Food & Drink China’s online food delivery giant Keeta to enter Kuwait Keeta, the international arm of China’s biggest food delivery app, reportedly plans to launch operations in Kuwait. The recruiting process is nearing completion, with the launch expected in the second half of 2025 or early 2026, Al Qabas, an Arabic daily, reported, citing unnamed sources. The report said that the Chinese company may consider acquiring […] June 13, 2025
Oil & Gas Aramco crude supply to China to dip in July Saudi Arabia’s crude oil supply to China is set to dip slightly in July, trade sources said on Tuesday. However, supply will remain strong for a third straight month as the kingdom regains its market share supplying the world’s top crude importer. State oil company Saudi Aramco will ship about 47 million barrels to China […] June 10, 2025
Analysis Manufacturing UAE-US gallium project is an attempt to loosen China’s grip A new UAE-US effort to produce gallium, a chemical element that is critical to making semiconductors, may bring some relief to Western and Asian users choked by China’s stranglehold on the metal. But relevant manufacturing plants need years to come to fruition, and require technology and know-how that for the moment are almost entirely confined […] June 10, 2025
Logistics China’s Meituan to expand drone delivery service in Dubai Chinese company Meituan is expanding its drone delivery service in Dubai, its first overseas test market. The company will launch up to three new routes for drone deliveries in the second half of the year with the potential to add more, vice president Yinian Mao told Bloomberg News. The service will be offered on the […] June 9, 2025
Manufacturing China to build $1bn lithium battery plant in Oman China-listed Zhongke Electric plans to invest CNY8 billion ($1.1 billion) in a lithium battery material manufacturing facility in Oman, according to a local media report. The plant will be located in the Sohar Port and Freezone and will be built in two phases, according to Yicai Global, the English-language news service of state-backed Shanghai Media Group, citing […] June 6, 2025
Aviation Dubai Aerospace secures $300m loan from Bank of China Aircraft leasing company Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has secured a $300 million loan from the Bank of China. The money will be used for general corporate purposes and support upcoming financing requirements, the company said in a statement on Monday. The three-year unsecured term loan was issued by the lender’s Dubai, London and Hong Kong branches. […] June 3, 2025
Energy China to build ‘sub-critical’ nuclear reactor in Iraq China has agreed to build the region’s first nuclear reactor training facility in Iraq, as the Baghdad government increasingly looks to nuclear power to help tackle its persistent power shortages. Iraq’s atomic energy commission said on Monday that it would sign an agreement for the facility with China’s atomic energy authority and that the project […] June 3, 2025
Logistics Turkey and China vow to increase trade via rail Middle Corridor Turkey and China have agreed to increase cargo traffic on the Middle Corridor, a railway route connecting Beijing to Europe. Only 300 trains use the corridor per year, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The decision to increase the tariff follows a diplomatic-level meeting in Beijing this month between Turkish transport and logistics company Pasifik […] May 30, 2025
Markets Hong Kong and Saudi work on cross-border financial products Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are considering allowing more cross-border financial products as the two markets seek to deepen financial ties amid rising trade uncertainties. An exchange-traded fund tracking bonds issued by the Saudi government started trading in Hong Kong on Thursday, the first fixed-income fund listed in the territory to offer such exposure. Apart […] May 30, 2025
Artificial Intelligence ‘Wins for America’: Nvidia chief hails Gulf deals Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang used a first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday to highlight artificial intelligence infrastructure deals in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, describing them as major US victories at a time when export controls have dented the company’s Chinese sales. Ahead of Nvidia’s Q1 call, the Financial Times reported that Trump had ordered US […] May 30, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality China grants visa-free status for all GCC citizens China has implemented a visa-free status for all GCC countries, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has confirmed. “China decided to include more countries in its visa waiver programme and extend the visa-free policy to ordinary passport holders from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain on a trial basis from June 9, 2025, to June 8, […] May 28, 2025
Transport Chinese self-driving operator WeRide launches Saudi operations Autonomous driving company WeRide has announced plans to roll out driverless taxis in Saudi Arabia before the end of the year. It is already testing its flagship product the Robotaxi in Riyadh and the upmarket holiday resort of AlUla as well as “other core autonomous driving products”, WeRide said in a press release. The company […] May 28, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq’s ‘1.5 million barrels per day’ oil gap Iraq, often identified as a major quota violator in the Opec+ group, is pumping nearly 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) below its production capacity, an oil official has said. The country has a sustainable output capacity of about 5.5 million bpd but actual crude production is close to 4 million bpd, according to Nizar […] May 27, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump needs a good reason to walk the India-Gulf-Europe corridor President Donald Trump may reinvigorate efforts to establish a diplomatic and economic pathway from Europe to India through the Middle East. But trade advisers have told AGBI that, for the initiatives to gain fresh momentum in Washington, officials will need to outline more tangible benefits for the US. “The US is not part of the […] May 26, 2025
Banking and Finance QIA approved to buy stake in leading Chinese asset manager Qatar’s $526 billion sovereign wealth fund has received approval to acquire a 10 percent stake in China Asset Management Co. It is a rare Gulf investment into one of the country’s largest mutual fund houses as Doha walks a diplomatic tightrope between Washington and Beijing. The green light from the China Securities Regulatory Commission was […] May 23, 2025
Manufacturing China’s BTR targets $1bn revenue from Moroccan plants Chinese electric battery producer BTR New Material Group expects revenues of $1.2 billion from its Moroccan factories after production starts next year, according to a media report. Production at the Chinese company’s plants in the north of the country is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2026, general manager Peter Yang told Asharq News. […] May 23, 2025
Oil & Gas Iraq awards major oil deal to Chinese company Geo-Jade Iraq’s oil minister Hayan Abdel Ghani on Wednesday signed a large contract with a Chinese company and its local partner to develop an oilfield in the south of the country and build a refinery, a petrochemical complex and two power plants, according to the state press agency. Geo-Jade, the Chinese company, and the local company Crescent […] May 22, 2025
Manufacturing China’s ROX Motors to produce EVs in Abu Dhabi Chinese luxury EV maker ROX Motor and Dubai-headquartered W Motors will manufacture electric vehicles in Abu Dhabi as Gulf countries step up efforts to attract automotive manufacturing. The ROX 01, a mid-size combustion-electric SUV, will be made at W Motors’ new facility in the capital city, the companies said in a joint statement. No […] May 22, 2025
Opinion Trade In the Gulf, the US outpaces China where it counts Gulf states know there is more to gain from denser cooperation with US defence and tech companies May 21, 2025
Analysis Petrochemicals Trump’s China tariffs give relief to Saudi petrochems Saudi Arabia’s beleaguered petrochemicals industry, especially those that rely on propane gas to make their products, has received some welcome relief from an unexpected source: President Donald Trump and his trade tariffs on China. Trump’s first notable tariff moves against China – the world’s largest importer of propane – came in February. Beijing, which had […] May 21, 2025
Exclusive Manufacturing Why Emsteel is not worried about rising Chinese imports UAE steel and building material company Emsteel expects demand for its products to grow 10 percent this year, paced by multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects and real estate developments, its CEO said. That could offset a challenge from surging imports from China and declining world prices. The Abu Dhabi-based company has increased production capacity to meet demand […] May 15, 2025
Infrastructure China’s Tsingshan to build ‘steel city’ in Iraq A Chinese company has won a contract to build Iraq’s first industrial city that will be dedicated mainly to steel and construction materials. Tsingshan Holding Group will build the city on the state-owned General Steel Company site in Iraq’s southern oil centre of Basra, after it was destroyed during the US-led invasion in 2003. Industry […] May 15, 2025
