Oil & Gas Saudi and UAE oil may offset any Iran disruption, analysts say Saudi Arabia and the UAE can potentially replace lost Iranian oil supply, but heightened military activity in the Persian Gulf will make it difficult to plug any shortages during Iran-Israel tensions, analysts say. Israel attacked Iranian nuclear and military sites on Friday, pushing oil prices to an intra-day high of $78 per barrel – the […] June 13, 2025
Employment Tighter Omanisation rules for state contracts Companies operating in Oman have just under a year to adhere to Omanisation quotas or face being banned from applying for government contracts, as the Gulf state strives to increase opportunities for new Omani graduates. The decision was announced on June 2. It means companies tendering for contracts have a deadline of May 31, 2026 […] June 13, 2025
Telecoms Analysts opt for small Gulf telcos despite profits at majors The Gulf’s major former telecom monopolies reported steady first-quarter profit growth and have proved a safe haven for equity investors during market volatility this year. However, it is their smaller domestic rivals that analysts prefer. Saudi Telecom Co (STC), the UAE’s e& (formerly and more commonly known as Etisalat), Qatar’s Ooredoo and Kuwait’s Zain are […] June 13, 2025
Construction Slowdown looms for Saudi construction as PIF cuts contracts The number of construction contracts issued by the Saudi government and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) has fallen drastically amid a decline in oil revenues and a realignment of large-scale infrastructure projects. The drop indicates a slowdown in the Saudi construction sector, previously one of the most vibrant in the world. Last year it accounted […] June 12, 2025
Tech Humanoid robots: coming soon to a workplace near you Nursing, tourism and leisure, even performing arts, and anything dull, dangerous and dirty: the technology world is increasingly bullish on what humanoid robots can do. Humanoid robots are already greeting visitors at Dubai’s Museum of the Future and patrolling the emirate’s beaches, handing out fines and monitoring the use of scooters and bicycles. Jensen Huang, […] June 12, 2025
Manufacturing Cement’s mixed results reflect Saudi outlook In some respects, Saudi cement producers, important constituents of the Tadawul stock exchange and bellwethers of the national economy, have never had it so good. The kingdom has an array of giga-projects underway and is preparing to host a series of high profile international events, from the World Expo in Riyadh in 2030 to the […] June 12, 2025
Economy Saudi Arabia will issue more debt to meet budget shortfall Saudi Arabia will probably issue at least $10 billion more in bonds and sukuk this year to help fund the kingdom’s widening budget deficit. Since posting a surplus in 2022 thanks to oil prices hitting a 10-year peak that year, Saudi Arabia has posted annual deficits due to lower crude revenues and higher government spending. […] June 11, 2025
Banking and Finance Why government-related debt is worth a punt Debt sales by government-related entities (GRE) in the Gulf, such as Saudi Electricity Co and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co, offer better investor value than their sovereigns, experts say. Gulf foreign currency sales of conventional and sukuk (sharia-compliant bonds) rose 9 percent to $72.4 billion in the five months to May 31, compared with the […] June 11, 2025
Tech Why founders and fintechs are the X factor for VCs Personalities, teamwork, market size and originality. Technology founders seeking cash or incubation may be better served looking in a mirror rather than analysing code, according to investors. “The founder is always the main driver as to whether we invest,” Lucy Chow, senior advisor at angel investors 2022 Female Angels, tells AGBI. The inverse also holds […] June 11, 2025
Retail Majid Al Futtaim IPO could ease succession strains Taking Majid Al Futtaim Holding public could provide a way to resolve the succession challenges facing the Dubai-based family conglomerate, but also risks fracturing the tight-knit structure that has long defined one of the Gulf’s most prominent family businesses. “The best way to solve family disputes is [to] list all the shares,” says Obediah Ayton, […] June 10, 2025
Tax GCC braces for effects of Trump’s ‘Big, beautiful bill’ A proposal under consideration in the US Congress to impose new levies on sovereign wealth funds and other foreign investors is unlikely to harm GCC-based entities directly, experts have told AGBI. It could, however, have enough of a knock-on effect on the global attractiveness of US assets to convince large Gulf players to reassess their […] June 10, 2025
