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The Bahrain World Trade Center

The Gulf island state’s vision for recovery and growth

From building new cities to upskilling nationals for digital transformation, Ali Murtaza, executive director, business development for tourism and real estate on the Bahrain Economic Development Board, answers a Q&A with AGBI on the state’s all-encompassing recovery strategy. Bahrain’s economic recovery plan was revised during the coronavirus pandemic. What are the details? The economic recovery […]

Doubling oil output may prove a challenge too far

Four years after announcing a giant discovery of 80 billion barrels of oil shale and 20 trillion cubic feet of gas off the coast of Bahrain, Manama has yet to make a final decision on whether to push ahead with what would be an expensive and challenging project. The offshore basin, which wraps around the […]

Shortfall of skilled staff could hamper GCC tourism goals

The GCC’s tourism sector is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, generating revenue of $26.3 billion, but experts question whether future growth could be stymied by shortages in the region’s skilled hospitality workforce.  UAE-based investment banking advisory firm, Alpen Capital, said the sector registered a 74.8 percent growth over the past year, adding […]

Bahrain’s non-oil economy has wind in its sails

With Bahrain’s finances looking better than many expected, inflation broadly contained, and moves under way to boost private sector projects, the mood in the capital, Manama, is more upbeat in 2022 than seemed plausible 12 months ago. Darkening economic skies – largely coronavirus-related but also due to weaker hydrocarbons proceeds – had forced the government […]

Person, Human, Monitor

UAE businesses to boost investment in cyber insurance

Revenue from the cyber security insurance sector is forecast to grow by 10 percent per annum to $10.6 billion in 2025, with Gulf companies set to be part of this investment push. “The Russia-Ukraine war has increased the likelihood of state-sponsored cyber attacks that target critical infrastructure, military operations, and businesses,” said Amrit Dhami, a London-based […]

Clothing, Apparel, Bonnet

How the new Saudi Companies Law could affect your business

Saudi Arabia’s Council of Ministers recently approved a new Companies Law, which aims to enhance the growth of the kingdom’s commercial ecosystem.  According to the Ministry of Commerce, the law aims to increase business sustainability and encourage investment in SMEs by facilitating procedures and regulatory requirements.  It introduces new corporate entities, increasing the level of […]

Manama goes all out to woo international holidaymakers

If the number of people that poured into Bahrain in March for the Formula 1 Grand Prix is any guide, the country’s tourism prospects look bright. One observer reported seeing more private jets at the airport than ever before, and the race-day attendance of 35,000 fans was a record. Those signs of revival from the […]

Kenya general election ‘could delay’ trade deal with UAE

The UAE and Kenya are launching talks to form a free trade agreement to boost bilateral economic ties. But political uncertainty in the east African country could hamper efforts to collaborate on shared priorities such as oil, gas, technology and ports, experts say. The two countries signed a joint statement on July 28 pledging to […]

Despite rising costs globally, Dubai's property market is forecast to hold for the rest of 2022

Dubai property market ranked among top 5 globally

Prime residential property prices in Dubai rose by nearly five percent in the first half of the year, placing the emirate at number four in a new list of the world’s best performing markets. US cities including Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York dominated the leaderboard, with Dubai the only non-US city to […]

UK firms look to power the UAE’s energy transition

The UAE’s commitment to a net zero future is being increasingly recognised worldwide and capturing the attention of global partners including Britain. A case in point is London-based Desolenator, the world’s first solar thermal desalination technology company, delivering net-zero clean water at scale to companies and communities. It uniquely uses both solar-generated heat and electricity […]

UAE invests in future flood control after record rainfall

The UAE’s recent record levels of rainfall, resulting in loss of life and flood damage, pose budgetary challenges for authorities, but also opportunities for regional infrastructure investors. The National Centre of Meteorology said last month was the wettest July in the UAE for over 40 years. It said that 234.9mm of rain fell between 22:30 […]

Consolidation coming to Gulf fintech, warns $40bn unicorn VP

Consolidation is coming to the Gulf’s fintech sector, according to Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, senior vice president for MENA at global payments processor Checkout.com. The London-headquartered fintech, which offers a full-stack platform that simplifies payments processes for large global enterprise merchants, closed a $1 billion Series D funding round in January. “In my opinion, if you’re […]

Dubai crypto chief predicts a $200k Bitcoin by 2024

“It might get worse,” Vineet Budki, managing partner and CEO at Cypher Capital, told AGBI when asked: Just how bad is the crypto market crash? Yet, the UAE-based venture capital (VC) firm has been deploying millions in Bitcoin, even as cryptocurrencies suffered their most brutal collapse this year. A major sell-off in cryptocurrencies in May […]

Gulf’s $2bn buy-now-pay-later sector shrugs off global slump

Despite the global pessimism surrounding buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) finance providers, the Gulf region continues to push forward with related acquisitions and expansion plans. The recent string of big ticket global BNPL casualties highlights several companies with direct links to the UAE. Abu Dhabi-backed Swedish operator Klarna last month managed to raise $800 million in new funding, […]

Western views on Arabs ‘outdated’, says Blair think tank

Western perceptions of the Arab world are out of synch with the modern reality, argues a new 73-page report published by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.   “On average, less than a quarter of those polled in Western countries believe that people in the Middle East share all or most of the same values […]

Water, Waterfront, Watercraft

Kuwait City leads the world for billionaires

Kuwait City is home to more billionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world, according to the latest data. The Gulf capital boasts one billionaire for every 33,090 inhabitants, making it the most densely populated city for those with more than ten digits of wealth, reports the Billionaire Census 2022 from New York-based consultancy […]

Person, Human, Table

Food security report delivers stark warning to import-reliant Gulf

GCC governments must step up their efforts to develop agri-food technology and recycle waste, a new food security report has warned. The Gulf is one of the world’s most import-dependent regions. The main food security challenge for the GCC is a natural or man-made crisis that could block one or more countries’ access to imports, […]

The billion-dollar question: what does it take to make a unicorn?

Can the UAE meet its target of being home to 20 unicorns by 2031? Only if entrepreneurs, venture capital and the government work together to build companies that can truly “translate across borders”, according to experts. Today the UAE has just three startups valued at $1 billion: Vista Global, Emerging Market Property Group and Kitopi. […]

Virtual reality headsets are becoming more affordable, allowing more people to meet in the metaverse

Inside Dubai’s big $4bn metaverse push

The UAE is punting big on the next iteration of reality. Crown prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed announced the launch of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy earlier this month, with an aim to place the emirate among the top 10 metaverse economies in the world. Many observers may have been sceptical but there are already early […]

Emirates calls on Airbus to make planes even bigger than A380

Airbus, the world’s largest passenger aircraft manufacturer, needs to build bigger planes to create a more sustainable aviation sector, its top customer, Emirates Airline, has said. The Airbus A380 is the largest ever commercial passenger plane, capable of seating 853 people on two decks, together with perks such as bars and shower spas. “When you […]

Shoe, Footwear, Clothing

MENA startup funding poised to recover in second half of 2022

Last year was a standout for Middle East and North African startups in which many notable records were broken, including the largest funding round to date and the highest number of deals. The total amount of investment raised by regional startups was pushed to $2.8 billion across 639 deals. This constituted a quadrupling of investment, […]

Global Islamic fintech market set to hit $179bn in 2026

The global Islamic fintech market recorded $79 billion in transaction volumes in 2021. And it is expected to grow by around 18 percent annually to reach $179 billion by 2026, according to the Global Islamic Fintech (GIFT) Report 2022 launched on Thursday. “Covid and the subsequent digitisation push has helped to accelerate the pace at […]