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Top stories

Saudi Arabia's sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, celebrates as Fifa confirms Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host

Saudi Arabia wins 2034 Fifa World Cup bid

Fifa, the world football governing body, has officially named Saudi Arabia as the host nation for the 2034 World Cup.  The kingdom submitted its bid to host the event in July under the slogan “Growing. Together” after Fifa invited bids from countries in Asia and Oceania last year. The only country in contention, Australia, did […]

Gulf BNPL

Cultural factors reduce risk for Gulf BNPL providers

Buy-now-pay-later companies in the US and Europe have endured prolonged losses due to high operating costs and rising customer defaults, but BNPL operators in the Gulf may be faring better thanks to differing market dynamics, according to analysts. BNPL has soared in popularity in many regions as an easy and cheap form of consumer debt, […]

Saudi Red Sea coral

Red Sea coral to get extra protection from tourists

Saudi Arabia has vowed to implement a series of measures to protect its Red Sea coral reef over the next five years as it pushes ahead with major tourism projects in the area. But experts have warned that Saudi coral remains at risk, even with major spending policies.  According to the National Red Sea Sustainability […]

Trending

  1. Saudi Arabia donates $52m for Paris Pompidou Centre renovation

  2. $500bn QIA to go ‘aggressive’ and close big deals says CEO

  3. Saudi Arabia’s Jameel Motors to sell electric vehicles in UK

  4. UAE expected to sign trade deal with Mercosur bloc next year

  5. Middle East airlines earn highest profit per passenger, says Iata

OPINION & Analysis

Best of AGBI

Abu Dhabi is planning wealth management offerings and exclusive clubs to draw the super-wealthy to the emirate

Abu Dhabi thinks big to attract super-wealthy

From exclusive schools and members’ clubs to private banking and wealth management institutions, Abu Dhabi is ramping up efforts to attract family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to the emirate. US private equity investor Leon Black, who has a net worth of about $14 billion, in September opened a branch of his family office in Abu […]

Saudi Arabia expands global reach with 900 sports deals

Saudi Arabia’s vast number of sports sponsorship deals, now in excess of 900, are part of the kingdom’s strategy to diversify away from oil but their long-term success will not be known for some time to come, experts have said. Play the Game, a publicly funded sports ethics institute in Denmark, compiled a list of […]

Egypt’s historic rent controls are a problem to be solved

Ahmed lives in a four-bedroom apartment in a concrete tenement with his ailing mother. The flat has been in the family since his father, who died several years ago, began renting it when he graduated from university in the 1960s.  It is in Manial, a bustling, lower-middle-class area of Cairo, the kind of place where […]

Imax seeks investors in its vision of growth in the Gulf

Imax Corporation, the US cinema technology giant, is in discussions with Gulf investors including sovereign wealth funds as it seeks to deepen its presence in one of its fastest-growing markets. The UAE and Saudi Arabia rank among Imax’s top 20 global markets, its popularity driven by rising demand for premium cinematic experiences. “We’re meeting various […]

Blazer, Clothing, Coat

real estate

Dubai home renovations: enough to drive a man to drink

Frank Kane, Editor-at-Large

UAE latest

ReNew Energy Global has a clean-energy portfolio of about 16.3GW and is one of India's major independent power producers

UAE-backed group to take India’s ReNew Energy private

A consortium including UAE-based investors plans to take the $2.4 billion Indian clean energy company ReNew Energy Global private. The group, comprising Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s subsidiary Platinum Hawk, Masdar, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Sumant Sinha, founder and chairman of ReNew, have proposed $7.07 per share. This is a premium of 11.5 percent to the stock’s last close, […]

Operator Base Exchange says the new bourse's initial focus will be on companies already traded on Sao Paulo’s Bovespa (B3) stock exchange

Mubadala-backed Brazilian bourse targets 2025 debut

Brazil’s newest stock exchange, which is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2025, following a six-month testing phase. Base Exchange, the operator of the exchange, will initially trade equities, real estate funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through its own clearing and settlement structure, Reuters reported, citing CEO Claudio […]

Abu Dhabi is planning wealth management offerings and exclusive clubs to draw the super-wealthy to the emirate

Abu Dhabi thinks big to attract super-wealthy

From exclusive schools and members’ clubs to private banking and wealth management institutions, Abu Dhabi is ramping up efforts to attract family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals to the emirate. US private equity investor Leon Black, who has a net worth of about $14 billion, in September opened a branch of his family office in Abu […]

