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Mahmoud Al Turk

Rising music streaming propels Mena artists into spotlight 

Not long ago, the only Arab music artists to make it big were traditional singers like Egypt’s Amr Diab and Lebanon’s Nancy Ajram, firm favourites in wedding playlists and live event calendars the region over.  Today new names and genres are pushing into the mainstream.  “Take Wegz” (the Egyptian rapper Ahmed Ali), says Hussain Yoosuf, […]

Tax accountants Video length: 2:08

UAE corporate tax arrival triggers recruitment fever

UAE companies advertised for double the number of tax accountants in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, ahead of the introduction of the Emirates’ corporate tax.  The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) saw a 40 percent increase in tax roles last year compared to 2021. “Recruitment is big […]

Buy now pay later provider Tabby

Fintech Tabby doubles debt facility

Buy now, pay later company Tabby has doubled its existing debt facility as it looks to maintain triple-digit growth recorded in recent years. The fintech is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala and secured $350 million in funding through key global credit investors. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) allows consumers to order and take […]

Trending

  1. Crisis looms for the Iranian natural gas sector

  2. Saudi shoppers encouraged to support local e-commerce

  3. Oman signs 3 green hydrogen projects worth over $20bn

  4. Mid-cap stocks offer best dividend yields in Gulf

  5. Saudi execs’ sentiment soars despite Q1 earnings slump

Comment & Analysis

Best of AGBI

Iran natural gas crisis

Crisis looms for the Iranian natural gas sector

While the world’s attention has been focused on the sanctioned Iranian oil industry, another vital part of the country’s energy infrastructure is deteriorating – its natural gas sector. Iran’s domestic economy and its consumers depend far more on gas than they do on oil. But if urgent financial, technical and commercial support is not provided […]

GCC-EU trade soars 77% on back of Ukraine crisis

Energy exports from the GCC sent its trade with the European Union soaring last year. Trade between the two regions increased to nearly 175 billion euros ($186 billion) last year after the global energy market disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trade with the Gulf jumped 77 percent from approximately $124 billion in 2021, […]

Red Sea signs ‘pioneering’ carbon-negative concrete deal

Red Sea Global and Bahamas startup Partanna have agreed to trial the use of carbon-negative concrete and other products at the kingdom’s Red Sea and Amaala giga-projects. The deal – the value of which is not disclosed – is the next stage of partnership between the companies. As revealed by AGBI, the two began exploring ways […]

Abu Dhabi tops agencies’ GCC sovereign ratings

UAE capital Abu Dhabi is the highest-rated sovereign in the GCC, while Bahrain and Oman are the only sub-investment grade credit ratings, according to the three major US agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global. All three ratings agencies use similar systems, although there are differences in the way their ratings are conveyed. In the […]

Why the UAE is introducing corporate tax

The UAE’s introduction of corporate tax will ensure that it is not used as a jurisdiction to “move profits” from other higher taxed markets, according to a lawyer in Dubai.  “Historically, the UAE was blacklisted by the European Union, because they were trying to ensure that the Emirates are not used as a jurisdiction where […]

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UAE latest

Buy now pay later provider Tabby

Fintech Tabby doubles debt facility

Buy now, pay later company Tabby has doubled its existing debt facility as it looks to maintain triple-digit growth recorded in recent years. The fintech is backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala and secured $350 million in funding through key global credit investors. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) allows consumers to order and take […]

Tax accountants Video length: 2:08

UAE corporate tax arrival triggers recruitment fever

UAE companies advertised for double the number of tax accountants in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, ahead of the introduction of the Emirates’ corporate tax.  The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) saw a 40 percent increase in tax roles last year compared to 2021. “Recruitment is big […]

Adnoc L&S logistics fleet

Adnoc Logistics & Services shares surge on debut

Shares in Adnoc Logistics & Services rose 44.8 percent above their listing price on Thursday as the company made its debut on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The initial public offering (IPO) for 19 percent of the business drew the highest demand globally for any listing so far in 2023, raising $769 million. Shares […]

