Chinese imports of oil by sea rose in March to their highest in 17 months, with imports from Iran hitting a record, according to tanker tracking consultancy Vortexa. Seaborne crude arrivals – which account for about 85 percent of total Chinese oil imports – rose to 10.6 million barrels per day in March, up from […]
China’s state-owned planemaker, Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corp of China), is decades away from breaking up the global dominance of Boeing and Airbus, according to the head of the world’s largest airline trade association. The result will be that Gulf Arab carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have little choice but to stomach […]
Turkey’s central bank raised its key lending rate for the first time in a year, reversing a steady decline this year, on concerns of higher inflation in the coming months. The bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) increased its one-week repo auction rate to 46 percent on April 17 from 42.5 percent, the rate to which […]
Opinion
banking
Why are banks traditionally so bad at customer service? The reasons are many
Opinion
Banking & Finance
It is politics, not finance, that prevents the resolution of the Lebanese banking crisis
Opinion
OIL & GAS
After the protectionist firestorm in Washington, recession is inevitable. The wolf is real, and here
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The Gulf is one of the most water scarce regions in the world, so it has had to adopt innovative solutions for its water resources. One of the most prominent of these is desalination. While less than 1 percent of the world’s drinking water is desalinated, GCC countries depend on their desalination plants for up to […]
Al Farhan Group, a family-owned company with 16 three- to four-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, plans to open at least one hotel every year for the next several years. Its ambitions reflect those of the Saudi government, which wants to encourage more domestic and inbound business and leisure travel and almost double the number of […]
Aircraft leasing companies in the Arabian Gulf are profiting from prolonged delivery delays at aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus, with order backlogs at the manufacturers unlikely to clear before the end of the decade. “These [aircraft leasing] guys are in a fantastic position because they have a fantastic fleet of aircraft,” Willie Walsh, director general […]
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global has launched its first island development on the $23.6 billion Red Sea giga-project. The opening comes despite the $925 billion Public Investment Fund ordering deep spending cuts across more than 100 of its companies, as AGBI reported last month. Some budgets have been cut by as much as 60 percent, sources said, […]
Abu Dhabi has invited companies to bid for a contract to develop a “digital twin” focused on real-time monitoring of air quality in a desert region that is among the dustiest in the world. A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system designed to accurately reflect a physical object, in this […]
Robin Mills, CEO, Qamar Energy
China’s state-owned planemaker, Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corp of China), is decades away from breaking up the global dominance of Boeing and Airbus, according to the head of the world’s largest airline trade association. The result will be that Gulf Arab carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have little choice but to stomach […]
DWF Labs, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, has bought $25 million of a cryptocurrency linked to Donald Trump. The company describes itself as a next-generation Web3 investor and cryptocurrency trader. Web3 includes concepts such as decentralisation, blockchain technologies and token-based economics. It said in a statement that it bought $25 million of World […]
Mashreq, the UAE’s fifth-largest bank by assets, said its first sukuk issued since US reciprocal tariffs were announced was oversubscribed six times. The Dubai-listed bank raised $500 million through a five-year sukuk at a profit rate of 5.03 percent per annum. The sukuk, rated “A” by global rating agency S&P, will be listed on Euronext Dublin. […]
Mubadala is the latest big name to announce a foray into the UAE’s $7 billion education market as experts predict an increase in mergers and acquisitions in the sector, fuelled by the Gulf state’s rising population, economic diversification and expatriate demand. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has more than $300 billion in assets under […]
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) has fully acquired Transmission Investment (TI), a UK-based energy and utility investment company, giving the UAE company access to the European market. TI is one of the largest players in transmission systems, which connect offshore wind farms to the UK grid. The UK company will become part of Taqa Transmission, […]
Al Farhan Group, a family-owned company with 16 three- to four-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, plans to open at least one hotel every year for the next several years. Its ambitions reflect those of the Saudi government, which wants to encourage more domestic and inbound business and leisure travel and almost double the number of […]
Diriyah Company has awarded a more than SAR5 billion ($1.4 billion) construction contract to a Saudi-Chinese joint venture to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House and surrounding assets. The joint venture partners include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting and Midmac Construction, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The opera house will be Diriyah’s flagship performing […]
