Transport Tesla to launch in Saudi Arabia next month Tesla is due to launch in Saudi Arabia on April 10, with a special event at the Bujairi Terrace in Riyadh to show off its products, including its autonomous driving Cybercab and Optimus, its humanoid robot. Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company is currently facing slowing sales and rising competition from cheaper Chinese rivals in key […] March 26, 2025
Logistics ADX-listed Agility targets $130m dividend payout Logistics company Agility Global has proposed a final dividend of $65 million for 2024, taking the total payout to $130 million, reflecting a healthy growth in earnings last year. The company paid a $65 million dividend in December 2024, with a further $65 million set to be approved at the upcoming general assembly for approval, […] March 26, 2025
Aviation Egypt partners with IFC for airport privatisation Egypt’s civil aviation ministry has partnered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to introduce public private partnerships (PPP) at 11 airports, in a bit to improve infrastructure, connectivity and passenger services. As a pilot project, the IFC, a member of the World Bank, will act as the lead PPP transaction adviser for Hurghada International Airport, […] March 25, 2025
Aviation Narrow-body aircraft to push growth of Middle East fleets Gulf Arab airlines and other Middle East carriers will expand their fleets at almost double the rate of the global average over the next ten years, industry experts say. They will also increase the share of narrow-body planes over twin-aisle aircraft. Globally, fleet size is expected grow by 2.8 percent per year over the next […] March 23, 2025
Logistics Danish logistics partner rues Neom delays Denmark’s DSV A/S, one of the world’s largest freight and logistics companies, said that expected profit from a $10 billion joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s state-backed Neom will be slower in coming than previously forecast due to delays in the so-called giga-project. Neom is a $500 billion futuristic desert city project on Saudi Arabia’s northern […] March 21, 2025
Aviation Qatar airport expansion boosts capacity to 65 million Qatar’s Hamad International Airport’s annual passenger capacity has reached 65 million passengers, following an expansion plan started in 2018. The terminal area has expanded by 14 percent to cover 845,000sqm, adding 17 new boarding gates to reach 62, the Government Communications Office said in a statement. The new concourses (D and E) will boost flight […] March 21, 2025
Opinion Transport How the Porsche 911 became a darling of UAE car nuts How did Porsche draw the biggest two-day single-make car show audience in UAE automotive history? March 20, 2025
Opinion Logistics Trust is paramount as Gulf states deepen African investment Legal disputes and infrastructure challenges could test long-term relations March 19, 2025
Logistics $1bn investment to advance Saudi Arabia’s logistics ambitions Saudi-listed Sal Logistics Services and master developer Sela have agreed to develop a logistics zone north of Riyadh. SAL Logistics Zone in Falcon City will cover more than 1.5 million square metres and will be developed at a cost of SAR4 billion ($1 billion), the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. The logistics […] March 18, 2025
Aviation India-UAE airfares could drop if capacity expands Airfares between India and the UAE are expected to become cheaper if air travel capacity doubles over the next five years. A 20 percent drop in ticket prices could save Indian consumers $1 billion, CNBC-TV18, an Indian financial news channel, reported, citing UAE ambassador to India Abdulnasser Alshaali. He said the UAE has proposed a […] March 18, 2025
Manufacturing US maker of ‘flying ferries’ builds on UAE backing A US developer of electric passenger sea planes backed by UAE defence company Edge Group expects to secure more orders for its prototype from the UAE and Egypt before the end of May. Rhode Island-based Regent has developed an all-electric sea plane prototype, which the company calls a seaglider, capable of carrying 12 people at […] March 18, 2025
Oil & Gas Fujairah marine fuel sales hit record low in February Marine fuel sales in the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah, the world’s third-largest bunkering hub, fell in February to their lowest since data started being published in 2021. Volumes, excluding lubricants, totalled 554,117 cubic metres (about 549,000 metric tons) for February, showed latest Fujairah Oil Industry Zone (FOIZ) data published by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The […] March 18, 2025
Logistics Red Sea insurance rates to stay firm amid attack fears The cost of shipping goods through the Red Sea is expected to remain steady after the US carried out further airstrikes on Yemen on Monday. The US action added to fears of new attacks on ships by the Iran-aligned Houthis targeted by Washington, industry sources said. Responding to the Houthi movement’s threats to international shipping, the […] March 18, 2025
Aviation Kuwait Airways rules out profit for at least two years State-owned Kuwait Airways does not expect to turn a profit for at least another two years as it struggles to recover from losses built up during the Covid 19 pandemic, its chairman said. Abdulmohsen Alfagaan told Kuwait’s daily Alseyassah that the airline is looking into what airplanes it needs and its network of destinations, anticipating […] March 18, 2025
Giga-projects Neom-backed Volocopter bought by Chinese company Chinese automotive and aerospace group Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel has acquired failed German air taxi developer Volocopter, a partner in Saudi Arabia’s Neom giga-project, for $11 million. The sale follows Volocopter’s collapse into insolvency in December, raising questions over Neom’s urban air mobility ambitions in its futuristic city development on Saudi Arabia’s north-western Red Sea […] March 18, 2025
Aviation Air Arabia declares 25% dividend as revenue soars UAE low-cost airline Air Arabia has increased its dividend payout after turnover grew by double-digits in 2024, the company said in a statement. Based in Sharjah and traded on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Air Arabia will pay a 25 percent cash dividend or AED1.2 billion to shareholders. The company’s shares have risen 11 percent […] March 18, 2025
Logistics Kuwait’s Agility pays out $30m over scrap site dispute Kuwaiti logistics company Agility Public Warehousing has paid out nearly KD9 million ($29.2 million) after losing a 2021 court case over leasing a plot of land in Kuwait used as a scrap site. “With this payment, the company will have fully executed the aforementioned ruling in favour of the Public Authority for Industry,” Agility said […] March 17, 2025
Aviation Riyadh Air seeks tie-up with Indian carriers Saudi Arabia’s newest airline Riyadh Air is exploring potential tie-ups with Indian carriers IndiGo and Air India, CEO Tony Douglas has said. The conversations are at an early stage but offer a “win-win” proposition, he told The Indian Express news daily. India is a “super important” market, Douglas said, as Saudi Arabia expects India to […] March 17, 2025
Aviation Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways CEO buys shares in his own airline The CEO of Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways has bought 80,000 shares in his own company as the airline embarks on a five-year plan to boost performance. Barathan Pasupathi purchased the shares between March 9 and 13, according to company disclosures on the Kuwaiti Bourse, buying shares worth $250,000 in a series of transactions last week. Shares […] March 17, 2025
Aviation Dubai Aerospace buys 17 aircraft for $1bn Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing and engineering company, has acquired 17 aircraft for $1 billion from multiple sellers, the company said in a statement. Eighty percent of the aircraft are manufactured by Airbus, while the remaining 20 percent are from Boeing. The aircraft have been leased to 11 airlines in […] March 17, 2025
Analysis Aviation Saudia ‘still a flag carrier’ ahead of Riyadh Air launch Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia is upgrading its fleet with new Boeing and Airbus aircraft even as the government prepares to start a new airline later this year. The 80-year-old carrier has 118 aircraft on order, most of which will replace older models in its existing fleet of 147, and are scheduled to arrive through […] March 14, 2025
Opinion Transport The rhythms of Ramadan business travel The data challenges conventional wisdom about travel patterns during the holy month March 13, 2025
