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Middle East

A worker cycles past Aramco oil tanks in Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia

Opec set for tricky new year: US booms and demand slows

Opec+ has struggled to maintain high oil prices this year and 2023 is ending with Brent trading 10 percent lower year on year and below the crucial $80 break-even mark of GCC countries. 2024 looks likely to be another challenging year for the oil alliance, analysts have told AGBI. Oil demand rose by more than […]

Hun Manet, the prime minister of Cambodia, arrives in Saudi Arabia for a meeting of southeast Asian nations and the GCC. Cambodia is one of the 34 in the emerging Asia group

Gulf’s pivot to Asia set to keep on rolling in 2024

2023 has been the year of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement, better known as the Cepa, as the UAE seeks to increase non-oil trade to $1.1 trillion (AED4 trillion) by 2031. The Emirates has seven deals in the bag and several more in the pipeline – and like many of its Gulf neighbours, it is […]

A Houthi fighter stands on the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea last month

Shipping insurance rates rise on Red Sea crisis

Insurance rates for shipping companies operating in the Red Sea are likely to rise further, according to industry experts, as the area continues to be the target of terrorist attacks by the Houthi militia. Some of the biggest operators in the industry, including CMA CGM of France, MSC of Switzerland and A.P. Moller-Maersk of Denmark, […]

A container ship crosses the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal in Al-'Ain al-Sokhna, Egypt, in July Video length: 04:21

Red Sea shipping crisis drives prices up

Attacks in the lower Red Sea by Houthi militants based in Yemen have resulted in a sharp rise in shipping costs.  While regional importers are unlikely to see any immediate impact over the holiday period, shortages and supply chain issues will start to take hold in February, an industry expert has said. “We can expect […]

A worker checks a shipment of copper in Valparaiso, Chile, the world's largest copper producer; rising prices and tighter supply may encourage the Middle East to ramp up its own production

Middle East craves a copper-bottomed future

While recent weeks have seen some major ups and downs in the price of copper, for many old hands in the sector this is nothing new. “The one sure thing in copper,” Carlos Risopatron, director of economics and environment at the International Copper Study Group, tells AGBI, “is that you can always rely on volatility.” […]

A man uses a money transfer shop in Manama, Bahrain. Expat workers in Bahrain sent home $2.7bn in 2022

Mena remittances fall as Egyptians swerve official channels

Remittances to Middle East and North African countries are forecast to fall by 5.3 percent to about $61 billion in 2023. The drop in the World Bank’s figures is driven by a sharp decline in recorded money transfers to Egypt, which is the region’s largest recipient. A “large part of remittances” to Egypt probably went […]

A Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea

BP and Equinor divert tankers from Red Sea

Two European oil and gas companies, BP of the UK and Equinor of Norway, have joined a group of shipping lines that are diverting their tankers away from the Red Sea, following missile and drone attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants. BP said in a statement: “The safety and security of our people and those working […]

Man watching tv and eating popcorn at home on a couch, back view

In the streaming age, the TV stays on after Ramadan

YouTube creators and streaming services are changing the face of television all over the world – but particularly in Arab countries, according to executives who attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah this month. The entertainment industry in the Middle East traditionally focused on the fasting month, when TV shows could find a captive […]

International Holding Company said in a disclosure to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange that scammers are using the company's name for fraudulent investment opportunities

Middle East hit by wave of brand impersonation scams

Cybersecurity experts in the Middle East are warning of a rise in brand impersonation attacks which persuade unsuspecting consumers to part with sensitive information.  International Holding Company, a global investor based in Abu Dhabi, said in a disclosure to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange last week that scammers are using the company’s name and logo […]

The Jetsons, pioneers of the smart home

Living like the Jetsons: Middle East homes go smart

It has been six decades since the American animated sitcom The Jetsons offered a glimpse into a future filled with robots and smart kitchens. Now reality seems poised to beat this once-fanciful vision.  Today, voice-activated assistants seamlessly control everything – from adjusting lights and thermostats to automating tasks such as unlocking doors or turning on […]

Cop28 agriculture UAE

Cop28 funds pave the way for Mena agricultural innovation

In 2022 Morocco suffered its worst drought in 40 years. It had a devastating impact on agricultural productivity – the country’s cereal production plunged by 60 percent and 280,000 jobs were lost. Thousands of miles to the east, motorists on the main road from the UAE to Oman see dead and dying palm trees on […]

Technology developed at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology converts local sand for manufacturing

How Saudi tech is addressing the lack of construction sand

A patented technology developed in Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase the use of desert sand in concrete manufacturing. ClimateCrete’s technology modifies the surface of the fine local sand particles, making a much more durable and stable concrete. At a time of unprecedented levels of construction in the kingdom, it plans to make concrete production […]

42 deals to secure funding for startups were agreed in November

Mena startup funding bounces back in November

Startup funding rose sharply in November, reflecting regional and global investors’ renewed confidence in the Middle East and North Africa.  Investment totalled $764 million from 42 deals, according to Dubai-based venture capital company Wamda. It was the highest monthly figure in 2023, an increase of 390 percent from October’s figure and a year-on-year rise of […]

The UAE alone generates over 6.5 million tonnes of waste a year, more than three quarters of which ends up in landfills

Turning trash into tokens: blockchain’s answer to waste

Trash, garbage, detritus. Whatever you call it, the waste management industry around the world faces a huge challenge as it must handle a substantial and growing volume of rubbish. In 2020, according to the World Bank, the world generated 2.24 billion tonnes of solid waste, amounting to a footprint of 0.79 kg per person per […]

European Commission's Wopke Hoekstra speaks at the European Union press conference, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 6, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky

Europe stands firm on fossil fuel phase-out deal at Cop28

The European Parliament is heading into the final days of negotiation at the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai with a clear mission to see the absolute end of fossil fuels. At a press conference on Friday, European Parliament member Peter Liese told journalists that the delegation is demanding the “tangible phase out of fossil fuels” […]