Retail Dubai Holding-backed retailer Azadea puts IPO on hold Azadea Group, which is backed by an investment company owned by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has put its initial public offering on the back burner, it has been reported. Dubai Holding acquired a minority stake in the Beirut-based retailer in 2018, valued at $1 billion. The IPO pause is not down to […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Al Ansari says BFC buyout will lift revenues by a fifth Dubai-listed Al Ansari Financial Services expects a 13 percent rise in profits and a 20 percent increase in revenues following its acquisition of BFC Group Holdings, a competing money exchange business, the company CEO has said. “After completing the BFC deal, we have become the largest exchange company in the UAE and Bahrain and the […] April 15, 2025
Banking & Finance Dubai floods third most costly disaster of 2024, says insurer The financial hit from last year’s Dubai floods, when the heaviest rains in the UAE’s history submerged roads, homes and airports, made it the third most costly disaster in the world in 2024, one insurance company has announced. Hannover Re, the world’s third-largest reinsurer, booked €138 million ($150 million) of losses from the April 2024 […] April 15, 2025
Opinion Media & Advertising Dubai chocolate is the golden ticket of city branding Food is part of a place's cultural identity. Plenty of cities and countries have dishes associated with them April 14, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Presight plans international expansion of its AI business Abu Dhabi is stepping up efforts to expand its artificial intelligence and digital services business as part of a billion-dollar push to diversify its economy. Presight, a data analytics company backed by Abu Dhabi-owned AI group G42, is planning to nearly double its overseas revenue as a share of the total. The company, which is […] April 14, 2025
Markets Foreign activity fuels ADX trading volume Foreign and institutional investors were highly active on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in the first quarter of 2025, boosting trading volumes by more than half. The value of foreign investor trades (buy and sell) rose by 62 percent to AED70 billion ($19 billion) in the January to March period from AED43 billion a […] April 14, 2025
Aviation Etihad passenger volume up as fleet and destinations rise A growing fleet size and increased destinations have allowed Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways to expand passenger volume in the first quarter of 2025. Passenger numbers rose 16 percent to 5 million in the January to March period, compared to 4.3 million a year ago, according to data released by the state-backed airline. Antonoaldo Neves, CEO […] April 14, 2025
Renewable Energy Masdar to build floating solar plants in Indonesia Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is to start building floating solar power projects this year in Indonesia, southeast Asia’s largest energy market, the company said in a statement. The UAE renewables company signed two agreements with PT PLN (Persero), Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company, during a state visit by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to the […] April 14, 2025
Oil & Gas Adnoc explores bid for US natural gas assets Abu Dhabi state oil company Adnoc is in the early stages of considering a bid for Dallas-based Aethon Energy Management’s US natural gas assets, according to a person familiar with the matter. Adnoc has done a string of acquisitions in gas and chemicals, which, along with liquefied natural gas and renewables, it considers as pillars […] April 14, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality Corporate art collections on the rise in the UAE A shiny office tower in the heart of Downtown Dubai may not be an obvious home for a growing international art collection but ICD Brookfield Place is becoming just that. Among the works or exhibitions it has showcased recently are Canadian visual artist Jordan Söderberg Mill’s light and glass installation Standing Wave, Emirati artist Hashel […] April 12, 2025
Economy Visiting US energy minister expects more UAE investment The US administration expects “growing” investment from the UAE in the US energy sector, its energy secretary Chris Wright said during a visit to Abu Dhabi this week. On his first overseas trip since taking office, Wright met senior officials from the UAE – the Middle East’s third-largest oil producer – including Abu Dhabi National […] April 11, 2025
Logistics Emirates to squeeze more from fleet with parcel deliveries Emirates has launched a premium package delivery service to open up new streams of revenue from its existing fleet and compete with the likes of DHL and Fedex for a share of a market worth nearly $500 billion. “Just like passengers, packages will travel from origin to destination directly,” the airline said in a press […] April 11, 2025
Trade EU and UAE to start talks on comprehensive trade deal The UAE and the European Union are to start negotiations towards a wide-ranging free trade agreement, officials for both sides said. “The UAE shares strong and longstanding ties with the European Union and its member states,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s president, said on X. Through a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, or […] April 11, 2025
Oil & Gas Mubadala subsidiary makes first investment in US energy sector A unit of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign Mubadala Investment Company has made its first foray into the US energy sector as part of what it says is a global expansion plan, according to a statement. Mubadala Energy will acquire a 24 percent interest in SoTex HoldCo, a company that operates an unconventional gas field and is […] April 10, 2025
Economy Arab Monetary Fund gives Somalia $307m of debt relief The Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has signed a $307 million debt relief agreement with Somalia to support the African country’s economic reform programme. The agreement covers the restructuring of the debt owed by Somalia to the AMF, the 22-nation-backed fund said in a statement, without giving any further details. Somalia’s finance minister Bihi […] April 10, 2025
Infrastructure Dubai takes step forward on $22bn sewage tunnel network Dubai Municipality has issued a request for proposals for the first two contracts of the $22 billion Dubai Strategic Sewerage Tunnels (DSST) project, according to a Dubai utilities official. The project aims to modernise Dubai’s sewerage system and has an estimated initial capital expenditure of AED30 billion ($8 billion) and a total lifecycle cost of […] April 10, 2025
Oil & Gas Production at Adnoc’s new offshore block set for 2027 Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) expects to start production in Abu Dhabi’s offshore block-5 by 2027, while also increasing domestic oil and gas output and diversifying into minerals, its CEO said on Wednesday. OGDCL partnered with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in 2021 to explore and develop oil and gas resources in the block. […] April 10, 2025
Cybersecurity How to safeguard your business against insider cybersecurity threats by Lev Matveev, founder of SearchInform The number of cyber incidents is constantly increasing in the UAE. A study conducted by Kaspersky Lab reveals that 87 percent of companies have encountered cyber incidents in the past two years alone. Furthermore, 2024 has seen a 30 percent increase in insider attacks, which encompass both intentional and […] April 10, 2025 In association with
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
Trade Cepa aims to double UAE trade with Republic of the Congo The signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (Cepa) between the UAE and the Republic of the Congo is projected to more than double non-oil trade between the two nations. Non-oil trade will grow to $7.2 billion by 2032 from $3.1 billion in 2024, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. The Cepa will eliminate […] April 9, 2025
