Real Estate Russians snap up plots of land to build ‘Little Moscow’ in Dubai Russian investors in Dubai are working to become real estate developers or acquire clusters of homes to build “Little Moscow” communities in the emirate. Buyers from Russia have become big investors in Dubai property since sanctions imposed on Moscow locked them out of European and North American markets. The UAE has also become a key […] September 20, 2023
Finance Erdoğan says Black Sea grain deal can be restored soon Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said after talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin that it would soon be possible to revive the grain deal that the United Nations says helped to ease a food crisis by getting Ukrainian grain to market. Russia quit the deal in July – a year after it was brokered by the UN […] September 5, 2023
Video length: 03:16 Video Economy Inflation in Egypt hit hard by Russia Inflation in Egypt is going to be a “long-stretched affair”, according to a Mena market researcher in a video interview with AGBI. Egypt’s annual headline inflation increased to a record 36.5 percent in July driven by high food prices. Currency devaluation and the Russia-Ukraine war have been the main factors contributing to the inflated prices. […] August 16, 2023
Analysis Tourism Moscow still a key destination for Middle East tourists Moscow remains popular for tourists from the Middle East despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Russia launched a war against its neighbour in February last year, yet tourists from the Middle East made 139,600 trips to Moscow throughout 2022, according to statistics from the Moscow City Tourism Committee (MCTC). At the end of […] August 14, 2023
Real Estate Turkish home sales drop by 44% after earthquakes Macroeconomic trends, a quirk of the calendar and the market fallout from February’s earthquakes have led to a 44 percent drop in Turkish home sales, experts have told AGBI. A total of 83,636 homes were sold in Turkey in June, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, compared to 150,509 during the same month last year. […] July 19, 2023
Banking & Finance Brics bank in talks to admit Saudi Arabia as member China-based New Development Bank, or Brics bank, is in talks to admit Saudi Arabia as its ninth member to strengthen its funding options. The kingdom’s inclusion will reinforce ties between the bank, set up by the world’s biggest developing economies as an alternative to Bretton Woods institutions. “In the Middle East, we attach great importance […] May 28, 2023
Banking & Finance Egypt minister blames Fitch downgrade on external forces Egypt’s finance minister has said Fitch Ratings’ decision to downgrade its sovereign credit rating is down to the country’s struggle against extreme external pressures. The ratings agency reduced Egypt’s long-term foreign-currency rating to B, from B+, while maintaining its negative outlook. Mohamed Maait, Cairo’s finance minister, attributed the decision to the difficulties faced by emerging […] May 7, 2023
Oil & Gas Investment needed to unlock Algeria’s gas supplies Algeria has helped to plug Europe’s gas needs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but industry experts say future growth in exports can only be sustained with further investment. Africa’s largest gas exporter saw its share of EU gas imports increase to 44 billion cubic metres last year, accounting for around 12 percent of the total, […] May 4, 2023
Opinion Lifestyle Welcome to Marinagrad, Dubai Embraced by some and resented by others, the Russian presence is changing life in Dubai April 28, 2023
Analysis Banking & Finance Ukraine ceasefire will unlock billions in Gulf-Russia deals GCC investors shelved a potential $15 billion of investments in Russia when Moscow invaded Ukraine, but companies are said to be quietly resuming due diligence in the hope of tying up deals when a peace accord is reached. These possible Gulf-Russia deals are mainly in the oil and gas, transport, logistics and agricultural sectors, according […] April 19, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE revokes licence of Russia’s MTS Bank The UAE central bank on Friday revoked the Abu Dhabi licence of Russia’s MTS Bank, five weeks after the United States and the UK placed the Moscow-based lender under sanctions. MTS must close its UAE operations, including shutting its Abu Dhabi branch, within six months, according to a statement issued by UAE state news agency […] March 31, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE remains on Financial Action Task Force grey list – for now Last month the Financial Action Task Force upheld the decision to keep the UAE on the grey list, a status it had assigned to it in March 2022. In its February ruling, the international watchdog dedicated to fighting financial crime said the UAE had made “significant progress” on three of seven recommendations to get off […] March 13, 2023
Economy Ukrainian companies flock to Dubai as conflict rages on The number of Ukrainian businesses setting up in Dubai has risen by around 25 percent in the past year, as companies tap the Middle East to sustain growth while war continues at home. “For business owners setting up in Dubai, it is not about leaving Ukraine,” Olena Shyrokova, president of the Ukrainian Business Council (UBC) […] March 6, 2023
Development Saudi foreign minister signs $400m aid deal with Ukraine Saudi Arabia and Ukraine signed aid deals worth $400 million during a surprise visit to Kyiv by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Sunday. The memorandum of understanding includes the financing of oil derivatives worth $300 million as a grant submitted by the government of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund for […] February 27, 2023
Banking & Finance UAE reviewing status of Russian bank MTS The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) has said it is assessing the status of MTS, a Russian bank to which it gave a licence only weeks previously. Marking the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US Treasury and the British foreign office said that they were sanctioning MTS Bank, […] February 24, 2023
Analysis Energy One year on, what the war in Ukraine means for the Middle East A year since Russia invaded Ukraine, the war’s impacts are reverberating across the Middle East and North Africa. While some Gulf oil producers have prospered during the conflict, it has heaped suffering on some of the most fragile and volatile economies in the region. “It has contributed to the difficulties in Egypt and the worsening […] February 24, 2023
Opinion Energy Russia is the big loser from the weaponisation of energy Invasion of Ukraine has badly damaged Moscow's oil and gas industry February 23, 2023
Opinion Energy Russian sanctions have rejuvenated the world’s ‘ghost’ oil market Moscow says it will not comply with an oil price cap, but may have little choice if it wants to continue selling February 17, 2023
Energy Qatar trade patterns shift as UK fills gas shortfall The trade relationship between the UK and Qatar is being transformed as the Gulf state helps to fill a gap left by a British government ban on Russian gas imports following Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Latest figures from the UK’s Department for International Trade reveal a 196 percent increase in goods and services to […] February 17, 2023
Energy Clean energy powers boost to UAE and Kyrgyzstan trade Abu Dhabi’s Masdar is looking to develop a pipeline of renewable energy projects in Kyrgyzstan as part of the former Soviet republic’s plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 44 percent by 2030. A deal signed with the Ministry of Energy of the Kyrgyz Republic last month will begin with a […] February 16, 2023
Banking & Finance The new Switzerland: diplomacy is key to UAE’s trade success The UAE is “the new Switzerland” and poised to reap the benefits of its good relationships with both East and West, the investment boss of one of the Gulf’s leading banks has said. Maurice Gravier, chief investment officer at Emirates NBD Group, said he believed the world needed neutral powers, “a place to speak between […] February 7, 2023
Tech Farming tech startup moves HQ from Europe to UAE A Finnish tech startup is swapping the green countryside of Northern Europe for the Arabian desert as it looks to grow its urban farming business. iFarm was invited in November to join the incentive programme of Abu Dhabi’s Hub71, the technology project led by Mubadala Investment Company and backed by the Government of Abu Dhabi. […] February 1, 2023