Brands For Less denies stake sale speculation

Brands for Less denies stake sale speculation

UAE retail group Brands for Less (BFL Group) has denied reports that it plans to sell a minority stake in the business. A statement on Thursday said: “While the company, on an ongoing basis, reviews its options to further enhance growth, customer reach and customer service, there are no current plans for a sale of […]

Palm Jebel Ali Dubai

Palm Jebel Ali to add much needed beachfront properties

A revamped master plan for the billion-dollar Palm Jebel Ali man-made island development in Dubai has been approved, helping to meet demand for prime, residential, beachfront properties. The 13.4 sq km mega-project – twice the size of Palm Jumeirah – will add 110 km of coastline to the emirate and provide real estate for approximately […]

Saudi Arabia latest

E-commerce shoppers in Saudi are encouraged to use local vendors

Saudi shoppers encouraged to support local e-commerce

The Saudi e-commerce industry must do more to encourage consumers to spend their riyals with local platforms, as the kingdom’s online shopping sector aims to hit SAR 347.2 billion ($92.57 billion) by 2026. Saudi shoppers are mainly choosing cross-border platforms for their online purchases, according to the latest report from Kearney and Mukatafa. They cited […]

Saudi PIF to acquire Tamimi stake

Saudi PIF to acquire 30% of supermarket chain Tamimi 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has signed a share subscription agreement to acquire a 30 percent stake in the local store chain Tamimi Markets Company. The transaction will involve a capital increase and subscription for new shares, said the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund in a statement. The investment is aimed at transforming Tamimi Markets […]

Saudi Arabia Kremlin ties

Ties with Saudi Arabia are ‘constructive’, says Kremlin

The Kremlin has said relations with Saudi Arabia were constructive and based on mutual understanding and respect ahead of an Opec+ meeting. Asked about relations with Saudi Arabia ahead of the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were “constructive, based on mutual understanding, mutual respect, mutual trust, and very work-like”. Opec+, which groups the […]

Saudi execs earnings

Saudi execs’ sentiment soars despite Q1 earnings slump

Sentiment among senior executives at listed Saudi Arabian corporations hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2023 despite aggregate profits tumbling by more than one-fifth, studies show. Iridium Advisors, which is headquartered in Dubai, conducted an artificial intelligence-based analysis of 1,495 Q1 2023 company earnings calls across the GCC. Business sentiment is how […]

Lucid vehicles

Shares in Saudi-backed EV maker Lucid tumble

Shares in electric car manufacturer Lucid Group tumbled in pre-market trading on Thursday after Saudi Arabia-backed, loss-making company said it would issue further stock to bolster its ailing finances. Saudi Arabia has bet big on Lucid as part of its economic diversification programme, with plans afoot to build a manufacturing plant in the kingdom. Yet […]

Around the Middle East

A worker at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra. Iraq has about 8% of global oil reserves

Opec Gulf producers make the largest cuts in May

Opec oil output fell in May after Saudi Arabia and other members of the broader Opec+ alliance made voluntary output cuts to support the market, a Reuters survey found on Wednesday, although increases elsewhere in the group limited the decline. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 28.01 million barrels per day (bpd) […]

Analysts’ view on possible Opec+ output cuts  

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries with Russia and other allies, or Opec+, meet on June 4 to discuss whether additional oil production cuts should be implemented. The group in early April surprised markets with output cuts of around 1.16 million barrels per day, fueling a rise in prices. But going into the meeting […]

Bahrain non-oil economy

Bahrain is likely to miss target on balancing books

Bahrain is unlikely to hit a target of balancing its books in 2024 but could see lower budget deficits as the government pursues non-oil growth. Preliminary fiscal data for year-end 2022 points to a minor deficit of 1.1 percent of GDP, underpinned by a 97 percent year-on-year increase in nominal tax revenue after doubling the […]

