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OPINION & Analysis

Cop28

A Bako electric car in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. Clean transport is one of the many sectors that can benefit from HSBC's $1bn fund

Mena companies can tap $1bn HSBC climate tech fund

HSBC has set aside $1 billion to help finance early-stage climate tech companies around the world, and “transformative investment opportunities” exist in the Middle East and Turkey, according to its regional chief.  “The Middle East has a key role to play in the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Patricia Gomes, regional head […]

Climate health risks

Al Jaber: climate change health risks need more investment

Cop28 participating nations must increase financing to identify and mitigate climate change’s risks to human health, the summit’s president designate Sultan Al Jaber has said. “The connection between health and climate change is evident, yet it has not been a specific focus of the Cop process – until now,” Al Jaber told the UN General […]

“Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” says IMF head Kristalina Georgieva

IMF lends Morocco $1.3bn to fight climate change

The International Monetary Fund is to lend Morocco $1.3 billion to help the country guard against climate-related risks. The staff-level agreement was confirmed by Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, who said the funding would be used to build resilience against future climate disasters. “Climate change is already dramatically affecting us,” Georgieva said in […]

UAE SMEs

UAE companies offered free emissions assessments

ImpactGulf, a carbon accounting and sustainability consultancy, is offering 71 UAE-registered businesses a complimentary assessment of their greenhouse gas emissions over the past five years.  The ‘71 Climate Heroes’ initiative – named to reflect the year the UAE was established – is open to the first companies and institutions that register by December 2. Any […]

Best of AGBI

Passengers on the Ain Dubai wheel look out over Palm Jumeirah – now a popular spot for Russian property investors

Russians snap up plots of land to build ‘Little Moscow’ in Dubai

Russian investors in Dubai are working to become real estate developers or acquire clusters of homes to build “Little Moscow” communities in the emirate. Buyers from Russia have become big investors in Dubai property since sanctions imposed on Moscow locked them out of European and North American markets. The UAE has also become a key […]

Saudi crowdfunding takes off as loans double in 2022

The number of new businesses taking on debt through crowdfunding platforms has soared in Saudi Arabia. The value of loans raised has more than doubled to SAR771 million Saudi riyals ($206 million) in 2022, the Saudi central bank (Sama) said in a new report.  Crowdfunding is a process in which multiple investors lend money to […]

Abraham Accords – 3 years on, $3 billion in trade

An Israeli politician has described how the Abraham Accords, signed three years ago today, have “opened a floodgate to, hopefully, a new Middle East”. Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, deputy mayor of Jerusalem, tells AGBI in an exclusive video interview that the agreement signed at the White House on September 15 2020, is transforming Israel’s relations with the […]

UAE grey list: UK banks close expat accounts

In March last year the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, an international watchdog, cited “strategic deficiencies” in the systems the UAE uses to counter financial crime and placed the country under enhanced supervision. But burgeoning trade, bumper airline profits and double-digit rent increases have made it difficult to discern much in the way of a […]

Hong Kong thrives as GCC-China ‘super-connector’

As Hong Kong prepares to host the Belt and Road Summit this week, its focus is increasingly turning to the Gulf for trade and investment opportunities.  The Chinese special administrative region has been strengthening its links with the Middle East since 2013, when the Belt and Road Initiative was launched. It now wants to attract […]

UAE latest

Cuisine in India and the Middle East is ‘incomplete without spices’, said Indian minister Piyush Goyal

India-Middle East-Europe corridor to revive spice route

Indian spices and spice products are likely to be the first commercial products to find their way through the new India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imec), an Indian minister has said. Imec, announced last month at the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, aims to integrate railway routes and link ports along a route from India […]

Sharjah airport, the base of Air Arabia, received more than 2.8m passengers between July and August 2023

Sharjah airport targets 20m passengers by 2026

Sharjah airport will implement several expansion plans to raise its passenger handling capacity to 20 million by 2026 to become one of the top five regional airports, according to Ali Salim Al Midfa, chairman of Sharjah Airport Authority.  The authority remains dedicated to boosting the airport’s facilities, infrastructure, and services, he said in a statement. The AED2.4 […]

