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Mergers & acquisitions

Electricity prices for Egyptian households were raised by between 7.8 and 20.8 percent, depending on the usage bracket

Turkish merger and acquisition deals hit $4.6bn in 2022

The total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Turkey amounted to 86.2 billion lira ($4.59 billion) in 2022, Daily Sabah newspaper reported, citing the Competition Authority. Most M&A deals took place in the electricity production and distribution sector, followed by the transportation sector, the report said. Privatisation deals were completed in the electricity production […]

Dubai green

Green deals jump as Middle East returns to pre-Covid levels

Mergers and acquisitions activity in the Middle East has returned to pre-pandemic levels, with green deals on the increase. A Boston Consulting Group analysis shows the Middle East recording 283 deals valued at $23.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2022, an increase of 16 percent compared to the same period last year. The […]

People, Person, Man
  • Analysis

Xi Jinping visits Saudi as GCC looks east on trade

When President Xi Jinping of China arrives in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, it is likely to add further momentum to a flourishing relationship with the GCC that surpassed trade with the US and Europe combined last year. Three summits are planned during the three-day visit with over 20 agreements worth more than $29.3 billion expected […]

Heavy industries replace tech in Middle East funding rounds

More traditional industries such as manufacturing and oil and gas services have replaced technology as the driving force behind capital flows between Europe and the Middle East, according to new research The switch comes as technology giants including Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon reported disappointing third-quarter results and the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock market has lost […]

Abu Dhabi launches smart manufacturing index

A new smart manufacturing index will boost Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a key industrial hub in the Middle East as major international players continue to move into the emirate. The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added) has announced the launch of the index to help facilitate private sector players’ transition to industry 4.0 (fourth […]

AD Ports acquires Spain’s logistics firm Noatum for $681m

State-owned AD Ports Group has fully acquired Noatum, a Spain-based integrated logistics company, for AED 2.5 billion ($680.62 million), UAE’s news agency WAM reported. The acquisition will be fully funded through a new acquisition loan. The UAE-based operator of industrial cities and free zones plans to create a global logistics brand, merging its existing logistics […]

Oman banks ink deal as Mena mergers defy global headwinds

HSBC Bank Oman and local rival Sohar International Bank have entered into a binding agreement to consolidate operations as merger and acquisition activity in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) continues to defy global headwinds. The two lenders said on Wednesday that all assets and liabilities of HSBC Oman will be transferred to Sohar […]

Suit, Formal Wear, Clothing

Nick Candy eyes Dubai and Saudi… ‘for work and pleasure’

British billionaire property magnate Nick Candy is all lit up on our Zoom call, speaking from his family office in Mayfair, London. “Dubai… I just love it,” he says, of the emirate he visits at least once a month – sometimes with his actor wife Holly Valance and their two daughters, but also to attend […]

City, Coupe, Car

Influx of millionaires stokes UAE demand for private bankers

An influx of affluent migrants is fuelling demand for wealth management services in the UAE, with some private bankers joining their clients in the seven-figure-salary club as competition for their expertise soars. Andrew Amoils, head of research at Johannesburg-based analyst New World Wealth, told AGBI that the number of centi-millionaires – people with fortunes of […]

Jared Kushner’s firm leads $200m funding for Dubizzle’s owner

UAE-based unicorn Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG) has completed a $200 million investment led by Affinity Partners, a global firm launched in 2021 by former US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. EMPG owns leading UAE classifieds platforms Bayut and Dubizzle, along with several platforms across emerging markets focused on Mena, South and Southeast Asia. The investment round […]

Abu Dhabi's IHC is accelerating the growth of its tech portfolio

IHC sets out plan to create Mena’s largest tech company

International Holding Company (IHC), the Abu Dhabi-based conglomerate, plans to create the largest tech holding company in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. IHC said it wants to scale up its IT businesses as part of the long-term strategy to grow its capacity in the tech industry across different sectors. The company added […]

Dubai Creek Harbour

Mena investment banking fees surge past $1bn for year so far

JP Morgan and HSBC remain the top fee-earning investment banks in the Middle East and North Africa, a new report has found, although a further slowdown in mergers and acquisitions could help regional banks boost their share.  Total investment banking fees in the Mena amounted to $1.05 billion in the first nine months of 2022, […]

Pensions in demand as expats stay longer in the Gulf

Expats are staying in the Gulf longer than the global average, leading to greater demand for pension services in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “We have observed an increase in interest and discussion in the Middle East around offering pension type savings for expatriate employees,” said Robert Ansari, head of investment and retirement for India, […]

Future Collars has helped several thousand people gain the skills to enter the tech industry, the majority being women

Royal seal of approval for Polish firm to solve Gulf’s tech issue

A member of the royal family in the UAE is backing a Polish firm’s entry to the Gulf as it aims to address the severe skill shortage in the region’s technology sector. Future Collars is a digital IT training company that has worked with Amazon, Accenture and BNP Paribas to train highly skilled workers. Headquartered […]

A woman pays for her coffee with crypto at a cashless cafe in Singapore
  • Opinion

Ethereum has switched. Your move, bitcoin

It's been more than a month since the ethereum switch, and while its market cap has fallen and bitcoin's has stayed flat, many think it's only a matter of time

UAE staff told to wait until next year for salary increases

The majority of UAE companies are resisting giving staff a boost in their salaries to help compensate for the rising cost of living, with most putting any increases off until next year. Reuters reported in August that Emirates NBD, Dubai’s largest bank, had given its staff a pay rise of up to eight percent to […]

Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi Group (KEZAD) will grow emirate's economic free zones

Abu Dhabi sets up KEZAD Group to bolster its industrial ambitions

AD Ports Group has set up a new business, KEZAD Group, to expand its economic cities and free zones offering. KEZAD, which stands for Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, merges the operations of Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (KIZAD) and Specialised Economic Zones (ZonesCorp). It operates 12 economic zones with a total area of 550 […]

Atletic Mineiro fans: potential club investors are attracted by Brazil's passion for football

Samba in the sand: Arab investors set sights on Brazilian football

A 51 percent stake in Atletico Mineiro could fetch $200m Liverpool legend John Barnes says European-sized deals unlikely Libra league expects broadcasting revenues to rise 56% to $1bn  A new law allowing Brazil’s soccer clubs to seek foreign investment is already attracting investors from the Middle East. But experts say Brazilian teams are unlikely to […]