Mining UAE’s Ambrosia pays $500m to Allied Gold for Mali mine UAE fund Ambrosia Investment Holding has bought a 50 percent stake in a mine in the African state of Mali from Toronto-listed Allied Gold. Ambrosia Investment Holding, a newly formed investment fund chaired by Ahmed Amer Al Amry, agreed to invest about $500 million in Allied Gold, including $375 million for the stake in its […] February 26, 2025
Petrochemicals Aramco-owned Sabic turns $400m profit in 2024 Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, a listed petrochemicals company that is 70 percent owned by Saudi Aramco, turned a profit last year after losing money in 2023. Sabic’s profit was SAR1.5 billion ($400 million) in 2024, compared with a loss of SAR2.8 billion in 2023. Annual revenue fell 1 percent to SAR140 billion and sales volumes […] February 26, 2025
Agriculture Turkey meets US egg demand with increased exports Turkish producers are redirecting egg exports to the US in response to an outbreak of avian flu which is crippling the US poultry sector. The increased US sales could mean Gulf countries will shell out more for their breakfast staple. The Turkish government has given egg producers approval to increase US sales, with the packaged […] February 26, 2025
Analysis Petrochemicals Petrochemicals ‘won’t even get fleeting respite’, analysts warn Executives and investors in Saudi petrochemicals could be forgiven for needing a break from industry news after its biggest companies report what are widely expected to be lacklustre results for the final quarter of 2024. They won’t be getting that pause any time soon, however. Extra production capacity that was expected in 2024 is instead […] February 26, 2025
Manufacturing Turkish industrial capacity use falls again The level of Turkish industrial capacity in use fell in February, continuing a trend of slowing activity in the country’s factories for a third month. Less than three quarters of Turkey’s industrial capacity was operational in February, according to data issued by the Turkish Central Bank’s statistics unit on February 24. The 74 percent total […] February 25, 2025
Economy Confidence builds in Turkish real economy Turkish businesses are looking forward to better times but are still struggling with present day issues such as low levels of orders and a sluggish general economic environment. The Turkish Central Bank’s latest business tendency statistics and real sector confidence index, issued on February 24, recorded a steady increase in positive sentiment among the country’s […] February 25, 2025
Manufacturing PIF unit to manufacture lifts in Saudi Arabia Alat, a Public Investment Fund-backed manufacturing company, is setting up a €160 million ($168 million) joint venture with Germany’s TK Elevator to manufacture lifts and escalators in Saudi Arabia, the German company said in a statement. Alat, which was launched in February last year by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has acquired a 15 percent stake in […] February 25, 2025
Analysis Petrochemicals Gloomy outlook for Saudi petrochemicals Saudi Arabia’s 10 listed petrochemical companies are likely to report lacklustre earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 because of an ongoing downturn in the global chemicals industry, analysts predict. The sector’s prolonged malaise means they are likely to be of little interest to international institutional investors – although all enjoy significant cost advantages over […] February 25, 2025
Agriculture PIF-owned Salic pays $1.8bn to up stake in Olam Agri Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (Salic) will acquire a 45 percent stake in Olam Agri Holdings for $1.8 billion, the Singapore-based company said in a statement. The transaction values Olam Agri at $4 billion, higher than the $3.5bn put on the company in November last year when Salic, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary, […] February 24, 2025
Agriculture UAE’s Aqua Bridge to build aquaculture farm in India A UAE aquaculture company linked to the ruling Al-Maktoum family of Dubai has agreed to develop an aquaculture farm and research centre in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh at an initial cost of $461 million. Aqua Bridge Group, whose chairman is Sheikh Ahmed bin Mana bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, said the partnership project in the […] February 21, 2025
Manufacturing Trinasolar of China to open first Mena factory in Jeddah Chinese solar panel maker Trinasolar will open its first factory in the Middle East in Jeddah to tap Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy market, which is expected to reach $125 billion by 2033. The plant in the kingdom’s second largest city will start operations before the end of next month. It will specialise in making solar […] February 20, 2025
