Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Arabian Gulf Business Insight

closing prices

ABU DHABi +0.3%
BAHRAIN +0.1%
dubai +0.1%
egypt +0.7%
kuwait +0.3%
oman +0.1%
qatar -0.5%
Saudi +0.6%

Top stories

Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at the DFSA, says hedge funds bring associated companies with them when they join the DIFC Video length: 03:05

Hedge funds and wealth managers ‘are a boon’ for DIFC

The DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) the independent regulatory agency that oversees financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre, approved more than 60 new companies in the first half of 2024. Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at DFSA, says that many of them are wealth management companies or hedge funds, which is a “boon […]

Massad Boulos seen with Donald Trump during an election campaign visit to Dearborn, Michigan. Boulos is father-in-law to Trump's daughter Tiffany

What Massad Boulos can do for US-Middle East trade

The rise of a Lebanese tycoon and Trump in-law to the White House suggests business links and personal ties between the US and the Middle East will be front and centre for the new administration. Incoming US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Sunday that Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of his daughter Tiffany, […]

Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Britain's Princess Anne, Princess Royal attend a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, during the state visit to the UK of the Emir of Qatar, Britain, December 3, 2024.

Qatar to invest £1bn in UK climate tech

The Qatari and British governments have announced a spate of deals as the Gulf country’s emir arrived in the UK on a two-day state visit. Officials announced on Wednesday that Qatar will invest £1 billion ($1.27 billion) in climate technology in the UK, with British engineering firm Rolls-Royce a key beneficiary. The investment is expected […]

Trending

  1. Damac to spend $3bn on data centres in Southeast Asia

  2. Mena delivery app Talabat outperforms its German parent

  3. Critical minerals become a Middle East battleground

  4. Arab funds pledge $10bn to fight desertification

  5. Kuwait renews $2bn deposit with Central Bank of Egypt

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

A Talabat courier in Cairo. The Delivery Hero subsidiary also operates in Jordan, Iraq and all six GCC states

Mena delivery app Talabat outperforms its German parent

When Talabat makes its debut on Dubai Financial Market next week, the food delivery app will be worth nearly as much as its parent company despite providing only about a quarter of Delivery Hero’s revenue. This might suggest Talabat’s initial public offering (IPO) was overpriced but a closer look at both companies’ earnings shows otherwise […]

Liquidity squeeze deepens for Saudi Arabia’s banks

Liquidity in Saudi Arabia’s banking sector has tightened again as lending increased more quickly than deposits in the third quarter.  The loan-to-deposit ratio among Saudi Arabia’s 10 largest banks was 100.1 percent in Q3, up from 97.8 percent in the previous three months, according to management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal. Loans and advances at the […]

Reforms pay off as Sharjah property market surges ahead

Successive reforms in Sharjah’s property market and sky-high rental prices in neighbouring Dubai are contributing to a surge in the price and popularity of the emirate’s rental properties. According to a report by property management firm Asteco, rental prices for the third quarter of 2024 in Sharjah increased 16 percent year on year for typical […]

Why Saudi real estate stocks are less popular than you might think

Saudi Arabia has rising property prices, soaring homeownership rates and steady mortgage approvals – so you might think its real estate sector would be in high demand on the stock market. This is the case in Dubai, where Emaar Properties and its subsidiaries serve as a proxy for equity investors to gain exposure to the […]

Egypt’s bourse rally endures despite shaky foundations

Cairo’s share index has trebled over the past two years as increasing numbers of Egyptians invest in stocks to preserve their wealth in response to double-digit inflation and a declining national currency. Company valuations remain cheap compared with regional peers, experts say, and so the market rally in Egypt may endure. However, the absence of […]

Adult, Male, Man

agriculture

Down on the farm, Saudi Arabia has a $9.8bn hole to fill

UAE latest

A data centre technician. Amazon, Google and Microsoft are also developing high-tech infrastructure in Southeast Asia

Damac to spend $3bn on data centres in Southeast Asia

Edgnex, the data centre subsidiary of Dubai’s Damac Group, is planning to invest $3 billion in sites across Southeast Asia over the next three to five years.  The investment is part of a $7 billion digital infrastructure strategy that aims to meet rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, Danish Nayar, Damac’s senior vice-president […]

