Analysis Finance Top 10 fintechs to watch in 2024 Fintechs are big business in the Middle East. An increasing number of financial companies are integrating technology into their services and products, meaning the market is forecast to treble from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $4.5 billion by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company. Here are 10 fintech firms to look out for in the coming […] January 3, 2024
Construction The Avenues – Khobar to be built by Kuwait developer Kuwaiti developer Shomoul Holding this week launched a retail and residential project in the eastern Saudi city of Khobar worth SAR7.2 billion ($1.92 billion), securing a SAR4.35 billion loan for the first stage of construction. The government’s Tourism Development Fund, set up in 2020, provided the loan along with a consortium led by National Arab […] December 22, 2023
People & Lifestyle Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed passes away Kuwait’s emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah passed away on Saturday. He was 86. Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah has been named as his successor. Sheikh Meshal has been Kuwait’s de facto ruler since 2021 due to Sheikh Nawaf’s frail health. The country has announced 40 days of mourning and a three-day closure of official departments. […] December 16, 2023
Infrastructure Gulf telcos sign deal to create $2bn tower company Telecom operators Ooredoo and Zain Group on Tuesday said agreements have been signed to create the largest tower company in the Middle East and North Africa. The cash and share deal, which also involves Dubai-based Tasc Towers Holding, will establish a company comprising 30,000 telecom towers in Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Algeria and Tunisia, with […] December 5, 2023
Oil & Gas Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery increases capacity by 50% State-owned Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (Kipic) said that the third and final unit at the Al Zour refinery is now operational. The plant is now fully operational and refining will reach full capacity of 615,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from 410,000 bpd, the oil company said in a statement. Kipic CEO Walid Al-Bader […] December 4, 2023
Oil & Gas Market confusion over Opec+ cuts hits oil prices Oil prices fell further on Friday after tumbling sharply when Opec+ announced more production cuts amid suspicions that quotas will not be adhered to. Brent, the main international benchmark, traded at $80.66, down from $84.37 on Thursday, while West Texas intermediate was flat at $75.94. Saudi Arabia, Russia and other members of Opec+ announced on […] December 1, 2023
Media & Advertising More deals likely to follow OSN+ and Anghami merger The merger last week between OSN+ and Anghami will lead to more consolidation in the region’s streaming sector, industry experts have said. Kuwait’s Kipco-Panther Media Group, which operates as OSN, will combine its streaming service OSN+ with Anghami’s music and entertainment business to create one of the Middle East’s largest streaming platforms. The Europe, Middle […] November 27, 2023
Oil & Gas GIC buys stake in UAE pipeline inspection firm Kuwait-based Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) has acquired a significant minority stake in Pipecare Group Holding, a major provider of pipeline inspection services. A joint statement from GIC and UAE-based Pipecare Group on Monday said the transaction was completed in Abu Dhabi on November 15. It did not give details of the size of the stake, […] November 20, 2023
Energy Kuwaiti company sells Norway assets for $454m The Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) agreed on Friday to sell all of its assets in Norway to Poland’s Orlen, which operates in Norway under the name PGNiG Upstream for $454 million, the CEO of the Kuwaiti company said on Friday. Mohammad Salem Al-Haimer said Kufpec booked about $700 million in profit throughout its […] November 19, 2023
Transport Kuwait’s Agility Q3 profit more than doubles to $91m Kuwait-based logistics specialist Agility reported third-quarter 2023 earnings of KD28 million ($90.76 million), an increase of 122 percent. Profit was boosted by the one-off gain of closing an interest rate hedge. Revenue grew 40.8 percent year on year to KD360.8 million. For the first nine months of 2023, Agility’s net profit stood at KD57.5 million, rising 39 […] November 16, 2023
Transport Kuwait Airways seeks damages over Airbus delays Kuwait Airways expects compensation from planemaker Airbus for delays in delivering commercial jets, the chairman of the Middle Eastern airline told Reuters on Tuesday. Aerospace and other manufacturers are struggling with supply chain bottlenecks. This year, pressure has been growing on planemakers to start paying penalties. “We are discussing it with them. There will be […] November 15, 2023
