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While lower oil prices may squeeze some Mena producers, Gulf nations are expected to maintain long-term investment plans

Gulf oil investment ‘can weather price slump’

International oil prices may have fallen to their lowest in four years but that is unlikely to disrupt the exploration and production investment plans of Gulf national oil producers, energy analysts have said. But Middle East and North Africa producers outside the GCC may not be so lucky. Crude oil fell below $60 a barrel […]

Mature Male Stock Market Broker Looking At Multiple Computer Screen In Office

Dollar slump impacts foreign Gulf stock investors

The dollar’s descent to multi-year lows against other major currencies presents a dilemma for foreign investors in Gulf stocks. Regional currencies are pegged to the US currency, aside from the Kuwaiti dinar which tracks a basket of currencies that is heavily dollar weighted. So, a lower dollar makes buying Gulf stocks cheaper for investors from […]

A guest takes photos of a Tesla, displayed during the launch of the company's first showroom in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia electric vehicles

Saudi Arabia’s EV ambitions face ‘chicken and egg’ dilemma

Few of the car enthusiasts who attended Tesla’s launch in Riyadh last month arrived in electric vehicles.  Hundreds turned out for the much-heralded opening event in Riyadh, an indication that the furore around the Tesla brand and its owner Elon Musk has not crossed the Atlantic.  Despite this, public enthusiasm for electric vehicles (EVs) in […]

Regional investors may favour investments such as utilities and telecom companies with domestic operations

Market volatility adds allure to utilities and telecoms

In a month of wild market swings, Gulf equity investors have felt panic, trepidation, bewilderment and more. With further volatility probable, experts say a prudent strategy is to focus on defensive sectors less exposed to the global economy. Gulf bourses tumbled in early April, along with the US dollar and oil prices, after President Donald […]

People evacuate to Gezi Park following the earthquake in Istanbul on Wednesday

Quake lends urgency to Istanbul rebuild programme

Istanbul, Turkey’s economic hub, has received a timely reminder that it is at the centre of a high-risk earthquake zone, having been rattled by a tremor of magnitude 6.2 on Wednesday. The hope is that the quake will jolt the city authorities into action to speed up a slow-moving building renewal scheme.  Damage from the […]

Bahrain Financial Harbour District in Manama. Bahrain faces a challenging economic outlook as a ratings agency warns of potential issues with debt and foreign currency reserves

Ratings agency moves Bahrain outlook to negative

A major ratings agency has downgraded its outlook on Bahrain to negative, warning that fiscal reforms may be insufficient to lower the kingdom’s debt-to-GDP ratio and that foreign currency reserves remain weak. Lower oil prices and reduced crude production due to maintenance work at Bahrain’s Abu Safah oil field, which it shares with Saudi Arabia, […]

Amirah al-Turkistani, a graphic design lecturer at Jeddah International College, shops with her children and husband at a supermarket in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, February 3, 2018. REUTERS/Reem Baeshen SEARCH "BAESHEN WOMEN" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

What a plunging dollar means to Gulf imports and inflation

The dollar’s slump to multiyear lows against many major currencies risks raising import costs in the dollar-pegged Gulf economies, fuelling inflation and pressuring business profitability, analysts say. From mid-January, the dollar is down 11 percent against each of the euro (to its lowest in more than three years), the Japanese yen (its lowest since late 2023), […]

Shams Solar Power Station in the UAE. Both the UAE and Saudi Araba are aiming to increase electricity exports as their share of renewable energy grows

UAE and Saudi Arabia target India and EU electricity exports

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are advancing plans to increase their electricity exports, taking advantage of spare generating capacity after surging investment in solar and wind power and seasonal fluctuation in demand. “The UAE, with around 50 percent spare capacity generation, is among the best-positioned countries to become an exporter of electricity,” Adnan Al Hosani, […]

Government debt insurance is rising in cost as investors reduce risk in turbulent markets

Saudi government debt insurance costs jump as oil prices fall

The cost of insuring government debt in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has jumped this month, in some cases – including Saudi Arabia – to multi-year highs. Investors are fretting over the impact of global trade tensions on economic growth and international oil prices, and the risk of Israeli-US military action against Iran. […]

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 […]

An oil tanker docks at Qingdao Port in China's Shandong province, where most of the crude imported from Iran is delivered

Seaborne oil exports from Iran to China hit record levels

Chinese imports of oil by sea rose in March to their highest in 17 months, with imports from Iran hitting a record, according to tanker tracking consultancy Vortexa. Seaborne crude arrivals – which account for about 85 percent of total Chinese oil imports – rose to 10.6 million barrels per day in March, up from […]

MECCA, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA (KSA) - JUNE 5, 2023:Muslim hajj pilgrims exit Al Haram mosque after evening prayers with Abraj Al Bait Zamzam tower (L) and Hilton Hotel Makkah (R) in the background.

