Business of Sport Saudi football is no threat, say major Euro leagues Two of Europe’s top leagues have shrugged off the challenges posed by Saudi Arabia’s billion-dollar emergence onto the global football scene. Italy’s Serie A and Spain’s LaLiga told AGBI the kingdom’s quest to sign up some of the best talent in the sport will have no bearing on plans to increase their own market share […] June 22, 2023
Trade Saudi and France to ‘unleash potential’ after $2.9bn deals Saudi Arabia and France will work together to “unleash the full potential” of their trade relationship as they look beyond traditional sectors such as energy. That was the message from Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih at the conclusion of the French-Saudi Investment Forum. Last year, French-Saudi trade volumes increased by more than 80 percent to […] June 21, 2023
Analysis Trade Deals surge as trade between Spain and UAE increases Barcelona outdoor furniture brand Kettal will enter the UAE luxury living market next year in an agreement with family office Vivium Holding, as UAE-Spain trade rose sharply in early 2023. Vivium Holding will exclusively distribute Kettal’s premium collections, with plans to open a flagship store in the UAE in 2024. Elie Khouri, founder and CEO […] June 21, 2023
Aviation Paris air show takes off with historic plane order Airbus announced a record 500-plane deal with Indian airline IndiGo on day one of the Paris Airshow, as strong demand for jets and air defences vied for attention with the industry’s supply chain problems. The multibillion-dollar deal for single-aisle planes – the largest ever by number of aircraft – confirmed a Reuters report earlier this […] June 20, 2023
Transport Airbus to build helicopters in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has signed a $6.7 billion deal with European aviation giant Airbus to manufacture civilian and military helicopters in the kingdom. In its latest step to develop a homegrown defence industry, state-owned military contractor Scopa and Airbus will build a Saudi factory to make the aircraft, Reuters and Bloomberg reported, citing a television interview […] June 19, 2023
Trade Dubai Chambers London hub opens to grow trade Dubai Chambers has opened an office in London aimed at boosting bilateral trade with the UK, as the number of British companies setting up in the emirate grew by a quarter in the last year. “We are opening this office for three main reasons,” Khalid al Shamsi, vice president of operations at Dubai Chambers, told […] June 19, 2023
Banking & Finance Shares in Etisalat slide after Vodafone’s UK deal Shares in UAE telco Etisalat, Vodafone’s biggest shareholder, fell on Thursday after the British firm announced it would merge its domestic mobile operations with those of rival CK Hutchison. The long-anticipated tie-up heightens uncertainty over the potential benefits to Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat, now branded as e&, of its stake in Vodafone. Since first announcing it […] June 15, 2023
Oil & Gas Scottish firm buys Dubai oil and gas consultancy A Scottish company that trains drilling personnel for the energy sector has bought a Dubai oil and gas consultancy in an effort to double its customer base in the Middle East and North Africa. Aberdeen Drilling School said it will add services including new hire assessments, role-specific progression programmes and rig reactivation support following the […] June 15, 2023
Business of Sport Manchester United shares up as Qatar bid tipped to win Shares of Manchester United rose 13 percent to hit a two-month high on Tuesday after a news report indicated that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar was likely to succeed with his takeover bid for the English football club. Qatar’s Al-Watan newspaper reported that Sheikh Jassim was likely to be announced as the […] June 14, 2023
Energy Opec+ grants Russia higher production baseline Opec+ has granted Russia a slightly higher oil production baseline after the country agreed to work with several think-tanks and agencies to review its output figures, Opec+ said. Oil production baselines are used by Opec to determine levels from which production cuts are made. Russia has made its production figures classified since the West imposed […] June 14, 2023
Opinion Economy Roubles, risks and rewards There are pros and cons to maintaining economic links with Russia despite Western sanctions June 13, 2023
Tourism Geneva’s Gulf visitors not put off by Swiss bank crisis Switzerland’s banking system may have suffered a dent to its reputation this year, but the headlines have not put off Gulf visitors from visiting Geneva. For the first 10 months of 2022, Gulf visitors accounted for 191,139 room nights in the European country’s second city, according to data from its official tourism body. Travellers from […] June 12, 2023
Economy EU offers Tunisia $1bn loan – if it accepts IMF reforms The European Union has offered Tunisia a €1 billion ($1.07 billion) loan to prop up its economy and tighten border controls. Under the proposal, Tunis must agree to sweeping economic reforms, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The International Monetary Fund agreed a $1.9 billion bailout for Tunisia last September, but it has […] June 12, 2023
Manufacturing UK private equity firm to sell stake in Dubai shisha company Kingsway Capital is in talks with tobacco firms as it tries to sell its stake in Dubai’s Advanced Inhalation Rituals (Air). The British private equity company, the majority owner of Air, has met with potential investors including British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco, two sources told Reuters. The talks are part of a dual-track process, where a seller pursues a sale and an […] June 9, 2023
Trade Clean energy and tech power UAE-Scotland trade It’s a long way from the icy waters of the North Sea to the saline depths of the Straits of Hormuz, but the world’s first offshore floating wind farm is proof of a burgeoning arrangement between Scotland and the UAE. Masdar, the UAE’s government-owned clean energy company, has a 25 percent stake in the 30 […] June 8, 2023
Renewable Energy Denmark’s Orsted to invest $68bn in renewables by 2030 Renewable energy group Orsted will invest 475 billion Danish crowns ($68.3 billion) by 2030 to achieve its goal of 50 gigawatts (GW) of installed power capacity at the end of the decade. The Danish company said the plans were fully self-funded and that it expected to outperform goals set in 2021 for earnings before interest, […] June 8, 2023
Banking & Finance Vodafone and Hutchison to announce UK merger soon Vodafone and CK Hutchison are in the final stage of agreeing to merge their British operations, with an announcement expected as soon as Friday or early next week, three sources have told Reuters. Vodafone will own 51 percent and Hutchison 49 percent of the combined group, which could be worth around £15 billion ($18.6 billion) including debt, […] June 8, 2023
Aviation Airlines seek cooperation to meet ‘tough’ net-zero targets Global airlines called on Tuesday for broad co-operation to reach “very tough” emission targets and pledged to release interim climate targets next year as the industry aims for a goal of net-zero by 2050. Aviation, which produces around two percent of the world’s emissions, is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise and the […] June 7, 2023
Trade GCC countries urged to stick together for UK trade deal GCC countries negotiating with the UK for a free trade agreement must stick together as one rather than seeking individual national deals, according to the outgoing UK Middle East trade commissioner. Trade talks between the six countries in the Gulf bloc – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain – and the UK […] June 6, 2023
Aviation Iata’s Willie Walsh hits out at the EU as ‘anti-aviation’ Airlines took aim at Europe over green fuel mandates and its failures to stem France’s air traffic control strikes as they weigh on carrier capacities at a global airlines meeting in Istanbul on Monday. European regulators have introduced a new mandate demanding airlines use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), an alternative to jet fuel that produces […] June 6, 2023
Banking & Finance Smaller UK firms attractive targets for PE buyouts Even as higher costs of borrowing continue to choke dealmaking, fund managers and bankers believe smaller UK-listed firms remain attractive to private equity players flush with unspent funds of nearly a trillion dollars. Central banks have been battling high prices by hiking borrowing costs for more than a year now and market participants expect the […] June 6, 2023
Opinion Oil & Gas Saudi breaks Opec logjam with further oil cuts Prince Abdulaziz's announcement reduces the kingdom's output to its lowest level in years June 5, 2023
