Development UAE president to meet Vladimir Putin in Russia on Tuesday UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit Russia on Tuesday for a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, amid growing escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war. During his visit, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will discuss UAE-Russia relations with Putin, along with a number of regional and international issues and developments of […] October 10, 2022
UAE stocks buoyed by oil price rally on back of OPEC+ cuts Key stock markets in the UAE closed higher on Friday, tracking the rally in oil prices following the OPEC+ announcement late on Wednesday of a two million barrel per day (bpd) cut to its production quota from November. Dubai’s main share index DFMGI rose 0.7 percent. The Dubai bourse registered a weekly gain of over […] October 7, 2022
Energy OPEC+ cuts: the media’s verdict Major stock markets in the Gulf rose in early trading on Thursday, joining the rise in oil prices following the announcement late on Wednesday October 5 that the oil alliance OPEC+ had agreed to cut production by about two million barrels per day, the largest reduction since 2020. OPEC+ agrees deep oil production cuts, Biden […] October 6, 2022
Banking and Finance Region sees surge in compliance costs for new bank accounts The rapid expansion of the financial technology and online banking sector in the Middle East has meant the region has seen a large increase in the size of compliance teams over the last three years, according to a new study. Increased geopolitical risk, regulation and evolving criminal threats are also driving increased anti-money laundering (AML) […] October 5, 2022
Economy Egypt’s non-oil sector hit by weak demand, home and away Egypt's non-oil output fell in September, a 13th consecutive month of contraction, as exports dropped sharply too October 4, 2022
Economy Bleak economic forecast leads to UK companies setting up in UAE There has been a 23 percent year-on-year rise in UK companies setting up in the UAE. The increase comes as Britain contends with a stark economic outlook: the most recent forecast from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) predicts that there will be a recession before the end of this year, with inflation spiking to […] October 3, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Arab banks shun Russian Mir payments system after pressure Along with losing ground on the battlefield in recent weeks, Moscow’s foothold in the Arab world’s financial system has also hit setbacks. Turkey’s finance minister Nureddin Nebati last Thursday announced that three state banks – Vakifbank, Ziraat Bank and Halkbank – had suspended the use of the Russian Mir payment system which is the country’s […] October 3, 2022
Analysis Energy Answer to UK’s energy needs is blowing in the Moroccan wind The UK is working with Morocco on an £18 billion ($20bn) plan to build vast solar panel and wind farms in the desert that could power more than seven million British homes by 2030. It will also deliver electricity at about half the rate of that produced by nuclear power plants. With the world in […] October 3, 2022
Analysis Economy Oman set to be the first Gulf state to introduce income tax Oman’s government is on track to implement income tax to high-wage earners by 2024, after having first announced the plans back in 2020. “There is no delay in the target set for 2024 implementation,” Dr Said Al Saqri, Oman’s Minister of Economy, said during the MSX Investors Roadshow conference held earlier this month. The Gulf […] September 27, 2022
Analysis Banking and Finance Islamic finance set to embrace metaverse and cryptos The Islamic finance industry is ripe for growth in the fields of crypto, digital assets and open banking, according to new research published by IslamicMarkets.com. A study published this week by the platform found that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Islamic finance professionals predict the sector’s level of adoption of crypto and digital assets will […] September 27, 2022
Analysis Economy Will latest interest hike dampen GCC’s non-oil sector recovery? GCC central banks raised their interest rates on Wednesday, in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve, raising concerns as to whether this will disincentivise borrowing in the region’s non-oil sector and result in a slowdown in the post-pandemic recovery. However, consensus among the analysts AGBI spoke to was that the impact of the current levels […] September 23, 2022
Analysis Manufacturing Morocco in drive to become a global EV manufacturing hub Ask anyone to name the global electric vehicle manufacturing powerhouses and the US and China are the first countries that will spring to mind. But Morocco now looks set to join the big league after its government announced in July that it is planning to ink a deal with several EV battery manufacturers to construct […] September 16, 2022
Analysis Economy Sharjah has world’s second-largest growth of millionaires Sharjah recorded the second-largest increase in millionaires in the first half of this year, as the Gulf claimed five of the top ten hotspots. The total number of millionaires residing in the emirate is now 3,700, up 20 percent from December. Riyadh, the Saudi Arabian capital, tops the list with 17,200, also up 20 percent. […] September 14, 2022
Real Estate Burj Khalifa broke its sales record in 2021 – and is set to do it again The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, recorded its highest residential sales in volume and value last year – and is on track to break that record in 2022. Data from property consultancy Knight Frank and real estate analytics portal REIDIN shows that the volume of residential transactions at the Dubai skyscraper hit 106 in […] September 14, 2022
Analysis New UK foreign secretary Cleverly to bolster Gulf ties New UK foreign secretary James Cleverly’s experience and knowledge of the Gulf region should help pave the way for a stronger start to relations between economies, according to industry professionals. Cleverly was given his new role by Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss, who appointed many of her closest allies to key roles in her […] September 9, 2022
The world mourns Queen Elizabeth II: 1926 – 2022 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has died aged 96. She acceded the throne on February 6, 1952 after the death of her father King George VI, and became an iconic and highly-respected figure to billions of people across the world during her 70-year reign. A statement from Buckingham Palace […] September 8, 2022
Analysis Truss appointment as UK PM is good news for Gulf, say experts Liz Truss is to be the UK’s next prime minister, after beating former chancellor Rishi Sunak in the contest to lead the Conservative Party. Truss secured 81,326 votes to Sunak’s 60,399 in a ballot of party members. She will take office on Tuesday after a meeting with the Queen. The new prime minister’s in-tray is […] September 5, 2022
UAE tops ‘digital lifestyle’ rankings amid investment push The UAE ranks among the world’s leading countries in several digital life indexes. It’s the first globally in terms of mobile internet speed, with the average speed in being 134.48 megabytes per second (Mbps) compared with the global average of 30 Mbps, according to a report published by the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory […] September 5, 2022
Sustainability Global carbon capture institute opens in Masdar on net zero path As the UAE targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Global Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Institute has announced it will be opening its first Middle East headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City. The Global CCS Institute is an international think tank with a stated mission of accelerating the deployment of CCS technology – considered […] September 2, 2022
Sustainability UAE rallies private sector to realise 2050 net-zero pledge The UAE has launched its first ‘Climate-Responsible Companies Pledge,’ in a bid to boost the private sector’s role in helping the country achieve its target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – dubbed the Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative. More than 21 UAE-based companies have so far signed up to the pledge, unveiled by […] September 1, 2022
Dubai ranks as most expensive city for mobile data Dubai has taken the unenviable top spot as the most expensive city for affordability of mobile data, with the average cost of 1GB equating to 0.55 percent of personal disposable income, said a new study. In second place is Auckland with 0.37 percent, followed by Seoul (0.32 percent), Buenos Aires (0.32 percent) and Manila with 0.31 […] August 15, 2022
Analysis Food & Drink The sky’s the limit for cloud kitchens in the Gulf While many businesses suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic, cloud kitchens – companies that prepare food solely for home delivery without having sit-down restaurant space – were beneficiaries of the online ordering boom. The GCC has been a hotspot for this growth with companies including Sweetheart Kitchen, Kitopi, KLC Virtual Restaurants and kaykroo overseeing delivery […] August 12, 2022
