Petrochemicals Adnoc bets big on petrochems as sector struggles Abu Dhabi National Co.’s (Adnoc) multibillion-dollar bet to expand its petrochemical capabilities comes at a fraught time for the sector. The numbers may not immediately add up in terms of return on investment but the focus should boost the company’s global reach and technological capabilities, analysts say. “Abu Dhabi is trying to create a global […] May 22, 2025
Mining Loans help reignite Oman’s ambitions in copper mining Oman was once called Magan – 3,000 years ago when Mesopotamian texts told of a land rich in copper deposits. Now the country is revitalising its ancient metal mining industry as it seeks alternative sources of wealth to its dwindling exports of hydrocarbons and jobs for its growing number of young nationals. A subsidiary of […] May 21, 2025
Petrochemicals Trump’s China tariffs give relief to Saudi petrochems Saudi Arabia’s beleaguered petrochemicals industry, especially those that rely on propane gas to make their products, has received some welcome relief from an unexpected source: President Donald Trump and his trade tariffs on China. Trump’s first notable tariff moves against China – the world’s largest importer of propane – came in February. Beijing, which had […] May 21, 2025
Markets Oman still a long way off emerging market index status Oman’s listing of several government companies on Muscat’s bourse has probably done little to boost the sultanate’s hopes of achieving emerging market status – for now at least. Five state companies have gone public since 2023, raising almost $4 billion in total. Their relatively poor post-listing performance, however, has soured investor sentiment and made further […] May 21, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Thirsty for data: water scarcity challenges Gulf’s AI ambitions Water scarcity could complicate the Gulf’s ambitious plans to build ever-larger and more powerful data centres, experts say. “Water accessibility can significantly limit data centre capacity, particularly as cooling demands increase with higher density workloads and rising ambient temperatures,” Rasheed Ahmad, technical director at American Water and Environmental Solutions, tells AGBI. Saudi Arabia’s new AI […] May 20, 2025
Oil & Gas Bidders for Libyan oil need high appetite for risk Deadly clashes last week have rattled investor confidence and potentially put at risk plans for the first Libyan oil and gas exploration and production licensing in almost two decades, analysts say. Fighting has erupted in the capital, Tripoli, between government forces and militias. This in turn has led to deadly protests calling for the removal […] May 20, 2025
Markets Saudi IPOs bounce back ‘quicker than expected’ Three initial public offerings launched in the past six weeks stand to raise close to $1.8 billion on the Saudi Exchange – nearly twice as much as the IPOs on the main market in the first quarter. This suggests the lull in Saudi IPOs that followed President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement on April 2 […] May 20, 2025
Finance Qatar’s $526bn wealth fund bets big on technology Qatar Airways captured the headlines this week with its near $100 billion order for Boeing aircraft during US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit. But behind the scenes the country’s $526 billion sovereign Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is making investments that could prove to be of greater strategic importance to the country, with an increasing focus […] May 19, 2025
Petrochemicals Global slowdown offers way out for Gulf petrochemicals Top executives at Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical producers probably have little in common with Russian Marxist Georgi Plekhanov. Yet the revolutionary’s mantra “the worse, the better” may prove the unlikely route to salvation for their beleaguered industry. First-quarter results among Saudi petrochemical producers, which were forecast to be poor, proved to be even worse than expected. Margins […] May 19, 2025
Finance The multi-trillion dollar deals agreed on Trump’s trip During his trip to the Gulf region from May 13 to 16, US president Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE and announced a series of deals across a number of sectors, which, according to the White House, added up to nearly $2.5 trillion. Artificial intelligence Saudi Arabia’s newly-established AI developer Humain said […] May 19, 2025
Tourism Turkey cruising towards growing tourist trade Turkey is working hard to improve its appeal as a holiday cruise destination, adding new ports of call for visiting ships and developing broader itineraries to take advantage of the country’s 8,000 kilometre-long coastline and diverse historical and natural beauty spots. With advance bookings already up on last year, Turkey’s tourism industry is bullish about […] May 18, 2025
Aviation Flydubai CEO says demand exists to quadruple India flights Flydubai believes it has the capacity to quadruple its flights to India, saying the demand is there. However, Delhi’s protectionist aviation policies remain a stumbling block to the Gulf’s biggest low-cost carrier by fleet size, as well as other UAE airlines. Flydubai currently operates 30 flights a week from Dubai to eight Indian cities. “India […] May 16, 2025
Markets Oman’s state IPO history raises question over future sales Oman’s privatisation programme of state-owned companies has boosted government coffers and helped improve the sultanate’s credit rating, but it has brought little joy for equity investors. Since the start of 2023, five state-controlled businesses have sold shares to the public in initial public offerings (IPOs), raising almost $4 billion in total. These span four subsidiaries […] May 15, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Arabia risks AI glut as Trump approves Nvidia sale Saudi Arabia’s plan to build one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence infrastructures may lead to oversupply in the short term, creating spare capacity for export to other emerging markets, AI experts have said. Although domestic demand is growing, Riyadh’s rollout of compute – computing power for AI – is outpacing current uses. Capacity is […] May 15, 2025
Aviation Flynas to test appetite for airline IPOs as Gulf rivals look on Low-cost carrier Flynas is preparing to go public on the Saudi Exchange this month in a deal that is being watched not only by investors but also by Gulf rivals considering their own listings, analysts have told AGBI. Among them is Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, whose long-anticipated initial public offering could be shaped by Flynas’ […] May 14, 2025
Petrochemicals 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 […] May 14, 2025
Banking and Finance 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 […] May 13, 2025
Retail 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 […] May 13, 2025
Oil & Gas 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 […] May 13, 2025
Finance 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 – […] May 12, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] May 12, 2025
Trade 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 […] May 12, 2025
