Tech Israeli investment in country’s tech sector down Israeli institutions invested $512 million in the country’s tech sector in 2022, down from $1.12 billion in 2021, a published reported showed, citing a weaker global economy and higher interest rates. Nearly half, $252 million, was made in the first half of the year when market sentiment was still bullish, according to the joint report […] June 13, 2023
Analysis Economy Differing VAT rates complicate intra-GCC trade Differing rates of VAT across the GCC are complicating intra-regional trade and adding costs to exporters and importers, according to experts. The six-member bloc in 2016 signed an agreement to levy 5 percent VAT on the sale of goods and services within their respective countries. Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the first to implement […] June 12, 2023
Markets Egypt plans to divest stake in 250 state firms The Egyptian government intends to divest its stakes in 250 companies under its privatisation programme, according to assistant prime minister Osama El Gohary. “The committee supervising the privatisation programme has identified 800 companies with government stakes,” Ahram Online newspaper reported, citing the official’s comment during a meeting with a delegation from the US treasury department […] June 12, 2023
Analysis Trade Costa Rica sets up UAE for Central America trade Talks to establish a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Costa Rica could signal a new push by the UAE to strengthen trade ties in Central America. Manuel Tovar Rivera, Costa Rica’s minister of foreign trade, said the proposed Cepa would boost collaboration between the wider Central America and Middle East regions. Experts told AGBI that […] June 9, 2023
Tech UK’s self-driving car startups face uphill journey on reforms Britain could lose out on investments in autonomous vehicles (AVs) and see startups shift testing elsewhere if promised laws to regulate the technology are not passed before the next general election, startups and insurance companies said. Despite the government’s vision to be a world leader in AV technology, truly driverless cars are not currently permitted […] June 9, 2023
Analysis Infrastructure Ooredoo to cut losses in Myanmar to tune of $2.3bn Should Ooredoo succeed in selling its Myanmar subsidiary, the Qatari telecom operator will exit nursing multi-billion-dollar losses in what has proved to be a disastrous strategic failure for the former monopoly. Ooredoo Myanmar’s customer base has shrunk by nearly half in just over two years, while its cumulative pre-tax losses from 2013-2022 total QAR8.6 billion […] June 8, 2023
Tech UAE to play ‘central role’ in AI but needs greater regulation The founder of ChatGPT has praised the UAE for being ahead of the curve on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) – as a top Emirati lawyer called for greater regulation of the new technology sector. In a visit to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday Sam Altman said that the UAE had been discussing AI “before […] June 8, 2023
Analysis Markets Etisalat’s bet on Vodafone backfires as shares slump Etisalat has made a paper loss estimated at $2.1 billion on its stake in Vodafone due to a slump in the British company’s share price since mid-2022. Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat, a former monopoly now branded as e&, operates in 16 countries in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Yet nearly two-thirds of its revenue is […] June 7, 2023
Analysis Trade Gulf telcos nurse FX losses as foreign expansion sours Gulf telecom operators have suffered multi-billion-dollar currency losses arising from their foreign subsidiaries. They would have to recognise these in their income statements should they ever sell or lose overall control of the units in question. As mobile penetration in their home markets topped 100 percent – meaning there were more mobile subscriptions than residents […] June 6, 2023
Tech Billions being spent to foil rising cyber attacks Cyber attacks in the Mena region are set to grow by 70 percent this year, according to an industry expert. Digital criminals are adopting increasingly sophisticated methods to target their victims, meaning e-commerce operators in the region are spending billions more on security to assure customers their transactions are safe. Jason Lane-Sellers, regional director of […] June 5, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Mid-cap stocks offer best dividend yields in Gulf Dividend-seeking Gulf investors are likely to find little value among the region’s blue-chip stocks and should instead target mid-cap companies with steady cash flows and low debt, experts suggest. When interest rates hovered near zero and average dividend yields on GCC stocks were around 4 percent, the difference with the risk-free rate – the return […] June 2, 2023
Economy Saudi execs’ sentiment soars despite Q1 earnings slump Sentiment among senior executives at listed Saudi Arabian corporations hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2023 despite aggregate profits tumbling by more than one-fifth, studies show. Iridium Advisors, which is headquartered in Dubai, conducted an artificial intelligence-based analysis of 1,495 Q1 2023 company earnings calls across the GCC. Business sentiment is how […] June 2, 2023
Aviation US electric aircraft developer lands in Abu Dhabi A hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft developer from California is planning to set up a regional HQ in Abu Dhabi as trade deals between the Emirates and the US focus on advanced technologies. Odys Aviation has joined the UAE Ministry of Economy’s NextGen foreign direct investment programme, which aims to attract digitally enabled businesses […] May 31, 2023
Transport Dubai considers taxi operator IPO as sector surges Dubai is considering a stock market listing for its taxi operator, as the sector surges back to pre-pandemic levels and attracts local and international investment. The emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is in the early stages of considering listing the Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC) as the latest state-backed entity to list on the Dubai […] May 31, 2023
Energy Aramco dividends outstrip rival blue-chips Saudi Aramco’s payouts of dividends surpass those of other leading global companies, and the world’s top oil producer provides sizeable returns for its shareholders in monetary terms. Aramco listed on Riyadh’s bourse in December 2019 following a $29.4 billion initial public offering that sold around 1.7 percent of the government-owned company’s stock. Since then, it […] May 31, 2023
Real Estate Egypt’s commercial property sector resists economic woes Demand for commercial property in Egypt remains buoyant despite the fragile economy, as retail and office landlords offer “flexible and generous” terms until the market stabilises, according to a report. Landlords are resorting to making changes to retail and office lease terms in response to “challenges stemming from the current local and global economic volatility”, […] May 31, 2023
Tech Nvidia to build Israel’s most powerful AI supercomputer Nvidia Corp is building Israel’s most powerful artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer to meet soaring customer demand for AI applications. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable listed chip company, said the cloud-based system would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and be partly operational by the end of 2023. Gilad Shainer, a senior vice president at Nvidia, […] May 30, 2023
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