City, Architecture, Building

Aldar acquires unfinished commercial tower in DIFC

Abu Dhabi’s largest developer, Aldar Properties, has acquired an unfinished commercial tower in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) for AED2.3 billion ($626 million), as it continues its expansion into its neighbouring emirate.  The tower, bought from H&H Development, has 40 floors of commercial and retail space and is due for completion in 2028.  It is […]

A Talabat courier in Cairo. The Delivery Hero subsidiary also operates in Jordan, Iraq and all six GCC states

Mena delivery app Talabat outperforms its German parent

When Talabat makes its debut on Dubai Financial Market next week, the food delivery app will be worth nearly as much as its parent company despite providing only about a quarter of Delivery Hero’s revenue. This might suggest Talabat’s initial public offering (IPO) was overpriced but a closer look at both companies’ earnings shows otherwise […]

Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at the DFSA, says hedge funds bring associated companies with them when they join the DIFC Video length: 03:05

Hedge funds and wealth managers ‘are a boon’ for DIFC

The DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) the independent regulatory agency that oversees financial services in the Dubai International Financial Centre, approved more than 60 new companies in the first half of 2024. Patrick Meaney, head of enforcement at DFSA, says that many of them are wealth management companies or hedge funds, which is a “boon […]

The new facilities will boost Adnoc Gas’s processing capacity by 20 percent, or 1.8 billion standard cubic feet per day

Adnoc Gas awards contract for processing project

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) subsidiary Adnoc Gas has awarded an engineering and design contract for its new gas processing facilities at Bab Gas Cap (BGC) to Australia’s Worley Engineering. Part of the UAE’s gas self-sufficiency drive, the new facilities will increase Adnoc Gas’s current processing capacity by 20 percent or 1.8 billion standard […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Muhammad Al Jasser of the Islamic Development Bank, second from left, at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Riyadh

Arab funds pledge $10bn to fight desertification

The Arab Coordination Group, an alliance of 10 development funds, is to provide $10 billion by 2030 to combat land degradation, desertification and drought, it was announced on the second day of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification event in Riyadh.  The commitment brings the total pledged to these interrelated causes at the two-week […]

UP42's earth observation digital platform integrates satellite imagery and weather data to identify objects, track changes and find patterns

PIF buys Airbus’ earth observation digital platform

A subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is to acquire Airbus Defence and Space’s earth observation digital platform. Riyadh-based Neo Space Group (NSG) was set up in May this year by PIF to lead efforts to develop the space industry in Saudi Arabia. It is to acquire Berlin-headquartered UP42, which was launched by […]

French president Emmanuel Macron and Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, attend the signing of the SAF agreement

Saudi and French companies link up for green projects

Saudi Arabia and France have signed commercial agreements to push the development of renewables and green fuel production in the kingdom. The agreements were signed at the Saudi-French Investment Forum, attended by French president Emmanuel Macron in Riyadh. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and France’s […]

A worker at a lithium mine. Saudi Arabia's cooperation with China could turn competitive in the race for such critical minerals

Critical minerals become a Middle East battleground

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to boost domestic processing of so-called critical minerals could redraw the mining industry’s regional and global supply chains, industry observers say. Critical minerals are defined as materials required for a country’s strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply. They include lithium, for making batteries, platinum, used in fuel […]

Around the Middle East

Kuwait currently holds $4bn in deposits with the Central Bank of Egypt

Kuwait renews $2bn deposit with Central Bank of Egypt

Kuwait has renewed a $2 billion deposit with Egypt for an additional year, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in its latest external report.   The deposit, scheduled to be due in April 2024, will now mature in April 2025. The Gulf nation currently holds $4 billion in deposits with the CBE. While one tranche […]

A worker at a lithium mine. Saudi Arabia's cooperation with China could turn competitive in the race for such critical minerals

Critical minerals become a Middle East battleground

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to boost domestic processing of so-called critical minerals could redraw the mining industry’s regional and global supply chains, industry observers say. Critical minerals are defined as materials required for a country’s strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply. They include lithium, for making batteries, platinum, used in fuel […]