Masdar City's Central Park; the project is expected to be completed in 2025

Masdar City struggles to find contractors for cutting-edge projects

Masdar City, Abu Dhabi’s flagship sustainable eco-city project, is facing a shortage of contractors skilled enough to meet the demands of its ambitious projects, a senior executive has warned. Masdar City is under the control of the Mubadala Investment Company but operates within a shareholder structure that also includes Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) […]

Astra Tech managing director Tariq Bin Hendi, right, at Abu Dhabi Finance Week

Astra Tech secures $500m funding for lending platform

Dubai technology company Astra Tech has secured $500 million in financing for its fintech subsidiary, enabling it to further expand its consumer lending platform. Quantix Technology Projects, which in July was the first UAE-based fintech to receive a finance licence from the UAE central bank since 2008, secured the financing from Citi, in what is […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Saudi Arabia Pompidou Centre

Saudi Arabia donates $52m for Paris Pompidou Centre renovation

Saudi Arabia has agreed to donate €50 million ($52 million) towards the renovation of the Pompidou Centre, one of the landmark buildings in Paris.  Officially named Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, the building is closing next year for five years for renovation works. Famous for its inside-out architecture and colourful exterior, it […]

A sandstorm in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia's Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System is based in the city

Saudi Arabia to invest $10m in sandstorm warning system

Saudi Arabia will invest $10 million over the next five years to support its global sand and dust storm monitoring initiative. The initiative, launched through its United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Cop16 presidency, will expand on existing international sand and dust storm capacity, overseen by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Two billion tonnes […]

Saudi Arabia's sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal, celebrates as Fifa confirms Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host

Saudi Arabia wins 2034 Fifa World Cup bid

Fifa, the world football governing body, has officially named Saudi Arabia as the host nation for the 2034 World Cup.  The kingdom submitted its bid to host the event in July under the slogan “Growing. Together” after Fifa invited bids from countries in Asia and Oceania last year. The only country in contention, Australia, did […]

There were estimated to be 4.5 million light commercial vehicles on British roads at the end of 2022 Jameel Motors

Saudi Arabia’s Jameel Motors to sell electric vehicles in UK

Saudi Arabian mobility provider Jameel Motors has signed an agreement with a Chinese manufacturer to distribute electric commercial vehicles in the UK. Farizon Auto, which is based in Zhejiang, manufactures zero-emission vehicles, including trucks, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and buses. The deal between Jameel Motors, owned by Saudi Arabia’s Abdul Latif Jameel Group, and Farizon […]

Saudi Red Sea coral

Red Sea coral to get extra protection from tourists

Saudi Arabia has vowed to implement a series of measures to protect its Red Sea coral reef over the next five years as it pushes ahead with major tourism projects in the area. But experts have warned that Saudi coral remains at risk, even with major spending policies.  According to the National Red Sea Sustainability […]

Around the Middle East

Morocco has manufactured one million vehicles annually, including four electric models, over the past two decades

Morocco partners with central African nations on EV plan

Morocco, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia have joined together to develop the infrastructure needed for electric vehicles (EVs), as they strive to lower their dependence on fossil fuels. The three nations will club their resources and experiences to support the development of EV batteries and battery precursors. Developing carbon-free transportation is essential […]

Middle East airlines earn highest global profit per passenger

Middle East airlines earn highest profit per passenger, says Iata

Airlines across the Middle East generated the most profit per passenger carried this year, according to the International Air Travel Association. The region’s carriers made $23.10 profit per passenger in 2024, Iata said. This is more than double the figure for the second-placed market, North America. Iata expects the Middle East’s figure to rise to […]

Workers on a rig in the Natuna field. Kuwait is investigating further developments in Indonesia

Kuwait’s state oil company to expand in Indonesia

State-owned Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company plans to expand its operations in Indonesia, according to the company’s senior executive. Kufpec is a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, tasked with exploring and extracting oil and gas outside Kuwait’s borders. It is active in nine countries across Australasia, Africa, North America and Europe. In Indonesia Kufpec already […]

Tourists enjoying the view of Chefchaouen from the Spanish Mosque, northwest Morocco

Morocco reports 20% rise in tourists this year

Morocco has reported a 20 percent year-on-year increase in tourists through to the end of November, welcoming close to 16 million visitors. Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Morocco’s minister of tourism, described the numbers as an “historic achievement”. “This achievement isn’t just a number, it’s a testament to the success of our roadmap and confirms we’re on track […]

