Oil & Gas Trump’s oil policy ‘problematic’ for Gulf producers, economists warn Gulf oil producers should be worried about President Donald Trump‘s energy policy, economists have warned, as it could widen their budget deficits. Oil prices have already dipped in response to Trump’s pledge on Monday to boost US hydrocarbon production and they could plunge far below the breakeven prices adopted by Gulf governments in their annual […] January 22, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Gulf has a strong hand in Trump’s $500bn AI project Two of the three tech giants that will spend billions of dollars building US artificial intelligence infrastructure in a partnership announced by President Donald Trump have been the recipients of significant Gulf investment. Japan’s SoftBank and US companies OpenAI and Oracle have committed $500 billion over four years to Stargate, an entity tasked with building […] January 22, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco chief expects extra oil demand of 1.3m bpd Saudi oil giant Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser said on Tuesday he sees the oil market as healthy and expects an additional 1.3 million barrels per day of demand this year. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Nasser was responding to a question on the impact of US President Donald Trump’s energy […] January 21, 2025
Opinion Oil & Gas He came in like a wrecking ball but how will oil markets react? Donald Trump's slew of 'emergency' orders will have a huge impact on the region's oil producers January 21, 2025
Tech Tech and crypto make a mark as Trump takes charge Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday as the 47th President of the United States was an overt display of the evolving ties between technology, politics and finance. The presence of tech industry titans and the cryptocurrency market’s dramatic response highlighted the strong relationship between Trump’s administration and the tech world, with potential long-term impacts for Gulf […] January 21, 2025
Trade Turkey’s exports to US surge but tariffs are a threat Turkey’s exports to the US rose by $1.26 billion year on year to more than $13 billion in 2024, official data shows. The chemical and chemical products sector accounted for the largest share of exports at $1.5 billion, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing data from the Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly (TİM). The automotive industry followed at $1.2 […] January 21, 2025
Energy Trump doubles down on energy and trade on first day in job US President Donald Trump pushed forward with multiple, controversial campaign pledges on the first day of his second term in the White House, including on issues such as energy and trade that are bound to affect Gulf economies. Ascribing stubbornly high inflation to “massive” government overspending and “escalating” energy prices, Trump declared after his inauguration […] January 21, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump’s bravado fails to spook minerals market – so far Ordinarily, commodity markets tend to react strongly when leaders of major global economies announce plans for war and conquest. If those plans involve disrupting one of the world’s most important sea lanes and reversing centuries of peace with two major allies, you might even expect a certain panic. Yet, when US President-elect Donald Trump declined […] January 21, 2025
Opinion Economy Trump’s tariffs are bullish for GCC capital markets – for now King Dollar is currently the beneficiary of classic FX market overshooting January 20, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump inauguration: Saudi Arabia comes into focus Saudi Arabia looms large as Donald Trump moves back into the White House for a second term as US president, and there are many opportunities for cooperation along with significant challenges. Since Trump was first elected in 2016, one would be “hard pressed” to name a more changed nation than Saudi Arabia, according to Richard […] January 20, 2025
Real Estate Eagle Hills plans Trump hotel project with Kushner The Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills and Affinity Partners, an investment firm founded by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have agreed to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade. The project, on the site of the former Yugoslav defence ministry, will feature a 175-room Trump hotel as its centrepiece, and 1,500 […] January 17, 2025
Opinion Real Estate On the 19th hole with Trump and Damac What better place than Trump International Golf Course to watch the inauguration January 17, 2025
Analysis Trade Tariffs and tech on the UAE’s radar as Trump takes office When billionaire developer Hussain Sajwani appeared on stage with Donald Trump earlier this month to announce $20 billion worth of investment in US data centres, he did not hide his glee about the Republican’s return to the White House. The chairman of UAE-based Damac Properties called Trump’s re-election in November “amazing news” and said his […] January 17, 2025
Opinion Finance Trump would do well to look to UAE for crypto guidance Incoming US policy will boost blockchain innovation and, in turn, cryptocurrencies January 16, 2025
Trade Blinken says Saudi-Israeli deal ‘much closer’ in final speech The long sought-after normalisation of bilateral relationships between Saudi Arabia and Israel remains within reach and is the best path toward a stable Middle East, Antony Blinken said yesterday in his final speech as US secretary of state. “Much of the heavy lifting for normalisation is complete, including negotiations on complex US-Saudi elements of an […] January 15, 2025
Oil & Gas Oil may hit $90 on Russia curbs and Iran output cut Brent crude oil prices could rise above $85 a barrel in the short-term if the latest round of US sanctions against Moscow leads to lower Russian oil output, Goldman Sachs said on Sunday. Prices could touch $90 a barrel if the decline in Russian output coincides with a reduction in Iranian production, the bank said. US president Joe Biden imposed the broadest package of sanctions so […] January 13, 2025
Construction Damac to tokenise $1bn in real estate Damac Group, the Dubai property company, has partnered with the Hong Kong-based blockchain platform Mantra to tokenise assets worth at least $1 billion. The project will use blockchain technology to create digital tokens representing ownership or rights to Damac’s assets, allowing them to be traded online. Tokenisation is intended to lower barriers to investment by […] January 10, 2025
Trade Trump tariffs: Middle East braces for pain after gain Middle East exporters to the US are likely to see a short-term increase in business ahead of the much talked about trade tariffs which are expected to be announced when Donald Trump returns to the White House this month. The US president-elect campaigned on a protectionist America-first agenda, promising to introduce sweeping tariffs globally. Trump […] January 10, 2025
Trade Turkey hopes trade deals will protect it from Trump’s tariffs Turkey’s network of trade agreements, combined with its pivotal role as a major regional logistics and services provider, should help it weather any trade policy shifts by Washington in the coming years, according to the country’s finance minister. Speaking at a meeting hosted by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association in Istanbul on January 8, […] January 9, 2025
Economy Trump tariffs could hit foreign investment, Oman warns Oman’s buoyant non-oil sector will help the sultanate’s economy expand this year at nearly twice the rate of 2024, its sovereign wealth fund has forecast. However, the fund warned that US president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to implement tariffs on its trading partners could hamper ambitions by the sultanate to increase foreign direct investment and reduce […] January 9, 2025
Oil & Gas Iran seeks to free 25m barrels of oil stuck in Chinese ports Iran is pushing to free 25 million barrels of the country’s oil that has been stuck for six years in Chinese ports because of sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his first presidency, sources have said. Trump is expected by analysts to tighten sanctions again on Iranian oil exports tolimit Tehran’s income when he returns […] January 8, 2025
Tech Trump reveals $20bn from Sajwani for US data centres Incoming US president Donald Trump and Hussain Sajwani, the billionaire chairman of Damac Properties, announced on Tuesday that the emirati will invest “at least” $20 billion in data centres across the US. The move represents the official entry of EDGNEX, Damac’s specialised subsidiary, into the American market as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence […] January 8, 2025