Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Andy Sambidge

International Editor

UK-based journalist covering all regions and sectors in the Gulf. Andy has worked for local, regional and international media for over 35 years, including more than a decade covering the Middle East. He won the 1991 Press Gazette Campaigning Journalist of the Year

Andy Sambidge
Alantra office Dubai

DIFC adds 3,000 jobs as worldwide appeal grows

Over 3,000 new jobs were created at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) during the first half of 2023 as 661 companies joined. The total number of firms operating there rose from 4,031 to 4,949 at the end of June, a year-on-year increase of 23 percent.  Its fintech and innovation sectors grew 35 percent from 599 […]

An electronics store. United's Egypt expansion would have been its first move outside the GCC

Saudi retailer’s Q2 profit slumps after Egypt u-turn

Quarterly profit has halved at United Electronics, the Saudi parent company of tech retailer eXtra, after it dropped a planned expansion into Egypt. United’s net profit dropped to SAR61.7 million ($16.4 million) in the second quarter of 2023, compared to SAR127.1 million for the same period last year. The scrapping of the Egypt plan in […]

Jamjoon Pharmaceuticals raised $336 million in an initial public offering earlier this year

Saudi pharma firm to buy manufacturing site in Algeria

Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Company has increased capital in its joint venture in Algeria to help finance the acquisition of a manufacturing facility. In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the company, which raised $336 million in an initial public offering in May, announced the additional funding in Jamjoom Algeria Lil Dawa, in which it […]

Sahar Cooper, CEO of Aldar Education

Aldar Education expands into Bahrain and Dubai

Aldar Properties has increased investment in its education business, with over AED350 million ($95 million) added to the initial AED1 billion commitment announced last year, it said on Monday.  A filing to the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange notes that the company is expanding into Dubai and Bahrain, as well as adding a new acquisition in […]

The deal with Acme Group boosts Oman's aim to become the Middle East's largest exporter of hydrogen

India’s Acme secures funding for Oman hydrogen project

Indian renewable energy company Acme Group has secured a loan of $490 million to finance a green hydrogen and ammonia project in Oman. The funding will come from Rec Limited, one of India’s largest green infrastructure financial institutions, and will be used for the first phase of the project. The facility will be established at […]

Saudi Crown Prince meets with President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan

Clean energy set to power GCC-Central Asia trade growth

Leaders from the GCC and countries in Central Asia, known as the C5 bloc, have pledged to boost trade, with clean energy expected to be at the heart of the relationship. The pledge was made at a summit held last week in Jeddah, which built on a meeting last September between foreign ministers from both […]

Residential deals slump in Saudi as mortgage costs rise

Residential real estate deals in Saudi Arabia fell by nearly a third during the first half of 2023 as higher mortgage costs eroded purchasing power. New analysis from Knight Frank showed there were about 70,000 transactions during the first six months of the year, down from 103,000 in the same period last year, representing a […]

Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, energy and infrastructure minister, said the hydrogen strategy would be a 'crucial tool' to help the UAE reach net zero by 2050

Green for go: UAE’s long-term plan for hydrogen

The UAE has unveiled its national hydrogen strategy as analysts predict that GCC members can play a key role as exporters. The blueprint for hydrogen is a “long-term plan to turn the UAE into a leading and reliable producer and supplier of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031”, according to Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, minister of […]

EITC profit Du

Du parent posts Q2 profit surge as customers hit 8m

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which operates the Du and Virgin Mobile brands in the UAE, reported a 31 percent increase in net profit on Wednesday. The growth was on the back of strong demand for mobile and fixed broadband services. Profits totalled AED397 million ($108 million) in the second quarter. Revenue rose by nearly […]

Jordan retail

Jordan GDP growth forecasts raised on domestic demand

Real GDP growth forecasts for Jordan have been raised after sectors including manufacturing, finance, transport and retail performed stronger than expected in the first quarter of the year. Analysts at BMI (formerly Fitch) expect Jordan’s real GDP growth to hit 2.8 percent – up from a previous forecast of 2.6 percent. Growth stood at 2.5 […]

The Al Jimi Mall in Al Ain is one of two UAE malls being redeveloped by Aldar Properties

Aldar unveils $136m plan to revamp UAE shopping malls

Aldar Properties announced an AED500 million ($136 million) investment plan on Tuesday to redevelop two of its key retail portfolio assets in the UAE – Al Jimi Mall in Al Ain and Al Hamra Mall in Ras Al Khaimah.  The investment takes Aldar’s committed spend on redeveloping key retail assets to AED1 billion, the Abu […]