A 'Made in the Gulf' brand has potential 'if it is built upon the genuine strengths of the region', says one expert

The time could be right for a ‘Made in the Gulf’ brand

Creating a “Made in the Gulf” brand for the region’s manufacturing sector would not be easy – but such an initiative has potential, according to industry experts. Plans to establish a unified definition and standards for such a brand were discussed by trade and industry ministry representatives at a meeting of the Industrial Cooperation Committee […]

Aldar Nikki Beach

Aldar pairs up with Nikki Beach for RAK residences

Aldar Properties is partnering with resort group Nikki Beach Global to develop three branded residential buildings in Ras Al Khaimah as part of a larger beachfront community on Al Marjan Island. Sales for the Abu Dhabi developer’s inaugural residential development in Ras Al Khaimah – named Nikki Beach Residences – are expected to launch later […]

Tomislav Momirovic, Serbia’s trade minister, with his UAE counterpart Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi at the trade talks

UAE-Serbia talks begin in Dubai as trade speeds up

“I want to have Dubai as a base for my business and innovation,” says Novak Djokovic. “I love the champion mentality.” The world tennis number one, arguably Serbia’s most famous son, describes the emirate as his “second home”. Emirati officials, who launched trade talks with the European country on Monday, will be hoping Djokovic’s compatriots […]

Saudi Arabia latest

Riyadh Fashion Week Saudi fashion

First Riyadh Fashion Week aims for global impact

The inaugural Riyadh Fashion Week will take place in the Saudi capital next month with a line-up of 30 of the kingdom’s brands taking over the runway.  Celebrities, VIPs, buyers and key industry figures from the global fashion community are expected in Riyadh to celebrate Saudi’s rapidly emerging fashion scene. The inaugural event will also […]

Ades Holding is expected to raise about $1.22bn from selling more than 338.72 million existing and new shares

PIF-backed Ades Holding’s order book hits $76bn

Saudi oil and gas driller Ades Holding set the final price for its initial public offering (IPO) at the top-end at SAR 13.50, implying a valuation of SAR 15.242 billion ($4.06 billion). The institutional book-building process was 62.7 times oversubscribed, while the order book stood at SAR 286.853 billion ($76.49 billion). The Public Investment Fund-backed […]

Oil shipments from Saudi Arabia totalled 1.89 million bpd in August, down 5.5% from a year earlier

Saudi exports to China slip on Russia’s discounted oil

Russia maintained its spot as China’s top crude oil supplier in August, Chinese government data showed on Wednesday, even as discounts on Russian crude continued to narrow and Moscow cut exports. China’s imports from Russia – including supplies via pipelines and seaborne shipments – jumped 26 percent from August last year to 10.54 million metric […]

Saudi businesses are making more use of crowdfunding

Saudi crowdfunding takes off as loans double in 2022

The number of new businesses taking on debt through crowdfunding platforms has soared in Saudi Arabia. The value of loans raised has more than doubled to SAR771 million Saudi riyals ($206 million) in 2022, the Saudi central bank (Sama) said in a new report.  Crowdfunding is a process in which multiple investors lend money to […]

The Tadawul move is part of Saudi Arabia's strategy to attract more local and international investors

Saudi Tadawul to launch four Size Indices

The Saudi stock exchange (Tadawul) is launching four new indices based on company size and public listing performance. The four Size Indices are the Tadawul Large Cap Index, Tadawul Medium Cap Index, Tadawul Small Cap Index and the Tadawul IPO Index. The maximum weight for any single stock will be 15 percent, following Tadawul All […]

Around the Middle East

Arcapita sold its student housing community near Clemson University, the second largest university in South Carolina

Bahrain’s Arcapita exits US student housing portfolio

Arcapita Group Holdings, the Bahrain-headquartered alternative investment company, has exited from its student housing community investment in the United States. Arcapita sold its student housing community near Clemson University, the second largest university in South Carolina, to Chicago-based Core Spaces, an operator of student housing properties.  The transaction is Arcapita’s second student housing exit in […]

