Economy Egypt poised to receive more EU funding this year Egypt is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the European Union (EU) on previously agreed financing worth €4 billion ($4.3 billion) in the second half of the year, planning minister Rania Al-Mashat said on Wednesday. The financing is part of a €7.4 billion funding package agreed between Egypt and the EU in March […] March 27, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar weighs IPO on Abu Dhabi stock exchange Abu Dhabi’s state-owned renewables company Masdar is in the early stages of considering an initial public offering (IPO), three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The company is considering a possible listing in Abu Dhabi to raise funding for renewable projects, said two of the sources, with one of them saying a dual […] March 26, 2025
Markets Cerebras IPO still in limbo over US fears on Abu Dhabi stake Worries in the United States over a stake by an Abu Dhabi company in Cerebras Systems, the US chipmaker, are continuing to leave its IPO in limbo, five sources familiar with the matter said. The sticking point for California-based Cerebras is the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) of […] March 25, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ on track for May production rise Opec+ will probably stick to its plan to raise oil output for a second consecutive month in May, four sources told Reuters, amid steady oil prices and plans to force some members to reduce pumping to compensate for past overproduction. Opec+, a group that includes Opec and allied producers led by Russia, and which pumps over 40 […] March 25, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar weighs stake in TotalEnergies’ Portuguese assets Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is exploring the acquisition of a stake in French oil major TotalEnergies’ Portuguese renewables assets, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Any deal would likely be done through Saeta Yield, the green energy company Masdar bought last year from Canada’s Brookfield, one of the sources said. Reuters could not […] March 24, 2025
Oil & Gas Saudi Aramco buys Peruvian fuel distributor Saudi Aramco has agreed to buy fuel distributor Primax, which has operations in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, Peruvian newspaper Gestion reported, citing sources familiar with the deal. Primax, owned by Peruvian conglomerate Grupo Romero, has 2,185 gas stations in the three South American countries. The deal with Aramco included a payment of around $3.5 billion, Gestion […] March 24, 2025
Finance UAE commits to $1.4trn investment framework in US The United Arab Emirates has committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the United States after top UAE officials met President Donald Trump this week, a White House official said on Friday. The new framework will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the US economy” in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy and American manufacturing, the […] March 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Iran sanctions help push oil prices to second weekly gain Oil prices rose on Friday and were heading for a second consecutive weekly gain as fresh US sanctions on Iran and the latest output plan from the Opec+ producer group raised expectations of tighter supply. Brent crude futures were up 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $72.12 a barrel by 08:50 GMT. US West Texas […] March 21, 2025
Economy Prime minister of Tunisia sacked by president The president of Tunisia, Kais Saied, has sacked his prime minister, Kamel Maddouri, less than a year after Maddouri’s appointment, as the country’s economy falters and it tries to cope with a worsening flood of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. Saied named Sara Zaafarani, the minister of equipment and housing since 2021, as Maddouri’s replacement. Zaafarani, […] March 21, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ sets out new oil cut plan to offset excess output Opec+ on Thursday issued a new schedule for seven member nations to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above-agreed levels. This will more than overtake the monthly production hikes the group plans to introduce next month. The plan will represent monthly cuts of between 189,000 barrels per day (bpd) and 435,000 bpd, […] March 21, 2025
Artificial Intelligence More US companies join UAE-backed AI project Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI have joined a consortium backed by Microsoft, UAE investment fund MGX and BlackRock to expand artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US, the companies said on Wednesday, as a global race to dominate the nascent technology intensifies. The group, formed last year with a goal to initially invest more than $30 billion in AI-related projects, is one of the biggest efforts to bankroll data centres and energy facilities […] March 20, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Aramco-backed Cognite taps India in AI growth move Saudi Aramco-backed industrial software company Cognite has opened an AI services centre in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru and said it is exploring potential contracts with top conglomerates in the country. The Norwegian company said it had signed up with a large industrial cement company and a major automotive company but declined to provide […] March 20, 2025
Markets Gold climbs to record high as Fed signals rate cuts in 2025 Gold soared to a record high on Thursday, as the US Federal Reserve hinted at a possible easing of interest rates by half a percentage point by the end of the year. The news further fostered bullion’s appeal amid ongoing geopolitical and economic woes. Spot gold rose 0.2 percent to $3,052.92 an ounce as of 00:30 […] March 20, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar in talks on $200m solar power deal in Spain Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar is nearing a deal that would see it pay around $200 million for a 49.9 percent stake in a solar portfolio controlled by Spanish power utility Endesa, according to two sources familiar with the deal and a document seen by Reuters. The deal for the roughly 450-megawatt portfolio builds […] March 19, 2025
Finance Gold hits record high on safe-haven demand Gold rose to hit a record high on Wednesday, as Middle East tensions and trade uncertainties lifted the bullion’s appeal, while traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s decision later in the day. Spot gold held its ground at $3,035.12 an ounce, as of 04:15 GMT, after hitting an all-time peak of $3,038.90 earlier in the session. US […] March 19, 2025
Markets Mubadala seeks liquidity partners for new Brazil bourse Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, is in talks to form a consortium with up to 10 partners providing liquidity for a new stock exchange in Rio de Janeiro, two people familiar with the matter said. In return, those partners would receive equity that would modestly dilute Mubadala’s current 73 percent stake in […] March 18, 2025
Oil & Gas Fujairah marine fuel sales hit record low in February Marine fuel sales in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, the world’s third-largest bunkering hub, fell in February to their lowest since data started being published in 2021. Volumes, excluding lubricants, totalled 554,117 cubic metres (about 549,000 metric tons) for February, showed latest Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The […] March 18, 2025
Logistics Red Sea insurance rates to stay firm amid attack fears The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea is expected to remain steady after the US carried out further airstrikes on Yemen on Monday. The US action added to fears of new attacks on ships by the Iran-aligned Houthis targeted by Washington, industry sources said. Responding to the Houthi movement’s threats to international shipping, the […] March 18, 2025
Development Donors pledge $6bn in aid to Syria Donors at a European Union-led conference in Brussels on Monday pledged €5.8 billion ($6.3 billion) to help Syria’s new authorities as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. The pledges at the Brussels gathering were less than last year’s €7.5 billion in grants and loans, as EU officials pointed to […] March 18, 2025
Banking & Finance Kuwait pension fund’s $1bn lawsuit begins in London Kuwait’s public pension fund has accused asset manager Man Group, Swiss bank EFG and others of laundering bribes paid to its late director as a $1 billion trial begins at London’s High Court. The Public Institution for Social Security, which operates Kuwait’s social security and pension scheme, is also suing the estate of Fahad Al Rajaan, its director from 1984 to […] March 17, 2025
Petrochemicals Borouge proposes share buyback after merger stock slide Abu Dhabi petrochemicals company Borouge will seek shareholder approval to buy back up to 2.5 percent of its shares, it said on Monday, after its share price plunged on this month’s news of its merger deal with Austria’s Borealis. Borouge’s majority shareholder Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s OMV said they had agreed to merge […] March 17, 2025
Oil & Gas Turkey imports crude from Brazil after Russian oil ban Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tupras is set to receive a cargo of Itapu crude early next month, its first such purchase from Brazil, according to a source, and ship tracking data. Tupras last month said it had stopped buying Russian crude after the US announced new sanctions on Russia’s oil industry on January 10. The cargo of […] March 17, 2025
