Telecoms Chinese brands gain ground as Mena smartphone sales surge Economic stability and rising populations have fuelled a 20 percent year-on-year surge in the sale of smartphones in the Middle East and North Africa. Chinese brands have made significant gains on other, more established manufacturers. Smartphone shipments in the Middle East reached 11.5 million units in the second quarter of 2024. That was a 20 […] August 20, 2024
Trade India pushes for more rupee-dirham payment in UAE trade India’s central bank has told lenders dealing with the UAE to settle at least part of their trade payments directly using the rupee and dirham. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not provided specifics of the targets, but has asked banks to report back the extent of rupee or dirham-denominated payments, Reuters reported, citing […] August 19, 2024
Analysis Telecoms UAE broadband users pay dearly for lack of competition Telcos may have generated nearly AED94 billion ($25 billion) in revenue for the UAE government, but a lack of competition and steep costs means that residents have been hit with the highest broadband bills in the Gulf. With an average price of $142.65 per month, people in the UAE are paying more than double than […] August 18, 2024
Manufacturing Strong aluminium prices push Alba profit up Aluminium Bahrain, better known as Alba, reported profit for the first half of 2024 of BD93 million ($247 million), an increase of 83 percent year on year, helped by the falling cost of raw materials and rising sale prices. Alba’s profits in the second quarter surged even higher, jumping 102 percent year on year to […] August 15, 2024
Tourism Surge in Yemeni visitors to Oman The tourism sector in Oman recorded a 5 percent year-on-year increase in visitors to 2 million visits in the first half of 2024, up from 1.9 million visits recorded over the same period in 2023. Visitors from Yemen more than doubled, to just under 108,000, from 52,000 in the first half of 2023, Omani local […] August 14, 2024
Banking & Finance Gulf IPOs raise 45% more in Q2 than last year The money raised in IPOs in the Gulf region soared in the second quarter of the year, with 14 deals worth a total of $2.64 billion struck in the healthcare, education and technology sectors. The number of IPOs rose only slightly year on year, from 13 listings in the second quarter of 2023, but proceeds […] August 13, 2024
SPECIAL REPORT Real Estate Turkish housing crisis persists despite construction surge Activity in the Turkish construction industry is picking up pace, fuelled by the need to rebuild after the February earthquakes — but economic woes mean the road could be long, experts tell AGBI. Even before the February earthquakes, which killed 50,000 people, injured 100,000 more, and made 3 million homeless overnight, the country of 83 […] December 5, 2023
Banking & Finance Bank of America ousts Goldman as top Mena M&A adviser Bank of America was the top M&A financial adviser in the Middle East and Africa during the first half of 2023, according to research from GlobalData. The US bank advised on two deals worth a combined $9.86 billion in H1. This was more than double the sum recorded by JP Morgan, which took second place […] July 31, 2023
Tourism Turks decide there is no place like home for a holiday A sharp decline in the lira has boosted domestic tourism in Turkey as a growing number of people opt to holiday at home. Turks are spending more money than ever on food and drink and helping to spread the country’s wealth to poorer, rural areas, analysts have observed. In the first quarter of 2023, Turks […] July 31, 2023
Retail Italian fashion label Zegna’s UAE revenue up 50% Italian fashion retailer Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s sales in the UAE soared by 50 percent in the first half of this year, more than double its global average. Sales of €31.9 million in the UAE surpassed those in the UK, which totalled €28.8 million. This is despite the UK’s population being nearly seven times as big […] July 28, 2023
Analysis Food & Drink North Africa to the rescue as Europe’s olive oil dries up A caesar salad may be the ideal light meal on a summer’s day, but you might have noticed it is weighing heavier on your wallet. That is because the price of olive oil is at an all-time high. Prices have jumped by nearly 80 percent in just one year, according to data from YCharts. European […] July 28, 2023
Exclusive Energy Acwa Power bids to turbocharge Saudi’s green targets When it comes to the green transition, Saudi Arabia has got some catching up to do. The country is targeting a 50-50 split in electricity generation between renewables and gas by 2030, but in 2021 just 0.2 percent of electricity came from renewable sources. To achieve this Vision 2030 goal, the country has tasked its […] July 28, 2023
Banking & Finance PIF seeks $5bn investments in Oman Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, PIF, has signed a memorandum of understanding with its Omani counterpart to seek out investments in Oman worth $5 billion. The agreement aims to support the expansion of investment and cooperation between PIF and its portfolio companies with the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), said a PIF announcement on Thursday. The […] July 27, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt fuels private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones Private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones has spiked by nearly 25 percent in the second quarter of 2023, with Egypt the primary source market for overseas investors. The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) announced that SAR 2.77 billion ($735.5 million) was invested in Q2 2023 — up 23.5 percent year-on-year. […] July 24, 2023
Trade Dubai on track to seize record number of counterfeit goods Dubai is likely to seize millions more counterfeit items in 2023 than in 2022, according to the latest data from Dubai Customs. The emirate’s customs agency has seized 10.7 million counterfeit items — worth AED 53.277 million ($14.5 million) — so far in 2023, compared with 15 million for the whole of 2022. Dubai Customs […] July 24, 2023
Analysis Logistics Getting married? Your flowers probably flew Emirates With the global wedding season in full bloom and demand for fresh-cut flowers blossoming, Emirates’ advanced logistics capabilities and strategic location are helping it capitalise on this market. The Dubai airline’s commercial freight division Emirates SkyCargo transported 3,590 tonnes of time- and temperature-sensitive fresh-cut flowers in May this year alone – a 20 percent year-on-year […] July 23, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia to give Tunisia $500m as soft loan and grant Saudi Arabia has agreed to provide Tunisia with a $500 million package of financial assistance as the country faces a mounting financial crisis. The Gulf state will give the North African country $400 million as a soft loan and $100 million as a grant, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. The agreement was signed […] July 21, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi regulator issues $319m in fines for share fraud Saudi Arabia’s financial regulator has convicted 17 people of manipulation and fraud for trading shares in the kingdom’s largest property developer. The group has been hit with fines amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, when the value of gains they have been ordered to return are included. The Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on […] July 21, 2023
Tech US and UAE supercomputer venture advances AI training US artificial intelligence tech firm Cerebras signed a $100 million deal with UAE tech holding company G42 on Thursday to supply the first of three AI supercomputers. A planned network of nine interconnected supercomputers, Condor Galaxy (GC) will be the largest of its kind in the world, and will significantly reduce AI model training time. […] July 21, 2023
Banking & Finance Saudi behind increase in foreign currency sukuk deals Saudi Arabia is driving a surge in foreign currency denominated sukuk deals in the Gulf, with analysts revising up their predictions for 2023. S&P Global is forecasting total global sukuk issuances of between $160 billion and $170 billion for 2023, up from their initial estimate of $150 billion. This increase is due in large part […] July 20, 2023
Real Estate Turkish home sales drop by 44% after earthquakes Macroeconomic trends, a quirk of the calendar and the market fallout from February’s earthquakes have led to a 44 percent drop in Turkish home sales, experts have told AGBI. A total of 83,636 homes were sold in Turkey in June, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to 150,509 during the same month last year. […] July 19, 2023
Analysis Real Estate In cultural capital Sharjah, selling homes is an art form Sharjah is investing big in culture, building up its education and arts offerings to tempt Emiratis and others to buy into a lifestyle said to be “unmatched” elsewhere in the UAE. The emirate “is referred to as the cultural capital of the Middle East”, said Professor Peter Barlow, executive director of the Sharjah Performing Arts […] February 8, 2023