Tunisia tourism numbers

Record tourism numbers expected in Tunisia

Tunisia expects to break its all-time record for tourism numbers in 2024, with more than 10 million visitors. The number of incoming tourists so far this year is approximately 9.9 million, with the National Tourism Office expecting that the figure will pass 10 million by December 31.  That would mark a record high in tourism […]

Cargo is loaded onto an aeroplane. The Middle East-Europe route accounts for 5% of global traffic

Middle East-Europe is ‘fastest-growing route for air cargo’

The Middle East-Europe route for air cargo was the fastest growing in the world in October, according to International Air Transport Association figures.  Annual growth in cargo tonne-kilometres stood at 15.3 percent in October, IATA said. The global average is 9.8 percent and the Middle East average is 4.5 percent. The Middle East-Europe route has […]

Iskenderun, where the Oman Investment Authority and Turkish pension fund Oyak are to build a new container port, was damaged by an earthquake in 2023

Oman and Turkish pension fund launches $500m JV

A new container port in the southern Turkish city of Iskenderun is to be the first project in a joint venture worth $500 million between one of Turkey’s leading retirement funds and Oman’s sovereign wealth agency.  The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and the Turkish military pension fund Oyak plan to invest in a range of […]

Shoppers look at Apple electronics in a Dubai store. Its phone and laptop sales are down in the Gulf

Apple, HP and Dell lose market share in Gulf

Apple, HP and Dell are losing market share in the Gulf, analysts have told AGBI, but their weakening position appears to be due to the allure of their rivals rather than a boycott of American brands. The region’s relatively wealthy, young and tech-savvy consumers are an attractive target for makers of smartphones, tablets and computers. […]

QatarEnergy's LNG deliveries to China will commence in January 2025

QatarEnergy to supply LNG to China from next year

​QatarEnergy has signed a long-term agreement with Singapore-based Shell to supply three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China. The LNG deliveries will commence in January 2025. No financial details were given. The agreement underscores the continued growth of China’s LNG market, which is expected to become the largest globally. […]

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 inflation rate cut

Rate cut for Turkey in balance as inflation stays high

Despite higher than expected inflation in Turkey in November, the window may remain open for the central bank to cut its key lending rate before the end of this year.  Turkey’s annualised inflation rate fell back to 47.1 percent in November, data issued by the statistics agency Turkstat on December 3 showed, down from October’s […]

Iskenderun, where the Oman Investment Authority and Turkish pension fund Oyak are to build a new container port, was damaged by an earthquake in 2023

Oman and Turkish pension fund launches $500m JV

A new container port in the southern Turkish city of Iskenderun is to be the first project in a joint venture worth $500 million between one of Turkey’s leading retirement funds and Oman’s sovereign wealth agency.  The Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and the Turkish military pension fund Oyak plan to invest in a range of […]

Turkey has a renewable energy roadmap for expansion by 2035, says energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar

Turkey aims to invest $100bn in renewable energy by 2035

Turkey is committing to a $100 billion investment in renewable energy by 2035, in a bid to become a carbon-neutral economy within the next three decades, energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar said. The country has a roadmap to expand wind and solar energy capacity from 31,000 megawatts (MW) to 120,000MW by 2035, Hürriyet Daily newspaper reported, citing […]

A shopping district in Istanbul. Some forecasters think Turkey's central bank will cut interest rates this month

Turkish growth slows as anti-inflation measures bite

Turkey’s economy shifted down another gear in the third quarter, as government efforts to curb demand cut deeper into business and consumer activity.  GDP increased by 2.1 percent in the third quarter, slowing from 2.4 percent in the second quarter, according to the official agency Turkstat. Growth in most sectors was either flat or slowing.  […]

Moscow, Russia. 21st Dec, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the launch ceremony of the Kovykta gas field and part of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline from Kovykta to Chayanda via video link from the Kremlin

Turkey asks US to allow payments to sanctioned Russian bank

Turkey is seeking an exemption to new sanctions imposed against Moscow by the Biden administration that would mean payments for imports of Russian natural gas are blocked, potentially cutting energy supplies and undermining the Turkish economy.  Washington announced sanctions against Gazprombank, which is part-owned by Russian state gas producer Gazprom, on November 21 this year. […]

