Tech US chipmaker AMD to invest $400m in India by 2028 US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) said on Friday it will invest around $400 million in India over the next five years and will build its largest design centre in the tech hub of Bengaluru. AMD’s announcement was made by its chief technology officer Mark Papermaster at an annual semiconductor conference that started Friday in […] 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
Tech Du parent posts Q2 profit surge as customers hit 8m Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which operates the Du and Virgin Mobile brands in the UAE, reported a 31 percent increase in net profit on Wednesday. The growth was on the back of strong demand for mobile and fixed broadband services. Profits totalled AED397 million ($108 million) in the second quarter. Revenue rose by nearly […] July 26, 2023
Tech Twitter’s rebranding to ‘X’ faces trademark challenges Billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to rebrand Twitter as X could become complicated legally: companies including Meta and Microsoft already have intellectual property rights to the same letter. X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges – and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its […] July 26, 2023
Banking and Finance Moody’s opts to keep Iraq on lowly sovereign rating An influential ratings agency has decided to keep Iraq on one of its lowest sovereign ratings, despite the country’s strong oil exports and recovering foreign exchange reserves. Moody’s Investor Services said in an annual review released last week that corruption and weak institutions prompted it to maintain Iraq on a Caa1 rating, which is on […] 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
Tech Musk says Twitter’s blue bird logo to be replaced by X Twitter Inc owner Elon Musk signalled on Sunday that he will take the social media company in a new direction with a rebranding that will replace its well-known blue bird logo with an X. The change, which was not evident on the website on Sunday evening, followed Musk’s recent admission that advertising revenue remains nearly half of what it once was. He […] July 24, 2023
Tech Middle East funds in talks to buy stake in Norway’s Visma Norwegian software developer Visma is in talks with Middle Eastern and Asian sovereign funds over the sale of a minority stake ahead of launching a formal process after September, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The sale could give the business an enterprise valuation of more than $20 billion, up to as much as […] July 21, 2023
Tech US and UAE supercomputer venture advances AI training US artificial intelligence tech firm Cerebras signed a $100 million deal with UAE tech holding company G42 on Thursday to supply the first of three AI supercomputers. A planned network of nine interconnected supercomputers, Condor Galaxy (GC) will be the largest of its kind in the world, and will significantly reduce AI model training time. […] July 21, 2023
Tourism Abu Dhabi checks into $900m deal for Japan hotels A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is part of a consortium that has completed a $900 million deal to acquire a portfolio of hotels in Japan. The Adia subsidiary has joined Singapore’s private equity real estate firm SC Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Asset Management in acquiring 27 hotels from Japanese developer Daiwa House […] July 19, 2023
Tech Elon Musk says Twitter’s cash flow still negative Twitter’s cash flow remains negative because of a nearly 50 percent drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load, Elon Musk said on Saturday, falling short of his expectation in March that Twitter could reach cash flow positive by June. “Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else,” […] July 16, 2023
Opinion Media & Advertising Marketers are grappling with AI’s role in advertising Artificial intelligence relies on data but the data has to be valuable July 14, 2023
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi fund may back Telecom Italia’s network bid Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with US private equity firm KKR & Co for a joint bid of €23 billion ($25 billion) for Telecom Italia SpA’s landline network. The Abu Dhabi fund will provide equity support for the private equity firm’s bid, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed […] July 13, 2023
Infrastructure Chinese telco enters Gulf with Zain Omantel tie-up One of China’s biggest wireless mobile network operators will make its GCC debut through a connectivity agreement with Zain Omantel International. State-owned China Telecom Global (CTG) signed the deal with Zain Omantel International (ZOI), a joint venture formed in May by Kuwait’s Zain Group and Oman’s Omantel. The deal with CTG is a “strategic subsea […] July 12, 2023
Banking and Finance Etisalat confirms interest in Ethiopian telco Ethio Telecoms giant Etisalat (rebranded as e&) confirmed on Tuesday that it is considering buying a stake in Ethio, a state-controlled operator in Ethiopia. The Abu Dhabi-based company, which is now branded e&, said in a filing to the stock exchange that it was “at an early stage” of assessing a bid. The statement from the […] July 11, 2023
Tech Taiwan’s Foxconn dumps $19.5bn chip venture in India Taiwan’s Foxconn has withdrawn from a $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta in a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chipmaking plans for India. The world’s largest contract electronics maker signed a pact with Vedanta last year to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. […] July 11, 2023
Analysis Banking and Finance Middle East IPO drive likely to cool in second half of 2023 The wave of listings on Middle East markets will slow down as the year progresses, with initial public offerings being pushed to 2024 instead, say industry experts. Last year 71 IPOs were completed in the Middle East, for a combined transaction value of more than $25 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. That compares […] July 10, 2023
Tech Korean blockchain firm picks Abu Dhabi for global HQ Neoply, a South Korean blockchain technology company, is to establish its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The firm joins Abu Dhabi Investment Office’s (Adio) Innovation Programme, which is investing AED2 billion ($545 million) in supporting the growth of tech-focused industries in the emirate. Neoply is the blockchain arm of Neowiz Holdings, a prominent South Korean […] July 10, 2023
Markets Banks and property lead Dubai bourse to eight-year high Dubai’s stock index hit eight-year highs this week, extending a bull rally that has enabled the once-beleaguered bourse to outperform its regional rivals in 2023. The emirate’s benchmark rose 1.0 percent to 3,962 points on Thursday, its highest close since July 2015 to take its gains this year to 19.9 percent. Saudi Arabia’s index is […] July 7, 2023
Analysis Tech Saudi Arabia signals intent with space sector shake-up The launch of the Saudi Space Agency puts the kingdom on a trajectory to become one of the biggest players in the global space race, experts say. The agency has replaced the Saudi Space Commission and will focus on space science and exploratory missions, creating new opportunities and, according to its website, “empowering national cadres […] July 7, 2023
Banking and Finance Etisalat may bid for stake in Ethiopian telco Abu Dhabi-listed Etisalat, now branded as e&, is planning to bid for a 45 percent stake in Ethio, a state-controlled telecom operator in Ethiopia. The UAE’s telecom company is talking to advisers, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. France’s Orange SA is also weighing the option to bid for a similar stake. Talks are at an […] July 7, 2023
Tech Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads platform Twitter has threatened to sue Meta Platforms over its new Threads platform in a letter sent to the Facebook parent’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro. Meta, which launched Threads on Wednesday and has logged more than 30 million sign-ups, looks to take on Elon Musk’s Twitter by leveraging Instagram’s billions of users. Spiro, in his letter, […] July 7, 2023