Pontus Rotana Georgia

Hotel group Rotana to open new casino resort in Georgia

Abu Dhabi hotel management company Rotana is opening a new casino resort on the Black Sea coast in Georgia in 2026. Set to be the largest hotel complex in the country, the five-star Pontus Rotana Resort & Spa, Gonio, will add 600 keys to Rotana’s growing global footprint and provide access to world-class gaming at […]

Simon Penney has been the UK's trade commissioner for the Middle East since 2018

UK Middle East trade commissioner steps down

Simon Penney has resigned as the UK’s trade commissioner to the Middle East, as talks over attempts to agree a UK-GCC free trade agreement continue. Penney announced his decision on social media, bringing to an end his five years in the role, saying it was time to “pass the reins on”. “It has been without […]

Summer, Architecture, Building

Oman tourism goals face an uphill road to success

Mounting competition from Saudi Arabia, limited connectivity and a low profile are among the challenges to Oman’s progress on meeting its 2040 tourism goals.  “We’ve done great [as an industry] but I think we can do better,” said Amir Golbarg, senior vice-president of operations, Middle East and Africa, at Minor Hotels. “With its landscape, people, […]

Qatar Central Bank Central Bank governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud al-Thani

Qatar’s dollar peg to remain despite US debt concerns

The governor of Qatar’s Central Bank has reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the dollar peg, despite the US being just days away from a potential debt default. The Qatari riyal has been linked to the US dollar since mid-2001. “It’s been very effective and efficient for our economy,” Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani […]

Bahrain’s growth to slow in 2023, says IMF

Bahrain’s growth is projected to moderate to 2.7 percent in 2023, with non-oil GDP growing by 3.2 percent, reflecting fiscal consolidation and higher interest rates, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a new report. The economy grew by 4.9 percent in 2022, driven by a 6.2 percent growth in non-hydrocarbon GDP. However, hydrocarbon GDP […]

Topics:

Cop28
Neom
QATAR WORLD CUP 2022
SAUDI ARABIA VISION 2030
IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL
biden IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Sheikh Khalifa

Turkey Latest

Turkey net forex reserves

Turkey’s net forex reserves at lowest on record  

The Turkish central bank’s net forex reserves dropped to their lowest level on record, standing at $-4.4 billion on May 26, data showed on Thursday, as it sought to counter forex demand ahead of and during parliamentary and presidential elections. The bank’s net reserves dropped by some $4.25 billion last week, to their lowest level […]

Turkish central bank ready to soften certain measures

Turkey’s central bank signaled at a meeting with senior bankers that it would respond positively to the banks’ requests to soften some measures which it has taken recently, three participants in the meeting said on Wednesday. A government-backed scheme to protect lira deposits from depreciation, known as KKM accounts, was among the issues discussed, the […]

Ma'aden's deal with PIF will allow it to invest in the iron ore, copper, nickel and lithium sectors

Turkey’s trade deficit widens as exports dip in April

Turkey’s trade deficit widened to $8.7 billion in April 2023, a 42.1 percent surge year-on-year (YoY), Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed. Exports fell 17.1 percent YoY to $19.3 billion, driven by a decline in mining, quarrying and manufacturing. Imports slipped 4.8 percent YoY to $28.1 billion, Daily Sabah newspaper reported. The country revealed a […]

Barclays sees Turkey policy rate at 36% by year-end

Barclays has reiterated its forecast that Turkey’s central bank would raise its interest rates to 36 percent by the end of the year after President Tayyip Erdoğan won the presidential elections on Sunday. “There is a need for adjustments to both rates and FX,” Barclays analyst Ercan Erguzel said in a note to clients, adding […]

Investors await Turkey’s move on economic policies  

The top policymaker picks of Turkey’s re-elected president Tayyip Erdogan are taking centre stage as markets try to gauge whether he will change course towards economic orthodoxy or double down on policies widely viewed as unsustainable. Erdogan is expected to use his victory in Sunday’s election to embark on a wide cabinet reshuffle, potentially changing […]

