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OPINION & Analysis

Trump in the Middle East, May 13-16

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Economic promises seem to outweigh Oman's diplomatic efforts on President Trump's current trip

Why Oman is off Trump’s travel plans

Oman may have negotiated a ceasefire between the US and Yemen’s Houthis, and is the go-between the US and Iran in negotiations around nuclear weapons capability. But it is not among the countries President Donald Trump is visiting in the Arabian Gulf this week. “These Gulf countries Trump is currently visiting are offering trillions of […]

US President Donald Trump is likely to prioritise lower US pump prices in his Gulf visit

Gulf ready for high-energy talks with Trump

Security, technology transfer and inward investment into the US may dominate the headlines but Gulf leaders meeting President Donald Trump this week are also likely to raise a raft of more humdrum energy issues. For Trump, who makes the first state visit of his second presidency from May 13 to 16, cheaper gasoline at the […]

Donald Trump speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at a G20 summit. Saudi Arabia will be Trump's first stop on his Gulf visit

Big money, big deals – but Gulf needs FDI clarity from Trump

US President Donald Trump arrives in the Saudi capital Riyadh tomorrow on the first leg of his three-country Gulf visit that will also take in Qatar and the UAE. His overwhelming objective is money and big deals: to sell American goods and secure their investment to the US economy.  With that in mind, the US […]

Best of AGBI

The textile souk in Dubai. Many retailers have been relying on aggressive discounting to attract customers

Dollar rebound offers little relief to UAE retailers

The dollar has jumped in the past 24 hours but it is still trading at around an eight-month low, at least against the euro. For Gulf oil producers, most of whose currencies are pegged to the US currency, the weaker dollar poses a challenge. “The dollar has been part of the collateral damage as investors […]

Dubai lays out welcome mat for Chinese finance

The Dubai International Financial Centre is stepping up efforts to attract Chinese securities firms and corporates hoping to raise funds through initial public offerings, positioning itself as an alternative jurisdiction to Hong Kong and New York. Set up in 2004, the DIFC provides a platform for financial institutions with a legal and regulatory framework that […]

US treasuries: why it’s buy, buy, buy for the UAE as Saudi sells

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are following divergent investment strategies around US government bonds, which have long been a safe haven for sovereign and institutional investors worldwide. The two countries are among the world’s top 20 biggest holders of the bonds, with a combined value of almost $250 billion. The UAE acquired almost $43 billion […]

Dubai’s hottest new job title: chief AI officer

Three years ago, finding a single person in the Middle East and the Gulf with the job title “chief AI officer” was rare, if not unheard of. Today, however, with the help of the world’s biggest technology companies and their complicated artificial intelligence tools, chief AI officers – or CAIOs as they are also known […]

UAE latest

A Lulu store. Revenue in Saudi Arabia jumped by 10 percent year on year, primarily driven by new store openings in the last 12 months

Lulu profit and revenue up as online sales grow by quarter

Net profit of Lulu Retail, the largest grocery retailer in the GCC, increased in the first quarter of 2025, supported by higher online sales. Net profit grew 16 percent year on year to $70 million, with net profit margin rising to 3 percent, up 25 basis points annually, the retailer said in a statement published […]

Outdoors, Nature, Countryside

Fertiglobe revenue rises by a quarter but profit down

Fertiglobe said revenues surged more than a quarter in the first three months of 2025, thanks to higher sales volumes and urea prices. The first quarter top line rose 26 percent year on year to $695 million. However, net profit attributable fell 24 percent annually to $73 million but rose 74 percent quarter on quarter, […]

Air Arabia's fleet expanded to 83 Airbus aircraft, with two Airbus A320 jets added in January

Air Arabia turnover rises despite challenges

UAE low-cost airline Air Arabia said turnover registered a double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2025 despite fuel price volatility, currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges. Revenue rose 14 percent year on year to AED1.8 billion ($490 million), as passenger volume increased 11 percent annually to nearly 5 million, the Sharjah-headquartered airline said in a […]

