People & Lifestyle Saudi director’s labour of love takes the kingdom to Cannes For the first time a Saudi film has been selected to compete in the Cannes film festival, catapulting its little-known self-taught director into the limelight. Tawfik Alzaidi was so surprised that he’d managed to break through to the big time that he kept the news that his film Norah had been accepted for the ‘Un […] April 26, 2024
Finance EU reveals total aid to North Africa to combat migration The European Union provided €673 million ($718 million) in funding to four North African countries from 2021-23 to help the quartet reduce what it calls irregular migration to the 27-member bloc, official data shows. Last year about 270,000 “irregular migrants” arrived in the EU via sea crossings, 64 percent more than in 2022. Crossings from […] April 26, 2024
Aviation London and India dominate airport traffic in Abu Dhabi London and Indian cities dominated traffic at Abu Dhabi’s airports during the first quarter with year-on-year visitor numbers up by more than a third. Close to 7 million passengers passed through the emirate’s five airports in the first three months of the year. Zayed International airport, formerly known as Abu Dhabi International airport, welcomed 6.8 […] April 26, 2024
Renewable Energy Tunisia-Italy power project gets $285m investment The Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG) has revealed plans to invest about €266 million ($285 million) to complete the Tunisian-Italian Elmed Interconnector Project, a 220km power line connecting the two countries. The investment will fund the Tunisian side of the project, which includes laying a 100km submarine power cable worth €125 million and the […] April 26, 2024
Infrastructure STC and PIF to bid for Austrian telco tower operator Saudi Arabia’s STC Group and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the kingdom’s sovereign fund, are likely to jointly bid for the Austrian unit of Cellnex, Spain’s mobile phone tower operator, El Economista newspaper reported. The Austrian unit, owning 4,500 towers, is estimated to be valued at €800 million ($857 million), the newspaper said, quoting unnamed sources. Cellnex’s […] April 26, 2024
Trade UK election adds urgency to GCC trade talks An imminent general election in the UK and a potential change of government has accelerated pressure on negotiators to resolve talks about a GCC trade deal. Talks between the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait – and the UK are almost two years old. […] April 25, 2024
Oil & Gas OQ and Total approve $1.6bn LNG project in Oman State-owned Oman National Oil (OQ) and French energy major TotalEnergies have finalised the construction of a $1.6 billion Marsa LNG bunkering project at Sohar Port. The project will be developed by Marsa Liquefied Natural Gas, a joint venture owned 80 percent by TotalEnergies and 20 percent by OQ, the state-run Oman News Agency reported. The upstream component […] April 23, 2024
Trade 300 UK company chiefs to descend on Riyadh for expo The UK is sending hundreds of business executives to a trade expo in Riyadh in May as part of a year-long drive to win contracts in Saudi Arabia, as the Gulf state seeks to increase foreign investment in its giga-projects. “The Great Futures launch event in Riyadh on 14-15 May 2024 aims to bring to […] April 23, 2024
Opinion Economy Shanghai’s enterprising spirit is China’s best hope Returning to the city 20 years after his first visit, our columnist is still bowled over by its dynamism April 22, 2024
Transport Alstom to upgrade driverless transit system at Jeddah airport French train maker Alstom will upgrade the automated and driverless passenger transit system at King Abdulaziz International Airport, as the Jeddah airport aims to receive 114 million passengers by 2030. As part of the contract, Alstom will design, engineer, supply, integrate, test and commission a complete system upgrade of its Innovia automated people mover (APM) at the airport’s terminal […] April 19, 2024
Renewable Energy Cost of Xlinks Morocco-UK project balloons by a third The cost of an ambitious project to deliver green energy from the south of Morocco to power homes in the UK has ballooned by more than a third to $30 billion. Xlinks First is behind the Morocco-UK renewables project, which would construct the world’s longest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea power cable between the North […] April 19, 2024
