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UAE Spain Marbella

Marbella beckons for Abu Dhabi real estate developers

A joint venture with a high-end Spanish residential developer has been launched by two Abu Dhabi real estate companies to build ten hectares of luxury homes in the Golden Mile, a premier area in Marbella. The deal with Mabel Real Estate to co-build Mabel Marbella Residences is the first luxury project in Europe for Bloom […]

Oil workers in Venezuela, a founder member of Opec. The IEA predicts slower demand growth

IEA and Opec move further apart on global oil demand

The division between the International Energy Agency and oil producers’ group Opec has deepened as the Paris-based energy watchdog once again curtailed its oil demand outlook for 2024, amid softer macro sentiment. In its monthly report, the IEA forecast on Wednesday that world fuel demand will grow by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) this […]

Airport, Adult, Female The Middle East served 422 million air passengers in 2023 and is expected to serve 466 million in 2024

Airport chiefs size up ways to meet GCC airspace demand

The annual number of air travellers to and from the Middle East is projected to pass the half-billion mark next year, meaning aviation authorities need to both expand and streamline use of available airspace, senior GCC airport chiefs have told AGBI. Oman is in talks with a neighbouring Gulf state to unlock a new air […]

Trending

  1. Diriyah giga-project to open first hotel in November

  2. Crypto exchange Rain suffers $15m hack

  3. Passenger numbers rise 26% in Saudi Arabia

  4. UAE-led consortium secures land for $10bn wind farm in Egypt

  5. Dubai’s Amanat moves ahead with education platform IPO

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

Gulf asset managers remain wary of resurgent bitcoin

Gulf asset managers and institutional investors remain reluctant to invest in bitcoin, despite the cryptocurrency’s resurgence over the past year. The Middle East and North Africa accounted for 7 percent – or $390 million – of global crypto volumes in the 12 months to June 30, 2023, according to Chainalysis. Turkey made up nearly half, […]

Tourist numbers drop as Western visitors avoid Lebanon

Inbound tourism to Lebanon fell 13.5 percent year on year in the first three months of 2024, mainly as a result of Western tourists staying away, data released by the country’s Ministry of Tourism shows. It is the latest indication of damage to Lebanon’s post-crisis economy caused by the ongoing border conflict between Hezbollah and […]

Bahrain Bourse needs more liquidity despite 43% surge

The Bahrain Bourse has surged by almost 43 percent in the past five years, but experts have warned that the Gulf state must prioritise further listings to bring more liquidity into the market. The bulk of the growth on the kingdom’s main exchange has come from a select number of liquid stocks, topped by Aluminium […]

Rate of debt skipping falls 90% at Dubai’s biggest bank

There has been a dramatic decline in the number of people leaving the country to avoid debt obligations to UAE banks.  The fall in so-called “skips” is a result of the Gulf state’s introduction of legal reforms such as the decriminalisation of bounced cheques, and new insolvency and bankruptcy laws, experts said. In the past […]

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UAE latest

UAE Spain Marbella

Marbella beckons for Abu Dhabi real estate developers

A joint venture with a high-end Spanish residential developer has been launched by two Abu Dhabi real estate companies to build ten hectares of luxury homes in the Golden Mile, a premier area in Marbella. The deal with Mabel Real Estate to co-build Mabel Marbella Residences is the first luxury project in Europe for Bloom […]

Amanat’s education platform includes Middlesex University Dubai

Dubai’s Amanat moves ahead with education platform IPO

Amanat Holdings is planning for a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its education platform. The Dubai-listed healthcare and education investment company aims to monetise its education platform by creating a new holding company.  Advisors have been appointed to explore the monetisation options to unlock significant shareholder value, the company said in a Dubai Finanical Market filing […]

A cargo plane lands at a Malaysian airport. MAHB’s airport network serves some of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets

UAE wealth fund in $4bn bid to privatise Malaysian airport

A consortium that includes the UAE’s Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has announced a voluntary offer to acquire all the shares in Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for nearly $4 billion. The other consortium partners are Malaysian government-backed Khazanah Nasional and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and New York-headquartered Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Upon completion of the offer, Khazanah ownership stake in MAHB […]