2YJHBFX A young happy Muslim woman using mobile phone and holding credit card checking balance account or making money transfer. Online Payment Internet

Rise of Middle East fintechs gives banks a run for their money

The growth of fintech in the Middle East is driving traditional banks to refocus on better serving their customers and invest in their own dedicated subsidiaries as the sector eats into their market share, industry experts say. In the three months to March 31, fintech funding accounted for almost 60 percent of all venture capital […]

City Walk Dubai, part of the Dubai Holding REIT

Dubai Holding seeks up to $500m from REIT listing

Dubai Holding aims to raise a maximum of AED1.8 billion ($490 million) from its residential real estate investment trust (REIT) listing. This month the investment conglomerate owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler, announced floating 12.5 percent of its Dubai Residential REIT, or 1.63 billion units, on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).  […]

Saudi Arabia latest

About 79 percent of the 43 Saudi projects awarded this year involved electricity and water while the others covered oil and gas, construction and infrastructure

Saudi Arabia awarded deals worth $9bn in four months

Saudi Arabia reportedly awarded public contracts with a combined value of around SAR34 billion ($9 billion) in the first four months of 2025. The government is also expected to award 10 other projects in May covering mainly construction and oil and gas, the Saudi Contractors’ Authority (SCA) said in its May bulletin. About 79 percent […]

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks with Saudi minister of communications Abdullah Alswaha at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh

Elon Musk says Saudi Arabia approves use of Starlink

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Saudi Arabia has approved the use of the company’s Starlink satellite system for its aviation and maritime sectors. Starlink is a low-orbit satellite network offering high-speed broadband services, particularly in areas with limited internet connectivity. It is operated by SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace and defence company. Oman has already approved Starlink, […]

Sabic's manufacturing site in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Petrochemicals made up almost 10 percent of total Saudi exports last year

Clouds still not lifting on Saudi petrochem industry

Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical companies underperformed in the first quarter and little improvement is expected for the remainder of the year, analysts say. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), the world’s seventh largest chemicals manufacturer by sales, made a net loss of $323 million in the three months to March 31, compared with a near $70 million […]

A CGI of the Louisiana LNG facility. Woodside announced the final investment decision last month

Aramco explores stake in $18bn LNG project in US

Saudi Aramco is considering buying a stake in Australia-based Woodside Energy’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the US. The two companies signed a non-binding agreement to explore the stake buyout and LNG offtake from the $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG project, Woodside said in a statement on Wednesday. The collaboration agreement was signed in Riyadh […]

Around the Middle East

OQEP's $53 million contracts aim to boost employment opportunities for Omani nationals including the Tamayuz programme which will create jobs and develop skills for graduates

OQEP deals are part of Omani job creation drive

Oman’s OQ Exploration and Production (OQEP) has signed four contracts worth $53 million with local companies to help create jobs for Omani nationals. The contracts include oil field operations, construction facility and rig drilling, as part of OQEP’s in-country value (ICV) programme.  “These agreements not only create new business opportunities for Omani enterprises but also […]

Despite market challenges, Alba says sales volume reached 374,809 metric tonnes, up by 3 percent year on year

Alba earnings dented by rising raw-material prices

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), which is listed on the Bahrain Bourse, said its earnings were hit in the first quarter of 2025 due to higher raw material (alumina) prices. Net profit fell 26 percent to BD18.1 million ($48 million) in the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to BD25 million a year ago, the company said […]

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Economic promises seem to outweigh Oman's diplomatic efforts on President Trump's current trip

Why Oman is off Trump’s travel plans

Oman may have negotiated a ceasefire between the US and Yemen’s Houthis, and is the go-between the US and Iran in negotiations around nuclear weapons capability. But it is not among the countries President Donald Trump is visiting in the Arabian Gulf this week. “These Gulf countries Trump is currently visiting are offering trillions of […]

Doha's Mina District during a rainstorm. A major part of Qatar's infrastructure drive is to reuse rainwater for irrigation and cooling