Affordability is the key for Saudi hotel expansion

Al Farhan Group, a family-owned company with 16 three- to four-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, plans to open at least one hotel every year for the next several years. Its ambitions reflect those of the Saudi government, which wants to encourage more domestic and inbound business and leisure travel and almost double the number of […]

Dubai airport. The city hosts conferences that attract tens of thousands of business travellers, with most scheduled from October to April

Mena business travel surged before tariff storm hit

The number of business travel trips booked in the Mena region increased by more than 50 percent in the first quarter of 2025. However, the onset of a trade war and a projected slowdown in economic growth may temper performance for the foreseeable future, according to travel experts. Business travel company Tamodo said it expected […]

Women enjoy a meal in a restaurant in Riyadh. Full-service restaurants make up more than half the food service sector in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s expanding food sector faces high costs

As the population grows and the economy swells, the food and beverage service industry in Saudi Arabia is expanding. Half Million, a coffee shop chain that started in the capital Riyadh in 2018, now operates 59 stores across the kingdom. Its 60th recently opened on London’s Oxford Street. Barn’s, a Jeddah-based coffee chain that already […]

A technical staff is seen at the Port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Satish Kumar

Fujairah’s grand plan could fall victim to tariff shock

The emirate of Fujairah’s plans to expand its storage facilities and develop cleaner fuels and petrochemical production may be delayed as a result of the impact of tariff-led global trade tensions, according to a local authority. After Singapore and Rotterdam, Fujairah is the largest so-called “bunkering”, or ship-fuelling, port. It lies almost immediately outside the […]

Visitors look at the Tesla Model Y during the opening of Tesla's first Saudi showroom, in Riyadh

Tesla trumpets Saudi launch but China is waiting

Tesla’s well-publicised launch event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week attracted a large and boisterous crowd. But the competition is stiff, especially from the Chinese, now the world’s largest maker of EVs, and the charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles in the world’s second-largest oil producer is still lacking. Saudi Arabia wants 30 percent of […]

Visitors to the Cityscape Global construction fair in Saudi Arabia. Supplier competition could bring down construction costs in the medium term, despite current inflationary pressures

Global trade war prompts Gulf construction reassessment

The global trade tensions triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff hikes is sending shockwaves through the Gulf’s construction sector, leading Saudi Arabia and the UAE to rethink sourcing materials and supply chain networks. The risk of costs accelerating has risen, but over the longer term prices could temper, providing a cost opportunity for the GCC, industry […]

A container vessel operated by China's Cosco in Dubai's Jebel Ali terminal, which handles huge amounts of cargo moving from Asian to Western markets

US-China trade war brings pros and cons for the Gulf

The growing trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, presents the Gulf Arab states with a complex puzzle. International commerce may shift towards new consumer and trans-shipment markets, while a recession-driven collapse in oil prices and higher-for-longer inflation because of tariffs are further risks to the region. Sectors of the […]

Pharmacists in a Jordanian manufacturing plant package drugs. Donald Trump has said he may announce a “major tariff on pharmaceuticals"

Jordan’s surging pharma industry may hit US tariff speedbump

Growing Gulf spending on health is boosting Jordan’s pharmaceutical industry, but new US tariffs pose a risk to its future, according to analysts. Pharmaceutical exports from Jordan grew by 15 percent last year to $862 million. Another 11 percent growth was projected for this year and further expansion to $1.4 billion in 2029, according to […]

Construction in Dubai. Two-thirds of the 176,737 homes bought in the emirate last year were off plan

Shortage of Dubai homes forces buyers to go off-plan

A shortage of completed homes for sale in Dubai is pushing people to buy off-plan properties, which have hit record highs in terms of units bought and as a proportion of purchases. Off-plan investors in the emirate have long had to fund their own purchases, but the growing importance of yet-to-be-completed properties may spur more […]

People in Istanbul using their mobile phones. Turkey’s fintech ecosystem and young population are some of the factors behind a burgeoning startup sector

Turkish startups scaling up, despite political unrest

Turkey’s startups bucked global trends in 2024, posting significant increases in the number of transactions and volumes.  Despite the current political turmoil, further growth is forecast for the year ahead. There were 331 transactions recorded last year, compared with 297 in 2023, according to a recent report by financial services firm KPMG. Value increased by […]

A UAE desalination plant in Rafah, Egypt. Both countries are investing in projects and startups to tackle water scarcity

Funding model for water tech ‘holds back Gulf innovators’

An over-reliance on government funding for water startups in the Gulf may be holding back innovation, experts have told AGBI. The Middle East – a region that includes some of the world’s most water-stressed countries – gained its first water “unicorn” in February when Saudi-based GI Water as a Service raised eight figures in a […]