Banking & Finance Qatar and Russia set up $2bn investment fund The sovereign funds of Qatar and Russia have created a $2 billion joint fund to invest in technology, minerals and healthcare projects. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) will each invest $1 billion, a statement from the RDIF said. In 2014 the two wealth funds launched a $4 billion joint […] April 18, 2025
Tourism Cruise passengers to Qatar on the rise Mwani Qatar, the state operator of seaports and shipping terminals, reported a 5 percent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in the 2024-25 cruise season. Doha Port, the Gulf nation’s main gateway, received nearly 400,000 visitors from 87 cruises, a 19 percent annual rise in ship visits, the Peninsula newspaper reported. The latest season saw the […] April 17, 2025
Economy Qatar to invest over $7bn in Egypt’s economy Qatar has pledged to invest $7.5 billion in Egypt as the North African country seeks to attract new money and boost economic growth, the countries said in a joint statement. The commitment was given during a meeting between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad A-Thani, the state-owned State Information […] April 15, 2025
Finance Indonesia and Qatar to set up $4bn joint fund Indonesian sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia and Qatar Investment Authority will set up a joint fund worth $4 billion to invest in so-called domestic priority sectors in the southeast Asian country. These include food and energy security, downstream processing, digital infrastructure, healthcare and tourism, Indonesian state-run Antara news agency reported, quoting Danantara chief investment officer […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Qatar National Bank Q1 profit spurs share recovery Qatar National Bank (QNB), the Middle East and Africa’s largest bank by assets, reported a slight increase in first-quarter net profit on higher net interest income which helped offset its domestic tax bill. Government-run QNB made a net profit of QAR4.26 billion ($1.17 billion) in the three months to March 31, up 2.8 percent versus […] April 10, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas Trump’s Gulf trip will test regional nerves and alliances With oil sliding and Iran talks ahead, the GCC braces for a high-stakes presidential visit April 9, 2025
Artificial Intelligence 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 […] April 3, 2025
Economy Trump to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar by May US President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to visit Saudi Arabia as early as May to sign an investment agreement in what will be the first foreign trip of his second term, with stops also planned in Qatar and the UAE. “It could be next month, maybe a little later,” Trump told reporters […] April 1, 2025
Finance Assets at Kushner’s Affinity soar after Gulf cash injection Assets under management at Jared Kushner’s investment company Affinity Partners jumped 60 percent last year to $4.8 billion, according to a regulatory filing. The company received a cash injection from Middle East investors, including Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, launched the investment firm in 2021 after leaving the White House […] March 31, 2025
Aviation Qatari bank buys stake in Edinburgh Airport A sharia-compliant Qatari investment bank has acquired a minority stake in Edinburgh Airport through an infrastructure-focused investment fund. “This investment aligns with the bank’s strategic focus on resilient asset classes and marks the bank’s entry into the global infrastructure investment market,” Lesha Bank said in a press release. Edinburgh Airport, Scotland’s busiest and the sixth […] March 27, 2025
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy selects India’s L&T for gas project A subsidiary of state-owned QatarEnergy has reportedly awarded an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract to India’s Larsen & Toubro for the second phase of the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) project. Larsen & Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon received a letter of intent from QatarEnergy LNG for the work, which has an estimated value of $4 […] March 25, 2025
Aviation Qatar airport expansion boosts capacity to 65 million Qatar’s Hamad International Airport’s annual passenger capacity has reached 65 million passengers, following an expansion plan started in 2018. The terminal area has expanded by 14 percent to cover 845,000sqm, adding 17 new boarding gates to reach 62, the Government Communications Office said in a statement. The new concourses (D and E) will boost flight […] March 21, 2025
Finance Gulf investments grow in Cyprus both onshore and off Sovereign wealth funds are eyeing up real estate while energy companies have set their sights on the sea March 14, 2025
Oil & Gas Qatar to supply Syria with natural gas to ease power crisis Qatar has signed an agreement to supply natural gas to Syria via Jordan, a significant step towards addressing the war-torn nation’s energy crisis. The agreement, signed between Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and Jordan’s energy ministry, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, will contribute to generating up to 400 megawatts of electricity daily […] March 14, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways strives to avoid Etihad’s mistakes Like Etihad before it, Qatar Airways is expanding by buying stakes in other airlines. The Abu Dhabi carrier’s acquisition strategy ended badly, however. Three airlines in which it invested went bust and it lost $1.87 billion in one year alone in 2016. Qatar Airways may have better luck, analysts say. The state-owned carrier, which started […] March 10, 2025
Oil & Gas Qatar-US LNG export project back on track A liquefied natural gas export project co-owned by Qatar won approval from the Trump administration to have its starting date permit extended by three years on Wednesday. The Golden Pass LNG project in Texas, co-owned by the state-run QatarEnergy LNG and Exxon Mobil Corp, was required to commence operations by November 30, 2026. Negotiations to […] March 6, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways to order large wide-body aircraft soon Qatar Airways will soon place a sizeable order for wide-body jets to underpin its longer-term growth plans, the airline’s chief commercial officer told Reuters late on Monday. “To secure the growth of tomorrow by continuing to have a very strong and the best fleet in the industry, our CEO is working on the RFP (request […] March 5, 2025
Industry Vietnamese EV maker in talks over $1bn investment from Qatari fund The Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore a potential investment of at least $1 billion in its electric vehicle maker, VinFast, by the private equity fund JTA Investment Qatar. Vingroup said the possible partnership could also extend to Vingroup’s hospitality business, Vinpearl. “Under the MoU, the […] March 4, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways gets nod to buy 25% of Virgin Australia The Australian government has cleared an offer by state-backed Qatar Airways to acquire a minority 25 percent stake in Virgin Australia from Bain Capital, a US private equity company, the companies said in a statement. The Gulf carrier made the offer to buy the stake in October, but the Australian transport minister, Catherine King, rejected […] February 27, 2025
Banking & Finance QIA weighs new VC companies to join $1bn fund Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is evaluating eight venture capital (VC) firms to add to its “fund of funds” venture capital programme. The programme has already invested nearly $500 million in six firms, the head of funds at the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) told Reuters on Monday. The $1 billion programme will be almost fully invested […] February 25, 2025