Qatar to spend $22bn on water infrastructure works

Qatar is to spend billions of dollars as part of its five-year strategy to develop drainage, sewage and flood prevention infrastructure. The government-backed Public Works Authority (Ashghal) will invest more than QAR81 billion ($22.3 billion) to implement various infrastructure projects, the state-run Qatar News Agency reported. These projects include the development of citizens’ lands, government […]

Mutrah Souq in Muscat. Observers says commercial properties in Oman are providing lower returns

Commercial oversupply may explain drop in Oman property sales

Oversupply in commercial properties may underpin a decline in the value of real estate transactions in Oman in the first quarter, according to one real estate agent. The value of real estate transactions in the country declined by 2.5 percent to OR573 million ($1.5 billion) in the three months to March 31, compared with the […]

Air Force One is seen on a screen as it lands in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The new plane gifted by Qatar is worth $400m

Trump dismisses concerns over Qatari plane gift

US president Donald Trump has dismissed ethical concerns about his decision to accept a Boeing 747-8 jet as a gift from the Qatari royal family. Trump said it would be “stupid” to turn down the generous offer. The $400 million luxury plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, would be one of […]

Kuwait City's central business district. Solar projects such as Shagaya will help Kuwait reach its target of 50% renewables by 2050

China to build large solar power plant in Kuwait

China has won a contract to build a large solar power park at the Shagaya renewable energy complex in the heart of the Kuwaiti desert. The facility will allow the Gulf state to increase renewables’ share of its energy mix to more than a quarter, a Kuwaiti minister said. The unnamed Chinese government company has […]

2M92198 Serious bored businesswoman inside office, muslim woman in hijab thinking while sitting at workplace with laptop, woman at work thinking about decisions. female-led, woment-led, female, woman

VC funding in decline for female-led Mena startups

Startups led by women in the Middle East and North Africa are at risk of being left far behind when it comes to raising venture capital funds, data shows. Since 2020 their share of the total has declined every year from 2.2 percent to less than 0.5 percent in 2023, before bouncing back up – […]

Turkey Latest

Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's minister of finance, insists economic transformation is progressing despite recent market turbulence, highlighting disinflation

Turkish minister says economy on track despite slower growth

Turkey’s finance minister has said the country’s economic transformation was on track and that the country was prepared to deal with slower growth. Finance minister Mehmet Simsek said that tighter financial conditions, lower oil prices and a weaker dollar were likely to be disinflationary, boosting the economy. “Growth is slower but we can live with […]

Tourist balloons in Cappadocia. “Turkey for us is a priority partner across the board," said the British envoy to Turkey

Turkey could receive 5 million UK tourists this year

More visitors from the UK are expected to visit Turkey this year, thanks to the long summer season and the expansion of Antalya airport. British tourists could reach 5 million this year, British envoy to Ankara Jill Morris told the state-run Anadolu Agency. She said the number of UK visitors rose from 3.3 million in […]

A worker at a smelting workshop pours the rare earth metal lanthanum into a mould. Turkey has deposits of lanthanum, cerium and neodymium

Turkey keen to cash in on rare earth potential

Turkey plans to become one of the world’s leading suppliers of rare earths, seeking to parlay its extensive reserves into a position of international strength by investing in extraction and processing while also looking to develop downstream industries. In 2022 Ankara identified a massive mineral deposit in the central Turkish province of Eskişehir containing 10 […]

A goat herder in Antalya province. Turkey's statistics agency has reported double-digit falls in all main categories of meat production in 2024

Turkey’s red meat output tumbles as costs keep climbing

Rising costs and falling returns have contributed to a drop in red meat production in Turkey, threatening the government’s plan to halt imports by 2028.  Red meat production fell by almost 12 percent in 2024, according to the state statistics agency Turkstat. Just 2.1 million tonnes were processed last year, down on the 2.38 million […]

