Aviation Trump plans to use Qatari 747 as Air Force One US President Donald Trump’s administration intends to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane as a gift from the Qatari royal family that would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, according to a source briefed on the matter. The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, […] May 12, 2025
Aviation Qatar Airways lines up Boeing order for Trump visit Qatar Airways is reportedly preparing to order about 100 wide-body aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing during President Donald Trump‘s visit to the Gulf. The state-backed airline is looking to include an option for an additional 100 planes in the deal, Bloomberg reported, without identifying its sources. Corporate deals announced during the visit on May 13-16 […] May 7, 2025
Construction Qatari royal backs Maldives $9bn financial freezone MBS Global Investments and the Maldives government will jointly develop a $8.8 billion Maldives International Financial Centre (MIFC) in the Maldivian capital city of Malé. The freezone will have no corporate tax and tax-free inheritance in a bid to attract digital nomads, entrepreneurs and high net worth individuals. Based in Dubai, MBS Global is the investment […] May 5, 2025
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy in talks with Japan on long-term LNG supply One of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas suppliers, QatarEnergy, is in talks with Japanese firms for a long-term deal to supply LNG from its North Field expansion project, five trading and industry sources told Reuters. Under the deal, Qatar would supply a consortium of Japanese importers and a volume of at least 3 million […] May 2, 2025
Real Estate Trump Organization enters Qatar property market Dar Global, the international development arm of Saudi-listed Dar Al Arkan, has partnered with the Trump Organization to develop a Trump International Golf Club in Doha. The project is the US company’s first foray into Qatar’s property market. The project will include an 18-hole golf course, a clubhouse and branded villas overlooking the golf course […] May 1, 2025
Renewable Energy GWC and Yellow Door to build Qatar solar power plants Logistics business Gulf Warehousing Company (GWC) has formed a partnership with Yellow Door Energy, a Dubai-based clean energy company, to develop solar power plants in Qatar. The plants will be located in Logistics Village Qatar, Bu Sulba Warehousing Park and Al Wukair Logistics Park, GWC said in a statement on Wednesday. Doha-based GWC claimed the […] May 1, 2025
Economy Industrial investments in Qatar reach $13.8m in Q1 Qatar attracted QAR50 million ($13.8 million) worth of new industrial investments in the first quarter of 2025, with eight new factories beginning operations, according to its ministry of commerce and industry. Commercial registrations in the three months to March rose 32 percent year on year, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday, after a […] April 30, 2025
Banking and 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
Banking and 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 and 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
Banking and 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