A Nadec cowshed. Its 92,000 cows produce 150,000 tons of bio-waste every year

Saudi dairy giant plans to turn bio-waste into fertiliser

Saudi farming giant National Agricultural Development Company has signed a deal to recycle the bio-waste produced by its 92,000 cows. The business, which is known as Nadec, said an estimated 150,000 tons of bio-waste were produced annually at its dairy farms in the kingdom. In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Nadec […]

A derailed train is placed on the tracks following the February earthquake in Turkey. The UKEF-backed project will also contribute to reconstruction

UK keeps Turkey’s high speed railway on track with $865m backing

The UK government’s export credit agency has underwritten $865 million of financing to support construction of a 286km high-speed electric railway in southern Turkey. With financing provided by UK Export Finance (UKEF), Turkey’s Rönesans Holding will finish construction of the Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep High Speed Railway on behalf of the Turkish Ministry of Transport. The deal is […]

Saudi hunts for critical minerals in energy transition

Saudi state mining giant Ma’aden and US-based Ivanhoe Electric have closed a deal to investigate 48,500 sq km of under-explored lands in the Arabian Shield for “critical minerals” that are key to powering the global energy transition. Surveys could begin as soon as September in the new joint venture, which is worth nearly $130 million. […]

A coffee farmer inspects berries at a plantation in Vietnam's central highland province of Lam Dong. Dubai Chambers has identified coffee as a key export sector

Dubai opens Vietnam office as South East Asia trade grows

Dubai International Chamber has opened a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, as analysts predict Vietnam will be one of the UAE’s fastest-growing trade corridors in the next few years. The office will support Dubai companies seeking to expand in the Southeast Asian country and create mechanisms to attract foreign direct investment from Vietnam, […]

The DIFC is being considered as a more favourable home for hedge funds than traditional hubs

UAE takes on New York and London in attracting hedge funds

The UAE is fast emerging as an attractive alternative to traditional hedge fund centres, experts say, as five funds from the US and Hong Kong set up business in Dubai’s financial hub in the second quarter of 2023 alone. Although more established regions such as London and New York still dominate, the likes of Dubai […]

Dubai waste-to-energy

UAE waste-to-energy plant starts transmitting electricity

The first electricity transmission to the UAE’s national power grid has been delivered from Dubai’s $1 billion waste-to-energy facility as the emirate seeks to reduce its landfill dependence. Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) and its joint venture partner Besix made the announcement on Tuesday, saying that the Dubai Waste Management Centre will power 135,000 homes in […]

Abu Dhabi Japan hotels

Abu Dhabi checks into $900m deal for Japan hotels

A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is part of a consortium that has completed a $900 million deal to acquire a portfolio of hotels in Japan. The Adia subsidiary has joined Singapore’s private equity real estate firm SC Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management in acquiring 27 hotels from Japanese developer Daiwa House […]

Turkey UK trade: A bus production line at a factory in Arifiye, Sakarya province. Vehicles are one of Turkey's main exports

Turkey and UK plan talks to build on $31bn trade ties

Turkey and the UK are to begin talks on a revised free trade agreement, building on a relationship that was worth £23.5 billion ($30.7 billion) in 2022. The deal would replace the existing UK-Turkey agreement, which was put in place after Brexit and does not cover services or digital industries.  The UK is the second […]

Emirati jobs

New job rules to lure Emirati graduates to SMEs

The UAE has expanded its rules on Emiratisation as it seeks to give Emirati graduates more opportunities to join small to medium-sized enterprises, which provide jobs for more than 86 percent of the private sector workforce. A government resolution widens the pool of private sector businesses subject to Emiratisation – an initiative to employ its […]

Dubai Mall Emaar

Emaar given ratings upgrade after first-quarter sales surge

Dubai’s largest real estate developer Emaar Properties has received credit rating upgrades from Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and S&P Global, as residential property prices in the emirate continue to rise. Fitch Ratings upgraded its long-term issuer default rating to ‘BBB’ from ‘BBB-‘, Moody’s announced an upgrade to Baa2 from Baa3 and S&P Global raised Emaar to […]

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan met Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah last year

Saudi and Turkey strengthen energy and defence ties

Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signed energy and defence agreements with plans to boost direct investments and build on bilateral trade worth over $6 billion last year. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were present as the agreements were signed, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. The deals included two contracts […]