Flower, Flower Arrangement, Flower Bouquet

Uber enters Turkey’s food delivery sector with $700m buyout

Uber Technologies will foray into Turkey’s food delivery sector as part of its expansion plans. The company has agreed to acquire an 85 percent stake in Alibaba-backed Trendyol Group’s Go online meal and grocery delivery business in Turkey for $700 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2025 following regulatory […]

Egypt Latest

Freighter, Ship, Transportation

Suez Canal considers transit fees discount to revive traffic

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority chief, Osama Rabie, said the authority is considering offering discounts ranging from 12 to 15 percent on transit fees to help restore traffic in the strategic waterway reeling from attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on Red Sea shipping. Rabie told privately owned Sada Al-Balad television channel in a phone interview that the […]

Advertising for cryptocurrencies is on the rise in Egypt but regulators have issued warnings

Egypt renews warning over dealing in cryptocurrencies

Egypt has issued a fresh warning against dealing in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies following a surge in local online advertisements for investment in these tools. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) said these currencies lack official financial backing that guarantees their stability and that they could be used in terror funding. In a weekend statement on […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during their meeting in Moscow on May 9

Egypt and Russia increase trade after record 2024

Trade between Russia and Egypt rose sharply in the first two months of 2025 after setting a new record in 2024. “Last year bilateral trade turnover increased by more than 30 percent, reaching $9 billion,” state-run TASS news agency reported quoting Russian president Vladimir Putin speaking at a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. […]

Egypt needs to boost natural gas production, which has fallen to 4.2 billion cubic feet per day, well below its domestic needs

Egypt clears $1.2bn in dues to foreign oil companies

Egypt has reportedly paid $1.2 billion this month to foreign oil companies to settle part of its overdue debts. Total arrears to foreign oil companies operating in oil and gas exploration and extraction has reached $7.5 billion, up from $6.3 billion at the beginning of April, an unnamed government official told Asharq Business, an Arabic […]

Analysts cited an increase in the official price of fuel as the main cause of Egypt's inflation rise

Egypt’s inflation climbs as fuel becomes expensive

Egypt’s annual urban consumer price inflation accelerated to 13.9 percent in April from 13.6 percent in March, matching analyst expectations, data from statistics agency Capmas showed on Saturday. Month on month, prices were 1.5 percent higher at the end of April than at end-March. Food and beverage prices decelerated by 1.5 percent. Annually, food and […]

Features

Cars navigate the winding roads of the Aseer mountains. Most visitors hail from the GCC but Saudi Arabia hopes to increase the number of international tourists

Riyadh wants the world to visit the ‘Arabian Highlands’ of Aseer

The streets of Abha become festooned with lilacs and mauves throughout May, when the city’s 25,000 jacaranda trees come into bloom. Pockets of purple burst throughout the hilltop capital of the southern province of Aseer, bringing an increasing number of tourists.  Aseer’s botanical diversity has helped it become the fastest growing tourism prospect in Saudi […]

DP World trials hydrogen cranes to reduce emissions

DP World, the world’s biggest container port operator, is testing out a hydrogen powered crane to reduce its reliance on diesel and cut carbon dioxide emissions.  The Dubai logistics giant, which handles 70 million containers each year, operates 1,500 cranes in over 60 ports around the world. While it is considering converting half of those from […]

Oman steps up efforts to curb rising unemployment

The IMF may laud Oman for cutting its debt and bringing its budget deficit under control but unemployment in the Gulf’s third most populous country is growing, posing a policy challenge to the government. In January, the month for which the latest data is available, unemployment rose to 3.6 percent, compared with 3.3 percent the month […]

Kuwait’s aviation industry loses altitude as foreign airlines exit

Kuwait’s ambitions for its aviation industry are faltering as a growing number of international carriers quit the market and airport upgrades are delayed. British Airways ceased its daily service from London in March, ending more than 60 years of operations. This follows withdrawals from Kuwait International Airport (KWI) by at least 14 other airlines since 2019, […]

‘Tourism is the new oil’, says man trying to bring 150 million people to Saudi

Investment in tourism will remain a priority in Saudi Arabia despite falling oil prices and increased budgetary pressures, according to the kingdom’s top industry official. The underserved three-star and four-star hotel sector is a particular focus, Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, told AGBI.  “The darker it gets, the more reason we should […]