Dubai-headquartered DP World has invested over €250 million in Romania since 2004, including grants from the EU

DP World’s $142m projects enhance Romania’s trade links

The global ports operator DP World has opened three new sites in Romania with an investment of €130 million ($142 million), enhancing the country’s growing status as a key trade hub in Europe.  Two new facilities were opened in Constanta, the largest container port on the Black Sea, following a €65 million investment. These include a five-hectare cargo […]

Investment talks. Dubai reported 1,650 FDI projects in 2023

Dubai tops ‘greenfield’ FDI ranking for third year

Dubai is the world’s top location for “greenfield” foreign direct investment for the third consecutive year, according to fDi Markets. A total of 1,070 greenfield FDI projects, where a company sets up in a foreign country, building its facilities from the ground up, were reported in Dubai in 2023. This was more than double the […]

Saudi Arabia latest

An extension of Diriyah's Bujairi Terrace, a popular nightspot, will open in November

Diriyah giga-project to open first hotel in November

Diriyah, one of Saudi Arabia’s leading giga-projects, will finally open its first hotel in November along with other attractions and sites, its CEO said this week.  “This November we’ll open another few kilometres of parks, we’ll open our first Bab Samhan hotel, we’ll open our first museum which is the Diriyah Art Futures Museum, we’ll […]

King Abdulaziz International Airport: the number of international flights increased but there were less than 27.4 million international visitors to the kingdom last year

Passenger numbers rise 26% in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia said this week that its total number of air passengers rose 26 percent to 112 million in 2023. This includes a 46 percent rise in the total number of international travellers to 61 million.  The number means the kingdom’s airports are approaching full capacity, which is 116 million passengers a year, including 45 […]

Tourists visit the tombs of the Nabatean civilisation in AlUla. Saudi Arabia's goal is for tourism to make up 10 percent of GDP by 2030

Affluent tourists around the globe on Saudi Arabia’s radar

Saudi Arabia will invest more than $800 billion in its main giga-projects by the next decade as part of a tourism expansion strategy focused on affluent tourists in China, India and Europe.  The kingdom’s tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, speaking at the Qatar Investment Forum, said: “We’re building and investing in major destinations like Neom, Red […]

Saudi REITs need more exposure to 'sheds and beds' – warehousing and hospitals – says one expert

Investor interest wanes as Saudi real estate trusts underperform

Saudi Arabia’s publicly listed real estate investment trusts lag the kingdom’s main stock index as investor enthusiasm for the REIT asset class wanes. This is despite steady returns and an upbeat outlook in the property sector. REITs are often listed on bourses and invest in various property types such as offices, residential, education facilities and […]

Qiddiya's launch celebration. The leisure city is to absorb the enterainment company Seven

PIF merges companies in sign of giga-project shake-up

The Saudi sports and leisure city Qiddiya said on Tuesday it would absorb the entertainment company Seven. It is the first sign of a possible shake-up of Public Investment Fund giga-projects as they struggle to meet deadlines amid rising costs and budget deficits.  Doubts have arisen about the future of some of the projects after […]

Around the Middle East

Oil workers in Venezuela, a founder member of Opec. The IEA predicts slower demand growth

IEA and Opec move further apart on global oil demand

The division between the International Energy Agency and oil producers’ group Opec has deepened as the Paris-based energy watchdog once again curtailed its oil demand outlook for 2024, amid softer macro sentiment. In its monthly report, the IEA forecast on Wednesday that world fuel demand will grow by 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) this […]

Almost all of Lebanon's visitors in the first quarter came from the Lebanese diaspora

Tourist numbers drop as Western visitors avoid Lebanon

Inbound tourism to Lebanon fell 13.5 percent year on year in the first three months of 2024, mainly as a result of Western tourists staying away, data released by the country’s Ministry of Tourism shows. It is the latest indication of damage to Lebanon’s post-crisis economy caused by the ongoing border conflict between Hezbollah and […]

Qatar Airways said it was not able to meet high post-Covid demand due to shortage of new aircraft

