is reportedly considering acquiring the energy assets of Mubadala Investment Company, one of the emirate’s sovereign wealth funds. Talks between the two companies, which stalled over valuation, are expected to resume soon, possibly after the end of Ramadan, Bloomberg reported, citing informed sources. The deal was previously valued […]
Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing and engineering company, has acquired 17 aircraft for $1 billion from multiple sellers, the company said in a statement. Eighty percent of the aircraft are manufactured by Airbus, while the remaining 20 percent are from Boeing. The aircraft have been leased to 11 airlines in […]
Dubai-listed district cooling company Tabreed is aiming to expand through acquisitions and organic growth in the UAE and global markets. “We aim to grow our connected capacity by 3 percent to 5 percent annually over 2025 to 2027,” chief financial officer Adel Salem Al Wahedi wrote in the company’s 2024 annual integrated board report. The […]
Rental and sale prices in Abu Dhabi grew strongly in 2024, driven by tight supply and intense competition in the property market, according to a market survey. Residential rents grew 20 percent in 2024, while sales prices climbed by 11 percent, according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield Core. Prices for homes in Khalifa […]
The share price of poultry producer Entaj has risen by 30 percent on its first day of trading, the maximum daily increase allowed on the Saudi stock exchange. Entaj – formally known as the Arabian Company for Agricultural and Industrial Investment – is the fourth company to list on Saudi Arabia’s main market this year. […]
Could Saudi Arabia, the US and Russia be pursuing shared interests in oil and geopolitical matters?
Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), the conglomerate owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, will pay an annual dividend despite a fall in revenues for 2024. The dividend payout will reach SAR1 billion ($267 million), or 2.8 percent of its capital, the investment company said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Monday. […]
Saudi Arabia’s newest airline Riyadh Air is exploring potential tie-ups with Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India, CEO Tony Douglas has said. The conversations are at an early stage but offer a “win-win” proposition, he told The Indian Express news daily. India is a “super important” market, Douglas said, as Saudi Arabia expects India to […]
S&P Global Ratings has upgraded Saudi Arabia’s rating to “A+” from “A” with a stable outlook, citing socioeconomic and capital market reforms. Strong non-oil growth and rising oil volumes from 2025 will support medium-term growth prospects, it said. Saudi Arabia’s National Debt Management Centre welcomed the upgrade, saying it would allow the kingdom to issue […]
Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) after losing a 2021 court case over leasing a plot of land in Kuwait used as a scrap site. “With this payment, the company will have fully executed the aforementioned ruling in favour of the Public Authority for Industry,” Agility said […]
Iraq’s long-delayed redevelopment and construction of its Faw port near the Arabian Gulf will be completed this year, the Iraq state news agency reported, paving the way for improved access for goods to Iraq and beyond. South Korea’s Daewoo won a $2.6 billion contract to build five main piers at the port in 2010 and […]
Kuwait’s public pension fund has accused asset manager Man Group, Swiss bank EFG and others of laundering bribes paid to its late director as a $1 billion trial begins at London’s High Court. The Public Institution for Social Security, which operates Kuwait’s social security and pension scheme, is also suing the estate of Fahad Al Rajaan, its director from 1984 to […]
Kuwait has moved a step closer to selling debt on the international markets again after the cabinet approved a draft decree that should help the country fund multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects. Historically the country has had little need to borrow thanks to its oil revenue and relatively unambitious spending plans. Kuwait last sold dollar-denominated bonds in […]
The Lebanese economy remains severely depressed, its condition exacerbated by a two-month war last year between the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group and Israel, in which infrastructure and homes were destroyed, the International Monetary Fund has said. An IMF team visited the country last week and met the new government led by President Joseph Aoun and […]
The CEO of Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways has bought 80,000 shares in his own company as the airline embarks on a five-year plan to boost performance. Barathan Pasupathi purchased the shares between March 9 and 13, according to company disclosures on the Kuwaiti Bourse, buying shares worth $250,000 in a series of transactions last week. Shares […]
Qatar has signed an agreement to supply natural gas to Syria via Jordan, a significant step towards addressing the war-torn nation’s energy crisis. The agreement, signed between Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Jordan’s energy ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, will contribute to generating up to 400 megawatts of electricity daily […]
