Agriculture Abu Dhabi agribusiness links up with Estonian forage firm An Abu Dhabi agribusiness has signed a supply agreement that will drive construction of forage processing facilities in the Baltic. Al Dahra Group has made the deal with Golden Fields, an Estonian animal feed company. Under the partnership, Al Dahra has an exclusive offtake agreement for forage – such as corn silage, grasses, alfalfa and […] May 29, 2023
Tech US firm says India’s Go First has no rights over engines Pratt & Whitney has no engines currently available for India’s Go First airline, which also has no rights over them, the counsel for the US firm told a Delaware court as the two companies engaged in a dispute over the supplies. The Indian airline has approached the Delaware court to enforce an arbitration order it […] May 26, 2023
Opinion Economy China-GCC FTA will be a game changer A deal would galvanise Middle Eastern economic transformation May 25, 2023
Banking & Finance QIA leads $250m funding for London-based AI startup London-based Builder.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered composable software startup, has raised $250 million in Series D funding led by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). The investment will help drive its innovation pipeline and expand its geographic presence, the company said in a statement. The startup has raised over $450 million so far since its inception. The […] May 24, 2023
Tech UAE’s Edge buys majority stake in Jordan robotics firm UAE’s technology and defence firm Edge Group has acquired an 80 percent stake in Mars Robotics, an autonomous robotics services provider in Jordan. Mars Robotics will work with Edge’s advanced concepts, focusing on design, development, and deployment of advanced and innovative technologies. Mansour Al Mulla, managing director and CEO of Edge, said: “As we rapidly […] May 24, 2023
Tech Cybersecurity firms to gain from growing threat of hacks Top US cybersecurity companies are expected to report another quarter of strong growth as high-profile hacks and a shift in client preference for bigger players with better integrated offerings help support their businesses in a turbulent economy. Palo Alto Networks, the largest player in the space by market share and valuation, will kick off sector […] May 23, 2023
Tech Amsterdam game maker to open regional HQ in UAE Dutch mobile, PC and console games developer MY.GAMES will establish its regional headquarters in Abu Dhabi in partnership with UAE-based AD Gaming. The Amsterdam-headquartered company will hire and develop local game developers, Abu Dhabi Media Office said in a statement. The company’s Abu Dhabi-based team will work on more than 70 games across AD Gaming’s […] May 22, 2023
Tech G7 leaders seeks global technical standards for AI Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations on Saturday called for the development and adoption of technical standards to keep artificial intelligence (AI) “trustworthy,” saying governance of the technology has not kept pace with its growth. While the G7 leaders, meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, recognised that the approaches to achieving “the common vision and […] May 21, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi fund buys into US gaming and e-payments firms Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought shares in gaming, electronic payment and alternative energy companies, increasing the value of its US holdings by 14 percent in the first three months of this year. The total value of holdings held by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in US listed companies was $35.52 billion as of […] May 18, 2023
Tech Bahrain’s Beyon puts $250m into digital infrastructure Tech company Beyon Group is investing more than $250 million in new infrastructure to support Bahrain’s digital transformation. The parent company of telecoms operator Batelco said it has joined the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) consortium, which is building a 21,700km-long undersea telecommunications cable from Marseille in France to Singapore. The cable will […] May 17, 2023
Tech Vodafone cuts 11,000 jobs after securing deal with e& Vodafone Group announced it will cut thousands of jobs just days after it agreed plans for closer commercial ties with UAE-based e&. Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone’s new group chief executive, admitted the company’s performance “has not been good enough” after reporting a small rise in full year sales to nearly $50 billion and a fall […] May 17, 2023
Tech Israel tech firms to continue job layoffs in 2023 Israeli high-tech firms have largely halted job hiring and many are expected to continue layoffs this year, a report on the country’s tech sector showed on Tuesday. One-quarter of companies have stopped recruiting new employees and another quarter plan more layoffs – many of those planning to let go five percent of their workforce, according […] May 17, 2023
Tech Amazon in deal for ‘Lord of the Rings’ video game Amazon.com and Swedish game developer Embracer Group have agreed to develop and publish a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on fantasy series The Lord of The Rings, the companies said. The game, which is in the early stages of development, will be set in Middle-earth, featuring stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of […] May 16, 2023
Opinion Tech The Gulf must pair its digitalisation goals with cybersecurity Governments and businesses need to do more to protect their digital assets May 11, 2023
Markets Adnoc to float 15% of its maritime logistics subsidiary UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) will float a 15 percent minority stake in its maritime logistics subsidiary, as the Gulf state ramps up plans to list government-backed entities. The listing for Adnoc Logistics & Services (L&S) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange is expected to open on May 16, the UAE state-owned Wam […] May 10, 2023
Tech Musk says Twitter to allow calls and encrypted messages Twitter Inc CEO Elon Musk has revealed details about new features including adding calls and encrypted messaging coming to the platform. Last year, Musk flagged plans for ‘Twitter 2.0 The Everything App’, which he said would have features such as encrypted direct messages (DMs), longform tweets and payments. “Coming soon will be voice and video chat from […] May 10, 2023
Tech Qualcomm to acquire Israeli auto-chip maker Qualcomm is to acquire Israel’s Autotalks, a maker of chips used in crash-prevention technology, as the US firm looks to expand its automotive business. The company did not disclose the terms of the deal but said the Autotalks technology would be incorporated into its assisted and autonomous driving product, Snapdragon Digital Chassis. Qualcomm said last […] May 9, 2023
Tech LinkedIn cuts over 700 jobs as demand wavers LinkedIn, the professional networking platform owned by Microsoft, has revealed plans to cut 716 jobs as demand wavers, while also shutting down its China-focused jobs app. LinkedIn, which has 20,000 employees, has grown revenue each quarter during the last year, but it joins other major technology companies including its parent in laying off workers as […] May 9, 2023
Opinion Banking & Finance Working out priorities in the brave new world of fintech Dubai Fintech Summit opened with optimism about disruption but the audience may prefer some stability May 8, 2023
Battle for China’s electric SUV market heats up China is ground zero for the price war in electric vehicles (EVs) and the battleground is shifting to SUV-styled EVs, the largest segment of the market, dominated by Tesla Inc and BYD . The market, crowded with more than 90 models, is about to get even tighter with at least 20 new models of both […] May 8, 2023
