Industry $1.7bn contract awarded for UAE’s first methanol plant A joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and the state-owned sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) has awarded an AED6.2 billion ($1.7 billion) contract to build the UAE’s first methanol production facility. The joint venture, Ta’ziz, has granted an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to South Korea’s Samsung […] February 3, 2025
Industry Proposed Adnoc-OMV entity targets Mubadala unit The global polyolefins group proposed by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Austria’s OMV has set its eye on its first acquisition. The proposed merged entity will try to acquire Canada’s Nova Chemicals from Mubadala Investment Company as its first growth opportunity, Adnoc has confirmed in a statement. The Abu Dhabi oil company said negotiations […] February 2, 2025
Manufacturing Qatari AI company invests in Scottish hydrogen lorry maker Qatari AI software supplier Excelledia Ventures has invested in a Scottish HGV manufacturer that is developing zero-emission hydrogen-electric trucks. Glasgow-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS) has developed an AI emissions reduction technology that optimises diesel, battery and hydrogen-powered trucks to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions. The hydrogen HGV that HVS is developing has a range of […] January 31, 2025
Manufacturing Gulf ceramics makers poised for 2025 rebound Following a turbulent 2024, the Gulf’s listed ceramics makers should perform better this year thanks to lower customs duties, rising demand for their products and fewer Red Sea shipping disruptions. For equity investors, Oman’s Al Anwar Ceramic Tiles and the UAE’s RAK Ceramics provide a play on the Gulf’s rising population and mega infrastructure spending, […] January 30, 2025
Trade Edge Group invests in Israeli defence supplier UAE state-owned defence conglomerate Edge Group has bought a 30 percent stake in Israeli military supplier Thirdeye Systems for $10 million. The deal is a rare public investment by an Emirati company in Israel since the Gaza war began 15 months ago. Edge will also put an additional $12 million into a new, majority Edge-owned […] January 29, 2025
Manufacturing No investment, more efficiency, say GCC aluminium smelters Aluminium producers in the Gulf are not planning any fresh investments in 2025, despite a projected rise in global demand, an industry official said this week. Production in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries grew by around 120,000 tonnes to reach a record high of nearly 6.45 million tonnes in 2024, said Mahmoud Al-Daylami, […] January 29, 2025
Health US fund plans $200m factory in Saudi Arabia US-based fund Akkad Holdings is to invest $200 million to build an intravenous fluid factory in Saudi Arabia. The facility will be based in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) in Mecca province. “We’re going to break ground hopefully in the next six months,” Dr Steven Shaya, managing director of the fund, told AGBI at the […] January 28, 2025
Manufacturing China’s Geely opens Mena’s first car assembly plant in Egypt China’s Geely Auto has opened its first car assembly plant in the Middle East and North Africa near the Egyptian capital to produce 10,000 vehicles per year for the domestic market and up to 30,000 for export. Cairo-based Auto Mobility company (Geely Egypt), said it has invested around $100 million in the new car assembly […] January 17, 2025
Analysis Tech How the UAE can make its push into space pay off Two years ago, the UAE’s Rashid Rover crashed into the moon’s Atlas crater during an attempted landing, marking an abrupt end to the country’s first mission to the moon’s surface. Now, back on Earth, the UAE is once again seeking to stake its claim as part of an elite club of countries with business to […] January 17, 2025
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Tighter US chip rules offer challenges and opportunities Despite fierce industry opposition, the White House on Monday further tightened the government’s grip on exports from the US of advanced semiconductors outside of fewer than 20 partner countries, none of them in the Middle East. However, some industry experts say, it is not all bad news for Gulf states such as the UAE and […] January 14, 2025
Opinion Manufacturing How China won over the car market in the UAE Japanese, American and Korean brands retreated following the pandemic January 14, 2025
Manufacturing Alba and Ma’aden end merger discussions Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) have ended talks over a merger of the two Gulf manufacturing giants. Discussions had been taking place since last year and it had been hoped that a deal could be completed in the first quarter of 2025, according to Alba’s chief executive, Ali Al Baqali. […] January 13, 2025
Analysis Transport Ineos and Porsche diverge on Middle East’s EV potential Ineos Automotive, the UK carmaker backed by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is considering launching its Fusilier electric vehicle in the Middle East after encountering difficulties with governments across Europe. However other industry players such as Porsche remain cautious about the rollout of EVs in the region, with infrastructure remaining a central problem. London-based Ineos spent […] January 12, 2025
Manufacturing Lenovo completes $2bn deal to open Saudi PC factory The Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group will open a PC manufacturing facility next year in Saudi Arabia after the completion of a $2 billion investment deal with Alat, a Public Investment Fund-backed manufacturing company. The agreement means the company, which has headquarters in Hong Kong, will establish its Middle East and Africa HQ in Riyadh. The deal, […] January 10, 2025
Manufacturing PIF-backed EV maker Lucid beats 2024 delivery estimates Electric vehicle maker Lucid beat expectations for deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company delivered 3,099 EVs in the fourth quarter of 2024, above the estimated 2,637, according to analysts at Visible Alpha. Production rose to 3,386 vehicles in the reported quarter, surpassing estimates of 2,904 units. In total, the company delivered 10,241 […] January 7, 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
Economy Turkey seeks to curb foreign-currency borrowing The central bank of Turkey has further tightened access to foreign currency borrowing by businesses, while opening the door for an increase in some lira-denominated commercial loans. The country’s central bank last week announced it was lowering its ceiling on foreign currency loan growth to 1 percent a month, down from the previous upper limit […] January 7, 2025
Industry As prices rise, Saudi cement companies may seek alternatives Cement companies in Saudi Arabia may be forced to turn to more sustainable alternatives after the prices of fuel products used in production rose for the second successive year. Saudi businesses have been given notice of the price increases, which came into effect from the start of this month. The price of methane, the main […] January 3, 2025
Manufacturing GlobalFoundries and IBM settle rival lawsuits GlobalFoundries, the chipmaker majority owned by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala, and IBM said on Thursday they had settled their duelling lawsuits. GlobalFoundries was accused of breaching a contract with IBM, and the computer company was alleged to have misused the chipmaker’s trade secrets. The companies said in a joint statement that the terms […] January 3, 2025
Manufacturing Adnoc aims to add $54bn and thousands of jobs to UAE economy Abu Dhabi National Oil Company is looking to make investments worth AED200 billion ($54 billion) in the UAE economy over the next five years via what it calls its “in-country value programme”. The initiative is meant to ensure that Adnoc’s spending is kept inside the UAE, stimulating the economy and providing local suppliers and workers […] December 31, 2024
Trade Saudi Arabian non-oil exports increase by 13% Non-oil exports from Saudi Arabia increased by almost 13 percent to SAR25.38 billion ($6.76 billion) in October compared to the same month last year, according to the latest government trade report. Chemical products made up 26.8 percent of non-oil exports over the month, followed by plastics and rubber products at 23.7 percent, the General Authority […] December 27, 2024
Manufacturing EGA opts for green loan facility to buy Spectro stake Emirates Global Aluminium, the UAE’s biggest non-oil industrial company and one of the world’s largest aluminium producers, has used a green loan facility from global banks to buy an 80 percent stake in US-based Spectro Alloys Corporation. The green credit facility enables access to a larger liquidity pool to fund low-carbon projects and optimises borrowing […] December 26, 2024
