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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

Pc screen view, islamic woman dressed in national hijab talking with male colleague, chatting using virtual modern video conference application, communicating from home, enjoy distant conversation

AI ‘employees’ make their mark in the Gulf

From customer service to the C-suite, AI “employees” are climbing the corporate ladder in the Gulf as the technology behind them improves. Regional wealth funds such as ADQ are now using AI “boardroom advisers” to help make decisions according to Middle East AI News, while startups are raising capital and launching so-called “AI employees”. These […]

A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange as President Donald Trump announces US tariffs. One analyst predicted Gulf stock markets will be the first to recover

Gulf stocks slide as investors fret over US tariffs

Dubai’s stock index tumbled on Thursday, poised for its biggest daily decline this year, and other Gulf bourses slid after US president Donald Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs on importers. Losers outnumbered gainers 34 to 10 on Dubai’s benchmark, which was down as much as 2 percent in early trade, mirroring declines on Asian bourses as […]

U.S. President Donald Trump's adviser Elon Musk reacts during a rally in support of a conservative state Supreme Court candidate of an April 1 election in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. March 30, 2025. REUTERS/

Gulf investors ‘rewarded’ as Musk’s xAI absorbs X

Gulf co-investors in Elon Musk’s X could benefit from the social media platform’s purchase by xAI, analysts have told AGBI. The deal is expected to help artificial intelligence company xAI train Grok, its AI assistant, to compete in the increasingly competitive generative AI market. Musk’s xAI acquired privately-held X last week in a deal that […]

President Donald Trump announced a raft of trade tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC

Middle East fails to escape Trump’s tariffs

US President Donald Trump unveiled far-reaching new tariffs on Wednesday, including on the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. Speaking from the Rose Garden of the White House, the president outlined a minimum 10 percent universal tariff on all imports into the United States, regardless of origin. This will […]

US treasuries are considered a haven for Gulf investors – and there are few alternatives aside from gold, says one expert

US treasuries could become less of a safe bet for Gulf investors

Economic advisers to President Donald Trump have proposed radical policies that could dim the allure of US government bonds for Gulf sovereign investors. The bonds, commonly known as treasuries, are considered among the lowest-risk investments. Many countries with excess dollars – from trade surpluses with the US or the sale of dollar-denominated goods such as […]

Damac chairman Hussain Sajwani at his residence in Dubai. Forbes calculates his wealth at more than $10 billion

Damac chairman Sajwani’s wealth doubles to more than $10bn

The fortune of Hussain Sajwani, the chairman of Dubai-based Damac Properties, has doubled in the last year as he takes his place among the world’s wealthiest individuals to become the richest businessman in the Middle East. The 72-year-old real estate magnate is worth $10.2 billion, the annual rich list from Forbes says, significantly higher than […]

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.  […]