Banking and Finance Oman pushes $5.2bn plan to boost small business growth Oman has launched a OR2 billion ($5.2 billion) fund to encourage more investment in local small and medium-sized enterprises, as the sultanate looks to capitalise on a growth in support for startup businesses. The funding plan by the Oman Investment Authority follows on from the announcement of the Future Fund Oman last May, which aimed […] January 17, 2024
Finance Saudi Aramco doubles funds for venture capital arm The Saudi oil giant Aramco said on Wednesday that it had more than doubled the capital allotted to its venture capital arms to $7.5 billion as part of its investment in new energy and digital technologies. The additional $4 billion will be given over the next four years to Aramco Ventures, where Aramco had already […] January 17, 2024
Banking and Finance Oman licence is ‘tremendous’ win for Egypt’s Paymob Digital payments company Paymob has secured a licence to expand into Oman and says it represents a “tremendous opportunity” as e-commerce transactions soar. The Cairo-based business has announced that it has received the Central Bank of Oman’s (CBO) payment service provider licence, the first international fintech to do so. The licence authorises Paymob to accept […] January 17, 2024
Analysis Finance Gulf investors expected to bet big on bitcoin ETFs Gulf sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors are expected to expand their portfolios to include cryptocurrencies, after spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were given the green light. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the trading of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs, issued by global asset management companies such as BlackRock, Invesco, Grayscale, Fidelity, and Franklin. […] January 16, 2024
Analysis Industry Iraq’s biggest telecoms firms tap into resurgent market Lower taxes, improved political stability and troubles at a smaller rival have helped Iraq’s top two telecoms operators reverse a decline in earnings. Now the duo, Zain Iraq, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Zain, and Asiacell, which is majority owned by the former Qatari telecom monopoly Ooredoo, should prosper further in 2024. Zain and Asiacell have […] January 15, 2024
Analysis Tech Making sense of Arabic machine translation Some estimates indicate the Arabic language consists of more than 12 million words. While the exact figure is much debated by academics, to put it into perspective the Oxford English Dictionary contains around 273,000. Arabic “has dozens of dialects and millions of unique words, and there are many ways to say the same thing,” says […] January 12, 2024
Analysis Tech Korek Telecom fights $1.65 billion award to partners A Dubai court will next month hear whether it should scrap a $1.65 billion award against an Iraqi telecom operator and its politically connected top shareholder. The long-running dispute underscores the risk that foreign investors face in Iraq, a country devastated by decades of conflict and sanctions and which is among the world’s most corrupt […] January 11, 2024
Finance ADQ-backed fintech buys rural bank in Philippines Salmon, a consumer fintech company backed by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ, will acquire a majority stake in a Philippine rural bank. The startup has received regulatory approval from the Philippine central bank to purchase 59.7 percent of Rural Bank of Sta. Rosa, which operates in Laguna province, south of Manila. The transaction will […] January 10, 2024
Opinion Economy GCC can emerge as ‘Middle Powers’ in second Cold War Three factors will enable the GCC to benefit from the fragmentation January 9, 2024
Opinion Retail What shoppers want – and how to make sure they get it Generative AI tools and ‘value hacking’ will influence buying decisions this year January 9, 2024
Tech UAE partners with Nasa to develop lunar space station The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Nasa have agreed to collaborate on the Gateway project, the world’s first space station to orbit the moon. As part of the agreement, MBRSC will provide Gateway’s Crew and Science Airlock module. The US state space agency will fly a UAE astronaut to Gateway in a […] January 8, 2024
Analysis Tech For Gulf businesses, chatbots are a difficult conversation In an era in which chatbots are on the rise, attempting to reach customer support often proves to be a frustrating experience in the Gulf. My recent encounter with a prominent UAE bank highlighted this reality, as the default option of AI chatbots – a computer programme that allows humans to interact (by voice or […] January 8, 2024
Tech Half of UAE businesses feel at risk from data attacks More than half of UAE businesses still perceive themselves at risk from data security threats, a new report has found. The Data Risk Management 2023 UAE report by Veritas Technologies showed that in the past two years 73 percent of organisations surveyed fell victim to ransomware attacks. That is substantially higher than the global figure […] January 7, 2024
Analysis Tech Reality still beats deepfake technology … for now Technology experts are confident that artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes will not dominate or replace human talent. “It sounds tremendously fake, even when it sounds ‘real’,” Ahmad Haffar, the voice behind Dubai Metro and managing partner at Mindloop Studios, told AGBI. Deepfakes are manipulated videos, images or audio recordings created using AI. They are increasingly commonplace in […] January 7, 2024
Analysis Construction Bahrain’s consumer spend to rise as destination malls open Consumer spending in Bahrain is forecast to rise this year as its economy grows – with retail confidence reflected by construction starting on a $530 million development. Bahrain Marina will have nearly 200 shops, including international brands, restaurants and cafes, as well as 274 residential units, 182 berths for yachts and boats, and more than […] January 5, 2024
Tech Tech startups shape future of UAE mobility sector Technological advances and evolving consumer demands are bringing massive growth to the UAE’s mobility and logistics startup sectors. Logistics startups in the Middle East and Africa raised $5.9 million in funding in December, according to venture capital firm Wamda. This ranked the sector third behind “cleantech” (technology designed to reduce negative environmental impacts) and fintech […] January 4, 2024
Tech UAE’s drone sector flies high but challenges persist As the drones sector in the UAE continues to grow, Microavia, a Dubai-based drone company, is using its drones to explore for critical minerals in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. These drones, equipped with AI and computer vision technology, conduct geophysical surveys at low altitudes, providing cost-effective geological information compared with ground-based exploration. The story is […] January 4, 2024
Analysis Finance Top 10 fintechs to watch in 2024 Fintechs are big business in the Middle East. An increasing number of financial companies are integrating technology into their services and products, meaning the market is forecast to treble from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $4.5 billion by 2025, according to McKinsey & Company. Here are 10 fintech firms to look out for in the coming […] January 3, 2024
Manufacturing Dubai robotics company Micropolis in New York listing The Dubai-based robotics manufacturer Micropolis Holding is to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The company, which develops autonomous mobile robots and related software, signalled its initial public offering intentions in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Micropolis intends to raise up to $37 million by issuing 8.2 million shares at […] January 3, 2024
Video length: 05:25 Tech Demand for data centres accelerates across Mena Demand is growing for data centres across the Mena region, which is “underserved” according to Hassan Alnaqbi, CEO of Khazna Data Centers. Dubai-based Khazna, which has 14 working centres, 10 to 12 under construction and four more planned, is one of the largest operators in the region. “We have announced our expansion into Egypt. It […] January 3, 2024
Analysis Tech Gulf tech trends to watch in 2024 Technological breakthroughs in 2023 have transformed society and the world economy, but we must always look ahead. These are the cutting-edge discoveries and technologies that will define 2024. Quantum computing Quantum computing – using the principles of quantum mechanics to tackle problems too complex for traditional computers – is set to revolutionise industries. Global tech […] January 2, 2024
Tech UAE’s e& ends talks with Saudi’s Mobily on stake increase The UAE’s e&, the telecommunications company formerly known as Etisalat, has terminated talks on a possible increase in its holding in Saudi-listed Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily). “Following a period of engagement, a way forward to conclude the potential transaction could not be determined,” the telco said in a statement published on the Abu Dhabi stock […] December 29, 2023
