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GCC

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

Bahrain airport city

Bahrain to tender for ‘airport city’ in early 2025

Bahrain will issue tenders early next year to build a new “airport city” based around the existing Bahrain International Airport. The project will include commercial and residential development, according to Mohamed Yousif AlBinfalah, CEO of Bahrain Airport Company. “We have a significant amount of space that will be coming to the market soon for development,” […]

oman oil

IMF says oil output to back Oman’s economic rebound

Oman’s economy is on track to rebound in 2025, driven by higher hydrocarbon production and robust growth of the non-hydrocarbon sector, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. Growth is, however, projected to remain at 1.2 percent this year, weighed down by extended Opec+-related oil production curbs. Fiscal and current account balances are forecast to […]

Traffic in Dubai. Car-rental companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia operate around 200,000 and 267,500 vehicles, respectively

Gulf car rentals look forward to constant growth

Tourism, surging populations and demand for flexible transportation options are likely to spur a strong rise in demand for car rental in the Gulf region, industry experts have said.  The car rental markets in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular, are growing.  In 2023 the industry in Saudi Arabia was valued at $2.5 billion, […]

Adnoc CEO Sultan Al Jaber speaks at the Adipec conference in Abu Dhabi, during which he announced the launch of the EnergyAI project

Oil and gas companies place trust in AI

Lower oil prices and the race for higher returns are pushing regional and national oil and gas companies to spend billions of dollars on artificial intelligence.  The hope is that the technology will improve margins and reduce operating costs. Saudi Aramco last year invested around $3.5 billion in research and development including in AI, according […]

People on Kuwait City's Marina Beach. It is estimated that housing costs in Kuwait absorb one third of an average household's income

Building more homes a better strategy for Kuwait, say experts

Kuwait has tightened property ownership restrictions on non-GCC nationals in an attempt to make real estate more affordable for locals, but industry watchers say building more homes would be the better strategy.  The small, oil-rich emirate has already imposed strict standards on nationals of countries from outside the Gulf who wanted to purchase domestic real […]

Aster saudi arabia

Aster DM Healthcare expects to close Saudi deals in months

Aster DM Healthcare is buying more clinics and hospitals in Saudi Arabia with some deals expected to close in the coming months.  The hospital operator, headquartered in Dubai, wants to increase its current roster of 250 hospital beds in Riyadh to 1,000 beds within the next three to four years to help meet the country’s […]

Audi Qatar F1

Audi slams brakes on Qatari F1 buyout rumours

Carmaker Audi has said its F1 team is not for sale, scuppering online rumours that the company was preparing to sell to Qatar’s QIA sovereign wealth fund. “We do not engage in speculation. The team is not for sale,” an Audi F1 spokesperson told AGBI on Tuesday. Qatar already holds a major stake in VW, […]

Trump Iran oil

IEF head sees Gulf at the top of Trump’s agenda 

The head of the International Energy Forum has told AGBI he believes the Gulf states will benefit from Donald Trump’s election victory strategically and politically, as well as in terms of investment and trade. The IEF is headquartered in Riyadh and counts the energy ministers of 72 states as members. It describes itself as a […]

Architecture, Building, Cityscape

Qatar replaces chief of its $510bn sovereign fund

The Qatari government has appointed Mohammed Al Sowaidi to lead its $510 billion Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). He replaces Mansoor Al Mahmoud who had headed the sovereign wealth fund since 2018. Al Sowaidi joined the fund in 2010 and worked as the Americas region’s chief investment officer. The QIA, set up in 2005, manages revenues […]

Talabat couriers in Abu Dhabi. The company operates in eight countries across the Mena region

Talabat profits soar ahead of planned IPO

Food delivery company Talabat reported a 46 percent increase in third-quarter profits ahead of its planned IPO.  Delivery Hero, the Berlin-headquartered parent company of the business, said net income reached $98 million in the three months, up from $67 million the previous year. It said the increased profit was due to improved logistics efficiency, continued […]

The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.65%

Gulf central banks mirror US Fed interest rate cut

Most Gulf central banks lowered their key interest rates after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (bps) on Thursday. The Central Bank of the UAE reduced the base rate on its overnight deposit facility by 25 bps to 4.65 percent, effective Friday.  Saudi Arabia cut repurchase (repo) and reverse […]

A stand in Beirut displays Arabic newspapers featuring the inauguration of President Donald Trump in 2017. The Arab world has generally welcomed Trump's return to the White House

Arab world welcomes Trump back to the White House

The Arab world has hailed Donald Trump’s successful bid to return to the White House, with his long-standing personal, business and political ties to the region bringing hopes of closer bilateral relationships with the United States for the next four years. The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was the first GCC leader […]

A stakeholder survey revealed that residents love the mountainous skyline of Muscat; new developments are planned to be a maximum of 25 storeys high

Muscat maps out its future development plans

Muscat is set to approve a plan that will create a central 55km spine where much of the future development of the Omani capital city will take place.  The city is predicted to double in size by 2040. The Greater Muscat Structure Plan, awaiting approval at cabinet level, provides a map of where future growth […]