Opinion Manufacturing Electric vehicles: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em Opportunities in battery manufacturing as well as clear net-zero goals allow oil-rich countries to embrace the inevitable switch to EVs rather than fear it June 15, 2022
Tourism Finnair looks to Asia, Middle East, after impact of Ukraine war Finland’s national carrier Finnair, hit hard by the closure of Russian airspace, plans to shift its focus away from Asia travel and reduce the size of its operations, the chief executive told Bloomberg News, the agency reported on Friday. Finnair’s pre-pandemic profitability centred on offering short connection times between Asia and Europe via its Helsinki […] June 13, 2022
Markets ‘Russia cannot be fenced in,’ says Putin President Vladimir Putin has said that no Iron Curtain would fall over the Russian economy despite the sanctions imposed by the West because Moscow would not close itself off from the world like the Soviet Union did. The sanctions imposed by the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have tipped Russia, one of the world’s […] June 10, 2022
Tech Lockheed to begin deliveries of F-16 combat jets in 2024 Lockheed Martin Corp expects to produce its new-build F-16 fighter jets next year and commence deliveries in 2024, its chief financial officer Jesus Malave said. The company has a list of key US allies including Bahrain, Taiwan, Slovakia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia eager to purchase the jet. Malave […] June 10, 2022
Banking & Finance World Bank slashes global growth forecast The World Bank on Tuesday slashed its global growth forecast by nearly a third to 2.9 percent for 2022, warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has compounded the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic, and many countries now faced recession. The war in Ukraine had magnified the slowdown in the global economy, which was now entering […] June 8, 2022
Ukraine and Gulf announce diplomatic and economic alliance Ukraine, the Gulf bloc and the Organisation of lslamic Cooperation (OIC) announced on Tuesday the establishment of a special Advisory Council. The Council, headed by the Ukraine President’s Office and Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will focus on political, diplomatic, economic and humanitarian cooperation between Ukraine and the Middle East. The Head of the President’s […] June 7, 2022
Analysis Energy Higher oil prices ease budgetary woes Surging oil prices in 2022 mean most Middle East and North African (MENA) oil producers can look forward to recording a surplus this year – often after running budget deficits and, on occasion, plundering their sovereign wealth funds. In 2020, as demand collapsed on the back of the pandemic, Brent crude averaged just $42 a […] June 6, 2022
Analysis Tourism Mena has high hopes for post-pandemic tourism Visitors are returning to key tourism destinations around the Middle East and North Africa, but not everywhere is faring so well The surge in passenger numbers at the Gulf’s biggest airports in the opening months of this year tells a clear story of recovery in the region’s travel and tourism sector. Doha’s Hamad International handled […] June 3, 2022
Energy Oil price fall dents Gulf stock markets Most Gulf markets ended lower on Thursday on growing concerns over inflation and recession and as oil prices slumped following speculation that Saudi Arabia would boost production. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index finished 1.3 percent lower, hurt by a 2.1 percent fall in oil giant Saudi Aramco and a 1.2 percent decline in country’s biggest Islamic […] June 2, 2022
Energy Who is buying Russian crude oil and who has stopped Here is the response by countries and companies regarding purchases of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine started on Feb. 24. Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States have imposed outright bans on Russian oil purchases, while Group of Seven (G7) nations, including Japan, committed to ban or phase out imports of Russian oil […] June 1, 2022
Energy Russia’s Lavrov to meet GCC ministers in Riyadh on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Saudi state media said, on a visit that Gulf officials said would feature a meeting with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Lavrov, who also visited Bahrain earlier on Tuesday, is expected to meet ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab […] June 1, 2022
Energy Russia’s Lavrov meets Gulf ministers, oil and Ukraine on agenda Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Saudi Arabia on Wednesday where he will meet with foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC). Lavrov is expected to meet with ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in the GCC headquarters in Riyadh. It was unclear what the meeting will […] May 31, 2022
Agriculture Middle East to benefit from World Bank’s $30bn food security fund The World Bank said on Wednesday it will make $30 billion available to help stem a food security crisis threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has cut off most grain exports from the two countries. The total will include $12 billion in new projects and over $18 billion funds from existing food and nutrition-related […] May 20, 2022
Exclusive How technology is transforming the UAE-UK trade relationship A quick look at the latest UAE-UK trade figures might give the impression that the centuries-old relationship isn’t what it used to be. But dig a little deeper and the figures – down sharply from close to £18 billion in 2018-2019 to £12.3 billion in the year to last September – can be explained by […] May 19, 2022
Aviation Emirates should be allowed to fly to Berlin, says German exec The bilateral air service agreement between Germany and the United Arab Emirates should be expanded to allow Dubai’s Emirates airline to operate direct flights to more cities, including the capital Berlin, a senior official from the Middle East office of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) told AGBI. Under the existing air services agreement between […] May 16, 2022
Tourism Germany boosts Gulf travel budget with Russia savings The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) increased its marketing budget this year in the Gulf by 10 percent, after making savings by shutting down several of its international offices, including Russia. “We actually got a 10 percent budget increase because, as you can see, we unfortunately had to close our Russian office,” Yamina Sofo, director […] May 12, 2022