Opec has received updated plans for seven countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas, the group said on Wednesday. Opec+, which includes Opec plus Russia and other allies, has implemented a series of output cuts since late 2022. Its compensation plan is […]
Bateel International, the Dubai-headquartered luxury food group that owns 40 international boutiques and 30 cafés, plans to double the number of organic date palm trees it cultivates in Saudi Arabia and to build a new factory in the kingdom to meet growing global demand. The company, which was founded by the Saudi Al Sudairy family […]
Saudi Aramco’s venture arm has led a $1 million seed funding round for TruBuild, a construction technology startup based in Riyadh that uses artificial intelligence to cut project delays and cost overruns. “With growing scrutiny on giga-project timelines and budgets, there’s a clear urgency to prevent costly delays and rework,” Bisrat Degefa, CEO of TruBuild, […]
The sovereign funds of Qatar and Russia have created a $2 billion joint fund to invest in technology, minerals and healthcare projects. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) will each invest $1 billion, a statement from the RDIF said. In 2014 the two wealth funds launched a $4 billion joint […]
Iraq’s industry and minerals minister broke ground on Thursday on a major fertiliser plant in the north of the country which was destroyed by Daesh militants nearly 10 years ago. Khalid al-Najm laid the ground stone for the plant in Baiji city in the northern Saladin Governorate during a ceremony attended by local tribal chiefs, […]
Libya’s economy is projected to rebound in 2025, supported by the expansion of oil production, the International Monetary Fund has said. The growth is likely, however, to moderate in the medium term, it said. Non-hydrocarbon growth will remain at 5 to 6 percent this year, driven by sustained government spending, the IMF predicted. The country’s […]
Mwani Qatar, the state operator of seaports and shipping terminals, reported a 5 percent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in the 2024-25 cruise season. Doha Port, the Gulf nation’s main gateway, received nearly 400,000 visitors from 87 cruises, a 19 percent annual rise in ship visits, the Peninsula newspaper reported. The latest season saw the […]
The number of business travel trips booked in the Mena region increased by more than 50 percent in the first quarter of 2025. However, the onset of a trade war and a projected slowdown in economic growth may temper performance for the foreseeable future, according to travel experts. Business travel company Tamodo said it expected […]
First quarter net income at Bank Muscat, Oman’s largest bank by assets, rose 8 percent on higher interest revenue from both conventional and Islamic sharia-compliant activities. The rise comes as rival Sohar International Bank, the country’s second-largest bank by assets, seeks to take over a smaller rival, raising concerns about competition in the Omani banking […]
Agility Public Warehousing Company of Kuwait is buying the American company G2 Secure Staff, one of the world’s largest aviation service providers, for $305 million. G2 provides aviation support services to almost all major airlines in the US in more than 70 US airports, including ground handling, cabin cleaning and passenger assistance The company was […]
Oman has approved a second major resort in Salalah on the Indian Ocean in the south of the sultanate in an effort to attract more tourists as part of the country’s economic diversification programme. The $100 million, 470,000 square metre project has been named Boulevard Razaz and will include canals, landscaped gardens, a shopping mall, […]
Turkey’s central bank raised its key lending rate for the first time in a year, reversing a steady decline this year, on concerns of higher inflation in the coming months. The bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) increased its one-week repo auction rate to 46 percent on April 17 from 42.5 percent, the rate to which […]
Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tupras has returned to buying Russian Urals crude cargoes, after it stopped doing so earlier this year due to stronger US sanctions on Moscow, according to three trading sources and shipping data. Tupras did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. The three sources said Tupras resumed its purchases […]
Turkish property sales rose by 20 percent in the first quarter, but recent political unrest and economic uncertainty from mid-March onwards may weigh on the market. The number of property transactions rose to 335,786 in the three months to March 31 compared with the same period last year, according to data issued this week by […]
The Central Bank of Turkey lost 700 billion lira ($18 billion) last year, its second biggest loss ever after a record 2023. The loss came as the central bank made efforts to defend the Turkish lira while at the same time offering depositors higher interest rates on the local currency versus other currencies, paving the […]
Political instability in Turkey and tariff-driven global trade tensions are weighing on Turkish money markets as international investors move out of local debt and locals buy up foreign currency. In the three weeks ending April 4, non-resident investors sold $8.5 billion of Turkish debt, according to a report released by the central bank last week. […]
Remittances from Egyptian expatriates rose for 11 consecutive months following the start of economic reforms introduced in March 2024. Overseas Egyptians sent home $20 billion between July and January — the first seven months of the 2024-2025 fiscal year — an increase of 81 percent from $11 billion a year ago, according to the Central […]
Egypt-listed Orascom Construction has commenced commercial operations at the newly expanded Red Sea wind farm six months ahead of schedule. The largest operational wind farm in Africa is being developed by the Red Sea Wind Energy consortium under a 25-year build-own-operate scheme, the company said in a statement. The alliance comprises France’s Engie (35 percent), Orascom […]