Egypt Latest

Egypt commercial property on the rise in New Administrative Capital

Egypt’s commercial property sector resists economic woes 

Demand for commercial property in Egypt remains buoyant despite the fragile economy, as retail and office landlords offer “flexible and generous” terms until the market stabilises, according to a report. Landlords are resorting to making changes to retail and office lease terms in response to “challenges stemming from the current local and global economic volatility”, […]

Egyptian bank to support MSMEs with $260m loan

Banque Misr, the second largest public bank in Egypt, is set to receive a $260 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the African nation.  The five-year loan from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is slated for approval at a board […]

Egyptian and Chinese firms sign $487m industrial deals 

Egypt’s Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) said $487 million agreements and contracts have been signed between Chinese companies and Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (Teda) Egypt to establish new projects in the Al Ain Al Sokhna industrial zone. The SCZone delegation, led by chairman Waleid Gamal El Dein, met with officials of Tianjin city, comprising 270 representatives of […]

A Cairo bakery. Food price inflation puts pressure on the central bank to raise its overnight interest rate in May

Egypt defers wheat import payments on cash shortage

Egypt has deferred payments for its large wheat purchases, in some cases by months, according to a government official and traders, as the country grapples with a shortage of hard currency. Egypt is one of the world’s biggest wheat importers and uses the purchases to make heavily subsidised bread, a politically sensitive benefit available to […]

Around the world

Opec+ oil supply cuts

Opec+ unlikely to deepen oil supply cuts at June 4 meeting

Opec and its allies are unlikely to deepen supply cuts at their ministerial meeting on Sunday despite a fall in oil prices toward $70 per barrel, four sources from the alliance told Reuters. Opec+, which groups the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, pumps around 40 percent of the world’s […]

Mexico talks Islamic bonds

Mexico in exploratory talks to issue Islamic bonds

Mexico is in exploratory talks to issue sukuk, or Islamic bonds, in an effort to tap new investors, Mexican deputy finance minister Gabriel Yorio said. “We have started exploratory talks to expand our investor base via potential entry into the sukuk market, aiming for greater financial ties,” Yorio said while on a visit to Kuwait, […]

Nature, Outdoors, Sky

Global airlines set to tackle non-CO2 emissions

Global airlines are setting up a task force to deal with non-carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stepping up efforts to tackle cloudy streaks formed by aircraft known as contrails, an environmental threat that until now has taken a backseat to carbon pollution in the response to global warming. The move comes as the International Air Transport […]

Crowd, Person, People

Italy to create $1.1bn fund for local strategic firms

Italy’s cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill to create a fund to support domestic firms, the industry minister said in a statement, in a move aimed at shoring up strategic supply chains. The upcoming national strategic fund for “Made in Italy” products will have an initial endowment of €1 billion ($1.10 billion) in state cash, […]

A doorman at the London department store. The Qatar Investment Authority bought it in 2010

Harrods checks into hotels as it awaits return of Chinese shoppers

Harrods, the London department store owned by Qatar, has opened its first branded hotel project, diversifying into hospitality overseas as the retail sector faces challenges at home.  In late March it launched the Harrods Residence Suite, a two-storey luxury suite in Swire Hotels’ Beijing property the Opposite House. The retailer also has a hospitality outpost […]

JPMorgan Chase to cut 500 jobs across main businesses

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is cutting about 500 employees this week across its various departments, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified discussing personnel matters. The layoffs will affect employees across the bank’s main businesses — consumer, commercial banking, asset and wealth management — as well as technology […]

Brics bank issues $1.2bn of panda bonds

The New Development Bank (NDB) issued 8.5 billion yuan ($1.23 billion) worth of panda bonds in China’s interbank bond market on Monday to mobilise resources for financing sustainable development projects, the bank said in a statement. Proceeds will be used for general corporate resources and to finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects, the bank said. […]

Indonesian copper miner plans $880m IPO by July

Indonesian copper miner Amman Mineral Internasional aims to raise up to 12.94 trillion rupiah ($880.6 million) in an initial public offering scheduled for June 28 to July 3, according to the company’s prospectus published on Wednesday. Book building is set to start on Wednesday with an offering price in the range of 1,650 rupiah to […]

