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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

The US was the biggest investor in Arab nations' oil and gas sectors in terms of number of projects, taking part in 85 investments

Arab nations attract $406bn in oil and gas investments

Arab countries’ oil and gas sectors received investments totalling $406 billion between January 2003 and May 2024. The investments spanned 610 projects and involved 356 foreign and Arab companies, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, citing a report by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman). The United States was the biggest […]

Emaar Properties and Emaar Development took a hit in Monday’s trading, but ended Tuesday in the green

UAE real estate companies rebound after market turmoil

Real estate companies bore the brunt of Monday’s stock sell-off in the GCC, although prices showed significant signs of recovery on Tuesday. Dubai Financial Market closed on Monday down 4.5 percent, while Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul exchange was down 2.1 percent. Kuwait’s bourse was showing a negative of 2.13 percent on a day when $6.4 trillion […]

The Jabal Al-Qarah caves in Saudi Arabia. Bahrain was the top GCC source market, with 3.4 million tourists

GCC tourists spent $4bn in Saudi Arabia last year

Nine million visitors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries spent more than SAR15 billion ($4 billion) in Saudi Arabia last year, as the kingdom expands its portfolio of tourism attractions. Bahrain was the top GCC source market, with 3.4 million tourists, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported, citing the tourism ministry’s annual statistics report. […]

A building fire in Kuwait killed 50 people this summer Video length: 05:06

The Gulf needs better construction codes

Devastating building fires in Kuwait and Qatar this summer, and April’s flooding in the UAE, have raised awareness of the need for more stringent construction codes in the Gulf. National Fire Protection Association president Jim Pauley told AGBI that sometimes rules are in place but it is “the application of the regulation that needs to […]

Starbucks Middle East

Starbucks increases Middle East outlets despite Gaza boycott calls

Starbucks has expanded its presence in the Middle East over the past year, despite ongoing boycott calls due to the Gaza conflict.  The total number of Starbucks outlets in the region rose by approximately 7 percent, from 1,870 to 1,997, according to the company’s data. The largest expansion came in Saudi Arabia, adding 55 new […]

Gulf hospitality recruitment

Recruitment a sticking point for Gulf hospitality

The tourism industry is expected to support the creation of thousands of jobs in the UAE and wider GCC this year, yet hospitality firms might struggle to fill many of these vacancies. Heightened competition, the physical and emotional intensity of the work, and more flexible professional alternatives are among the factors luring prospective staff in […]

Aircraft, Airliner, Airplane

Middle East airlines report rise in passenger demand

Airlines in the Middle East reported a 9.6 percent year-on-year increase in passenger demand in June 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association. Capacity at regional carriers rose 9.4 percent year on year, while the load factor rose marginally to nearly 80 percent. NewsletterGet the Best of AGBI delivered straight to your inbox every week […]

Egypt startups Gulf VC investment

Gulf investors show renewed appetite for Egypt’s startups

Venture capital companies are reporting renewed interest in Egyptian startups after a difficult few years for the country’s tech entrepreneurs. Emirati and Saudi investors are leading the return, say VC experts, after record-high inflation and a prolonged foreign exchange crisis dented deal-making. Since the Egyptian authorities floated the pound in March and the economy has […]

Shop, Shopping Mall, Indoors

Americana scales back fast-food openings as profit drops again

Americana Restaurants International, the Mena franchise owner for KFC, Pizza Hut and Hardee’s, has scaled back its growth plans for this year after another drop in profits. The Saudi-UAE company reported a 41 percent slump in net profit to $52 million for the second quarter of the year, as Mena diners turn their backs on […]

Gulf builders Red Sea shipping crisis

Supply logjams force Gulf builders to get creative

Shipping cost spikes resulting from the Red Sea crisis are hitting the Gulf’s construction industry especially hard. Mounting tensions between Israel and the Houthis in Yemen are exacerbating the already severe decline in commercial shipping traffic there. Builders are struggling to adjust their supply chains and pricing mechanisms to deliver materials and products to their […]

Dubai and Jeddah dominate airport construction in Mena

Just two giant projects, in Dubai and Jeddah, account for almost 80 percent of current spending on airport development in the Middle East and North Africa, a report has revealed. Some 19 different projects, ranging from expansions to additional runways and entire new airports, are under way in 11 countries across the region, according to […]

Despite optimism from hedge funds and traders, oil prices remain relatively stable

Analysts optimistic on oil but the price stays steady

Global hedge funds and money managers have become increasingly optimistic about the short term outlook for oil prices in recent months, despite the oil price remaining flat at around $80 a barrel. The net length held by hedge funds and other money managers in WTI (West Texas Intermediate) futures and options has risen to its […]

'Investors might be more comfortable holding Mena sovereign bonds' that are outperforming US Treasuries

Looming ‘vision’ project deadlines spur GCC bond market growth

Gulf countries are racing to complete ambitious “vision” agendas, pushing the total value of GCC bond and sukuk issuances since 2014 to more than $1 trillion. Each GCC country is working towards its own goals – whether that be the Saudi Vision 2030, We the UAE 2031, or Kuwait Vision 2035 – with the aim […]