People & Lifestyle

Saudisation policies and a potential global economic downturn could mean fewer roles for expatriates in Saudi Arabia

Trade tensions may stifle expatriate employment in Saudi Arabia

A global economic downturn is likely to result in fewer jobs for expatriates in Saudi Arabia, a local bank has said.  Instead, policies aimed at incentivising the hiring of more nationals are increasingly putting Saudis in pole position for jobs, according to Jadwa Investment, an advisory group and investment bank in Riyadh. Last year, expatriate […]

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum at Airbus headquarters. Emirates has 240 Boeing passenger planes and 61 Airbus A350-900s on order

Sheikh Ahmed: China’s Boeing rejects won’t fly for Emirates

Emirates Airline’s chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum has downplayed speculation that the carrier could buy Boeing planes originally destined for China. Speaking at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Tuesday, Sheikh Ahmed said Emirates was actively exploring options to expand its fleet, but the Boeing aircraft – ordered by Chinese carriers but […]

Carbon Wake, courtesy of Breakfast Studio. Most pieces at Art Dubai sold in the range of four to six digits this year, with a few reaching beyond the million-dollar mark

Art Dubai fair buzz drowns out roiling global markets

While Dubai art gallery Lawrie Shabibi was exhibiting at last month’s Art Basel Hong Kong, Donald Trump was ramping up his trade war with China, and the event had slower sales and a distinct feeling of unease. The ambiance could not have been more different at last week’s Art Dubai, the largest art fair in […]

A new study suggests the UAE labour market cannot provide work for all job seekers

UAE labour market: Too many people, not enough jobs

More people are looking for jobs in the UAE than there is work available for them, according to a labour market report from recruitment consultancy Cooper Fitch. Hiring in the second-largest Arab economy grew by less than 1.3 percent in the three months to March 31 compared with the same period last year, the report […]

An attendee at the Education Global Exhibition in Riyadh, which highlights new technologies. More than 8 million young Saudis will enter the workforce by 2040

AI classes to prepare Saudi pupils for the new world

Saudi secondary school pupils will soon have classes on artificial intelligence (AI) added to their curriculum. More than 50,000 17 and 18-year-olds will be offered the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course, a joint initiative between the ministry of education and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority. It is part of an effort by the […]

Around the world

Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim meets a Bahraini delegation. The country signed a Cepa with the UAE in January

Malaysia continues GCC trade talks that began in 2011

Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that talks on closing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council are continuing, 14 years after they first began. The deal will deepen commercial partnerships and expand economic growth, Kuwait’s state-run Kuna news agency reported, quoting Ibrahim. The GCC and Malaysia agreed on a trade […]

Covering 780,000 sq m, Maldives International Financial Centre will be able to accommodate more than 6,500 residents

Qatari royal backs Maldives $9bn financial freezone

MBS Global Investments and the Maldives government will jointly develop a $8.8 billion Maldives International Financial Centre (MIFC) in the Maldivian capital city of Malé. The freezone will have no corporate tax and tax-free inheritance in a bid to attract digital nomads, entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals. Based in Dubai, MBS Global is the investment […]

Groupshot, Person, Adult

Masdar delists Terna Energy to spur European expansion

Abu Dhabi’s Masdar said its Greek clean energy subsidiary Terna Energy has been delisted from the Athens stock exchange. The UAE renewables major completed the acquisition of 100 percent of Terna Energy last month to accelerate renewable energy growth in southeastern and central Europe, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. Sultan Al Jaber, chairman of […]

A liquefied natural gas tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan

QatarEnergy in talks with Japan on long-term LNG supply

One of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas suppliers, QatarEnergy, is in talks with Japanese firms for a long-term deal to supply LNG from its North Field expansion project, five trading and industry sources told Reuters. Under the deal, Qatar would supply a consortium of Japanese importers and a volume of at least 3 million […]