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Business news and financial news, analysis, opinion and statistics covering the six Gulf Co-operation Council members Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

GCC economic outlook

GCC economic data

GCC economic data

The latest economic indicators for the Gulf Co-operation Council countries: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain – plus links to in-depth pages on each country

November 20, 2024
Riyadh roads, Saudi Arabia economy

Saudi Arabia economy

The latest economic indicators and demographic trends for Saudi Arabia, including GDP, inflation, oil prices, trade, population, expats, unemployment and more

November 20, 2024
Abu Dhabi skyline UAE economy

United Arab Emirates economy

The latest economic indicators and demographic trends for the United Arab Emirates, including the UAE's GDP, inflation, oil prices, trade, population, expats, unemployment and more

November 20, 2024
Muscat skyline, Oman economy

Oman economy

The latest economic and demographic indicators for Oman, including GDP, inflation, oil prices, trade, population, unemployment and more

November 20, 2024
Qatar economy Doha skyline

Qatar economy

The latest economic and demographic indicators for Qatar, including GDP, inflation, oil prices, trade, population, unemployment and more

November 20, 2024

Latest GCC News

Gulf hotel franchise

Gulf hotel owners switch to franchises in search of profits

Hotel owners in the Gulf are increasingly choosing franchise agreements with international hotel brands over the less profitable direct management route, industry experts and analysts say.  This is especially true in the UAE and Saudi Arabia where the hotel industry is maturing and hotel owners know their business better, driving them to manage their own […]

Gulf consultancy consulting

Gulf consulting market expected to cross $8bn this year

Growth of 12% predicted for 2025 Slowdown from 13% in 2024 Driven by Saudi Arabia The Gulf consulting sector is expected to outperform the rest of the world in 2025 with growth of 12 percent, twice as fast as the United States. Altho... Register now: It’s easy and free This content is available for registered […]

Side view of professional female IT developer from Middle East coding at ease on laptop while sitting at workstation with several computers in office

Gulf digitalisation growth barely moving needle in productivity

Improvements in the availability and quality of digital infrastructure and services have yet to impact productivity growth in the Gulf economies in any meaningful way, according to IMF officials, past and present. The digitalisation of government services – through online portals for administrative tasks or e-procurement platforms – as well as the advent of tele-health […]

Project finance is becoming ever more important in funding the growing number of major infrastructure projects across the Gulf region

Project finance central to funding Gulf infrastructure

Financing a project and project finance are not necessarily the same thing. Irrespective, project finance is as important as ever in the Gulf in funding billions of dollars of infrastructure projects, from energy and water schemes to data centres and battery storage facilities, according to experts.  Abbas Hussein, global head of infrastructure and development finance […]

2X5K4RN Multi-Ethnic Office Conference Room Meeting: Diverse Team of Top Managers, Executives, Share Digital Tablet Computer Talk. Businesspeople Discuss Strategy, do Analysis.

Growth-stage investment heats up as Gulf IPOs gain traction

Global investors are increasingly vying for stakes in later-stage Gulf startups, betting on the region’s economic expansion and stronger exit opportunities, as the regional IPO markets gain momentum. The region, long overlooked for growth-stage capital – minority investments in established companies aimed at accelerating expansion – is witnessing a surge of interest from giants such […]

Workers at a construction site near Riyadh. The need for project finance has grown as Gulf governments push ahead with mega-projects

The changing face of project finance around the Gulf

Contrasting trends are emerging in Gulf project finance, with deals increasing in duration but also more likely to be refinanced early. Project finance is a funding model often used for infrastructure, in which repayment comes from revenue generated by the completed facility rather than being guaranteed by the owners. “Repayment depends on the project succeeding,” […]

A soybean farm in Brazil. Brazil's Agribrasil traded in 1.858 million tonnes of soybeans and corn in the first nine months of 2024

GCC companies vie for stake in Brazilian grain trader 

Brazilian grain trader Agribrasil has held talks with suitors interested in buying a stake in the company, according to two sources familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private, and GCC companies are reported in the mix. Two sources named Solaris Commodities, an independent commodity trader headquartered in Dubai, […]

The prospect of passing down wealth to the next generation is forcing families to rethink financial governance

Citigroup hiring to tap the Gulf family office market

Citigroup says it is expanding its presence in the UAE, the second-largest Arab economy, as it competes to manage more of the assets of wealthy Gulf merchant families. $1 trillion of these assets are expected to shift to the next generation by the end of this decade. To boost its capabilities, the US bank says […]

Workers carry fertiliser bags to be mixed with water at a farm in Sharjah: the World Bank’s fertiliser price index has rebounded to 124 from a three-year low last May of 108

Gulf investors urged to switch from petrochems to fertiliser

Gulf fertiliser companies are trading below their fair value, with investors not seeming to price in a rebound in product prices that analysts say is more than just a seasonal upswing. In the Gulf, fertilisers and petrochemicals are considered adjacent industries, since both rely on natural gas as a feedstock. While petrochemical companies’ earnings have […]

A busy Tokyo street full of neon signs and people. The Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) said in its annual report this week that exports from the GCC totalled $84 billion in 2024

GCC exports to Japan slump by more than $10bn in 2024

Exports by wealthy Gulf nations to Japan, a major economic partner, plunged by $10 billion in 2024 following a decline in oil prices, according to a trade organisation. The decline combined with an increase in Japan’s exports to the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to depress the Gulf group’s trade surplus by nearly $11 billion. […]