Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

United Arab Emirates

Business news and financial news from the United Arab Emirates, covering the UAE's biggest companies including the Emirates Group, International Holding Group, Etisalat, Adnoc and Emaar Properties

Cafu IPO: The Cafu app has grown to offer more than fuel delivery

Fuel delivery startup Cafu considers IPO

Fuel-on-demand vehicle service Cafu is working on selling shares in an initial public offering (IPO). The UAE-based startup, founded in 2018, is working with financial advisory and asset management company Lazard, Bloomberg reported this week, without identifying its sources. Bloomberg said the Cafu IPO discussions are at a preliminary stage and no final decisions have […]

3A5CD31 Multiracial family of three seated together on couch enjoying TV time in cozy living room adorned with plants and artwork

Starzplay reports record growth driven by AI

Abu Dhabi-backed streaming platform Starzplay said it made record revenue last year, passing $100 million for the first time, supported by “artificial intelligence content discovery.” In 2022, the Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and a unit of federal telecommunications company e& (formerly Etisalat) bought a majority stake in Starzplay for $420 million. Since then revenue at the […]

New York's Fortress Investment Group has entered into a deal with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala

Mubadala and Fortress form $1bn private credit partnership

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has entered into a $1 billion strategic partnership with New York-based Fortress Investment Group to invest in private credit, the companies said on Thursday. Private credit has expanded in recent years, attracting investments from some of the world’s largest asset managers, as stricter regulations make it more expensive for traditional lenders to finance riskier […]

Amirah al-Turkistani, a graphic design lecturer at Jeddah International College, shops with her children and husband at a supermarket in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, February 3, 2018. REUTERS/Reem Baeshen SEARCH "BAESHEN WOMEN" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

What a plunging dollar means to Gulf imports and inflation

The dollar’s slump to multiyear lows against many major currencies risks raising import costs in the dollar-pegged Gulf economies, fuelling inflation and pressuring business profitability, analysts say. From mid-January, the dollar is down 11 percent against each of the euro (to its lowest in more than three years), the Japanese yen (its lowest since late 2023), […]

A drive-through ADIB ATM in Ras al Khaimah, UAE. The bank is ranked as the Middle East's 12th most valuable lender

ADIB profit up 18% on increased lending and fee income

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) reported a double-digit growth in net profit for the first quarter, on the back of an increase in lending and income from fees and commissions. The bank, which is ranked by Forbes as the Middle East’s 12th most valuable lender, reported a net profit after tax of AED1.7 billion ($463 […]

A new study suggests the UAE labour market cannot provide work for all job seekers

UAE labour market: Too many people, not enough jobs

More people are looking for jobs in the UAE than there is work available for them, according to a labour market report from recruitment consultancy Cooper Fitch. Hiring in the second-largest Arab economy grew by less than 1.3 percent in the three months to March 31 compared with the same period last year, the report […]

The latest payment brings DAE's total insurance recovery to $601m

Dubai jet leaser wins $282m settlement in Russian case

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing company, has received a $282 million cash settlement from unnamed insurers for aircraft leased to Russian Federation carriers. This latest payment brings DAE’s total insurance recovery to $601 million.  With this settlement DAE and its partners have resolved all claims against the involved insurance and […]

RAK sets out $272m plan for ‘our version of Central Park’

Ras Al Khaimah is preparing an AED1 billion ($272 million) mixed-use masterplan to link two of its most prominent waterfront developments – Al Hamra and Al Marjan Island. The project is being led by Marjan, the master developer of freehold properties in the northern emirate, and will have its official launch later this year. “What […]

A Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea. India's increasing reliance on cheaper Russian oil erodes the dominance of traditional Middle Eastern suppliers like Saudi Arabia and Iraq

Gulf share of India oil market slides on Russia gains

India’s pivot toward discounted Russian crude oil has accelerated, eroding the dominance of traditional Middle Eastern suppliers in one of the world’s fastest-growing oil markets. In the Indian fiscal year ending March 31, Russia retained its position as India’s top oil supplier for a third year in row, Reuters reported, based on ship tracking data […]

Shams Solar Power Station in the UAE. Both the UAE and Saudi Araba are aiming to increase electricity exports as their share of renewable energy grows

