Real Estate Saudi Arabia embraces mortgage-backed securities Saudi officials have signed a preliminary deal this week to issue residential mortgage-backed securities, a first for the Gulf. The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and the Hassana Investment Company, which manages the assets of the national social security and pension fund, signed the memorandum […] January 3, 2025
Analysis Tech China-US tech tensions threaten GCC telecom strategy Gulf countries risk being dragged into the great power “rivalry” between China and the United States when it comes to advanced technology, forcing them to pick a side. As high-tech restrictions are rolled out by Beijing and Washington, the days of buying state-of-the-art semiconductors from the US while installing China’s 5G networks might be over, […] January 2, 2025
Real Estate Burj Khalifa at 15: Ups and downs of the world’s tallest skyscraper It may have a few aches and pains but demand in Dubai's supertower remains strong January 2, 2025
Analysis Real Estate Pricey homes and packed hotels: the year in GCC real estate The story of the Gulf property market this year was about decreased housing affordability and a growing gap between top-quality properties and second-tier ones. Meanwhile, surging numbers of international visitors in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar brought thriving hospitality and retail sectors in the main tourist hotspots. Industry observers expect 2025 to bring more […] December 27, 2024
Analysis Markets Gulf jewellery sales suffer from gold’s rich streak High gold prices amid widespread geopolitical uncertainty have dented jewellery sales in the Middle East this year. The trend is expected to continue in 2025. India’s sharp reduction of gold import duties in July, from 15 percent to 6 percent, boosted domestic sales but hit Middle Eastern merchants, according to industry insiders. “After a weak […] December 26, 2024
Tax More taxes could shield GCC from protectionism, says IMF GCC countries should consider new taxation options to shore up their public finances and shield their economies from rising global protectionism, according to the International Monetary Fund. That means regional governments need to continue diversifying away from fossil fuels and boost the role of the private sector, all the while identifying new tax revenues and […] December 20, 2024
Renewable Energy Water scarcity biggest threat to North Africa’s green energy drive Water scarcity is the biggest hurdle to the development of renewable power across North Africa, along with a lack of financing and governance failures, a new report says. Nevertheless, countries in the region are boosting production of sustainable sources of energy, pushed by unmet domestic demand and the European Union’s increasing hunger for imports of […] December 17, 2024
Construction Developer Modon signs deal for UAE green steel Abu Dhabi property company Modon is poised to be the first customer of a UAE pilot project to make sustainable steel with green hydrogen. Modon has entered a tentative agreement to purchase the more environmentally friendly construction material from Emsteel Group, which has been manufacturing it through a partnership with the Emirati renewable energy company […] December 16, 2024
Analysis Health Gulf’s growth in retirees drives demand for senior services Changing demographics globally are paving the way for a new seniors industry in the Gulf. UAE-headquartered Aster DM Healthcare and Bahrain’s GFH Financial Investment Group are Gulf household names that have entered this fledgling but promising business with targeted medical and property services. The baby boomer generation now ranges between 60 and nearly 80 years […] December 16, 2024
People & Lifestyle Global inspirations for Dubai’s ‘walkability’ mission From Singapore to Bologna, Dubai should cast its net wide for examples in its ambitions to transform into a pedestrian-friendly city December 16, 2024
Real Estate Emaar hikes dividend distribution for 2024 Emaar Properties said on Friday that it would double dividend payouts in 2024 over the previous year. The Dubai-listed property developer will disburse AED 8.8 billion (US$ 2.4 billion), or 100 percent of its share capital, up from AED 4.4 billion (US$ 1.2 billion) in 2023, according to a press release. “At Emaar, our priority […] December 13, 2024
Oil & Gas Conflict hampering Mediterranean operations, says Chevron CEO US energy major Chevron has struggled to keep natural gas production online in the Eastern Mediterranean during the conflict in the Middle East, according to its chairman and chief executive Mike Wirth. Chevron is the largest producer of natural gas for Israel, in particular through two “large” offshore platforms, Tamar and Leviathan, that also supply […] December 12, 2024
Analysis Trade What Massad Boulos can do for US-Middle East trade The rise of a Lebanese tycoon and Trump in-law to the White House suggests business links and personal ties between the US and the Middle East will be front and centre for the new administration. Incoming US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Sunday that Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of his daughter Tiffany, […] December 4, 2024
Analysis Mining Critical minerals become a Middle East battleground Saudi Arabia’s efforts to boost domestic processing of so-called critical minerals could redraw the mining industry’s regional and global supply chains, industry observers say. Critical minerals are defined as materials required for a country’s strategic industries where there is a risk of interruption to supply. They include lithium, for making batteries, platinum, used in fuel […] December 4, 2024
Trade EU and GCC officials aim to resume FTA negotiations European and Gulf officials are holding “informal” efforts to “revive” and even “upgrade” negotiations over a free trade agreement between the two blocks. Efforts towards such an agreement are three and a half decades in the making, Luigi Di Maio, the EU’s special envoy to the Gulf has said. “I have to say it’s a […] November 29, 2024
Real Estate Qatar’s real-estate buyers wait on lower interest rates Consumer expectations that interest rates will continue decreasing in the coming months appear to have dented Qatar’s residential real-estate market growth in the third quarter of this year. Mortgage transactions fell 10 percent in Qatar from July to September over the previous three months, and 8.5 percent over the same period last year, according to […] November 28, 2024
Analysis Giga-projects Rise in major US law firms setting up in Saudi Arabia Attracted by the host of complex and potentially lucrative legal issues raised by Saudi Arabia’s development push, several of the largest law firms in the US are formally setting up shop in the kingdom, either directly or through mergers and acquisitions. Among those making the leap is Atlanta-based company King & Spalding. A spokesperson confirmed […] November 28, 2024
Analysis Renewable Energy Trump’s return may alter the future of renewable energy Adnoc’s acquisition in September of a 35 percent stake in ExxonMobil’s low-carbon hydrogen facility in Baytown, Texas, might have been a sign of things to come. The deal between the Abu Dhabi-owned oil company and the US energy major came as interest in clean hydrogen was waning in the US while rising in the Gulf. Former […] November 26, 2024
Construction Private money leading charge in Saudi construction industry Private sector participation in Saudi Arabia’s construction industry is powering investment in the sector, according to a senior economist. Overall gross fixed capital formation – a measure of investment in an economy’s infrastructure, schools and other physical assets, as well as related tools and machinery – is up 3 percent year on year in the […] November 21, 2024
Trade Beijing ‘exploits’ Iran, says US advisory panel American officials have identified the Middle East, and particularly the GCC, as crucial turf in superpower competition between the US and China, singling out energy and advanced technology as the main fields where a tug-of-war is taking place. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a 25-year-old Congressionally-mandated independent US government agency, dedicated an entire […] November 20, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas Trump’s prospective energy team is a mixed blessing for Gulf The nomination of a fossil fuels veteran and climate sceptic as US energy secretary is likely to chime with Gulf expectations that the second Trump administration will aggressively promote oil and gas as integral parts of the energy mix, according to industry observers. On Saturday President-elect Donald Trump named Chris Wright, the boss of fracking […] November 19, 2024
Analysis Construction Jeddah Tower will be world’s tallest building, but sky’s the limit Since the invention of the modern high-rise in the early 1900s, to the completion of the Burj Khalifa in 2010, the height of the tallest building in the world grew nearly five fold, or 661 metres, going from the 167 metres of the Philadelphia City Hall to the Burj’s 828 metres. The Jeddah Tower, on […] November 15, 2024