The private funding round values Israeli cybersecurity startup Cato Networks at $3 billion

Israeli cybersecurity startup Cato Networks raises $238m

Israeli cybersecurity company Cato Networks said on Tuesday it had raised $238 million in a private funding round that valued the company at $3 billion. The round, one of Israel’s largest this year and Cato’s biggest, was led by LightSpeed Venture Partners, with the participation of Adams Street Partners, Softbank Vision Fund 2, Sixty Degree […]

OPEC

Kenya extends oil supply deal with three Gulf companies

Kenya has extended an oil supply deal with three Gulf-based companies, which is designed to manage demand for dollars, the energy regulator said on Tuesday. The East African nation entered the deal with Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Emirates National Oil Company (Enoc) in March, switching from an open tender system […]

Saudi Arabia advertising - digital growth

Middle East to be world’s fastest-growing ad market

The Middle East’s advertising market is on track to be the world’s fastest growing over the next two years, driven by Saudi Arabia’s ongoing transformation. The regional market, worth $5.9 billion last year, is forecast to grow 10 percent in 2023 and a further 6.2 percent in 2024, when its value will reach $6.9 billion. […]

Northern Ireland Gulf trade

Northern Ireland keen to deepen trade ties with Gulf

The recent Brexit deal for Northern Ireland places it in a strong position to deepen trade links with the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), especially in manufacturing and life sciences, according to the regional head of Invest Northern Ireland.  The economic development agency aims to grow the number of Northern Irish businesses active in […]

TASC Towers will continue to operate independently with a board of non-Zain majority members

Kuwait’s Zain ups stake in UAE’s telco tower company

Kuwaiti telco Zain Group has increased its share in the UAE-based TASC Towers from 83.47 percent to 92.87 percent. The company will continue to operate independently with a board of non-Zain majority members, Zain Group vice-chairman and CEO Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi said in a statement to Boursa Kuwait. “Given the nature of Zain’s shareholding and […]

'Such narratives set the global energy system up to fail spectacularly,' said Opec secretary general Haitham Al Ghais, referring to IEA views on peak oil demand

Opec pours cold water on IEA’s ‘peak’ for oil demand

Opec, the group of oil-producing countries, has taken issue with assumptions by the International Energy Agency that demand for fossil fuels would peak before 2030, saying they present a danger to economies and billions of people.  “Such narratives only set the global energy system up to fail spectacularly. It would lead to energy chaos on […]

Iraq banks

US says Iraq must act to avoid further action on banks

Iraq’s central bank must address continued risks of the misuse of dollars at its commercial banks to avoid new punitive measures targeting the country’s financial sector, a top US treasury official said, citing fraud, money laundering and Iran sanctions evasion. In July, the US barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting dollar transactions as part of […]

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Turkey Latest

A Bako electric car in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. Clean transport is one of the many sectors that can benefit from HSBC's $1bn fund

Mena companies can tap $1bn HSBC climate tech fund

HSBC has set aside $1 billion to help finance early-stage climate tech companies around the world, and “transformative investment opportunities” exist in the Middle East and Turkey, according to its regional chief.  “The Middle East has a key role to play in the transition to a net zero global economy,” said Patricia Gomes, regional head […]

The UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq are all "very, very determined" on the $17bn project said Turkey's President Erdoğan

Erdoğan lauds $17bn link between Turkey and Iraq

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has lauded plans for a $17 billion infrastructure and transportation project linking southern Iraq to Turkey as an opportunity to “build a new world”. The Development Road project will link Grand Faw Port, a commodities port in Iraq, by rail and road to the border with Turkey. It will transform […]

Alibaba's investment in Turkey will involve data and logistics centres in Ankara and an export centre at Istanbul Airport

China’s Alibaba plans $2bn investment in Turkey

China’s e-commerce major Alibaba Group is planning to invest around $2 billion in Turkey, according to a local media report. The plan was shared by Alibaba president Michael Evans during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing a statement from the company’s Turkish unit. No timeframe was given but the […]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said that the company will pick a location for a new factory by the end of 2023