Aviation Turkish Airlines nears $20bn deal with Airbus and Rolls-Royce State-backed Turkish Airlines is expected to sign an agreement with UK’s Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and European planemaker Airbus to manufacture $20 billion worth of aircraft components locally. The deal will be announced in Istanbul later this month, Bloomberg reported, quoting Turkish officials who were aware of the agreement. Last December the Turkish national carrier announced […] April 18, 2024
Food & Drink Mubadala-backed Getir weighs asset sales Turkey’s grocery delivery startup Getir is considering asset sales as part of its ongoing restructuring talks, according to a media report. The company, operating in five markets, including the UK, aims to sell off assets such as US online grocer FreshDirect, acquired last year, and BiTaksi, a ride-hailing app in Turkey, Sky News reported, citing unnamed […] April 17, 2024
Trade Romania touts $16bn of opportunities as PM visits Qatar Romania is looking to secure €15 billion ($16 billion) of investment from Qatar during a visit by its prime minister, Marcel Ciolacu. He is set to hold talks with Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. Ciolacu is also due to have discussions with representatives of Qatar […] April 16, 2024
Sustainability Debt-for-nature swaps may give $100bn boost to climate fight Debt-for-nature swaps, where poorer countries have debt written off in return for protecting ecosystems such as barrier reefs or rainforests, could provide $100 billion for the fight against climate change, a new report has calculated. The UK-based, non-profit International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) based the estimate on the possibility of debt swaps in […] April 15, 2024
Economy EU to provide ‘urgent’ $1bn short-term aid to Egypt The European Union (EU) will provide €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in urgent short-term financial aid to support Egypt’s economy. The funding is part of the larger €5 billion macro-financial assistance package. The remaining €4 billion will be released as longer-term assistance over 2024-2027 but is yet to be cleared by the 27-member bloc. The aid […] April 15, 2024
Oil & Gas UAE’s Adnoc explored acquiring BP Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) explored the possibility of acquiring British oil major BP but abandoned the plan as it did not fit into its strategic growth objectives, a media report said. The talks did not advance beyond the initial stages, Reuters reported, citing informed sources. The UAE state oil company also sought advice […] April 14, 2024
Infrastructure Iraq and Kuwait team up for European telecom corridor Iraq’s Informatics and Telecommunication Public Company, a division of the Ministry of Communications, has signed an agreement with Kuwait’s Zajil Telecom to create a telecommunications corridor from the Gulf region to Europe, transiting through Iraq and Turkey. The new route will pass through Iraqi sea and land ports. Iraq’s minister of communications Hayam Al-Yasiri said […] April 14, 2024
Industry Turkish steel in the black but EU rules rankle Turkey’s steel industry has rebounded strongly from a weak 2023, despite facing new emissions standards and competition for important markets. Crude steel output rose 25 percent year on year to 3.2 million tonnes in January, with domestic consumption of finished steel reaching 3.5 million tonnes, a 20 percent increase. Exports were also up, increasing 23 […] April 14, 2024
Sustainability Spacecraft that spots Gulf gases wins extra funding A Bahraini-British project to develop a spacecraft that will monitor Gulf greenhouse gas emissions from space has been awarded a further £1.4 million ($1.8 million) grant by the UK Space Agency. The partnership between the Bahrain National Space Science Agency, YBA Kanoo Group in Manama, and the University of Leicester and Geospatial Insight of Birmingham […] April 10, 2024
Logistics DFDS acquires transport network of Turkey’s Ekol The Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS is to acquire the international transport network of Turkey’s Ekol Logistics for 1.9 billion crowns ($277 million). The acquisition will add road transport to its Mediterranean ferry network, DFDS said. DFDS’s chief executive, Torben Carlsen, said his company believed Turkey’s role as a manufacturing hub for Europe “will become […] April 10, 2024
Trade Egypt’s garment exports to Saudi Arabia rise 90% Egypt’s garment exports to Arab countries rose 35 percent year on year to $100 million during the first two months of 2024, a trade association executive has said. Sales to Saudi Arabia surged 90 percent year on year to $25 million during the January and February period, Daily News Egypt reported, quoting Marie-Louis Bishara, president […] April 8, 2024
