Analysis Banking & Finance Gulf wealth funds look to snap up ‘cheap’ assets in West Sovereign wealth funds across the Middle East are forecast to take advantage of “limited competition” from global peers this year to pursue “cheap” assets in Europe, the US and other western markets. A sharp drop in stock and bond markets over the past year has resulted in the combined value of the world’s sovereign wealth […] January 3, 2023
Banking & Finance UK announces cash support for low-income households Millions of low-income households in Britain will receive cost-of-living support from the government of up to £900 ($1,084) over the financial year, the country’s Department of Work and Pensions said on Tuesday. The money will directly go to claimants’ bank accounts in three payments over the financial year, the department said in a statement. The […] January 3, 2023
Exclusive Banking & Finance UK fintech Total Processing to expand to Saudi and Egypt Online payments firm Total Processing plans to start operating in Saudi Arabia by the middle of 2023 and then in Egypt, after achieving 30 percent month-on-month revenue growth since it launched in Dubai in 2021. The company, headquartered in the UK, has witnessed strong growth in the Mena e-payments sector as e-commerce booms and governments […] January 3, 2023
Tourism Germany records 180% surge in Gulf visitors The number of Gulf nationals visiting Germany rose 180 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2022, figures from the German National Tourist Board reveal. GCC nationals accounted for more than 872,000 overnight stays from January to September, making the region Germany’s number one source market in Asia. Although the figure was up from […] January 2, 2023
Economy France’s Macron says 2023 will be the year of pension reform The coming year will be one of much-delayed pension reform, President Emmanuel Macron told the French in a New Year’s eve speech on Saturday. Reforming France’s costly and complicated pension system was a key plank of Macron’s election platform when he came to power in 2017. But his initial proposals provoked weeks of protests and […] January 1, 2023
Opinion Real Estate Vic Chhabria: Prime London property will still attract global buyers In 2023, the prime central London property market will attract wealthy international buyers due to the low value of the pound and restricted supply of top end properties December 30, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Real Estate Middle East buyers to cash in on prime London property market Cash is king when it comes to the prime central London property market and Middle East buyers are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this. Vic Chhabria, managing director of London Real Estate Office, whose client base largely comprises overseas buyers from Mena and more specifically the GCC, said the potential for further interest rate […] December 30, 2022
Exclusive Manufacturing British affordable tech company sees ‘sky high’ Gulf demand UK-based consumer technology company T4tec is expanding its operations in the Middle East to tap into “sky high” demand for quality affordable consumer electronics. The company, which has been selling its televisions and other products including wireless Bluetooth sound bars, cordless kettles, and toasters in the region via Amazon, is in talks with two distribution […] December 30, 2022
Development Italy PM Meloni to bring Expo 2030 world fair to Rome Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said she would do her best to ensure that the Expo 2030 world fair is held in Rome, even though she had little time to work on the project launched by her predecessor. “As an Italian and a Roman, I think it would be a great opportunity” to host […] December 30, 2022
EXCLUSIVE Tourism VisitBritain to target GCC as tourist spending recovers Spending by GCC-based tourists visiting the UK climbed above pre-pandemic levels for the first time in 2022, according to latest data from VisitBritain, the national tourism agency. While visitor numbers from the Gulf were still 18 percent below 2019 figures at 202,000 during the second quarter, the amount they spent rose by 7 percent to […] December 29, 2022
Energy Russia bans oil exports to countries abiding price cap President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered Russia’s long-awaited response to a Western price cap, signing a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products from February 1 for five months to nations that abide by the cap. The Group of Seven major powers, the European Union (EU) and Australia agreed this month […] December 28, 2022
Lister: Next 12 months are crucial for UK and UAE trade relations The UK can use the UAE as a “springboard” for global trade, says Lord Udny-Lister, co-chair of the UAE-UK Business Council. A third round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and GCC is set to take place in the Saudi capital Riyadh early next year, following talks in London three weeks […] December 26, 2022
Opinion Sustainability Green for go as UK and UAE count down to Cop28 The environment will be a key theme as the UK and UAE look to commercialise innovations in sustainability December 26, 2022
Economy Hungary imposes windfall tax on drug producers to plug deficit Hungary’s government has imposed a windfall tax on drug producers based on net revenues generated in 2022 and 2023, as it tries to plug holes in the state budget. According to a government decree late on Friday, the rate increases progressively, and will be eight percent on net revenues exceeding 150 billion forints ($398 million). […] December 25, 2022
Analysis Real Estate Ski chalets are hot property for Middle East buyers Demand for high-end ski chalets from affluent Middle East buyers has surged, even though the price of a home on the slopes is rising at its fastest rate for almost a decade. Despite the pandemic’s impact on international travel, the specialist property market has benefitted from an influx of remote workers looking for semi-permanent bases […] December 25, 2022
Opinion Development Roxana Mohammadian-Molina: Signposts on Saudi’s road to 2030 For UK companies doing business in Saudi Arabia and the ones that want to join them, the next year is all about Vision 2030 December 23, 2022
Analysis Banking & Finance UK and Saudi Arabia plant seed for closer ties on green finance Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with the UK to foster greater cooperation on green finance as the kingdom looks increasingly at ethical funding for its transformative giga-projects. Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, and Mohammed Al-Jadaan, the Saudi minister of finance, met on Tuesday in London to sign a memorandum of understanding […] December 23, 2022
Analysis UAE and UK commit to data bridge to boost $18bn trade links The UK and UAE are making “significant progress” towards building a robust data bridge which experts believe will create further opportunities to develop bilateral trade. The UK government and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) said in a joint statement that they will work together to realise “the benefits of the important role that the trustworthy […] December 22, 2022
Economy UK-GCC trade talks set to enter third phase in Riyadh A third round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the UK and the GCC is set to take place in the Saudi capital Riyadh early next year. The talks will follow a second round of negotiations that took place in London between December 5 and 9, the UK government has revealed in a […] December 20, 2022
Analysis Retail You’ve come a long way, Baby – female-led startups land in Gulf Women in the UK are launching their own businesses at a record rate. In 2018, 56,200 female-led startups were established in Britain. Three years later, the number had soared to 145,200, according to the 2022 Alison Rose Review of Female Entrepreneurship. One of the key beneficiaries of this rapid growth is the Gulf, as UK […] December 20, 2022
Infrastructure French consortium given Abu Dhabi road lighting LED project A French consortium has been selected to deliver a public private partnership project in Abu Dhabi as the region continues to mature as a hub for PPPs. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio), in collaboration with the Department of Municipalities and Transport, has selected EDF (Eléctricité de France) and Engie to deliver phase 2 of […] December 19, 2022
Tech Intel said to delay German factory start and seeks more subsidies Intel Corp has backed away from its original target of opening a chip factory in the eastern German city of Magdeburg in the first half of 2023, regional newspaper Volksstimme reported, saying the semiconductor giant wanted more public subsidies. The plant is central to German and European Union plans to strengthen the continent’s resilience by […] December 18, 2022