Middle Eastern states are upping their trade in gold as price shifts create opportunity. Qatar, Egypt and Jordan have all bought sizeable amounts of gold in recent months, according to data from the World Gold Council and official announcements. Qatar and Egypt increased their holdings by 1.2 and 0.5 tonnes respectively, March data from the […]
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 […]
Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tupras is set to receive a cargo of Itapu crude early next month, its first such purchase from Brazil, according to a source, and ship tracking data. Tupras last month said it had stopped buying Russian crude after the US announced new sanctions on Russia’s oil industry on January 10. The cargo of […]
Turks are increasingly using credit cards to buy goods and services abroad, as inflation and taxes eat away at their buying power at home. Turkish people used their credit cards more than 380 million times for overseas purchases last year, spending $11.5 billion, according to a new report by the central bank’s Bankalarası Kart Merkezi […]
State-backed Turkish Petroleum Corporation and US energy companies Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum will jointly develop unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the Diyarbakir Basin in the east of Turkey, according to a statement. “This cooperation will greatly contribute to our goal of bringing Turkey’s oil and gas resources to our economy,” energy minister […]
Hyundai is the latest in a string of Asian car companies looking to build electric vehicles in Turkey, taking advantage of its proximity to the European Union and Russia. However, components made in Turkey will almost certainly be used less than they are in the manufacture of petrol cars, analysts have said. South Korea’s Hyundai […]
The British oil and gas producer Capricorn Energy is in advanced talks with the state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation to improve the terms for its gas concession agreements in the Western Desert. The talks include an improved gas price for incremental production and new discoveries, plus “modernised” commercial terms, the company said. Capricorn and the […]
The UAE will back the development of a five-star hotel near the pyramids in Giza outside the capital Cairo to support Egypt’s tourism, state-run Wam news agency reported. State-backed Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), which specialises in development financing at below market rates, will provide AED440 million ($120 million) to build a 302-key Sofitel […]
Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has begun due diligence ahead of buying a stake in Egypt’s sixth-largest commercial bank, Banque du Caire. The purchase would be the latest sale of a government-owned asset in a stalled privatisation programme, according to regional media. Egypt agreed an expanded $8 billion loan from the International Monetary […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the release of funds to Egypt following the fourth review of an emergency loan progamme but has warned the government that “more decisive implementation of reforms will be critical”. This disbursement of $1.2 billion brings Egypt’s total loan to about $3.2 billion under an extended fund facility (EEF) worth $8bn, […]
Egyptians are leading the way in the Dubai property market in terms of the rate of increase of buyers by nationality. In the first two months of this year, the number of Egyptians buying in the Dubai property market more than doubled – up 150 percent – over the same two-month period in 2024, according […]
Prices for dates in Turkey ahead of Ramadan pretty much always rise because that is when demand surges. The Turks are otherwise not big eaters of the dried fruit. But during Ramadan it is usually the first food muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere tend to eat to break the fast after a long […]
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, […]
Earnings calls for analysts, reporters or investors are a staple for listed companies in Western markets. The same is not true in the Gulf, however, and experts say that can make it harder to assess a company’s performance and justify its stock valuation. It can also deter institutional investors, limit liquidity and slow market growth. […]
Errol Musk told AGBI in an exclusive video interview during his visit to Dubai that the Musk Tower that is to be built in the UAE will serve as an innovation centre. It will also foster developments in science “that are ignored”, including “space-time travel and gravity”, he said. Discussions are ongoing with Abu Dhabi-based […]
Three years on, it is clear that Qatar has by and large avoided what plagued many of its World Cup host predecessors – the big White Elephant. In spite of a rush of building projects to open a slew of new hotels and apartments for the November-December 2022 event, the gas-rich nation was shrewd enough […]
Replacing end-of-service benefit with a defined contribution fund could cost expat workers thousands
With its favourable topography and climate, the Arabian Peninsula has the potential to be a major producer
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 […]
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 […]
Brands – and their branding and PR agencies – like to feel special
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 […]
The 150 lots will feature everything from Picasso to Hermès handbags, at prices up to $1.5m
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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