Analysis Aviation Gulf air traffic rebounds but fares still high Air traffic in the Middle East and North Africa region has rebounded beyond pre-pandemic levels, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE marking the highest gains in volume. Traffic up to the second quarter of 2024 has also surpassed levels seen before 2020, according to a study by Airports Council International (ACI). Bahrain (+24 percent), Qatar […] November 5, 2024
Retail Alibaba-backed Trendyol plans $2bn Gulf investment Trendyol, Turkey’s largest ecommerce platform, is to invest $2 billion in the Gulf region over the next three years. The company is backed by Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and has established a presence across all six GCC countries. It has had rapid growth in Saudi Arabia, now its second-largest market, in particular. Its group president, […] November 5, 2024
Markets OQ’s methanol unit is latest in Oman’s privatisation push OQ Base Industries is to sell up to 49 percent of its shares through an initial public offering in Oman – the fourth flotation of an OQ subsidiary since March 2023. The Omani state oil company raised OR748.8 million ($1.94 billion) in October by offloading a 25 percent stake in its upstream subsidiary OQ Exploration […] November 4, 2024
Banking and Finance Bahrain’s Mumtalakat prizes local investment over global Bahrain’s multi-billion dollar sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat is looking closer to home for investments, prioritising local over international opportunities. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, minister of finance and national economy at Mumtalakat, said: “What we have found is the most compelling investment opportunities, the highest return on equity investments, are increasingly at home or […] November 4, 2024
Trade New Zealand agrees free-trade deal with GCC The GCC has agreed a new free-trade deal with New Zealand. The agreement will give duty-free access to 99 percent of New Zealand exports over 10 years, according to New Zealand trade minister Todd McClay. McClay said the agreement was the culmination of an 18-year-long ambition to agree a trade deal in the Middle East. […] November 1, 2024
Opinion Logistics A new dawn for logistics as the GCC and India draw closer For both parties to benefit, investment in transport infrastructure is needed October 30, 2024
Finance Bitcoin price passes $70,000 on US election speculation The price of Bitcoin reached $72,479 this week, the first time that the cryptocurrency has gone above the $70,000 price mark since June. Although still below its March peak of $73,803.25, the world’s most prominent digital currency may have headroom to rise further. “Bitcoin has rallied more than 65 percent year-to-date, with prices surging above […] October 30, 2024
Analysis Retail Diwali gold buyers change their approach as prices rise Dhanteras, the first day of Diwali, is seen as an auspicious time to buy gold by the Gulf’s roughly three million Hindus. But as the price of gold hits record levels consumers are shopping differently, gold traders told AGBI. Gold’s price has surged by 34 percent in the past year alone. This trend is being […] October 29, 2024
Opinion Markets The US bond market faces a winter of discontent Its shockwaves will spare no debt market on the planet October 29, 2024
Retail Lulu aims to raise $1.4bn from Abu Dhabi IPO listing Lulu Retail Holdings, the largest grocery retailer in the GCC, has announced a price range of between AED1.94 and AED2.04 per share for its much-anticipated IPO on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX). If all the 2.8 billion shares offered, a quarter of the total holding, are sold, the size of the offering will be […] October 28, 2024
Opinion Trade Europe needs to revisit Gulf relations or lose out to Asia The recent EU-GCC summit could not have come at a more critical moment October 28, 2024
Analysis Sustainability EU carbon tariff opens door to green GCC manufacturers Europe’s decision to place a tariff on a selected group of carbon-intensive imports may offer a competitive advantage to Gulf manufacturers who are investing in carbon-reducing technologies, industry observers believe. By decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, GCC countries can become the European Union’s privileged trade partners, because producers with lower carbon emissions will get better access to […] October 28, 2024
Analysis Banking and Finance Late-year flurry of flotations forecast for Gulf Headline figures may suggest the number and combined value of Gulf initial public offerings is ebbing. But a flurry of late-year flotations should enable the 2024 totals to equal or eclipse those of 2023. Demand from investors, especially foreign institutions, for new Gulf IPOs and for greater exposure to the Gulf’s economies, indicates a growing […] October 28, 2024
Opinion Aviation Qatar’s Virgin Australia deal makes business sense Australia is Qatar Airways' seventh most important market, with nearly 900,000 seats on sale each year October 25, 2024
Analysis Manufacturing Petrochem plants under pressure to utilise capacity Petrochemicals plants are currently operating at just over 80 percent capacity, rates which must increase for the sector’s margins and product prices to improve, analysts say. Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic) is the world’s seventh largest chemicals manufacturer by sales, while both the UAE and Qatar have invested heavily in creating homegrown petrochemicals industries. Globally, […] October 25, 2024
Analysis Construction ‘Green’ cement falling short of meeting climate goals Construction has become as much a part of the Gulf landscape as the desert. But it is also one of the major contributors to carbon dioxide emissions, a key driver of climate change. GCC governments and developers, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, are pushing to find alternatives to traditional concrete and its basic […] October 25, 2024
Editor's Insight Economy Labour would do well to heed the Gulf There is still another week to go before UK chancellor Rachel Reeves’s first Budget. The long-awaited statement should set the direction and priorities for the new Labour government over the next four years. And, for Gulf investors and many others, it can’t come soon enough. It has not been the best start for the government […] October 25, 2024
Banking and Finance Rate cuts will put pressure on Gulf banks’ margins September’s benchmark interest rate reductions came too late to affect Gulf banks’ third-quarter earnings to a meaningful extent, although the longer-term impact on lenders’ net interest margins will be negative. In mid-September the Federal Reserve cut the benchmark US interest rate by 50 basis points to 5 percent, its first reduction since late 2018. The […] October 25, 2024
Banking and Finance Investment banks enjoy fee windfall from debt issuance Investment banking fees on bond and sukuk issuance in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) have surged this year as governments, corporations and commercial banks raise increasing amounts of debt to meet their funding needs. Mena debt capital market underwriting fees in the first nine months of 2024 rose 74 percent year on year […] October 23, 2024
Analysis Banking and Finance Analysts expect ‘mixed’ picture from Gulf banks’ Q3 results The Gulf’s largest banks are likely to report mixed earnings for the third quarter, analysts say, as pressure on margins lessens the benefit of lending growth. Qatar National Bank and Dubai’s Emirates NBD – the Middle East and Africa’s largest and fifth largest banks by assets – have already published Q3 results. QNB’s profit rose […] October 23, 2024