Industry Cheap sugar from India and Brazil forces cuts on Gulf refiners Cheap sugar from India and Brazil flooding the global market has forced Gulf refiners to cut production. Managers at Al Khaleej Sugar in Dubai told local media at a conference that the company was operating at 70 percent capacity as regional sugar refineries struggle with overcapacity. The UAE is among the top consumers of sugar, […] February 18, 2025
Manufacturing Turkey’s Togg considers factories in Asia Turkey’s electric vehicle (EV) maker Togg is looking to expand manufacturing to Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan, President Tayyip Erdoğan has said. Pakistan has already expressed interest in producing Togg vehicles, Daily Sabah reported citing the president. Erdoğan has given Toggs to each of the leaders of the three nations, saying it is […] February 17, 2025
Opinion Industry How Trump’s tariffs could reshape Gulf aluminium exports Ports, shipping, transport and logistics services must be ready to react quickly February 14, 2025
editor's insight Petrochemicals Adnoc’s big bet on petrochemicals Pay attention at the back. Earlier this week Abu Dhabi-listed Fertiglobe reported net profits of $160m for 2024, down by more than half on 2023 because of lower revenues. Meanwhile, net earnings at Borouge, another of Abu Dhabi’s listed petrochemicals ventures, jumped by nearly a quarter year-on-year to $1.2 billion. Borouge reported record production and sales. What […] February 14, 2025
Agriculture Cut flowers are a growth industry for Turkey February is the busiest month for Turkey’s cut flower exporters, as Valentine’s Day on the 14th of the month results in 70 million or more blooms being shipped to markets across the continent. Revenue of between $8 million and $10 million is expected, and with International Women’s Day following close behind on March 8, increased […] February 14, 2025
Agriculture Tech incubator aims to refresh Turkish farming The average age of a Turkish farmer is more than 58, according to data from the Union of Chambers of Agriculture of Türkiye, a problem aggravated by the rising tide of young Turks abandoning rural life for the big cities. The İzmir Agricultural Technology Centre (İTTM), based in Turkey’s western Aegean region, aims to change […] February 13, 2025
Manufacturing Top Turkish defence firm to build drones in Indonesia Baykar, a leading defence supplier based in Turkey, has signed a deal with the Jakarta-based defence company Republikorp to build a drone manufacturing plant in Indonesia, according to a local newspaper. The deal was among several agreements signed during President Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Indonesia, media reports said. Baykar, a private Turkish defence company chaired […] February 13, 2025
Analysis Energy Oman advances liquefied hydrogen export project While countries in the Gulf have big ambitions for hydrogen projects, they are still trying to work out how to export it. Oman, however, is advancing plans to establish what it says is the world’s first commercial scale liquid hydrogen “corridor” to export to Europe green hydrogen produced domestically. Usually, producers think about transforming it […] February 13, 2025
Manufacturing Bahrain space agency explores satellite manufacturing Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency (NSSA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Hong Kong-listed industrial satellite manufacturer to cooperate in satellite manufacturing. In addition, NSSA will work Uspace Technology Group in satellite telemetry, tracking and controlling, and data application activities, according to a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Uspace plans to […] February 13, 2025
Mining Ma’aden aims to be world’s most valuable mining company Saudi Arabia’s majority state-owned Ma’aden aims to grow ten-fold by 2040 to become the world’s most valuable mining company by market capitalisation, its CEO said. The country is accelerating development of its copper and other mineral resources, estimated to be worth as much as $2.5 trillion. “I can tell you, the minerals are here,” Ma’aden […] February 12, 2025
Tech $5bn Neom data centre latest deal announced at Leap Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion futuristic giga-project Neom has signed a $5 billion deal to develop what it claims will be the world’s first fully sustainable data centre. The agreement was signed with the Saudi IT and technology company DataVolt. The data centre will be located at Oxagon, with the first phase having a capacity of […] February 11, 2025
