Tourism Bahrain port operator hopes to double cruise passenger arrivals The operator of Bahrain’s biggest port has held discussions with international tour operators to try to double the number of cruise passengers visiting the kingdom next season. Khalifa Bin Salman Port is operated by APM Terminals Bahrain. It welcomed more than 116,000 cruise passengers in the last six-month season, which ran from October to March, […] May 3, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Tourism Bahrain reveals plans to reach 2026 visitor target Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, has been announced as a partner in the development of a new luxury island resort which will open later this year and include a water park and a Bear Grylls Survival Academy. The opening is part of Bahrain’s wider push to expand its tourism offering – with new hotels, beaches […] May 2, 2024
Tourism Tourism chiefs call for GCC-wide events calendar Gulf Cooperation Council nations should co-ordinate their event schedules to avoid overlaps and entice tourists to make multiple stops in the region, officials have said at the Arabian Travel Market conference. The six GCC governments – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – are exploring ways to co-operate on tourism, including a […] May 9, 2024
Opinion Banking & Finance Bahrain bank mergers are good news for the kingdom and the Gulf It is likely that a merger of NBB and BBK would take the new bank into the top 30 April 29, 2024
Renewable Energy Bahrain signs deal with Masdar to develop wind energy UAE clean energy company Masdar has formed a partnership with Bahrain’s Bapco Energies to explore the development of wind energy projects in Bahrain. The two companies will develop up to two gigawatts (GW) in near-shore and offshore wind farms, Masdar said. The collaboration will help Bahrain accelerate the decarbonisation of its critical industrial sectors. Energy, […] May 1, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Tech Batelco in talks to trial 6G technology in Bahrain Bahrain telecommunications giant Batelco is in talks to trial 6th generation (6G) connectivity as the kingdom attempts to cement its position as a technological leader in the region. The island kingdom is among the first countries to have a comprehensive 5G network coverage in most urban areas, with more than 95 percent coverage courtesy of […] April 26, 2024
Analysis Tourism Why ‘over-tourism’ offers an opportunity for the GCC The GCC region and its North African neighbour Egypt can reap the rewards of over-tourism across the globe, according to industry experts, with affordability playing a key role in fuelling the sector’s growth. The number of hotel rooms in the six countries of the GCC – Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE […] May 6, 2024
Tourism Tourists keep flocking to Egypt as conflict rumbles on Egypt’s visitor numbers rose 27 percent in the first four months of 2024, according to its vice minister of tourism and antiquities. The tourism ministry aims to increase inbound visitors by 25-30 percent this year, as it chases a target of 30 million visitors a year by 2030. Tourists from Arab countries accounted for the […] May 8, 2024
Tech Investcorp buys Indian tech company for $120m Bahrain’s alternative asset manager, Investcorp, is to acquire the digital technology business of India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) for $120 million. NSEIT provides advanced digital transformation and cybersecurity services to global customers in capital markets, insurance and banking in India, North America and the Middle East. The services include digital engineering, data and analytics, artificial intelligence, cloud services […] April 30, 2024
Banking & Finance Egypt to open first digital bank later this year Misr Digital Innovation will open Egypt’s first digital bank towards the end of the year, as it looks to appeal to the North African’s country’s younger and unbanked demographic. MTI, a subsidiary of Banque Misr, is the first bank to have received approval to establish a digital bank by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) […] May 3, 2024
Real Estate Demand for beach plots sells 80% of The World villas in days An ultra-luxe villa community planned for Dubai’s The World Islands is more than 80 percent sold only days after first being announced, thanks to the dearth of available beachfront plots in the city. The boutique developer Amali Properties, co-founded by siblings Ali and Amira Sajwani of Damac Properties, said last week that the community will […] May 5, 2024
Trade UAE and NZ in talks to build on non-oil trade The UAE has agreed to start negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) with New Zealand as part of plans to boost the Gulf state’s foreign trade to AED4 trillion ($1.1 trillion) by 2031. A joint declaration of intent confirming the agreement has been signed by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and Todd […] May 8, 2024
Trade UK election adds urgency to GCC trade talks An imminent general election in the UK and a potential change of government has accelerated pressure on negotiators to resolve talks about a GCC trade deal. Talks between the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – and the UK are almost two years old. […] April 25, 2024
VIDEO Finance Unicorn SWVL survives share slump to turn a profit Scaling back operations, chasing profitability over investor funding and divesting from acquisitions has resulted in the Middle East’s first unicorn finally turning profitable. Egypt-born ride hailing app SWVL has survived a turbulent time during which the Nasdaq-listed startup faced the possibility of being delisted. SWVL was valued at $1.5 billion when it went public in […] May 10, 2024
Analysis Employment UAE leads GCC on board gender mix but region still lags More than 10 percent of board seats at listed companies in the UAE are filled by women, well ahead of its Gulf neighbours, but still lagging the global average. At the 168 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market, just 133 out of 1,231 board seats, or 10.8 percent, are […] May 3, 2024
Analysis Finance Growth doubts over Islamic finance despite trillions in assets Islamic finance assets grew to about $3.3 trillion worldwide last year, but credit ratings agency S&P has warned that a planned industry standard could drive down sukuk issuance in 2025 and beyond. S&P is predicting high single-digit growth in total assets in 2024-25 after an increase of 8 percent last year. The agency expects the […] May 3, 2024
Employment Remittances from UAE to Bangladesh surge 48% Remittances from the UAE to Bangladesh surged 48 percent year on year to $3.3 billion in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023-24, according to data from the country’s central bank. Dhaka receives remittances between $250 million to $300 million per month from the UAE, The Business Standard, a financial newspaper, reported. However, remittances […] April 23, 2024
Economy Saudi Arabia world’s fifth biggest arms buyer in 2023 Saudi Arabia remains the world’s fifth largest arms buyer, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The think tank’s latest report said that Saudi Arabia spent $76 billion on arms in 2023, a 4 percent increase on the previous year, making it the biggest spender after the US, China, Russia and India. The kingdom’s […] April 23, 2024
Finance Hong Kong plans fund on Saudi stock exchange Officials in Hong Kong are planning to set up an exchange-traded fund with Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, as Middle East investors increasingly go “bargain hunting” in the Asian city state to take advantage of lower valuations. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund traded on regulated stock exchanges, much like individual stocks are bought and […] May 10, 2024
Analysis Infrastructure Gulf’s record floods highlight ‘balance between risk and investment’ Historic rainfall this week in the Gulf, particularly in the UAE, has raised serious questions about investment in infrastructure to prevent the widespread flooding that brought much of the region to a standstill. On Tuesday the UAE was hit by its heaviest rains in 75 years. The downpour turned main roads into waterways, particularly in […] April 17, 2024
