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UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch attended the sixth round of UK-GCC trade talks in Riyadh in February

UK election adds urgency to GCC trade talks

An imminent general election in the UK and a potential change of government has accelerated pressure on negotiators to resolve talks about a GCC trade deal. Talks between the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – and the UK are almost two years old.  […]

GCC insurance companies may have to consolidate in the wake of payments for flooding damage in the region

More GCC insurance mergers likely after flooding impact

Consolidation in the GCC’s insurance sector – already underway because of rising competition and stricter regulations on solvency capital requirements – could be accelerated by the impact of the flooding in the region last week. Ratings agency S&P Global said this week that many insurance companies – mainly in the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia […]

Real GDP growth projection for the UAE was revised to 3.9 percent this year, up from 3.7 percent

World Bank raises UAE’s economic growth outlook

The World Bank has raised its UAE economic growth forecast for 2024 and 2025, citing robust non-oil sector growth and higher oil output. The real GDP growth projection for the Gulf state was revised to 3.9 percent this year, up from its previous forecast of 3.7 percent in January, the World Bank said in its […]

Highway traffic in California. Opec said the upcoming 'driving season' in the US will provide the usual additional demand for fuel

Opec stands by predictions for oil demand growth

Opec predicts robust fuel use this summer and has stuck to last month’s forecast of relatively strong growth in oil demand in 2024 and 2025. The oil producers’ organisation predicted in its monthly report that global demand will rise by 2.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024 and by 1.85 million bpd in 2025. […]

Sima Ganwani Ved: 'The people being hired are GCC, the people running the stores are GCC-based'

Boycott of western brands hurts GCC workers, Apparel chief warns

Boycotts of western brands by Gulf consumers in protest against the Gaza conflict only hurts local workers in the region, the founder of the fashion and lifestyle retail conglomerate Apparel Group has warned. The company, which is based in the UAE and handles more than 80 brands from the US, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia […]

The Saudi Contractors Authority put the total value of ongoing projects in the kingdom at $1.5 trillion by the end of October 2023

Mena steel demand to rise over next two years

Steel demand in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is expected to accelerate in 2024 and 2025 after a significant slowdown in the past two years, the World Steel Association (WSA) said in a report. Demand is forecast to rise by just over 4 percent and 2.6 percent year on year to 57 […]

Vitol expects global growth of 1.9 million bpd this year, driven by China, India and increased air travel boosting demand for jet fuel

Oil price to hit $100 if Opec+ cuts continue says Vitol chief

Crude prices are likely to reach $100 per barrel in 2024 if Opec+ maintains its output cuts, a global commodity trader has said. The supply-constrained market has already reached an average price of $83 per barrel this year, S&P Global Commodity Insights reported, quoting Vitol CEO Russell Hardy’s speech on Tuesday at a summit in […]

A worker at Shams Solar Power Station in Abu Dhabi. Solar's share of renewable energy in the Middle East has soared over the last decade

Middle East renewable capacity doubles but the region is lagging

Renewable energy capacity in the Middle East has more than doubled in the past decade, with Iran and the UAE leading the way – but the region remains a bit-part player globally. New figures released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) show that regional capacity rose from just under 16 gigawatts to more than […]

People, Person, Adult

China and US vie for FDI supremacy in Gulf’s biggest economies

China and the United States invested more than $23 billion in projects in the Gulf’s two biggest economies last year. The US more than doubled its “greenfield” foreign direct investment in the UAE to nearly $4 billion, while China’s commitment to Saudi Arabia rose 10-fold to almost $17 billion. Greenfield FDI involves a foreign entity […]

Dr Azad Moopen, the founder chairman of Aster, retains 35 percent ownership alongside management and operational control

Aster DM completes GCC and India business split

Hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare has concluded the separation of its GCC and India businesses into two standalone entities.  As part of the separation plan, a consortium of investors led by Fajr Capital, a UAE sovereign-backed private equity firm, acquired a 65 percent stake in Aster GCC. Dr Azad Moopen, the founder chairman of Aster, […]

The market cap of the Saudi stock exchange rose 14 percent year on year to more than $3 trillion in 2023

Market cap of Arab stock markets reached $4.5trn in 2023

The combined market capitalisation of Arab stock markets reached $4.5 trillion, rising 12 percent year on year by the end of December 2023, the Union of Arab Securities Authorities (UASA) has said. The surge was primarily driven by the Saudi stock exchange, which recorded a 14 percent rise to more than $3 trillion in 2023, […]

Middle East to drive rebound in smartphone market

Global smartphone shipments are expected to rebound three percent this year as easing inflation aids a demand recovery in emerging markets and the integration of generative AI attracts buyers to premium devices, a report by Counterpoint Research said on Thursday. Global shipments had declined more than four percent last year, earlier data from the research firm […]

Angola uae

Angola project demonstrates GCC’s growing Africa interest

Dubai Investments has appointed a Chinese construction company as the main contractor on its flagship project in Angola as GCC investments in Africa rise. China Harbour Engineering Company will undertake the first phase of Dubai Investments Park Angola, covering 2,000 hectares of residential, commercial and industrial property in the West African country. The award of […]

Workers at an Aramco facility. Saipem had annual average orders of $1.6bn from Aramco between 2021 and 2023

Opec+ unlikely to adjust output before June meeting

Opec+ is unlikely to make any oil output policy changes until a full ministerial gathering in June, three Opec+ sources told Reuters ahead of next week’s gathering of ministers that is not expected to make any policy recommendations. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, known as Opec+, will hold […]