Business of Sport Saudi football is no threat, say major Euro leagues Two of Europe’s top leagues have shrugged off the challenges posed by Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar emergence onto the global football scene. Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s LaLiga told AGBI the kingdom’s quest to sign up some of the best talent in the sport will have no bearing on plans to increase their own market share […] June 22, 2023
Food & Drink Deliveroo riding the storm in Kuwait and Qatar Kuwait and Qatar are predicted to continue to buck the trend as Deliveroo’s worldwide orders tumble. The online food delivery platform received 72.1 million orders worldwide in the first three months of this year, a drop of 9 percent over the same period last year, according to a statement from company headquarters in London. Earlier […] June 22, 2023
Video length: 00:59 Aviation Neom’s flying taxi takes to the skies Plans to introduce flying taxis to Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion Neom development have accelerated after a series of successful test flights in the kingdom. Neom entered into a $191.2 million investment and joint venture with German aircraft manufacturer Volocopter in 2021. The tests lasted over a week and built on 18 months of collaboration between […] June 22, 2023
Economy Costs rise, but no fears of a crash for Dubai’s super-rich Dubai has surged up global cost of living rankings for the super-rich, but a leading Swiss wealth management group has no concerns the emirate could be headed for another economic crash. Dubai is the seventh most expensive city in the world for high net worth individuals (HNWIs) to live – ahead of European cities Paris […] June 20, 2023
Energy Oman ready to be global hydrogen player Oman will need cumulative investment of around $33 billion if it wants to scale up production of renewable hydrogen to 1 million tonnes by 2030. The sultanate is on track to become the sixth-largest exporter of hydrogen globally and the largest in the Middle East by 2030, according to analysis by the Paris-based International Energy […] June 19, 2023
Business of Sport Italy’s Serie A football league targets Middle East backers Italy’s Serie A is targeting investment opportunities from the Middle East, as the football league becomes increasingly attractive to global lenders and private equity giants. The Gulf region has sizeable interests in English football, including Saudi-backed Newcastle United and Manchester City FC, which is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi United Group. Qatar Sports Investments is also […] June 17, 2023
Tech Abu Dhabi’s G42 signs deal to improve UAE tech skills Abu Dhabi’s artificial intelligence company G42 has set up a joint venture with Israel’s Viola Group to address skills shortages in the tech sector. The venture will be known as Global Valley. A study by Korn Ferry estimated that by 2030 there will be a global talent deficit of approximately 85 million employees in the […] June 16, 2023
Economy Morocco reveals $990m plan to support farmers Morocco’s government has launched a 10 billion dirham ($990 million) plan to support the country’s farmers, designed to combat the impact of drought and global economic challenges. A report from the Higher Commission for Planning said 229,000 jobs had been lost in rural parts of the country, where agriculture employs over 30 percent of the […] June 14, 2023
Lifestyle Rich Indians lift UAE to top of millionaire migrants chart The UAE had the highest net inflow of millionaires in the world in 2022, with that number set to be swelled this year by super-rich Indians. Last year 5,200 more high net worth individuals (HNWIs) relocated to the Emirates than left, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report. The study forecasts a net inflow […] June 14, 2023
Transport GCC on track to be linked by rail in next 10 years GCC governments are preparing to hand out $167 billion worth of contracts to link the six member countries by railway. “We should expect to see some significant contracts awarded on the railway to link all the GCC states over the next 24 to 26 months,” said Ed James, head of content and analysis at Meed, […] June 13, 2023
Economy EU offers Tunisia $1bn loan – if it accepts IMF reforms The European Union has offered Tunisia a €1 billion ($1.07 billion) loan to prop up its economy and tighten border controls. Under the proposal, Tunis must agree to sweeping economic reforms, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The International Monetary Fund agreed a $1.9 billion bailout for Tunisia last September, but it has […] June 12, 2023
Banking and Finance UAE remittance market nears ‘saturation point’ The remittance and foreign exchange market in the UAE is “saturated” and will need consolidation as new businesses continue to emerge. “Either people will have to grow digitally [at scale] to capture market share or they’ll get amalgamated,” said Zahir Moghal, CEO of Abu Dhabi currency provider Delma Exchange. “It’s totally saturated. It’s completely over-supplied […] June 12, 2023
Business of Sport LIV Golf merger may face challenge from US authorities US competition authorities may intervene to prevent Saudi Arabia’s plans for a merger of two golf bodies and its own LIV Golf, under its own direction, industry experts have warned. Saudi Arabia’s LIV Golf series, backed by millions of dollars from the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, announced on Tuesday plans to merge with the traditional […] June 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Brookfield offers $2.76bn for UAE payment provider Brookfield Asset Management is set to buy digital payments provider Network International in a deal worth £2.2 billion ($2.76 billion), as part of its expansion across the Middle East and Africa. The Canadian investment firm has tabled an offer of 400 pence per share for the UAE-based company – a premium of 64 percent from […] June 9, 2023
Analysis Food & Drink Fine wine whets appetite of Gulf investors A Methuselah-sized bottle of wine – six litres – was auctioned by Sotheby’s last December for a staggering $361,000. The sale of the 2007 Domaine de la Roman-Conti is an indication that investments of passion – art, cars, watches and wine – may not have been dented by the recent global economic worries. The region’s […] June 9, 2023
Aviation Wizz Air grows fleet to meet low-cost demand Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has revealed plans to increase its fleet size by over 400 percent before the end of the decade, as budget air travel in the Mena region booms. The carrier may also expand further into Saudi Arabia. The joint venture between Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, which owns 51 percent, and […] June 9, 2023
Banking and Finance Saudi Arabia tops regional billionaires list Saudi Arabia’s growing community of billionaires is the biggest in the Middle East, despite a drop in the number of super-rich across the region as a whole, the latest industry data shows. There are 71 billionaires living in the kingdom, with a combined wealth of $205 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent, according to […] June 9, 2023
Economy Tunisia likely to see slower economic growth The World Bank has forecast that Tunisia’s economy will grow by around 2.3 percent this year, slightly ahead of the 2.2 percent growth predicted for the wider Mena region. The Tunisian economy will grow by 3 percent in 2024 and remain at the same level the following year, according to its Global Economic Prospects report. […] June 8, 2023
Video length: 04:29 Exclusive Employment Sharp rise in family disputes, says Emirati lawyer The UAE has seen a marked increase in disputes within family-run businesses which is likely to continue, according to a leading Emirati lawyer. Habib Al Mulla has been practising in the UAE for four decades and had until five years ago only seen one dispute case involving family members and shareholders of a company. However, […] June 8, 2023
Trade Clean energy and tech power UAE-Scotland trade It’s a long way from the icy waters of the North Sea to the saline depths of the Straits of Hormuz, but the world’s first offshore floating wind farm is proof of a burgeoning arrangement between Scotland and the UAE. Masdar, the UAE’s government-owned clean energy company, has a 25 percent stake in the 30 […] June 8, 2023
Tech UAE to play ‘central role’ in AI but needs greater regulation The founder of ChatGPT has praised the UAE for being ahead of the curve on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) – as a top Emirati lawyer called for greater regulation of the new technology sector. In a visit to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday Sam Altman said that the UAE had been discussing AI “before […] June 8, 2023
Transport Dubai key to GM’s $50bn driverless car plans General Motors aims to generate $50 billion a year in revenues from driverless cars, with Dubai positioned as a key market in the company’s “robust” global plans. Speaking at a Sanford Bernstein conference in New York, GM chair and CEO Mary Barra said there is a “giant growth opportunity” in the company’s Cruise autonomous vehicle […] June 7, 2023