Musk terms Tesla’s Saudi factory talks ‘utterly false’

Billionaire Elon Musk has termed a media report about Tesla Inc. being in talks with Saudi Arabia to set up a production facility in the kingdom as “utterly false”. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, citing informed sources, that the kingdom is in early talks with US electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla. “Yet […]

Tesla hikes prices

Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk to build a Tesla factory in Turkey, Anadolu Agency posted on social media platform X – formerly Twitter – on Sunday. Erdoğan asked Musk during a meeting at Turkish House, a skyscraper near the United Nations in New York, the Turkish state-owned news agency said. […]

Egypt Latest

The Rolling Plus factory will cover an area of 400,000 square meters in the Suez Canal Economic Zone

Egypt signs contract to establish $1bn tyre factory

Egypt has secured 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) worth of investment to establish a tyre factory in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, the cabinet said in a statement. A contract was signed with Rolling Plus for Chemical Industries, a joint venture between Egyptian, Saudi Arabia and Cypriot companies, to establish a factory producing seven million […]

Architecture, Building, Tower

Egypt’s new capital developer plans IPO in 2024

Egypt is planning to float five to 10 percent of the shares of the company building its vast new capital 45 km east of Cairo by the second quarter of 2024, its chairman said on Monday. The sale on the stock exchange of shares in the Administrative Capital for Urban Development (ACUD), now owned 51 […]

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al Sisi will not want to devalue the pound

Egypt urged to devalue pound to progress IMF talks

Financial analysts have called on Egypt to devalue the country’s pound to ensure progress in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and stabilise the economy. In a call on Wednesday, Capital Economics’ Middle East and North Africa economist, James Swanston, said that a further devaluation is “simply needed”, suggesting that the Central Bank of Egypt […]

Egypt's new steel complex will have a production capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes per year

Egypt approves $1bn steel production complex

Egypt is to establish an integrated industrial complex to produce flat steel with investments worth $1 billion as the country aims to build up its heavy industries sector. With a production capacity of 1.8 million metric tonnes per year, the complex will target global exports and serve the local market, Egypt Today news daily reported, […]

Egypt is seeking new external financing of between $1.5 and $2 billion, finance minister Mohamed Maait said

Egypt’s forex reserves rise for 12 consecutive months

Egypt’s foreign reserves rose to $34.92 billion in August 2023, recording an increase for 12 consecutive months. The reserves recorded a 5.4 percent increase year on year last month, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing statistics from the central bank. The reserves stood at $34.87 billion in July, comprising the US dollar, Euro, Australian dollar, Japanese […]

Features

Riyadh Fashion Week Saudi fashion

First Riyadh Fashion Week aims for global impact

The inaugural Riyadh Fashion Week will take place in the Saudi capital next month with a line-up of 30 of the kingdom’s brands taking over the runway.  Celebrities, VIPs, buyers and key industry figures from the global fashion community are expected in Riyadh to celebrate Saudi’s rapidly emerging fashion scene. The inaugural event will also […]

Collectors buy for love, but Arab art is big business too

One of the first things that strikes you about the modern and contemporary Arab art on display at Christie’s gallery in central London is its variety.  Cubist pieces from Baghdad hang alongside figurative Egyptian paintings, saffron-coloured tapestries next to abstract ink-on-paper drawings.   Dreams of the Detainee, a portrait in profile from 1961 by Cairo-born activist […]

Russians bulk buying iPhones in UAE to sell back home

Last year Apple officially stopped all product sales on its Apple store in Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Despite this, Russian telecom operator MTS and Russian e-commerce sites are already accepting pre-orders for the iPhone 15 – to be unveiled by Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday – and some of […]

Dubai embraces AI to disrupt the film sector

Are robot writers and CGI actors about to steal our jobs? That’s one of the core fears at the centre of Hollywood’s largest strike by actors and writers in over 60 years. From ChatGPT generating scripts and AI-generated actors replacing extras in crowd scenes, to computers automatically editing scenes and creating stunning visual effects (VFX) […]