UAE and Saudi Arabia target India and EU electricity exports

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are advancing plans to increase their electricity exports, taking advantage of spare generating capacity after surging investment in solar and wind power and seasonal fluctuation in demand. “The UAE, with around 50 percent spare capacity generation, is among the best-positioned countries to become an exporter of electricity,” Adnan Al Hosani, […]

A shop in the Gold Souk in Deira, Dubai. Sellers are suffering as the price of gold continues to soar

Gold’s record run brings little joy for Dubai jewellers

In the bustling Gold Souk in Dubai, dubbed the “City of Gold”, 22-karat gold jewellery is a traditional favourite for weddings, religious celebrations, and as a family investment. Yet with bullion prices hitting record highs above $3,400 an ounce, there are signs of change, as buyers opt for diamonds and lighter gold jewellery instead. While […]

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (centre) witnessed the agreement for the du data centre

UAE’s du and Microsoft to build $544m hyperscale data centre

UAE telecom provider du and tech company Microsoft are to build a AED2 billion ($544.54 million) hyperscale data centre. The data centre will be built in stages, gradually increasing capacity to satisfy rising demand, the UAE state-run news agency Wam reported on Tuesday. The facility’s computing capabilities will be utilised by Microsoft, the main tenant, […]

Ramadan food discounting and lower transport costs contributed to inflation hitting a five-month low in March in Dubai, though housing costs persist

Dubai inflation falls to its lowest in five months

Dubai’s annual consumer price inflation fell in March to its lowest in five months, driven by lower transport and food costs, according to official data from Dubai Statistics Centre. The headline CPI inflation rate declined to 2.8 percent on an annual basis, from 3.2 percent in each of January and February. That is the lowest […]

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading a Gulf push to transform their electricity grids into 'smart' networks

Foreign companies cash in as Gulf turns to smart power grids

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the Gulf states investing billions to make their electricity grids “smart” using artificial intelligence – and increase their share of generation from solar and wind power. That share is expected to almost double in the Middle East and North Africa over the next five years. It will rise […]

Total income at Emirates NBD jumped 11 percent year on year to AED12 billion

Emirates NBD profit slips despite strong loan growth

Net profit at Emirates NBD, Dubai’s biggest bank by assets, fell in the first quarter of 2025 compared to a year ago despite growth in loans and interest income. Tax paid caused the bottom line to decline more than 7 percent to AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) for the first three months, from AED6.7 billion a […]

An LNG carrier. A tariff war with the US has pushed Chinese buyers to resell US-sourced cargoes and secure new supply deals

Adnoc strikes another LNG deal with Chinese energy major

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (Cnooc) has agreed a term deal to buy liquefied natural gas from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), according to two Chinese trading sources and a state media report. It is the third supply contract Adnoc has signed with Chinese buyers recently, following the deals over the weekend with ENN […]

Programming, data center and a man with a laptop for maintenance, cyber security and internet check

Khazna builds data centres to plug UAE capacity shortage

State-controlled Khazna, the UAE’s largest data centre operator, has started building two new facilities to support the federation’s digital and artificial intelligence (AI) growth as the Gulf state grapples with a capacity shortage.  Originally owned by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, Khazna was in 2022 transferred to the emirate’s G42 and e&, the national […]

ADIB says its new sukuk platform "makes ethical, fixed-income investing easier and more inclusive”

Fractional sukuk platform launched by UAE bank

Sukuk investing in the Gulf has long been the preserve of institutional and wealthy investors because of a six-figure minimum investment threshold, effectively excluding ordinary people from buying sharia-compliant bonds directly. Now though, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has launched an investment platform, Smart Sukuk, on which retail investors can buy so-called fractional sukuk for […]

Khalid bin Kalban, vice chairman and CEO of Dubai Investments, said 'the year ahead is very positive'

Dubai Investments plans IPO before year end, says CEO

Dubai Investments is preparing to sell shares in four subsidiaries to the public and may list one of them before the year end, its CEO Khalid bin Kalban has told AGBI. The government-backed company manages AED22.1 billion ($6 billion) of assets in the UAE and beyond, in sectors including real estate, construction and building materials […]