Manufacturing UAE-US gallium project is an attempt to loosen China’s grip A new UAE-US effort to produce gallium, a chemical element that is critical to making semiconductors, may bring some relief to Western and Asian users choked by China’s stranglehold on the metal. But relevant manufacturing plants need years to come to fruition, and require technology and know-how that for the moment are almost entirely confined […] June 10, 2025
Banking and Finance Gulf banks fight back to beat buy-now-pay-later advantage Gulf banks are moving aggressively to claw back billions of dollars in market share from buy-now-pay-later fintechs, turning to new payments infrastructure to reassert control at checkout, according to industry executives. Visa is working with lenders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to expand its “Installment Solutions” platform, which allows credit cardholders to split payments […] June 10, 2025
Banking and Finance Banks slash IPO fees in Gulf scramble for market share Investment banks in the Gulf are cutting or even waiving fees to secure roles in regional initial public offerings (IPOs). As activity cools elsewhere, companies in the world’s largest oil producing region are selling shares to fund expansion. With IPO activity slowing in the US, Europe and China, legal and financial advisors say the Gulf, […] June 10, 2025
Real Estate Land prices surge as Dubai’s developers scramble for plots A wave of land acquisitions by Dubai developers has driven up prices by more than a third so far this year. Fierce competition for prime plots and off-plan sales is pushing investors into emerging districts, industry professionals say. The land rush, fuelled by constrained supply in central areas and a growing population, has underpinned the […] June 10, 2025
Banking and Finance GCC banks impress with earnings in first quarter Major banks in the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) generated more than $13 billion in net profit in the first quarter of 2025. This was up by nearly one-tenth compared to a year earlier as increased lending and low loan defaults boosted the banks’ bottom lines. AGBI analysed the earnings of 21 banks across the […] June 9, 2025
Health Healthy prognosis for Turkish medical tourism Turkey is looking to build on its already strong health tourism sector in the coming years, reaching out to new markets and offering a broader range of products to attract more foreign visitors seeking affordable treatment at a high standard. Last year, Turkish medical and wellness facilities provided treatment and care to 1.5 million overseas […] June 9, 2025
Finance The KIA maintains its low profile approach – for now Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) is not only the oldest Gulf sovereign wealth fund, but also the most opaque. It publishes little information about its assets and usually invests abroad through asset managers rather than directly. Its low-profile approach contrasts with the likes of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar […] June 9, 2025
Finance Saudi Arabia demands more from global asset managers International asset managers looking to raise funds in Saudi Arabia can no longer do so as easily without establishing a presence in the kingdom and aligning their activities with the country’s Vision 2030 diversification goals, analysts say. Despite the kingdom’s commitment this year to invest and trade as much as $600 billion in the US […] June 9, 2025
Tech UAE investment in data centres may be overly optimistic Billions of dollars of planned Gulf investment in data centres, announced with fanfare during President Donald Trump’s regional May visit, may be at more risk than immediately meets the eye, according to US financial services company Moody’s Corp. After the headlines, projects like the 10 square-mile artificial intelligence Stargate campus planned for Abu Dhabi are […] June 8, 2025
Aviation Gulf aviation and politics intersect at 30,000 feet As headlines swirled around Qatar’s reported gifting of a private jet to President Donald Trump, the real political theatre last month unfolded in the skies above the Gulf. Within days of each other, regional carriers Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways revealed a combined 238-jet order from Boeing, the troubled US manufacturer, highlighting how aviation serves […] June 6, 2025
Banking and Finance Qatar and UAE banks vulnerable to interest rate cuts Many Gulf banks reported bumper first-quarter profits thanks to increased lending. But Qatari and Emirati lenders are the most vulnerable to expected interest rate cuts. Kuwaiti dinar aside, the five other Gulf currencies are pegged to the dollar, so their countries’ benchmark interest rates mirror those of the United States. The rapid rise in US rates […] June 6, 2025