Syrians living in Istanbul hold a picture of Turkey's President Erdoğan as they celebrate the fall of Syria's President Assad

Turkish builders sense opportunity in Syria

Turkey’s construction sector is hoping to build on the rubble of the collapsed Assad regime in Syria.  There are high expectations that Turkish companies will be in the running to win valuable contracts to replace damaged housing and infrastructure. There were sharp rises in building shares on the Istanbul Stock Exchange on December 9, the […]

People, Person, Adult

Kuwait faces recession but will recover over medium term

The Kuwaiti economy is expected to remain in recession through 2024, but is projected to recover over the medium term, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. Real GDP will shrink by 2.8 percent in 2024, primarily due to additional Opec+ production cuts. However, economic activity will rebound in 2025, with a projected growth of 2.6 […]

Claridge's Hotel. Maybourne also owns the Berkeley, the Connaught and the Emory in London

Qatar-backed owner of Claridge’s to open hotel in Dubai

Maybourne Hotels, the owner of Claridge’s in London, is planning to expand to Dubai, Paris, New York and Miami, its co-chief executive has said.  The company, owned by Qatari royals Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, owns and operates six hotels – four in London and […]

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

Turkey Latest

Syrians living in Istanbul hold a picture of Turkey's President Erdoğan as they celebrate the fall of Syria's President Assad

Turkish builders sense opportunity in Syria

Turkey’s construction sector is hoping to build on the rubble of the collapsed Assad regime in Syria.  There are high expectations that Turkish companies will be in the running to win valuable contracts to replace damaged housing and infrastructure. There were sharp rises in building shares on the Istanbul Stock Exchange on December 9, the […]

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan drives a Togg car at the opening ceremony of a factory to begin mass production

Turkish electric vehicle sales up 39% in a year

Turkey’s electric vehicle market is expanding rapidly, with sales increasing almost 39 percent year on year as new models become available and supporting infrastructure is put in place. The rise is in contrast to conventional car sales, which are showing modest growth compared to their greener rivals. Turkey is also bucking global trends, which has […]

Turkish arms exports

Turkish arms exports up 19% year on year

Turkish defence companies have posted another record-breaking year for exports, with a 19 percent increase year on year and sales to 178 countries. Sales from January to November this year have already eclipsed 2023’s total of arms and equipment shipments to overseas clients, reflecting the arms industry’s technical developments and broader product range.  Defence and […]

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 […]

Egypt Latest

Rent on older housing in Cairo can be set at historically low amounts, which the government is now attempting to address

Egypt’s historic rent controls are a problem to be solved

Ahmed lives in a four-bedroom apartment in a concrete tenement with his ailing mother. The flat has been in the family since his father, who died several years ago, began renting it when he graduated from university in the 1960s.  It is in Manial, a bustling, lower-middle-class area of Cairo, the kind of place where […]

Egypt's prime minister Mostafa Madbouly first outlined a plan to list more state-owned companies in 2022

Egypt to list military-linked companies says PM

The Egyptian government will reveal plans next week to list military-affiliated companies on the local stock exchange, prime minister Mostafa Madbouly has said. Local media reports said three to four companies will be listed on the Egyptian stock exchange. No company names were given. The listings will attract investment and promote economic development, he said […]

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 […]

Features

Parliament Street in Dublin. The Irish capital is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk

GCC sukuk’s best-kept secret: Dublin

For many people, the city of Guinness and James Joyce may not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking about Islamic bonds. Yet, according to a report last month from Fitch Ratings, the Dublin stock exchange – Euronext Dublin – is now the world’s largest listing venue for hard currency global sukuk. […]

Drone deliveries all about speed, not profit, says Careem

Drone deliveries across the Middle East are expected to grow significantly over the next decade. However, the commercial viability is up for debate, says a Careem executive. Mohamad Charafeddine, Careem’s vice president of product for data and AI, says that drone deliveries have their value in speed, such as for essential medical products. But 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 […]

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

The Saudi government is stepping up efforts to attract investors to its agriculture sector after identifying a funding gap of SAR37 billion ($9.8 billion). The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture says there are investment opportunities in plant and animal production, as well as fisheries, processing, manufacture of agricultural products and infrastructure development. Saudi Arabia […]

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 […]

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 […]