Analysis Oil & Gas Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi bet on crude-to-chemicals Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi’s state-run oil companies both want to expand their chemicals production capacity in a strategic shift that will have huge implications for a petrochemicals industry already suffering from its lowest margins in two decades. Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc) together provide around almost half of Opec’s crude […] August 18, 2023
Analysis Manufacturing Abu Dhabi’s industrial ambitions begin to bear fruit Abu Dhabi has registered a 63 percent jump in the number of industrial licences issued during the first half of 2023 as the emirate makes progress on plans to double the size of the sector by 2031. In the first full year since the launch of the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy, nearly AED15.4 billion ($4.2 […] August 17, 2023
Industry Shipbuilder ADSB trains sights on exports as profit rises Abu Dhabi Ship Building has reported net profit of AED21 million ($5.7 million) for the first half of 2023 – more than its profit figure for the whole of last year. The listed shipbuilder’s order book stands at more than AED8 billion, it said in a filing to Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange on Monday. CEO […] August 15, 2023
Industry Saudi industrial production drops as inflation cools Saudi Arabia’s headline inflation rate dropped for the second month in succession to 2.3 percent in July from 2.7 percent in June, the slowest outturn since the middle of last year. The main drivers of price increases throughout the month were housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which increased by 8.6 percent year on […] August 15, 2023
Opinion Manufacturing Global EV manufacturers rev up for Gulf race There is a way to go before electric vehicles overtake fossil fuel cars August 14, 2023
Industry Rising funding costs hit Ma’aden’s Q2 earnings by 91% The net profit of Saudi Arabian Mining Co (Ma’aden) fell 91 percent in the second quarter of 2023, hit by rising funding costs and falling sales prices. The mining major reported a profit of SAR350.94 million ($93.53 million) in the quarter to June 2023, compared to SAR4.02 billion in the same period last year, according […] August 14, 2023
Industry Alba earnings fall 84% during global economic woes Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) reported a profit of BD29.9 million ($79.5 million) for the second quarter of 2023, a drop of 83.6 percent year on year, as global economic challenges weighed down its earnings. Revenue fell 25.6 percent to BD387 million in the quarter from BD520.4 million a year earlier. Production reached 405,628 metric tonnes, an […] August 10, 2023
Industry Sabic thermoplastic is key to electric car speed record As it flew around a track at the 2023 Hankook London E-Prix last month, electric race car Genbeta reached nearly 219 kilometres per hour, setting a new Guinness World Record for the fastest speed achieved by a vehicle indoors. Saudi Arabian petrochemicals giant Sabic developed thermoplastic materials to improve the performance of the vehicle – […] August 9, 2023
Industry Yahsat in Airbus talks to build new satellites Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) is in talks with Airbus to start work on two new satellites as it looks to build on a 5 percent rise in net profit for the first half of 2023. Group CEO Ali Al Hashemi said the Abu Dhabi-listed company has signed an authorisation-to-proceed letter with the European […] August 8, 2023
Industry Lucid to start manufacturing in Saudi next month The construction of Public Investment Fund-backed Lucid Group’s manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia is well underway, with vehicle re-assembly operations expected to commence in September 2023. “At its peak, we expect to manufacture up to 155,000 vehicles per year at the facility,” the US electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer said in its second quarter earnings release. […] August 8, 2023
Manufacturing Sabic profit slumps 85% as recovery slows Saudi Basic Industries Corp (Sabic), one of the world’s largest petrochemical companies, has reported an 85 percent slump in net profit to SAR 1.8 billion ($480 million) during the first half of this year. Sabic’s shares have fallen 4.6 percent since January, and remained mostly flat after the results were released. Experts said a recovery […] August 3, 2023
Analysis Transport Electric car sales on the charge due to UAE policy The UAE is forecast to encounter a 32 percent increase in sales of passenger electric vehicles this year as the government launches a national policy to support the sector’s growth. Sales are expected to reach almost 22,000, up from an estimated 16,442 in 2022. Longer-term calculations suggest the total number of EVs will exceed 370,000 […] August 2, 2023
Manufacturing Foxconn EV venture targets India and Thailand Foxconn’s venture attempting to build a standardised electric vehicle (EV) platform is targeting India or Thailand for the production of a small battery-powered car under development, the unit’s chief executive said. The Taiwanese company’s EV platform unit Mobility in Harmony (MIH) would be willing to work with its parent or another company to build the […] August 1, 2023
Manufacturing Saudi pharma firm to buy manufacturing site in Algeria Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Company has increased capital in its joint venture in Algeria to help finance the acquisition of a manufacturing facility. In a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange, the company, which raised $336 million in an initial public offering in May, announced the additional funding in Jamjoom Algeria Lil Dawa, in which it […] July 31, 2023
Manufacturing Japan factory output rises on strong demand Japanese factory output improved in June for the first time in two months, government data showed on Monday, highlighting growing confidence among manufacturers buoyed by strong demand. Many countries, including Japan, are relying on domestic consumption to underpin growth while the risk of global recession persists. Factory output rose two percent in June from a […] July 31, 2023
Manufacturing Borouge profit down 50% as merger talks continue Petrochemicals company Borouge saw its net profit slide 53 percent year on year to $231 million in the second quarter, attributed to a decline in average sales prices for its products. The business said in a filing to Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded, that total revenues fell by 25 percent to […] July 28, 2023
Analysis Manufacturing Sales slump ‘does not signal end’ for PCs in UAE The ongoing decline in PC sales in the UAE reflects a worldwide trend of decreasing shipments of desktop computers, say analysts. Global shipments of PCs shrunk by 16.6 percent year on year to 59.7 million in the second quarter of this year. It marked the seventh consecutive global quarterly decline. Local UAE industry experts say […] July 27, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt grants five ‘golden licences’ for $329m projects Egypt has issued golden licences to five projects with a total investment of EGP10.2 billion ($329.34 million). The first project is a 78,000 square metre recycling factory for alternative fuel and fibre, which will be built by Enviro Process in Minya at the cost of EGP73.5 million. Fayoum Company for Storage and Warehouses will build, […] July 25, 2023
Manufacturing Talks begin to set up Mena’s largest telco tower venture Qatar’s Ooredoo, Kuwait’s Zain Group and UAE’s TASC Towers Holding have started talks to create one of the largest telecommunications tower companies in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). The discussions seek to combine their 30,000 telecommunication tower assets in Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq and Jordan into a jointly owned independent tower firm […] July 25, 2023
Energy Saudi hunts for critical minerals in energy transition Saudi state mining giant Ma’aden and US-based Ivanhoe Electric have closed a deal to investigate 48,500 sq km of under-explored lands in the Arabian Shield for “critical minerals” that are key to powering the global energy transition. Surveys could begin as soon as September in the new joint venture, which is worth nearly $130 million. […] July 24, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt fuels private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones Private sector investment in Saudi industrial zones has spiked by nearly 25 percent in the second quarter of 2023, with Egypt the primary source market for overseas investors. The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (Modon) announced that SAR 2.77 billion ($735.5 million) was invested in Q2 2023 — up 23.5 percent year-on-year. […] July 24, 2023
Manufacturing Egypt plans fertiliser complex with help from China and Italy Egypt will build a third industrial fertiliser production complex in Ain Sokhna in cooperation with Chinese and Italian companies. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met and discussed with executives of China’s Wuhan Engineering Co. and Italy’s Ballestra on establishing the industrial complex, the president’s office said in a statement. “The meeting discussed the ongoing cooperation with the […] July 24, 2023