Features

Oman tourism goals face an uphill road to success

Mounting competition from Saudi Arabia, limited connectivity and a low profile are among the challenges to Oman’s progress on meeting its 2040 tourism goals.  “We’ve done great [as an industry] but I think we can do better,” said Amir Golbarg, senior vice-president of operations, Middle East and Africa, at Minor Hotels. “With its landscape, people, […]

  • Analysis

Champagne sales in the Gulf fizz by 91%

World Cup fans and wealthy expats led to Champagne imports to the Gulf almost doubling in 2022. After a strong marketing push by French producers helped luxury bubbly become more mainstream, the number of bottles of Champagne shipped to the region surged 91 percent last year. Comité Champagne, the industry body representing French producers, told […]

UAE family businesses: ‘bigger cake, bigger problem’

Inefficient governance and incomplete succession planning are the two main challenges facing UAE family businesses, says the chairman of Dubai Chambers. Over the past 50 years family businesses have evolved from being small operations to multi-billion-dollar conglomerates. The sector now accounts for 60 percent of the country’s GDP. “The bigger the cake, the bigger the […]

Gulf warms to outsourced investment market

A growing number of Gulf businesses and wealthy individuals are outsourcing their investment management, experts have told AGBI. Market volatility and a desire to invest in more complex assets are pushing up demand for outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services, they said. The Gulf’s increased focus on governance and compliance – plus a recognition that […]

People & Lifestyle

Amazon in deal for ‘Lord of the Rings’ video game

Amazon.com and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series The Lord of The Rings, the companies said. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of […]

Large screens and rumble seats enchant moviegoers

Jason Stark’s two young sons talked excitedly for months about seeing the “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”. When the film debuted this month, he decided to make the experience a special outing. Stark took a day off from work and drove his boys, ages nine and six, about a half-hour from their Connecticut home to […]

Beverage, Tea, Coffee

Dubai tea bag producer brews record results

DMCC Tea Centre has revealed production of tea bags at its Jebel Ali Free Zone facility was up 27 percent year on year in 2022. Saeed Al Suwaidi, director of agri-commodities at Dubai Multi-Commodities Centre (DMCC), described it as a “record-breaking” year and forecast further growth for 2023 driven by technology and automation. “We expect […]

Angry Birds maker in talks with Sega over tender offer

Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the mobile game Angry Birds, confirmed on Saturday that it is in talks with Japan’s Sega Sammy Holdings Inc over a possible tender offer. Rovio announced the start of a strategic review and preliminary non-binding discussions regarding a potential tender offer for its shares in February, a statement from the […]

Face, Head, Person

Sheikh’s salute puts London’s Mr Super Prime on the map

Business is booming for London-based luxury property broker Daniel Daggers, founder of DDRE Global, thanks in part to clients such as the chairman of Dubai airline Emirates. When Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum was looking to purchase in the UK capital, his adviser turned to DDRE’s Daggers for help. And the real estate mogul […]

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore dies at 94

Intel Corp co-founder Gordon Moore, a pioneer in the semiconductor industry whose “Moore’s Law” predicted a steady rise in computing power for decades, died Friday at the age of 94, the company announced. Intel and Moore’s family philanthropic foundation said he died surrounded by family at his home in Hawaii. Co-launching Intel in 1968, Moore […]

Fitness chains get financially fit as more Americans hit the gym

Tighter budgets may not be a constraint for Americans looking to get back into shape, keeping gym operators financially fit, even as inflation pinches other consumer-focused sectors. Some of the major players in the fitness sector have pushed the envelope on membership rates after the pandemic scare, helping them beef up earnings, when most other […]

Bahrain

Bahrain and UAE ranked best places for expats to set up home

Bahrain has been ranked as the best place for expats to settle, based on factors such as housing, bureaucracy, language and digitalisation. The UAE took second place in the survey by InterNations, a Munich-headquartered online community for global expats. Bahrain, the second-smallest GCC economy, scored highly for ease of administration and bureaucracy, with more than […]