Business of Sport Stake in Premier League team sought by Saudi brothers A US-Saudi group has reportedly signed an exclusivity agreement to buy 45 percent of the English Premier League club Crystal Palace. A consortium funded by the Saudi brothers Mansoor and Haider Syed, which includes US sports and business executives, has agreed to buy the stake in the club owned by the American company Eagle Football, […] January 7, 2025
Tech Saudi Aramco leads $30m investment in tech startup Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million venture capital fund owned by Saudi Aramco, and Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo have invested in Zension Technologies, a consumer electronics startup. Wa’ed led the funding raise of $30 million, which also included Dubai-based Global Ventures. Based in Riyadh, Zension provides consumers with access to the latest tech devices. Instead of purchasing devices […] January 7, 2025
Finance Saudi Arabia’s PIF secures $7bn investment financing Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has raised $7 billion to finance future investments. The fund’s murabaha credit facility – a common Islamic financing tool in which buyer and seller agree to cost and markup of an asset – was supported by a syndicate of 20 international and regional financial institutions, PIF said in a statement. […] January 6, 2025
Mining Saudi Arabia chases 15% stake in Pakistan’s Reko Diq mine Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to acquire a 15 percent stake in one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold resources, a Pakistani government minister has said. Negotiations between the two countries started last year over a minority stake in the Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan […] January 3, 2025
Renewable Energy Oman-Korea venture strikes green ammonia deal with Thailand A joint venture between companies from Oman and Korea will supply 5 million tonnes of green ammonia to Thailand under a long-term sales contract valued at $4.5 billion. The strategic partnership between Korean green hydrogen company Lupro and Oman’s Bait Muscat was sealed in June when they agreed to build a green ammonia plant in […] January 3, 2025
Food & Drink Foodtech startup Calo plans IPO after $25m funding round Saudi food technology startup Calo is planning to list on the country’s stock exchange following a raise of SAR94 million ($25 million) in its Series B funding round. Based in Riyadh, Calo specialises in personalised meal subscriptions and also has a bricks-and-mortar offering. It is embarking on an accelerated expansion phase, increasing its physical locations […] January 2, 2025
Mining Oman resumes copper exports as global demand rises Minerals Development Oman (MDO) has resumed exporting copper from the Lasail mine in Sohar with its first shipment in nearly 30 years. The mine, developed by Oman Mining Company, a subsidiary of MDO, produces an average of 500,000 tonnes of copper ore per year. MDO said it also plans to initiate operations at the Al […] January 2, 2025
Tourism Clampdown begins on Saudi’s unlicensed hospitality Travel and tourism service providers and booking platforms have been ordered by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism to remove unlicensed hospitality facilities from their listings or “face penalties”. The ruling, which came into effect from January 1, is to ensure outlets offering hospitality meet a certain standard, the ministry said in a statement. It urged […] January 2, 2025
Trade UAE celebrates global reach of Cepa programme The UAE has agreed trade agreements with countries and international blocs that account for a quarter of the world’s population, the Emirates’ trade minister said. The UAE has concluded 24 comprehensive economic partnership agreements (Cepa) since it launched the programme more than three years ago, covering around 2.5 billion people. A total of 15 Cepas […] December 31, 2024
Retail Retail orders for IPO of Saudi’s Nice One hit $242m The retail tranche of Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing’s initial public offering on the Saudi stock exchange was 7.9 times oversubscribed, with the order book reaching SAR908 million ($242 million). SNB Capital Company, the lead manager for the IPO, said the two-day subscription included 3.47 million shares, representing 10 percent of the IPO, at SAR35 […] December 31, 2024
Analysis Food & Drink Gulf restaurants urged to keep it local Restaurant operators and investors in the Gulf should open local, authentic outlets rather than imported high-end brands, experts say. Saudi Arabia, where government-backed initiatives seek to double the number of restaurants, “is definitely a growth market”, according to Duncan Fraser-Smith, CEO of Craft Hospitality Group. But the establishment needs to suit the location. Craft turned […] December 31, 2024
