Telecoms Vodafone and Telecom Egypt sign $600m deal to push 5G Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt have signed a series of infrastructure service agreements worth $609 million, including deals to prepare the country for the rollout of 5G. The agreements will enable Vodafone Egypt, the country’s largest mobile operator by market share, to use Telecom Egypt’s extensive infrastructure and fibre optic network. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s minister […] November 12, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance AI is sucking up VC funding, claim green startups Green startups in the region have appealed for VCs to invest more in clean tech and renewable energy hardware, rather than just looking for quick returns in artificial intelligence projects. The venture capital market across the Middle East and North Africa raised $1.3 billion from January to September 2024, with Saudi Arabia securing 39 percent […] November 12, 2024
Banking & Finance Adia to buy $1bn stake in US software company Qlik Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund is buying a $1 billion stake in data analytics software company Qlik, the latest deal in a string of Gulf purchases from buyout groups. Thoma Bravo, a US buyout group that specialises in software businesses, acquired Qlik for $3 billion in 2016 and is to sell a stake to the […] November 11, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Sales of Nvidia stock soar in UAE in record rally As Nvidia’s stock market value hit $3.65 trillion on Thursday to make it the world’s most valuable company, so shares are in hot demand among retail investors in the Gulf. The Californian chipmaker overtook Apple, which previously held the record for the highest closing market capitalisation at $3.57 trillion on October 21. “It’s our most […] November 8, 2024
Analysis Tech US and China in race to get their tech into Gulf markets Gulf countries are likely to face mounting pressure to adopt American technology as the US tries to exploit its best-in-class semiconductor and artificial intelligence products to muscle China out of their markets before the Asian superpower catches up. The US is walking a fine line between increasing the regional uptake of its chips and software […] November 7, 2024
Tech Mubadala-backed chipmaker reports 29% drop in profit GlobalFoundries, the world’s third-largest contract chipmaker, reported a year-on-year net income fall of 29 percent to $178 million in the third quarter of 2024. Revenue at GlobalFoundries, which is backed by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company, was down 6 percent year on year to $1.7 billion. The company’s smart mobile devices end-market reported an 11 […] November 6, 2024
Telecoms First Saudi Arabia-to-Egypt subsea cable announced Mobily and Telecom Egypt have signed an agreement to lay the first subsea cable between Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the companies announced in a joint press statement on Monday. The new cable will connect the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh with the Saudi city of Duba. Egypt already has landing points for 18 […] November 5, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Adnoc pioneers agentic AI to boost production forecasts by 90% Highly autonomous artificial intelligence, known as agentic AI, is being used for the first time by Abu Dhabi’s state oil company Adnoc in the hope of massively increasing the accuracy of production forecasts. Adnoc’s CEO Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech on the first day of the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi that […] November 4, 2024
Analysis Artificial Intelligence Leaders all agree: AI will be good – or bad – for the future Elon Musk thinks it has a 90 percent chance of being for the good of humanity, while critics say it is certain to decimate jobs across the developed world. Artificial intelligence, or AI, dominated the discussions at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit this year like never before, with increasingly upbeat – and dire […] November 1, 2024
Opinion Tech Gulf bets on a quantum computing leap Subatomic technology could be a boon for finance, healthcare and national security November 1, 2024
Finance Duo dream big with Abu Dhabi’s first tokenised treasuries fund The first tokenised treasury bill fund licensed in the Abu Dhabi Global Market launched on Thursday, with its creators hoping to attract $100 million from investors within a year. Such funds buy United States treasuries, which are US government bonds, and then create a blockchain-based token to represent these assets, thereby enabling digital, fractional ownership […] October 31, 2024
Telecoms Revenue at e& rises as subscriber base grows The UAE telecommunications company e&, formerly known as Etisalat, said revenue rose 10 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2024 amid an increasing subscriber base. The top line for July to September reached AED14.4 billion ($3.9 billion), compared to AED13.4 billion a year ago. Net profit remained stable at AED3 billion in […] October 31, 2024
Aviation Riyadh Air takes aim at online travel giants Saudi Arabia’s new airline, Riyadh Air, is to compete with global travel companies such as Booking.com and Expedia by developing a one-stop digital platform for customers to plan and manage entire trips. The website will cover flights, accommodation, car rentals, AI-generated itineraries and tickets to attractions and concerts. It will also include shared shopping cart […] October 31, 2024
Video length: 03:46 Economy PIF renews focus on domestic investment and AI Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is planning to reduce its foreign investments to around a fifth of its total assets under management, as it focuses on domestic funding and artificial intelligence, its governor said on Tuesday. “Initially we had less than 2 percent of investments internationally, that was with $150 billion assets under management,” Yasir […] October 30, 2024
Video length: 02:32 Analysis Tax UK faces tech talent drain to UAE as budget tax rises loom A talent drain of thousands of tech entrepreneurs from the UK to the UAE could be on the way due to tax rises the new Labour government is expected to introduce on Wednesday in its first budget. More than four in five company founders and investors say they will consider relocating, according to a survey […] October 29, 2024
Telecoms UAE’s du quarterly profit hits three-year high Dubai-listed Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), the operator of du and Virgin Mobile brands in the UAE, said third-quarter net profit was the highest in three years thanks to solid topline growth and customer base expansion. Net profit rose 43 percent year on year to AED719 million ($196 million), as revenue rose 9 percent annually […] October 29, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Saudi Aramco’s VC unit to invest $100m in AI startups Wa’ed Ventures, the $500 million venture capital fund owned by Saudi Aramco, plans to invest $100 million in early-stage artificial intelligence startups. It has appointed an advisory board made up of AI leaders to source promising investment and accelerate localisation of the AI industry in the kingdom. The board includes experts with experience at Meta, […] October 29, 2024
Telecoms UAE telco e& purchases slice of PPF in eastern Europe The UAE telecommunications company e&, formerly known as Etisalat, has completed its acquisition of 50 percent plus one share in the Czech PPF Group’s telecoms business in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. The deal, which was approved by the European Commission in September, is valued at €2.15 billion ($2.3 billion), plus a potential earn-out of up […] October 25, 2024
Opinion Economy Lebanon’s startups face a battle to survive Many Lebanese startups have paused operations, closed down or relocated – mostly to the GCC October 24, 2024
Markets UAE investors snap up AI stocks after price drop UAE investors poured money into artificial intelligence stocks during the third quarter, capitalising on underperforming shares, data from retail trading platform eToro indicates. Blockchain and AI dominated the investments made during the three-month period, as buyers seemingly looked for long-term potential, despite short-term challenges. The value of CrowdStrike Holdings plummeted more than 40 percent in […] October 24, 2024
Artificial Intelligence AI-driven ‘virtual lawyers’ to launch in UAE AI-powered “virtual lawyers” are to be launched in the UAE to help process simple cases. The country’s Ministry of Justice said the aim of the project was to speed up legal proceedings for simple cases, with the AI lawyers assisting with entering pleas, submitting documents, and providing services such as text-to-speech, or helping lawyers interact […] October 22, 2024
Analysis Banking & Finance Saudi Arabia pumps funding into startups as it vies for Mena No 1 Saudi Arabia is piling money and government support into its venture capital industry as it competes with the UAE to attract startups. The VC market across the Middle East and North Africa raised $1.3 billion from January to September 2024 – and Saudi Arabia “led the region”, said startup analyst Magnitt. The kingdom secured “39 […] October 22, 2024
