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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

President Donald Trump signing an executive order applying tariffs to all auto imports. The GCC's bilateral trade with the US is worth around $80 billion

The Gulf must brace for indirect hits from Trump’s tariffs

Gulf states may stave off new tariffs US president Donald Trump is expected to announce but the measures’ indirect impact on the global economy and oil prices loom large. The region’s focus, industry watchers say, should be on diversifying trade relationships while embracing the UAE and Saudi Arabia playbook of investing in the United States […]

Architecture, Building, Factory

GCC companies to bid for Oman’s power projects

A Saudi-listed company and a UAE state-run entity are among a dozen companies shortlisted to develop and operate two major independent power producer (IPP) projects in Oman. The list includes Etihad Water and Electricity, Acwa Power, Marubeni Corporation, Reliance Power, Sembcorp Utilities, Samsung C&T Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Nebras Power, Korea Western Power and Al Jomaih […]

A worker fills a tank at a petrol station in Riyadh. The rise of renewable energy and electric vehicles are having an impact on oil demand

Oil’s share of energy demand dips below 30% for first time

Oil’s share of the global energy mix has hit a historic low, dipping below 30 percent of demand for the first time as renewables and electric vehicles reshape markets, according to the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s Global Energy Review 2025 reveals that energy demand rose by 2.2 percent last year, outpacing the average yearly […]

M79HAK Professional Broker Consults Stock Exchange Trader at His Workstation. Multi-Ethnic Team at Stock Exchange Office is Busy Selling and Buying Stocks

Gulf investors pile into crypto to hedge against risk

Institutional investors in the Gulf are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies to better manage their risk. Global currency fluctuation and sustained inflation are encouraging investors to add bitcoin and other digital assets to their portfolios, according to a study by Singapore-based QCP, a digital asset trading company. Notable institutional Gulf investments in crypto so far this […]

A person working on a solar site

Shortage of ‘bankable’ green energy projects stymies investment 

While the Middle East has seen a surge in sustainable finance initiatives, investors are struggling to find commercially viable energy projects to invest in. This is particularly the case in developing nations, according to industry experts. The financial sector in the UAE has pledged to “mobilise” AED1 trillion ($272 billion) in sustainable finance by 2030.  […]

Emerging market fund managers 'allocate more time and money to bigger markets like India and China' than Dubai or Saudi Arabia, says one expert

Foreign investors still underweight on Gulf stocks

International investors have pumped more than $60 billion into Gulf stocks over the past five years but their share of ownership is still relatively low, putting into question the success of GCC states’ economic diversification policies. Governments in the world’s largest oil-producing region have long sought to increase foreign direct investment into their economies and […]

Gulf hotel franchise

Gulf hotel owners switch to franchises in search of profits

Hotel owners in the Gulf are increasingly choosing franchise agreements with international hotel brands over the less profitable direct management route, industry experts and analysts say.  This is especially true in the UAE and Saudi Arabia where the hotel industry is maturing and hotel owners know their business better, driving them to manage their own […]

Gulf consultancy consulting

Gulf consulting market expected to cross $8bn this year

The Gulf consulting sector is expected to outperform the rest of the world in 2025 with growth of 12 percent, twice as fast as the United States. Although the regional market is predicted to be worth more than $8 billion, growth will be at a slightly slower pace. Last year the GCC market grew by […]

Borouge chairman Sultan Al Jaber visits the Borouge 4 project, which will increase the company's petrochemicals production by almost one third

Gulf oil companies turn up petrochemicals investment

Gulf national oil companies (NOCs) are increasingly focusing their investment attention on petrochemicals as they seek to move up the value chain and as global demand growth for crude slows, experts say. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the petrochemical industry to account for one third of global oil demand growth by 2030 and […]