Retail Strong demand for discount retail in Saudi Arabia and UAE Experts are predicting significant growth in discount retail stores and private label brands in UAE and Saudi Arabia in the coming years. Cost-conscious consumers in the region are looking for convenience and value in their weekly shop and that extends to buying retailer own-brand products usually cheaper than market leading brands. In a recent survey […] December 27, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Dubai’s Hodler in global AI data centre partnership Dubai’s Hodler Investments has partnered with US technology company Vertical Data to launch “sustainable” artificial intelligence data centres in the UAE, the Gulf, Africa and Canada. The companies said they are targeting rising demand for high-performance computing. Growing interest in AI applications has strained existing data centre capacity and fuelled intense demand for energy to […] December 24, 2024
Retail Mena ecommerce up 44% in November Ecommerce in the Middle East and North Africa enjoyed a prosperous November with sales 44 percent higher than the year’s monthly average. Online transactions in 2024 were healthy as a whole, with 5 percent growth on the previous 12 months. Unsurprisingly Black Friday, the global marketing ploy that businesses use to offer big discounts, was […] December 23, 2024
Agriculture ADQ plans Abu Dhabi shrimp farm with Korean startup A land-based shrimp farm may be set up in Abu Dhabi, after a deal between the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, and a South Korean aquaculture startup. Aqua Development, based in Seoul, uses a combination of aquatic biology and technology to replicate the shrimp’s natural environment, which it says is more efficient than traditional fish […] December 19, 2024
Infrastructure Dubai awards $5.6bn metro contract to Turkish-Chinese consortium Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded the AED20.5 billion ($5.6 billion) contract for the Dubai Metro Blue Line project to a consortium of three Turkish and Chinese companies. Three consortia advanced to the final stage before the contract was awarded to Mapa Group from Turkey, in partnership with Limak (Turkey), which will oversee […] December 19, 2024
Aviation Gulf-backed Heathrow announces $3bn investment plan Heathrow Airport in London – now partly owned by two Gulf sovereign wealth funds: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Qatar Investment Authority – has announced a £2.3 billion ($2.9 billion) investment plan to upgrade the transport hub over the next two years. The investment will be used to introduce new baggage systems, resurface […] December 18, 2024
Markets Masdar-backed Infinity Power considers Abu Dhabi IPO Infinity Power, a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and the UAE’s Masdar, is considering listing on the Abu Dhabi stock exchange within the next three years, according to its chairman. “If we’re going to list today, our preference would be Abu Dhabi,” Mansour said. “Maybe that changes in a year or two. It depends on […] December 18, 2024
Aviation Cairo-Jeddah is world’s second busiest international route The Cairo to Jeddah flight route is the second busiest international route in the world, behind only Hong Kong-Taipei, according to the annual report from aviation data provider OAG. Using total airline capacity, OAG analysed the routes with the largest volume of scheduled seats this year, using round-trip flights rather than one-ways. The two-hour and […] December 18, 2024
Analysis Retail UAE retailers face rising costs as shoppers demand more Rising costs for UAE retailers risk hitting marketing budgets in 2025 – even though consumers are spending more cash. Increases in raw material costs and supply chain delays are tightening the margins for companies, experts have pointed out. Still, a sharp increase in the use of artificial intelligence in the retail industry next year is […] December 18, 2024
Banking & Finance UAE tech refurb startup raises $7m from investors A UAE company that specialises in refurbishing electronics is targeting new markets after raising $7 million in Series A funding. Revibe, which offers refurbished laptops, smartphones and other devices, has now closed its funding round, which was co-led by the French tech venture capital companies ISAI and Resonance. Also included in the round were the […] December 17, 2024
Real Estate Ardco sets up $933m fund to develop Riyadh project The Riyadh Development Company (ArdCo) and three partners have set up a SAR3.5 billion ($933 million) real estate investment fund to develop a mixed-use project in the Saudi capital. The project will include residential, office and commercial spaces, as well as hotels. When built, the towers in the Urban Wadi, part of the Sports Boulevard […] December 17, 2024
