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Neom Investment Fund CEO Majid Mufti holds a seat on Volocopter’s advisory board

Neom-backed Volocopter bought by Chinese company

Chinese automotive and aerospace group Zhejiang Wanfeng Auto Wheel has acquired failed German air taxi developer Volocopter, a partner in Saudi Arabia’s Neom giga-project, for $11 million. The sale follows Volocopter’s collapse into insolvency in December, raising questions over Neom’s urban air mobility ambitions in its futuristic city development on Saudi Arabia’s north-western Red Sea […]

The Rolls Building in London, where high-value commercial cases are heard. The Kuwait pension fund trial is expected to last one year

Kuwait pension fund’s $1bn lawsuit begins in London

Kuwait’s public pension fund has accused asset manager Man Group, Swiss bank EFG and others of laundering bribes paid to its late director as a $1 billion trial begins at London’s High Court. The Public Institution for Social Security, which operates Kuwait’s social security and pension scheme, is also suing the estate of Fahad Al Rajaan, its director from 1984 to […]

Newcastle United players in a penalty shoot-out versus Chelsea. The PIF-backed club may be playing to bigger crowds if plans for a 65,000-capacity stadium go ahead

PIF considers new stadium for Newcastle United

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is considering funding a new stadium development for English Premier League (EPL) side Newcastle United, according to UK media reports. The Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has over $925 billion worth of assets, led a buyout of Newcastle in October 2021, alongside PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media […]

Fatih Birol, Executive director of the International Energy Agency, arrives for a meeting with international investors in IA at the Elysee Palace as part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris, France, February 10, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

IEA’s hard line on oil glut clashes with Opec forecast

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said US tariffs will contribute to a decline in global oil demand growth this year, once again contrasting with Opec’s more optimistic forecast. In a monthly report published on Thursday the IEA forecast that oil demand would grow by 1 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025, down 70,000 […]

Red Bull will not put its logo on the Al Ahly team's shirts or around the team's stadium in Cairo

Boost for Arab soccer as Red Bull sponsors Al Ahly

Egypt’s most successful football club has kicked off what could become a sponsorship rush from European companies into the country’s top league. Al Ahly of Cairo, winners of 44 Egyptian Premier League titles and 12 Confederation of African Football Champions League titles, has agreed a marketing partnership with the Austrian drinks company Red Bull.  No […]

The Mobile World Congress was held in Barcelona earlier this month

Abu Dhabi’s Thuraya enters satellite smartphone market

Thuraya Mobile Satellite Communications Company, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s Space42, is moving into the smartphone market, hoping to access a global satellite-capable smartphone business that could be worth as much as $15 billion within a decade. Led by the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the UAE federation is investing in its capabilities in space. Combined, […]

Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa disembarks an airplane. He has repeatedly called for the lifting of sanctions

UK lifts sanctions on Syrian central bank and oil companies

The UK unfroze the assets of Syria’s central bank and 23 other entities, including banks and oil companies, on Thursday, reversing sanctions imposed during Bashar al-Assad’s presidency. The West is rethinking its approach to Syria after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted Assad as president in December after more than 13 years […]

TotalEnergies' energy deal with Iraq is worth $27bn, with various phases to be completed between 2025 and 2027

TotalEnergies starts building Iraq’s largest solar plant

France’s TotalEnergies has started constructing Iraq’s largest solar power plant as part of a $27 billion energy deal it signed in 2023. The plant, based in the southern oil hub of Basra, has a production capacity of 1,000 megawatt (MW) and includes installing two million solar panels, the official news agency said, citing an Electricity […]

Newcastle United players in a match versus Nottingham Forest. The club has reduced its losses as revenues increase

Saudi-backed Newcastle United narrows losses to $14m

Saudi Arabia-backed Newcastle United Football Club has reported an £11 million ($14 million) loss for the last financial year, despite a 30 percent increase in revenues. The deficit at the Public Investment Fund majority owned English Premier League club was reduced by £60 million year on year, attributed largely to the money gained from qualifying […]

Saudi Aramco reported a drop in its 2024 profit and signalled it will slash its dividend payouts by nearly a third this year

Aramco explores potential bid for BP’s Castrol unit

Saudi Aramco is in the early stages of considering a potential bid for BP’s lubricant business Castrol, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. BP has been exploring all options around its Castrol business, including a possible sale, as part of a strategic review. The business would be expected to be worth around $6 billion to […]

A Neom exhibition. Saudi Arabia is looking for funds for such projects and its PIF has signed an MoU with a credit agency from Italy

PIF signs $3bn deal with Italy’s export credit agency

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund said on Wednesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding worth $3 billion with Italy’s export credit agency, SACE. The sovereign wealth fund is working to boost finances to fund the country’s giga-projects. “The MoU focuses on providing financing support for co-operation between Italian companies in the private sector and […]

Airbus is considering establishing maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for the A400M in the UAE

Airbus weighs production of military aircraft parts in UAE

European planemaker Airbus is exploring the possibility of manufacturing components and setting up a maintenance facility for the A400M, a military transport aircraft, in the UAE. The plan includes integrating local entities – including EPI, part of defence company Edge Group, and Strata, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi investment vehicle Mubadala – into the A400M’s global aerospace […]

Gems Education aims to increase its student headcount by up to 35,000 by 2028, said chief executive officer Dino Varkey

Gems Education plans to spend $300m on growth

Dubai company Gems Education plans to spend around $300 million over the next two to three years to increase organic growth, its CEO told Reuters, as it bets on population growth and an inflow of wealthy individuals. Dubai is one of the world’s fastest-growing cities whose population has been swollen by foreigners, particularly higher-income earners, […]

UK company PwC's non-audit services include mergers and acquisitions, tax advisory, strategy and consulting work

PIF temporarily suspends PwC from advisory work  

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has temporarily barred UK company PwC from securing advisory and consulting contracts until February 2026, according to a news report. The ban extends to the sovereign wealth fund’s more than 100 subsidiaries, Bloomberg reported citing informed sources. However, auditing projects continue as before. In May 2023, PwC received a license […]

green hydrogen oman

Green hydrogen project in Oman expects $8bn investment

The HyDuqm green hydrogen project in Oman, led by a consortium of France’s Engie and South Korea’s Posco, expects to attract $7 billion to $8 billion in investment to reach full capacity, a news report has revealed. The consortium has secured a 340 sq km block in Duqm on the coast in central Oman. The […]

Seez provides a range of tools for car dealerships

UK company plans purchase of UAE car trade start-up Seez

Seez, a Dubai-based start-up, has announced its proposed acquisition by UK-based automotive technology company Pinewood AI. The deal is worth $46.2 million and will comprise cash alongside shares, the company said in a statement. Seez is a technology company that provides digital services for car dealerships aimed at increasing sales, including an AI virtual assistant, […]

Italian company Leonardo designs and produces 14 percent of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the world’s first airliner to make large-scale use of composite materials

PIF weighs investment in Boeing’s Italian parts maker

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is holding talks about investing in the aerostructures unit of Italian defence company Leonardo, a news report said. The talks are at an early stage with no agreement guaranteed, Bloomberg reported. The investment could lead to the Italian company building a civil aviation manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, the […]

Iceye engineers working on a satellite. The company is reporting a 'lot of demand' in the Gulf

Why Gulf demand for satellites is taking off

Man has gone there before, but for the Gulf Arab states the space race is only just picking up. Led primarily by the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern countries have spent $25 billion on satellites and other space projects and equipment over the past decade. That number is expected to triple to $75 billion […]