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Lifestyle and entertainment news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

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The average monthly wage of a Kuwaiti across both the public and private sectors was around KD1,571 dinars ($5,184) per month

Kuwaitis earn nearly five times as much as expats

Kuwaiti nationals earn nearly five times as much as their expatriate colleagues, and more than four in every five Kuwaitis work for the government, data from the Central Statistics Administration has revealed. Of 450,000 working Kuwaitis at the end of September, 375,000, or 83 percent, were in the public sector, with the remainder in the […]

The Mena online dating app industry generated revenue of around $655m in 2023

One in five Saudis look for their Valentine on dating apps

Saudi Arabia tops a survey of four Arab countries in the share of people using online dating sites to find love, with 21 percent of respondents surveyed by the market researcher Euromonitor International saying they use a dating website as much as twice a week.  The UAE came in second, at 19 percent, Egypt third […]

The Sotheby's auction in Saudi Arabia offered a range of contemporary art pieces

Banksy and Magritte fetch millions at first Saudi art auction

Saudi Arabia’s first-ever international commercial art auction, staged by troubled Abu Dhabi-backed Sotheby’s over the weekend, raised more than $17 million in sales of works by Arab and international artists, and of luxury goods and sports memorabilia. Banksy’s Subject to Availability – from his series of vandalized oils – and René Magritte’s L’État de Veille each […]

A survey found that only half of Gulf respondents managed to sleep the recommended six to eight hours per night

Tech specialists tap into Gulf’s market of the sleep deprived

People in the Gulf are among the worst sleepers in the world, research has found – and that makes the region a rousing proposition for sleep-aid businesses such as the US pair Whoop and Eight Sleep. A survey of 2,727 people across the GCC, published last month, found that only half manage to sleep for […]

Traffic on Khalifa Bin Zayed the First street in Abu Dhabi. The city ranked 473rd in congestion levels worldwide, significantly lower than Dubai, which ranked 154th

Abu Dhabi seeks consultants for transport master plan

The Abu Dhabi government has invited consultancy companies to apply to update its transport master plan, as it aims to modernise the emirate’s transport network. The updated capital surface transport master plan will replace previous transport strategies and will integrate new infrastructure, technology and regulatory measures to enhance connectivity and support economic diversification, according to […]

cash withdrawals people shopping Saudi Arabia

Cash withdrawals in Saudi Arabia rise for first time in 5 years

Cash withdrawals in Saudi Arabia in 2024 increased for the first time in five years, helping to underpin a rise in consumer spending, the local advisory company Jadwa Investment has reported. Consumer spending in the largest Arab economy rose by nearly 7.5 percent for the year and the value of point of sale (POS) transactions […]

Kuwait's consumer spending data showed rapid adoption of ecommerce and electronic payments and a drop in the value of ATM withdrawals

Kuwait consumer spending reaches record high

Consumer spending in Kuwait hit record levels in 2024, underpinned by a growing preference for card payments and a thriving ecommerce industry.   Figures from the Central Bank of Kuwait for 2024 showed spending reached KD47.81 billion ($155.7 billion), a rise of 4.4 percent from the previous year.  The figures show an increase in card payments and […]

Arada's Masaar development features a 6.6km cycling track through woodland

Reforms pay off as Sharjah property market surges ahead

Successive reforms in Sharjah’s property market and sky-high rental prices in neighbouring Dubai are contributing to a surge in the price and popularity of the emirate’s rental properties. According to a report by property management firm Asteco, rental prices for the third quarter of 2024 in Sharjah increased 16 percent year on year for typical […]

Dubai expat woman with city in baackground

Dubai losing its lustre for squeezed expat middle classes

Dubai, renowned for its lavish luxury and five-star everything, could be getting too expensive for expatriate middle-market workers, as costs continue to increase and pay rises become rarer. The emirate’s tax-free status and higher wages have long held a strong appeal for expatriates from all corners of the world. But as the cost of living […]

The Riyadh Western Metro Station, one of four main commuter hubs on the network

Riyadh Metro aims to break Saudi capital’s car gridlock

World's longest driverless system City's traffic problems growing Just 1% use public transport The first phase of Saudi Arabia’s $22.5 billion Riyadh Metro is opening on December 1, marking a significant step toward transforming public ... Register now: It’s easy and free This content is available for registered members only. Register for your free account […]

Nice One has more than 1,200 international and local brands as well as its own

Saudi beauty ecommerce site Nice One announces IPO

Nice One Beauty Digital Marketing, the largest beauty and personal care ecommerce platform in Saudi Arabia, has announced plans to launch an initial public offering of 30 percent of its shares on the Saudi market. The announcement comes after approval from the Capital Market Authority to offer 34,650,000 ordinary shares. No further information on share […]

Luxury yachts in Dubai. The emirate is now home to 39 billionaires

Billionaires in UAE rise as Saudi numbers drop

The number of billionaires in the UAE increased in the last year as the amount of super-wealthy residents in neighbouring Saudi Arabia dropped.  Forty-eight billionaires lived in the UAE in 2023, with a combined wealth of $205 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent. Dubai made up 39 of that total and welcomed one extra […]

In the absence of any concrete structures as yet, Neom exhibitors provided virtual reality sets to give throngs of curious visitors a sense of what The Line will look like

Leaders of The Line share vision of a brave new world

Its managers and designers say it is the human society of the future, but others might see in it a dystopian vision of life shielded in a glass box from an uninhabitable world.  Leading figures behind the Neom city The Line – the boldest of Saudi Arabia’s $1.25 trillion giga-projects – made a coordinated pitch […]

Saudi consumers are looking for non-alcoholic drinks that deliver the flavour of traditional cocktails

Saudis getting a taste for non-alcoholic drinks

The Saudi government’s drive to improve the nation’s health is boosting the food and beverage market in the most unlikely of places – zero-alcohol beer.  A report by MarkNtel Advisors shows the Gulf market is growing by 7.7 percent a year. The local and international brands vying for share include Aujan Group Holding, Anheuser-Busch InBev, […]