Qatar Airways urges Boeing and Airbus to address delays

The head of state-run Qatar Airways has urged Airbus and Boeing to address supply chain issues to prevent airlines from “bleeding”. “I know they are under so much pressure when it comes to the supply chain market,” Reuters reported, quoting Badr Mohammed Al Meer speech at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. Airbus and Boeing need to […]

An energy company representative submits his company's bid during the latest licensing rounds at the Iraqi Oil Ministry's headquarters in Baghdad

Chinese companies snap up Iraqi oil and gas blocks

Iraq has awarded Chinese companies a large share of oil and gas exploration concessions as it attempts to boost its hydrocarbon reserves and attract investment. Opec’s second largest oil producer hopes to add 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and nearly 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Out of 22 prequalified […]

Qatar LNG

Qatar bullish on LNG as it plans increased production

Qatar’s energy minister said he is bullish on global demand for liquefied natural gas and his country is likely to push its production levels beyond those already targeted for 2030. “Technical capability is going to be assessed, and if there is more [gas], we probably will do more,” Saad Sherida Al Kaabi said at the […]

Traders look at the screens at Bahrain Bourse in Manama, Bahrain, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Bahrain Bourse needs more liquidity despite 43% surge

The Bahrain Bourse has surged by almost 43 percent in the past five years, but experts have warned that the Gulf state must prioritise further listings to bring more liquidity into the market. The bulk of the growth on the kingdom’s main exchange has come from a select number of liquid stocks, topped by Aluminium […]

The Kuwait Boursa trading hall in Kuwait city. BIG shares will list in the premier market segment

Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group to list on local bourse 

Kuwait’s Beyout Investment Group (BIG) has announced plans to offer a 30 percent stake on the local bourse, the first in nearly two years. The final offering price will be determined through a bookbuilding process, which will be held from May 19 to 23, the company said in a statement.  The shares are slated to […]

RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo said in Doha: 'Addis is already a huge hub but Kigali will be an alternative regional hub, especially given the geographical position of Rwanda'

Qatar and Rwanda to open airport in ‘heart of Africa’ by 2028

Qatar Airways and RwandAir will open a major international airport in Rwanda’s capital Kigali by 2028, the airlines said this week. The Qatari flag carrier has also announced plans to take a stake in a southern African airline to cement its expansion plans on the continent.  RwandAir and Qatar Airways, which have a code-sharing agreement, […]

Topics:

Neom
HYDROGEN
SAUDI VISION 2030
IPOs
mergers & acquisitions
crypto
Electric cars
israel-hamas war
FOOD SECURITY
islamic finance
ukraine-russia war
OPEC
SPACE

Turkey Latest

Turkey's economic growth is projected at 3 percent in 2025

EBRD lowers Turkey’s 2024 growth rate

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered Turkey’s economic growth forecast to 2.7 percent from 3 percent for 2024, due to rising inflation. However, a recovery is anticipated next year, with growth projected at 3 percent, driven by potential monetary and fiscal policy tightening aimed at curbing high inflation. Turkish economic policy has tightened, […]

The five-star Barceló Al Jaddaf in Dubai, formerly Occidental Al Jaddaf, will open in the fourth quarter of 2024

Spain’s Barceló expands reach in Middle East and Turkey

Spain’s Barceló Hotel Group is intensifying its focus on the Middle East, Africa and Turkey this year with plans to invest more than $400 million as part of its global expansion strategy. The move includes opening hotels in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Turkey. The company will expand its portfolio in the Middle East by […]

Turkey Facebook

Turkey fines Facebook owner Meta over customer data sharing

The social media giant Meta has been found guilty by Turkey’s competition agency of trying to shut out rivals from the local market and dominate advertising penetration. The $230 billion Californian company operates Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads. On May 9 the Turkish Competition Authority announced it had levied fines totalling $37.2 million on Meta […]

Workers at a textile factory in Istanbul. Turkish exporters are hoping for an increase in shipments to the Middle East

