Finance Former Drake & Scull executives lose appeal in Dubai court UAE-based Drake & Scull International (DSI) has claimed a pivotal legal victory after an appeal from former executives of the company was thrown out. Ex-CEO Khaldoun Rashid Tabari and ex-executive Saleh Muradweij were previously ordered to pay almost AED152 million ($41 million) as compensation “for the material and moral damages suffered by the company”. The […] January 15, 2025
Construction Turkey to build low-cost housing to ease rent pressures Turkey has unveiled a new scheme to provide affordable homes for low-income earners and first-time buyers aimed at easing inflationary pressures generated by rising rents and helping to support the housing sector. Vice president Cevdet Yılmaz announced on Friday that state housing agency TOKİ would be overseeing the new low-cost housing programme, with work to […] January 14, 2025
Construction Abu Dhabi buys stake in US power company for $500m A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) will acquire a minority stake in Alpha Generation (AlphaGen), a US-based power infrastructure company, by investing $500 million, amid a surge in power demand. The investment is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first half of 2025. AlphaGen is owned by affiliates […] January 14, 2025
Opinion Real Estate The UAE is the world’s new capital for entrepreneurs Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become magnets for investors and the world's super-rich January 13, 2025
Editor's insight Economy Balancing the Saudi books to improve growth The sixth line of the Riyadh metro has now opened – a considerable achievement executed at unprecedented speed, according to architects and engineers interviewed by Valentina Pasquali. But the IMF is predicting growth in the Saudi economy of only 1.5 percent this year. Not so great. It is easy to be sceptical of macroeconomic forecasts, subject as they […] January 13, 2025
Finance Aldar secures $2.5bn credit facility to support growth Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest developer, has raised AED9 billion ($2.5 billion), taking its overall liquidity to AED27 billion to back its ongoing growth initiatives. The sustainability-linked multi-tranche revolving credit facility attracted orders from 15 global and regional financial institutions. The facility, which has a five-year tenor and incorporates conventional and Islamic tranches across AED […] January 13, 2025
Giga-projects Rising fuel and feedstock prices could fund Vision 2030 Higher feedstock and fuel prices introduced in Saudi Arabia are likely to play a part in funding the kingdom’s trillion-dollar Vision 2030 programme, according to a leading ratings agency. From the start of the month, the price of methane, the main component of natural gas and commonly used as a fuel in cement kilns, rose […] January 10, 2025
Construction Damac to tokenise $1bn in real estate Damac Group, the Dubai property company, has partnered with the Hong Kong-based blockchain platform Mantra to tokenise assets worth at least $1 billion. The project will use blockchain technology to create digital tokens representing ownership or rights to Damac’s assets, allowing them to be traded online. Tokenisation is intended to lower barriers to investment by […] January 10, 2025
Analysis Real Estate Gulf property investors return to London Gulf investors are returning to the UK property market after four years, with experts attributing the change to the new Labour government and falling interest rates. Rashid Khan-Gandapur, director of real estate finance at the Bank of London and the Middle East, says the bank has seen a “massive uplift in GCC investment flow since […] January 10, 2025
Analysis Banking & Finance Gulf still struggling to attract private cash for public projects Lower oil prices are driving Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to involve private companies in financing critical infrastructure projects worth tens of billions of dollars. Despite some successes, the expansion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is being hampered by inconsistent project delivery and changing regulatory frameworks that are holding back investor confidence, experts […] January 10, 2025
Real Estate Qatari investment company to help Indonesia build 1m homes The Qatari investment company Qilaa International Group has signed an agreement with Indonesia’s government to build one million affordable homes. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, chairman of Qilaa International Group, signed the memorandum of understanding at Indonesia’s presidential palace alongside the country’s housing minister Maruarar Sirait. Qilaa International Group will finance and manage the […] January 9, 2025
Infrastructure UAE’s NMDC Energy bags $1.1bn projects in Taiwan NMDC Energy, an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for energy projects, has won a subsea gas pipeline and power project contract from the state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) valued at $1.14 billion. The wholly-owned energy subsidiary of NMDC Group will design, construct and install marine pipelines extending between Taichung and Tung-Hsiao on Taiwan’s west coast. […] January 9, 2025
Infrastructure Arab Energy Fund-led group buys Dubai-based Metito A consortium led by the Arab Energy Fund (TAEF), formerly Apicorp, has acquired a 100 percent stake in Metito Utilities, a Dubai-based water and wastewater project developer. The acquisition was carried out in collaboration with Saudi Arabia’s Zamil Group Investment Company and the Ghandour family, the founders of Metito. No financial details were given. Metito […] January 9, 2025
Construction ‘Few other nations have dared to attempt this’ Architects and engineers tell AGBI about the positives and pitfalls of Saudi Arabia's push to build it all, 'all at once' January 9, 2025
Real Estate Kuwait real estate transaction value up 34% in 2024 The value of real estate transactions in Kuwait grew 34 percent year on year in 2024. In total, 4,950 transactions were worth KD3.73 billion, or around $9 billion, in 2024, compared with 4,442 transactions worth KD2.78 billion in 2023. Only the country’s coastal strip saw a decline in transactions, with deals dropping 44 percent. Residential […] January 8, 2025
Analysis Giga-projects End of ‘blank cheque’ culture for Saudi consultancy Saudi Arabia remains a boom town for the global consultancy industry, but experts have warned it is no longer the land of milk and honey for international operators and there is now a tighter hold being placed on budgets. The Saudi consultancy market, the largest in the GCC, expanded by 18.2 percent in 2023 with […] January 8, 2025
Infrastructure Iraq expects road and rail project to provide 20,000 jobs Iraq’s planned $17 billion project to build a rail line and motorway up to the border with Turkey aims to create at least 20,000 jobs for citizens, officials said. Transport minister Razzak Al-Saadawi said the Road Of Development project, which is backed by the UAE and Qatar, will include the construction of several industry cities […] January 7, 2025
Energy Qatar and Turkey to send electricity-generating ships to Syria Syria will receive two electricity-generating ships from Turkey and Qatar to boost its energy infrastructure, which was badly damaged during the rule of President Bashar Al Assad, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday. Khaled Abu Dai, director general of Syria’s General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution, told SANA the ships would provide 800 megawatts of electricity but did not specify over what period. “The extent of damage to the generation and transformation stations and electrical […] January 7, 2025
Real Estate Saudis sold on online home sales, says developer Roshn Saudi developer Roshn, a unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said half of its home sales are now made online, marking a significant shift in the kingdom’s property market. Buyers on Roshn’s platform can verify their identity using national digital IDs, sign contracts electronically and make payments online, streamlining a process that traditionally required […] January 7, 2025
Construction Dubai launches $1.5bn housing projects Dubai has launched housing projects worth AED5.4 billion ($1.5 billion) across the emirate. The projects will result in 3,004 new homes being built for Emiratis, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported. Of these, 1,181 homes will be in Latifa City for beneficiaries under the housing loan category. For beneficiaries in the housing grant category, […] January 7, 2025
Real Estate Jumeirah Village Circle: ‘Where the normal people live’ It might not have the glamour of the Palm but JVC has its own enduring appeal and was Dubai's busiest location for ready-home sales in 2024 January 6, 2025
Economy Saudi Arabia estimates 2025 budget funding at $37bn Saudi Arabia will need estimated funding of SAR139 billion ($37.02 billion) in 2025 to cover the potential budget deficit. Finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan has approved the borrowing plan, the National Debt Management Cente said in a statement. The ministry anticipates a budget deficit of SAR101 billion for the year, with nearly SAR38 billion of […] January 6, 2025
