Energy Egypt’s first hybrid solar project to break ground next year Norway’s renewable energy producer Scatec will begin work on Egypt’s first hybrid solar power and battery storage project in the first half of 2025. The company has signed a US dollar-denominated 25-year power purchase agreement with the state-run Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company for a 1GW solar power plant and 100MW battery storage project. Financial details […] September 13, 2024
Trade Turkish exports to the UK hit all-time high Turkey’s exports to the United Kingdom reached a record high in the first eight months of 2024, according to official data. Exports rose 11 percent year on year to $8.3 billion between January and August, Anadolu Agency reported, citing data from the Turkish Exporters Assembly. The automotive sector led the way, with exports reaching $2.7 […] September 13, 2024
Media & Advertising Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI sells The Spectator for $131m RedBird IMI, a US investment group backed by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, has sold the British magazine The Spectator to hedge fund boss Paul Marshall. The deal with Marshall, through his Old Queen Street Ventures fund, was worth £100 million ($131 million). Marshall is co-founder and chief investment officer of the global hedge fund […] September 10, 2024
Aviation Virgin Atlantic confirms partnership with Riyadh Air Virgin Atlantic has signed a partnership with Riyadh Air, which will start when the new Saudi national carrier launches next year. Riyadh Air has been expected to announce cooperation agreements with other operators. A statement said the partnership would open new destinations in Saudi Arabia and beyond, and would include Virgin’s London-Riyadh route, but gave […] September 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Aramco awards $1bn oil-field contract to Saipem Saudi Aramco has awarded two offshore contracts worth $1 billion to Italian energy contractor Saipem to expand infrastructure at its oil fields. The contracts are part of the 12-year framework agreement with Saipem, signed in November 2020, to cover onshore engineering and construction activities. It aims to optimise consumption and reduce emissions of CO2 and hydrogen […] September 4, 2024
Oil & Gas Turkey’s Botas strikes deal to buy LNG from Shell Turkish energy company Boru Hatları ile Petrol Taşıma AŞ (Botas) has agreed to buy up to four billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from British energy major Shell. The companies signed a 10-year supply pact, with Shell starting deliveries from 2027 from its US and global portfolio. The deal will enable Botas to […] September 3, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Gulf sports wins are sidelined by the summer season An uncertain global economy has dampened sports investments fervour across the region August 29, 2024
Analysis Oil & Gas India’s Russian oil imports dent Gulf’s market share Energy-hungry India has overtaken China as the world’s top importer of Russian oil as New Delhi takes advantage of sizeable discounts and shuns Gulf exporters to satisfy growing demand. India’s oil intake from Russia rocketed to record levels of more than 2 million barrels per day in July, from just 88,000 bpd in 2021-22, according […] August 29, 2024
Business of Sport Roma score commercial goal with Saudi signing Italian football club AS Roma will be anticipating commercial opportunities that might arise after it signed 25-year-old Saudi Arabian defender Saud Abdulhamid this week. Abdulhamid joined Roma from Al-Hilal in a deal worth $3.35 million. The transfer deal is the first involving a Saudi player and a major European league. “When I received the offer, […] August 28, 2024
Opinion Aviation Emirates’ first Asian store is a sign of its wider ambition Airlines have been veering away from bricks-and-mortar but Emirates has bucked the trend August 26, 2024
Tech Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Dubai-based Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport, Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday, and placed in custody, three sources have told Reuters. Durov, 39, who has dual French and UAE citizenship, was arrested as part of a […] August 26, 2024
Banking & Finance ADIA ‘in talks to join Sanofi bid consortium’ Abu Dhabi’s trillion-dollar investment fund is in talks to join a consortium to buy the French drugmaker Sanofi’s consumer health division, according to a report by Bloomberg. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and the Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC have both been contacted by the French buyout firm PAI Partners with a view to joining […] August 23, 2024
Tech Mubadala grows data centre portfolio with Yondr deal Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company has invested in Yondr Group, a London-headquartered data centre developer, amid rising global demand for such facilities. The investment, through US alternative asset manager Apollo, aims to support Yondr’s growth strategy, the sovereign wealth fund said in a statement. No financial details were disclosed. Yondr specialises in providing scalable data […] August 22, 2024
Opinion Economy The dollar is still king, but the alternatives are slowly gathering pace There is evidence of the creeping acceptance of alternatives to the US greenback August 16, 2024
Opinion Real Estate More stable UK should lure Gulf commercial property investors Lower interest rates and pro-housing policies will embolden backers August 16, 2024
Opinion Finance The UAE closes in on the ‘shady men in sunny places’ Far from being a safe haven for fugitives, Abu Dhabi has accelerated the pace of its extraditions August 12, 2024
Opinion Aviation The Gulf will play a major role in sustainable aviation GCC airlines are leading the charge to make flying greener August 12, 2024
Finance Abu Dhabi’s ADQ buys minority stake in Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ and Patrick Drahi, majority owner of auction house Sotheby’s, will jointly invest $1 billion in the company to support its expansion plans. As part of the agreement, ADQ will acquire a minority stake in Sotheby’s, a British-founded company that has its headquarters in New York. The value of the sovereign […] August 12, 2024
Finance ADIA consortium in $6.9bn deal for UK trading platform A consortium including Abu Dhabi’s biggest sovereign wealth fund has agreed a deal to buy UK stock trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown for £5.4 billion ($6.9 billion), the London-listed company said on Friday. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) subsidiary Platinum Ivy and private equity firms CVC and Nordic Capital will buy all Hargreaves Lansdown shares, which […] August 9, 2024
Logistics DP World’s London Gateway to become UK’s largest seaport The official launch this month of a new berth at London Gateway Port makes the facility the UK’s largest seaport, with operator DP World outlining plans for three more berths. The port, which currently handles 2.4 million containers, will expand its capacity to 3.4 million containers with the opening of berth 4, the UAE state-run […] August 6, 2024
Construction Dubai’s Sidara shelves bid to take over UK’s John Wood Group Dubai’s Sidara has abandoned its multi-billion-dollar plan to take over the British consultancy John Wood Group. The Emirati engineering and consulting group cited “geopolitical risks and market uncertainty” for its decision. Shares in Wood slumped by 37 percent on the news, hitting their lowest level since December 2022. Sidara raised its offer to 230p per […] August 5, 2024
Oil & Gas Swedish company secures $156m for Omani oil blocks The Omani unit of Stockholm-headquartered Tethys Oil has secured funding from a UAE bank for its oil exploration blocks in the sultanate. Tethys Oil Block 3&4 Limited secured a five-year OR60 ($156 million) loan facility from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank to support capital expenditure for blocks 3 and 4 in Oman. The loans drawn under […] August 5, 2024