Qatar has pledged to invest $7.5 billion in Egypt as the North African country seeks to attract new money and boost economic growth, the countries said in a joint statement. The commitment was given during a meeting between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad A-Thani, the state-owned State Information […]
Saudi Arabia and Egypt are planning to create a joint fund to carry out real estate projects in the two countries, an Egyptian official has revealed. Egypt, which is locked in an IMF-recommended programme to stimulate its economy, also wants Saudi investors for new projects in central Cairo, in line with a plan to be […]
Egypt’s Hassan Allam Holding has said one of its subsidiaries has signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi-listed Modon Holding to supply construction materials for the Ras El Hekma megaproject on the Mediterranean. 3S Ready Mix, one of the country’s largest ready mix concrete suppliers, will develop a ready mix factory and a concrete products hub […]
The emirate of Fujairah’s plans to expand its storage facilities and develop cleaner fuels and petrochemical production may be delayed as a result of the impact of tariff-led global trade tensions, according to a local authority. After Singapore and Rotterdam, Fujairah is the largest so-called “bunkering”, or ship-fuelling, port. It lies almost immediately outside the […]
Growing Gulf spending on health is boosting Jordan’s pharmaceutical industry, but new US tariffs pose a risk to its future, according to analysts. Pharmaceutical exports from Jordan grew by 15 percent last year to $862 million. Another 11 percent growth was projected for this year and further expansion to $1.4 billion in 2029, according to […]
A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]
The chief executive of OQEP gives our Editor-at-Large a crash course in Omani energy past, present and future
A shiny office tower in the heart of Downtown Dubai may not be an obvious home for a growing international art collection but ICD Brookfield Place is becoming just that. Among the works or exhibitions it has showcased recently are Canadian visual artist Jordan Söderberg Mill’s light and glass installation Standing Wave, Emirati artist Hashel […]
Food is part of a place's cultural identity. Plenty of cities and countries have dishes associated with them
A shiny office tower in the heart of Downtown Dubai may not be an obvious home for a growing international art collection but ICD Brookfield Place is becoming just that. Among the works or exhibitions it has showcased recently are Canadian visual artist Jordan Söderberg Mill’s light and glass installation Standing Wave, Emirati artist Hashel […]
As the population grows and the economy swells, the food and beverage service industry in Saudi Arabia is expanding. Half Million, a coffee shop chain that started in the capital Riyadh in 2018, now operates 59 stores across the kingdom. Its 60th recently opened on London’s Oxford Street. Barn’s, a Jeddah-based coffee chain that already […]
From customer service to the C-suite, AI “employees” are climbing the corporate ladder in the Gulf as the technology behind them improves. Regional wealth funds such as ADQ are now using AI “boardroom advisers” to help make decisions according to Middle East AI News, while startups are raising capital and launching so-called “AI employees”. These […]
In the same way that non-alcoholic drinks are now a regular feature in restaurants and bars in the UAE, hookah smokers are increasingly turning to healthier substitutes to satisfy their shisha fix. “People are seeking alternatives that are better for their health yet do not impact lifestyle choices,” said Naim Madaad, a founding member of […]
A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]
Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than […]
Satish Sanpal established ANAX Holding in Dubai in 2018 as a diversified investment entity. Today, ANAX Holding operates across multiple sectors, including real estate development, hospitality and financial services. ANAX Developments, one of its key subsidiaries, has emerged as a prominent real estate developer in Dubai, delivering high-demand projects across the city. What one piece […]
India’s IDFC First Bank will raise up to 75 billion rupees ($877 million) from affiliate companies of private equity group Warburg Pincus and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund, the lender said on Thursday. IDFC First Bank will issue Warburg Pincus, an existing investor, and Adia convertible shares, which, if fully converted, will give them a combined 15 percent […]
Despite the congestion – in the market and on the streets of the UAE’s most populous city – yet another competitor, UK company Zapp, is entering Dubai’s rapid-delivery market. This is evidence there is still room for growth, analysts say. Zapp focuses on rapid grocery deliveries from its own so-called dark stores. A dark store is […]
China’s Shanghai Electric Wind Power Group has signed a $200 million agreement to build a wind turbine factory in Oman’s central industrial city of Duqm. Duqm, which sits on international shipping routes, has attracted over $15 billion in project spending, including a 230,000 barrels per day oil refinery, a crude oil storage facility, a free […]
Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia and Qatar Investment Authority will set up a joint fund worth $4 billion to invest in so-called domestic priority sectors in the southeast Asian country. These include food and energy security, downstream processing, digital infrastructure, healthcare and tourism, Indonesian state-run Antara news agency reported, quoting Danantara chief investment officer […]
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