Turkish exporters cautiously optimistic for rest of year

Turkish exporters are predicting a strong second half of the year, with expectations of increased shipments to traditional markets and growth into the Middle East.  There are lingering concerns that global risk factors will blow a chill wind over sales, however.  Turkey’s exports accelerated 3.6 percent in the January to March quarter, with sales worth […]

Women working at a textiles factory in Izmir; Turkish manufacturing has been hit by rising costs and interest rates but economic growth is still anticipated

Turkish manufacturers waver on economic prospects

Turkey’s manufacturers are uncertain about the national economy’s prospects, with a report showing a slowing of new orders and an easing of output partly being offset by stronger inventory increases and expectations of a modest release from inflationary pressures.  The latest survey of Turkish manufacturers, conducted by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and ratings agency Standard […]

Egypt Latest

UAE-led consortium secures land for $10bn wind farm in Egypt

A consortium led by Masdar, the UAE’s state-owned renewable energy company, has signed a land access agreement with the Egyptian government for a $10 billion onshore wind farm. The other partners are Infinity Power, a joint venture between Masdar and Egyptian renewables business Infinity, and Hassan Allam Utilities, a Cairo-based developer and investor. The agreement […]

The presidents of Egypt and the UAE, Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Egypt receives second tranche of UAE’s $35bn investment

Egyptian authorities have received the second tranche of a $35 billion investment from the UAE, local media reported on Tuesday. The payment secures the right of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ to develop the land of Ras el Hekma on Egypt’s north coast. The $20 billion tranche consists of $14 billion fresh money and […]

CIB profits Commercial International Bank branch

Abu Dhabi-backed Egyptian bank doubles profits

Commercial International Bank, the Egyptian lender backed by Abu Dhabi, has doubled its consolidated net profits for the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2023. In an earnings release published on Sunday, CIB posted a net income of EGP11.9 billion ($253 million) at the start of this year, up from […]

QatarEnergy's farm-in agreement gives it a 40% interest in Egypt's Cairo and Masry offshore exploration blocks

QatarEnergy buys stake in Egypt exploration blocks 

State-run QatarEnergy has signed an agreement with US energy major ExxonMobil to acquire a stake in two exploration blocks off Egypt. The farm-in agreement gives QatarEnergy a 40 percent interest in each of the Cairo and Masry offshore concession agreements. The value of the deal was not given. ExxonMobil, the operator of the blocks, will retain […]

SWVL CEO Mostafa Kandil Video length: 04:15

Unicorn SWVL survives share slump to turn a profit

Scaling back operations, chasing profitability over investor funding and divesting from acquisitions has resulted in the Middle East’s first unicorn finally turning profitable.  Egypt-born ride hailing app SWVL has survived a turbulent time during which the Nasdaq-listed startup faced the possibility of being delisted.  SWVL was valued at $1.5 billion when it went public in […]

Features

Europe provides a large source of Dubai's tourists

GCC-EU trade drops by $8bn as talks pause

Trade between the GCC and the European Union fell by 4 percent last year to $180 billion, as the two trading blocs struggled to agree terms for a free trade agreement. Figures shared exclusively with AGBI by Eurostat, the EU’s statistics authority, show Saudi Arabia was the bloc’s biggest trade partner from the GCC, with […]

Saudi Arabia grapples with new penal code

A legislative committee is grappling with the text of a new penal code which could cement — or jeopardise — the gains made by Saudi Arabia after it introduced a new commercial law code last year.  The kingdom is trying to shake off a reputation for opaque and arbitrary justice to meet ambitious tourism and […]

Egypt misses healthcare targets as population ails

Egypt is failing to meet its healthcare spending targets, exacerbating deteriorating living standards that are leading to a rising number of illnesses and health problems. Egypt’s parliament approved legislation in 2018 to achieve universal health coverage by 2030, pledging to expand provision to include the 50 percent of Egyptians lacking insurance, according to a 2023 […]

Overseas buyers dominate in Sharjah’s reformed real estate

Overseas buyers in Arada’s two mega-developments in Sharjah have vastly outnumbered locals in the year-and-a-half since the emirate expanded full real estate ownership rights to non-GCC nationals. From when Aljada, Sharjah’s biggest mixed-use project, launched in 2017 until the land reform of late October 2022, Emirati nationals bought more than 63 percent of the value […]

