Oil & Gas Opec+ unlikely to tweak oil policy on high demand Opec+ is unlikely to tweak its current oil output policy when a panel meets on Friday, six Opec+ sources told Reuters, as tighter supplies and resilient demand drive an oil price rally. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known as Opec+, meet on August 4. The […] August 3, 2023
Infrastructure GCC needs 1,127 new schools by 2027 as enrolment rises The Gulf will need over a thousand new schools by 2027, according to a new report published on Wednesday. The prediction is based on the total number of students in the GCC growing by 1.6 percent annually to reach 14.2 million by 2027. Growth in student enrolment numbers at K-12 (kindergarten to 12th grade, or […] August 2, 2023
Opinion Energy Inside the Gulf’s great energy balancing act The region must be mindful of cannibalising hydrocarbons too early August 2, 2023
Energy Gulf must ‘bridge gap’ between oil and renewables GCC oil producers will play a crucial role in the global transition to a lower carbon future if they can help bridge the historic disconnect between hydrocarbons and clean energy. That is according to Joseph McMonigle, secretary general of the International Energy Forum (IEF), a Riyadh-headquartered think tank. “There is growing recognition that the oil […] August 1, 2023
Opinion Economy The GCC will need to make peace with inflation settling higher Gulf inflation will be more benign but looks set to persist into 2024 August 1, 2023
Oil & Gas Opec output falls on Saudi cut and Nigerian outage Opec oil output fell in July after Saudi Arabia made an additional voluntary cut as part of the Opec+ producer group’s latest agreement to support the market and an outage curbed Nigerian supply, a Reuters survey found. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped 27.34 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the […] August 1, 2023
Tourism Accor revenue rises sharply across Middle East hotels Accor, Europe’s largest hotel group, reported a 51 percent jump in revenue per available room across the Middle East, Asia and Pacific in the first half of the year. The Paris-based hotelier did not give a more detailed breakdown of revenue growth, but said the Middle East accounted for 27 percent of the €128 million […] July 31, 2023
Banking & Finance Bank of America ousts Goldman as top Mena M&A adviser Bank of America was the top M&A financial adviser in the Middle East and Africa during the first half of 2023, according to research from GlobalData. The US bank advised on two deals worth a combined $9.86 billion in H1. This was more than double the sum recorded by JP Morgan, which took second place […] July 31, 2023
Opinion Aviation Ryanair in the Middle East? Never say never The Middle East will be much more interesting for Ryanair over the next few years July 31, 2023
Energy Oil on track for biggest monthly gains in over a year Oil prices hovered near three-month highs on Monday and are set to post their biggest monthly gains in over a year on expectations that Saudi Arabia will extend voluntary output cuts into September and tighten global supply. Brent crude futures dipped nine cents to $84.90 a barrel by 00:05 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate […] July 31, 2023
Analysis Lifestyle Hollywood strikes a blow to Mena film industry When it came to creating the epic sunset scenes for the upcoming Dune movie sequel, director Denis Villeneuve chose the sand dunes of Jordan and Abu Dhabi to stand in for the futuristic desert planet of Arrakis. Local fans sitting down to watch the movie this November should relish the occasion, as it may be […] July 31, 2023
Analysis Manufacturing Sales slump ‘does not signal end’ for PCs in UAE The ongoing decline in PC sales in the UAE reflects a worldwide trend of decreasing shipments of desktop computers, say analysts. Global shipments of PCs shrunk by 16.6 percent year on year to 59.7 million in the second quarter of this year. It marked the seventh consecutive global quarterly decline. Local UAE industry experts say […] July 27, 2023
Opinion Entrepreneurs In Dubai vs Riyadh, it’s the startups that win Competition between the two major business hubs is great for entrepreneurs July 27, 2023
Banking & Finance Gulf central banks follow US Fed by lifting key rates Most GCC central banks have increased their interest rates in line with the US Federal Reserve decision to hike rates by a quarter of a percentage point. The Fed raised its rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Wednesday, the highest US central bank policy rate in 16 years due to elevated inflation. The central […] July 27, 2023
Analysis Renewable Energy Clean energy set to power GCC-Central Asia trade growth Leaders from the GCC and countries in Central Asia, known as the C5 bloc, have pledged to boost trade, with clean energy expected to be at the heart of the relationship. The pledge was made at a summit held last week in Jeddah, which built on a meeting last September between foreign ministers from both […] July 26, 2023
Opinion Renewable Energy GCC can take centre stage in global energy transition The region is becoming a finance hub for climate and renewable energy July 26, 2023
Analysis Energy Green for go: UAE’s long-term plan for hydrogen The UAE has unveiled its national hydrogen strategy as analysts predict that GCC members can play a key role as exporters. The blueprint for hydrogen is a “long-term plan to turn the UAE into a leading and reliable producer and supplier of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031”, according to Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, minister of […] July 26, 2023
Banking & Finance Middle East wealth funds wary of greenwashing Almost three-quarters of sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East are investing in renewable energy, although most have concerns about potential greenwashing. The latest Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management Study found that 71 percent of Middle East sovereign wealth funds were investing in renewables. Many funds are doing so as part of a commitment to […] July 21, 2023
Tech Middle East funds in talks to buy stake in Norway’s Visma Norwegian software developer Visma is in talks with Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds over the sale of a minority stake ahead of launching a formal process after September, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The sale could give the business an enterprise valuation of more than $20 billion, up to as much as […] July 21, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Gulf loses out as world’s richest invest closer to home Wealthy family offices are focusing more on their home markets rather than the Middle East this year. Investments in the region are therefore set to decrease sharply in the short-term, a senior executive at Swiss global wealth manager UBS told AGBI. Maximilian Kunkel, chief investment officer for the global family and institutional wealth team at […] July 21, 2023
Opinion Aviation Middle East airlines are taking control of their destiny Carriers in the region increase their networks July 20, 2023
Opinion Agriculture Cop28 must advance urban agriculture to cut emissions The summit in Dubai should advance agricultural technology to mitigate climate change July 20, 2023