‘Hi, this is your bank…’ Inside the war on payment fraud

“Hello. This is the Central Bank of the UAE. We are contacting you because you need to surrender your debit card.” The call comes from a conventional mobile number while you’re on the way home from work.   Welcome to the scamdemic – claim your prize, share your one-time password, update your bank details, click […]

People & Lifestyle

The Blinx headquarters in Dubai Media City

Blinx launches to cater to ‘tech-savvy youth’

A new digital media centre has launched in the Middle East focusing on Gen Z and millennial content creation, storytelling and reporting. Dubai-headquartered Blinx (spelt as “blinx”) wants to capitalise on the region’s burgeoning media and entertainment industry, expected to be worth over $61 billion by 2028, according to research from Mordor Intelligence. Blinx will […]

The Wynn resort and casino is set to open in 2027 on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Kahaimah

Lottoland boss hails UAE move to set up gaming regulator

The entrepreneur behind the global lottery betting platform Lottoland has described the UAE’s new gaming regulatory authority as “big news”. David von Rosen-von Hoewel told AGBI that he looks forward to working with authorities to roll out lottery products in the UAE next year and beyond. “The UAE now has the chance to build the […]

A DBS Engineering air dome in Helsinki. The company is about to complete its second project in Saudi Arabia

Gulf events turning to inflatable domes

A Slovenian leader in the manufacture of high-tech air domes is seeking expansion across the Gulf after capturing deals in Saudi Arabia. DBS Engineering has agreements with the Ministry of Investment, Alwaseel Sport City, Filling & Packing Materials Co (Fipco) and Zamil Industrial. The company said it will soon complete its second project in Qassim […]

Bicester Village

Middle East shoppers surge at UK’s Bicester Village

Travelling on the train to Bicester Village, do not be surprised if you hear announcements in Arabic as you approach the British designer outlet retail destination an hour from London.  This is just one example of the steps Bicester Village’s parent company Value Retail has taken in recent years to attract more Middle East shoppers.  The […]

Saudi Pro League footbal - Al-Feiha's Mohammed Al Baqawi in action with Al-Hilal's Michael

Saudi football sells TV rights in hope of net profit

Saudi Arabia’s professional football league has sold broadcast rights to 12 networks across 130 countries for coverage of the 2023-24 season, following a spending spree on players that has captured global attention.  But wary of previous experience with China, broadcasters will be following closely to see if a global appetite exists for Saudi Arabia.  “The […]

Around the world

EV maker Nio raised $500 million in a six-year put-four convertible bond and the same amount in a seven-year put-five bond

Chinese EV maker Nio raises $1bn in convertible bond deal

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc said on Wednesday it had raised $1 billion in a two-tranche convertible bond from which it intends to use the proceeds to pay down debt and strengthen its balance sheet. The company raised $500 million in a six-year put-four convertible bond and the same amount in a seven-year put-five […]

Singapore’s non-oil exports fall for 11th straight month  

Singapore’s annual exports fell for an 11th straight month in August as the trade-reliant economy continues to grapple with global headwinds on inflation and declining demand. Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell 20.1 percent year on year in August, official data showed on Monday, as both electronics and non-electronics exports to the US, Europe and China […]

Opec+ oil

Solar energy shines in global survey beating fossil fuels

More than two-thirds of the world’s population favours solar energy, five times more than public support for fossil fuels, a global poll has found. The survey, conducted by Glocalities in collaboration with advocacy groups Global Citizen and The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, was based on interviews with more than 21,000 people in 21 countries […]

China’s Alibaba to open ‘free’ AI model

Alibaba said on Wednesday it would open its artificial intelligence (AI) model Tongyi Qianwen to the public, in a sign it has gained Chinese regulatory approval to mass-market the model. Authorities in China have recently accelerated efforts to support companies developing AI as the technology increasingly becomes a focus of competition with the United States. […]