Luggage, airspace and size: challenges for Dubai’s new airport

Sizing, air traffic control and passenger handling are among the challenges Dubai will face in building the world’s largest airport within the next 10 years, industry experts tell AGBI.  Authorities announced last month plans to expand Al Maktoum International into a facility that will handle 150 million passengers annually within a decade, and eventually 260 […]

People & Lifestyle

SWVL CEO Mostafa Kandil Video length: 04:15

Unicorn SWVL survives share slump to turn a profit

Scaling back operations, chasing profitability over investor funding and divesting from acquisitions has resulted in the Middle East’s first unicorn finally turning profitable.  Egypt-born ride hailing app SWVL has survived a turbulent time during which the Nasdaq-listed startup faced the possibility of being delisted.  SWVL was valued at $1.5 billion when it went public in […]

A Diwali celebration held during Expo 2020 in Dubai. GCC officials want to work together to prevent event clashes

Tourism chiefs call for GCC-wide events calendar

Gulf Cooperation Council nations should co-ordinate their event schedules to avoid overlaps and entice tourists to make multiple stops in the region, officials have said at the Arabian Travel Market conference. The six GCC governments – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – are exploring ways to co-operate on tourism, including a […]

GCC boards female

UAE leads GCC on board gender mix but region still lags

More than 10 percent of board seats at listed companies in the UAE are filled by women, well ahead of its Gulf neighbours, but still lagging the global average. At the 168 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market, just 133 out of 1,231 board seats, or 10.8 percent, are […]

Investor Tim Draper told AGBI the US must 'swing back to freedom' to avoid losing innovation to countries such as the UAE

Tim Draper: UAE benefits from US crypto ‘overregulation’

Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has criticised the US for its restrictive stance on cryptocurrency, claiming it is driving innovators towards more encouraging and friendlier markets such as the UAE. The Gulf state is actively developing regulatory frameworks to lure new forms of business, amid intense regional economic competition. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have set […]

Egypt's wealthiest man, Nassef Sawiris, who lives in Cairo, has interests in construction, manufacturing and sports

Cairo has most billionaires in Africa, but wealthy are leaving

Cairo is home to more billionaires than any other African city, but Egypt is facing an exodus of its wealthiest citizens. The international wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners said Cairo is home to four billionaires, and 30 centi-millionaires – those worth $100 million or more. Most reside in affluent parts of Greater Cairo, including […]

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Around the world

An energy company representative submits his company's bid during the latest licensing rounds at the Iraqi Oil Ministry's headquarters in Baghdad

Chinese companies snap up Iraqi oil and gas blocks

Iraq has awarded Chinese companies a large share of oil and gas exploration concessions as it attempts to boost its hydrocarbon reserves and attract investment. Opec’s second largest oil producer hopes to add 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and nearly 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Out of 22 prequalified […]

Workers at a semiconductor plant in the Netherlands. Qatar's investment in France's Ardian comes as global demand for semiconductor chips is surging

QIA invests in French semiconductor fund Ardian

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has announced plans to make an anchor investment in Ardian Semiconductor, a new entity established by the French private equity firm Ardian.  The move underscores the Gulf state’s bet on the crucial role of semiconductors in powering digital and green transformations in key areas such as […]

King Leung of InvestHK says Middle East investors are 'scooping up high quality, positive cash flow generating assets at very, very attractive valuations'

Hong Kong plans fund on Saudi stock exchange

Officials in Hong Kong are planning to set up an exchange-traded fund with Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, as Middle East investors increasingly go “bargain hunting” in the Asian city state to take advantage of lower valuations. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on regulated stock exchanges, much like individual stocks are bought and […]

Crowd, Person, Adult

Adnoc strikes LNG supply deal with Germany

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has signed a 15-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement with German energy major Energie Baden-Württemberg AG. The agreement includes the delivery of 0.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, primarily sourced from Adnoc’s lower-carbon Ruwais LNG project, currently under development in Abu Dhabi’s Al Ruwais Industrial […]