Egypt Latest

Kuwait currently holds $4bn in deposits with the Central Bank of Egypt

Kuwait renews $2bn deposit with Central Bank of Egypt

Kuwait has renewed a $2 billion deposit with Egypt for an additional year, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in its latest external report.   The deposit, scheduled to be due in April 2024, will now mature in April 2025. The Gulf nation currently holds $4 billion in deposits with the CBE. While one tranche […]

Egypt and Qatar have discussed investments in the ports, logistics and manufacturing sectors, said prime minister Mostafa Madbouly

Egypt and Qatar to explore ‘major’ real-estate project

Egypt will collaborate with Qatar on a “major real estate project” in the North Coast region, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly said. The Gulf country has sought investment opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sectors, local media reported, citing the prime minister, who met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Egypt. No other […]

A trader works at the Egyptian Exchange. The rally on Egypt's bourse may continue if company valuations remain cheap

Egypt’s bourse rally endures despite shaky foundations

Cairo’s share index has trebled over the past two years as increasing numbers of Egyptians invest in stocks to preserve their wealth in response to double-digit inflation and a declining national currency. Company valuations remain cheap compared with regional peers, experts say, and so the market rally in Egypt may endure. However, the absence of […]

Egypt United Bank IPO

Retail investors offered 1.5% of Egypt’s United Bank in IPO

A small stake in Egypt’s United Bank is to be offered to retail investors on Wednesday, when 16.5 million shares of the state-owned bank will be floated on the Egyptian Exchange as part of an IPO. The retail tranche, 1.5 percent of the bank’s shares, is part of an initial public offering of 330 million […]

A green ammonia plant under construction in Norway. Poland's Hynfra plans to build plants in Egypt and Jordan

Poland’s Hynfra to build green ammonia plant in Egypt

Egypt’s General Authority for Investment and Free Zones is linking up with Polish energy company Hynfra to build a green ammonia plant. The facility will produce ammonia for export from Egypt to the European Union, the GAFI and Hynfra said in a joint statement. It will require an investment of $1.6 billion in its first […]

Features

Elon Musk Twitter Donald Trump Kingdom Holding

What next for Kingdom Holding’s $2bn X investment?

When Elon Musk took ownership of Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, he did so with the help of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and his Kingdom Holding, which put up nearly $2 billion of the price, and the Qatar Investment Authority, which handed over $375 million. The investment made the Saudi company the […]

The No 1 problem in a family business? ‘Not business, but family’

Public listings offer access to capital markets but they do not resolve the issues that often plague family businesses, the chairman of one of the Gulf’s largest and oldest family-owned conglomerates has told AGBI. Those challenges are governance, mindset and personal dynamics, said Mishal Kanoo, chairman of the Kanoo Group.  “Not a lot of people […]

Private money leading charge in Saudi construction industry

Private sector participation in Saudi Arabia’s construction industry is powering investment in the sector, according to a senior economist. Overall gross fixed capital formation – a measure of investment in an economy’s infrastructure, schools and other physical assets, as well as related tools and machinery – is up 3 percent year on year in the […]

Turkey’s olive growers mine liquid gold

Turkey is likely to set a new record for olive oil output this year, as millions of new trees planted in a drive to expand supply reach maturity. The crop should consolidate the country’s position as the one of the world’s largest olive oil producers.  This year, Turkey is on course to produce around 475,000 […]

Bankruptcy law change lures private credit to UAE

A new bankruptcy law which came into effect in the UAE earlier this year is attracting an influx of private credit into the country after boosting investor confidence. Private credit is non-bank lending to businesses, by private investors. Introduced on 1 May 2024, the new regulations shook up insolvency laws that had only been in force […]

People & Lifestyle

Luxury yachts in Dubai. The emirate is now home to 39 billionaires

Billionaires in UAE rise as Saudi numbers drop

The number of billionaires in the UAE increased in the last year as the amount of super-wealthy residents in neighbouring Saudi Arabia dropped.  Forty-eight billionaires lived in the UAE in 2023, with a combined wealth of $205 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent. Dubai made up 39 of that total and welcomed one extra […]

For AI to be properly integrated into healthcare, doctors need proper guidance, experts say

AI in healthcare is not a cure-all solution

Large language models such as the AI chatbot ChatGPT are gaining traction in healthcare, and Gulf states are investing heavily in the prospect, but LLMs’ integration into clinical practice presents challenges.  A study led by Dr Ethan Goh, published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association Open Network, tested whether ChatGPT could […]