DUBAI AIRSHOW Aviation Saudi Arabia and UAE drive air travel recovery Flight bookings to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for the last quarter of this year are up by as much as 70 percent on pre-pandemic levels, new figures reveal. Data compiled exclusively for AGBI by the travel intelligence company ForwardKeys shows that as of early October, Saudi Arabia led the region for growth in seat […] November 13, 2023
Aviation Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways’ profits slump 36.1% Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways has reported a 36.1 percent drop in profits for the first nine months of the year with a warning that over-capacity issues could further impact margins. The airline, which sits second in the country behind Kuwait Airways, saw revenues increase 12.8 percent year-on-year over the period and passenger numbers were […] November 8, 2023
EXCLUSIVE Renewable Energy Download our exclusive report on the Gulf’s path to net zero As the world shifts towards cleaner sources of energy, the GCC’s oil and gas-producing nations find themselves faced with the dual threat of environmental and economic crisis. What are they doing about it? In this special report published as the UAE prepares to stage the United Nations’ Cop28 climate change summit, AGBI examines the Gulf’s […] November 8, 2023
Energy Kuwait Petroleum to borrow $45bn to meet fund shortfall State oil giant Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) sees a near 14.1 billion Kuwaiti dinar ($45.7 billion) shortfall in the funds it has available to meet its five-year spending plan, and will need to borrow and sell assets to help plug the gap, a document seen by Reuters showed. Retaining its annual dividends instead of transferring […] November 7, 2023
Energy Kuwait’s fuel oil exports drop 30% in October Kuwait’s October fuel oil exports tumbled more than 30 percent after hitting a record high in September as some supply was diverted to domestic power generation, according to trade sources, analysts and ship-tracking data. Exports fell to 490,000 metric tonnes (104,000 barrels per day) in October, after hitting a record high of 720,000 tonnes in […] November 1, 2023
Tech Kuwait’s private sector to aid final broadband push Kuwait is looking to the private sector to help roll out the final stage of a national fibre-optic broadband project that forms part of the country’s digital transformation ambitions. The Ministry of Communications has announced plans to use private public partnerships (PPP) in coordination with the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects. The PPP will take […] November 1, 2023
Energy Kuwait Oil Company signs $1.7bn soil contracts Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has signed contracts worth $1.73 billion linked to rehabilitating the soil of oilfields damaged during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, according to a document seen by Reuters. The contracts are for “rehabilitation, treatment, drilling, transportation, and backfilling, covering all affected areas and areas to be rehabilitated within the oilfields,” oil minister Saad […] October 19, 2023
Analysis Finance Kuwaiti stocks toil but analysts foresee 2024 rebound Overpriced valuations, high interest rates and oil production cuts have sapped investor confidence in Kuwait, and the country’s stock market is among the Mena region’s worst performers this year. Despite this, analysts predict a sustained rebound in crude prices, steady corporate earnings and renewed government infrastructure spending. This could boost ebbing sentiment and spark a […] October 13, 2023
Real Estate UK commercial property bargains lure Gulf buyers Gulf backers have contributed over 80 percent towards a British investment fund targeting distressed commercial property sales in the UK. Greenridge Investment Management Ltd has just closed the first round of its $190 million Greenridge Opportunities fund and has surpassed its first capital raise target by 46 percent. Strong participation from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait […] October 11, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Islamic finance set to grow 10% in 2023 The Islamic finance industry is set to grow by 10 percent this year, driven by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, according to a new report by ratings agency S&P Global. This is despite a slowdown in growth in the Gulf region caused by Opec+ oil production cuts. “We generally expect sukuk issuance volume to diminish […] October 11, 2023
Energy Kuwait to boost oil output by 38% to 4m bpd by 2035 Kuwait’s oil minister announced a new strategy to boost fossil fuel production on Monday and said his country would prepare the infrastructure for the Durra gas field, which it shares with Saudi Arabia and Iran claims a stake in. The strategy for the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) aims to raise overall oil production capacity […] October 10, 2023
