Trade PIF signs $3bn deal with Italy’s export credit agency Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said on Wednesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding worth $3 billion with Italy’s export credit agency, SACE. The sovereign wealth fund is working to boost finances to fund the country’s giga-projects. “The MoU focuses on providing financing support for co-operation between Italian companies in the private sector and […] March 5, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways to order large wide-body aircraft soon Qatar Airways will soon place a sizeable order for wide-body jets to underpin its longer-term growth plans, the airline’s chief commercial officer told Reuters late on Monday. “To secure the growth of tomorrow by continuing to have a very strong and the best fleet in the industry, our CEO is working on the RFP (request […] March 5, 2025
Aviation Etihad Airways delays $1bn IPO launch to next month Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways will push back its planned $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) until at least next month, after the Eid Al Fitr holiday, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Etihad had not officially announced a date for its IPO, but sources had told Reuters that the airline would make an announcement […] March 5, 2025
Oil & Gas Oil prices fall as Opec+ to proceed with output rise Oil prices continued to fall on Tuesday after reports that Opec+ will proceed with a planned output increase in April and markets braced for US tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China to take effect. Brent futures fell 49 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $71.13 a barrel at 04:55 GMT, as US West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 26 cents, […] March 4, 2025
Oil & Gas Libya to launch first oil exploration bids in 17 years Libya is planning its first bidding round for oil exploration in more than 17 years, Masoud Suleman, acting chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), announced in a televised address on Monday. Libya is Africa’s second-largest oil producer and a member of the Organsation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Foreign investors have been wary […] March 4, 2025
Industry Vietnamese EV maker in talks over $1bn investment from Qatari fund The Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential investment of at least $1 billion in its electric vehicle maker, VinFast, by the private equity fund JTA Investment Qatar. Vingroup said the possible partnership could also extend to Vingroup’s hospitality business, Vinpearl. “Under the MoU, the […] March 4, 2025
Economy Egypt’s net foreign assets jump in January Egypt’s net foreign assets (NFAs) jumped by $2.74 billion in January, boosted by the sale of $2 billion in dollar-denominated bonds, central bank data showed. NFAs climbed to the equivalent of $8.7 billion from $5.96 billion at the end of December, according to Reuters calculations based on the official central bank currency rates. The increase […] March 3, 2025
Education Gems Education plans to spend $300m on growth Dubai company Gems Education plans to spend around $300 million over the next two to three years to increase organic growth, its CEO told Reuters, as it bets on population growth and an inflow of wealthy individuals. Dubai is one of the world’s fastest-growing cities whose population has been swollen by foreigners, particularly higher-income earners, […] March 3, 2025
Oil & Gas Opec+ hesitant on oil output rise amid US sanctions Opec+ is debating whether to raise oil output in April as planned or freeze it, as its members struggle to read the global supply picture because of fresh US sanctions on Venezuela, Iran and Russia, eight Opec+ sources said. Opec+ usually confirms its supply policy one month in advance to have time to allocate crude […] February 28, 2025
Giga-projects Billionaire calls for review of Egyptian mega-projects Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris said his country’s mega-projects should be reconsidered to save money as they require a lot of foreign currency. “I will be polite and I would say we have an overambitious president who is doing mega projects that are requiring a lot of foreign currency and we should have a second look […] February 27, 2025
Finance IHC’s $27bn holding company aims for Abu Dhabi listing 2PointZero, a newly established UAE investment platform with assets from mines to financial services, is targeting a stock market listing in Abu Dhabi this year, CEO Mariam Almheiri said on Wednesday, according to the Reuters news agency. Last year, Abu Dhabi conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC) established 2PointZero as a holding unit with more than […] February 27, 2025
Banking & Finance QIA weighs new VC companies to join $1bn fund Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is evaluating eight venture capital (VC) firms to add to its “fund of funds” venture capital programme. The programme has already invested nearly $500 million in six firms, the head of funds at the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) told Reuters on Monday. The $1 billion programme will be almost fully invested […] February 25, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq to propose new plan to offset extra oil output Iraq reaffirmed its commitment to the Opec+ agreement on Monday and said it would present an updated plan to compensate for any overproduction in previous periods, according to a statement from the Iraqi oil ministry. Baghdad, Opec’s second largest producer, said its oil minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani had spoken with Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz […] February 25, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Qatar opts for AI to boost public services Qatar’s government has signed a five-year deal with artificial intelligence (AI) data company Scale AI to deploy AI-powered tools and training. It is an attempt to improve government services in the Gulf state, a senior Scale AI executive told Reuters on Sunday. “(This deal) can be a blueprint for other governments around the world, and […] February 24, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq to export 185,000 bpd of crude from Kurdistan Iraq will export 185,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Kurdistan’s oilfields through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline once oil shipments resume, an Iraqi oil ministry official said on Sunday. Basim Mohammed, deputy oil minister for upstream operations, told Iraq’s state news agency that the quantity currently available for export from Kurdistan regional government oilfields is 300,000 bpd. […] February 24, 2025
Oil & Gas JPMorgan expects no special Aramco dividend in 2025 Saudi Aramco is forecast to have no performance-linked dividend this year after a more balanced 2024 cash cycle followed earlier bumper results that backed the special payout, JPMorgan said in a research note. “The past 18 months has delivered elevated performance-linked dividends funded by premium 2022-23 financials and we remind this cycle ends with year-end […] February 23, 2025
Markets JPMorgan to remove Qatar and Kuwait from EM bond index JPMorgan will remove Qatar and Kuwait’s government bonds from its influential Emerging Market bond index, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is on course to follow next year, due to rising income levels in the Middle East. The US investment bank, whose EMBI indexes are the main global benchmark of EM debt, said it will […] February 21, 2025
Economy Egypt keeps interest rates steady as inflation looms Egypt’s central bank kept its key overnight interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected, citing the impact on inflation of uncertainty around US protectionism and geopolitics. The bank’s monetary policy committee kept the lending rate at 28.25 percent and the deposit rate at 27.25 percent, it said. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of 10 analysts […] February 21, 2025
Markets Alpha Data aims to raise $163m in Abu Dhabi’s first IPO of 2025 UAE technology services company Alpha Data plans to raise up to $163.2 million, the company said on Thursday, in Abu Dhabi’s first initial public offering this year. Alpha Data plans to list 400 million shares in a price range of 1.45 dirhams to 1.50 dirhams, which implies a market value of up to $408 million. The […] February 20, 2025
Real Estate Damac tightens yield on $750m sukuk Dubai developer Damac Real Estate Development has sold $750 million in 3-1/2-year Islamic bond (sukuk), according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The yield was set at 7 percent, narrower than the 7.5 percent initial price guidance released earlier in the day after the orders surpassed $2.3 billion, the lead bank document showed. […] February 20, 2025
Aviation Etihad Airways’ profit more than triples to almost $500m Etihad Airways’ net profit more than tripled last year to $476 million, the company said on Wednesday as the carrier pushes ahead with plans for an initial public offering. The earnings were boosted by $5.7 billion in passenger revenue and $1.1 billion in cargo revenue, the company said, also citing “significant operational efficiency improvements”. “Looking […] February 19, 2025
Banking & Finance HSBC to sell Bahrain retail banking operations Hong Kong-listed HSBC has agreed to sell its retail banking operations in Bahrain to Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) as part of a global restructuring at the bank. The deal will see a transfer of retail loans, deposits and accounts of about 76,000 customers to Bahrain-bourse listed BBK, which is majority owned by the governments […] February 19, 2025