A woman works out at a gym in Qatif, Saudi Arabia. One investor said they had never seen as much interest from VCs in the fitness industry

Golden returns draw investors to fitness markets

Investors are showing increasing interest in homegrown fitness companies, tempted by the “golden egg” returns on offer. The fitness market in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has been growing at an annual rate of 30 percent since 2020, with the UAE sector valued at an estimated $550 million and Saudi Arabia at $1.7 […]

Salvator Mundi Salman park

Salvator Mundi destined for Riyadh giga-park

The $450 million Leonardo Da Vinci painting Salvator Mundi is destined for a museum of art inside the King Salman Park giga-project in Riyadh in time for hosting the World Expo in 2030, two separate sources have said.   The artwork is a big part of Saudi Arabia’s plans to rebrand itself globally as a socially […]

People on Kuwait City's Marina Beach. It is estimated that housing costs in Kuwait absorb one third of an average household's income

Building more homes a better strategy for Kuwait, say experts

Kuwait has tightened property ownership restrictions on non-GCC nationals in an attempt to make real estate more affordable for locals, but industry watchers say building more homes would be the better strategy.  The small, oil-rich emirate has already imposed strict standards on nationals of countries from outside the Gulf who wanted to purchase domestic real […]

Bahrain healthcare

Bahrain government rebuffs citizens’ quota in healthcare

A unanimous call by the Bahraini parliament for half the jobs in private healthcare to be reserved for citizens has been rejected by the government on the grounds of possible harm to patients and the potential impact on foreign direct investment. Government officials told the National Assembly that the proposed quota would constrain private healthcare’s […]

Saudi private healthcare

Healthy progress made in Saudi Arabia’s wellness drive

Private health services in Saudi Arabia are rapidly expanding as its growing population and the focus on improving citizens’ wellbeing under the Vision 2030 programme bring in billions of dollars in new domestic and foreign investments. During the Global Health Exhibition, held in Riyadh at the end of October, Saudi officials announced deals worth $13.3 […]

Trains: A Dubai metro station – a third line is due by 2029

Trains, planes and more trains (or metros)

Is it finally happening? It was conceived back in 2013 and was supposed to take four years to build but the Riyadh metro looks like it is about to open. To the hard-pressed inhabitants of the Saudi capital, that can only be a good thing. Alternatives to the car and bus – Riyadh has a new […]

Around the world

EU GCC FTA, EU Gulf trade

EU and GCC officials aim to resume FTA negotiations

European and Gulf officials are holding “informal” efforts to “revive” and even “upgrade” negotiations over a free trade agreement between the two blocks. Efforts towards such an agreement are three and a half decades in the making, Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s special envoy to the Gulf has said. “I have to say it’s a […]

A woman sorts plastic bottles in Quezon City, Philippines. 170 nations took part in the latest round of UN talks

Latest talks on global plastics treaty end in stalemate

Negotiations over creating a legally binding global treaty to combat plastic pollution adjourned on Monday with the 170 participating nations failing again to reach agreement. Some oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, objected to proposals supported by more than 100 other nations to limit plastic production, Reuters reported. Plastics are made from hydrocarbons – […]

Adani Group's Gautam Adani has been accused of bribery payments to Indian government officials, something the group strongly denies

US charges billionaire Gautam Adani in $265m bribery case

US prosecutors have indicted Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and seven others, including his nephew Sagar Adani, in connection with an alleged $265 million bribery scheme tied to India’s largest solar power project. Adani has extensive business interests in the Arabian Gulf. The indictment, unsealed in New York on Wednesday, accuses the Adanis and Vneet Jaain, […]

On the agenda: Ed Miliband, UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, and World Bank president Ajay Banga at the summit on methane at COP29 in Baku

Nobody likes methane seepage. Especially Europe

Liquefied natural gas has always had a heroic reputation in the energy world. Heroic engineering, heroic logistics and heroic expense, yes – but a heroic outcome: clean (or not-so-dirty) energy and a seat with the good guys at the high table of energy transition. Qatar of course, Egypt, Oman, Israel and the UAE – these are the lucky producers and […]