Trade India’s silver imports from UAE on the rise Supplies of silver to India from the UAE have increased this year, as the Emirates’ exporters benefit from an agreement signed between the countries two years ago. The India-UAE comprehensive economic partnership agreement signed in 2022 has significantly boosted imports, according to a report by Indian English-language business newspaper The Financial Express. The UAE route […] April 23, 2024
Trade UAE and India to discuss first phase of trade corridor Senior officials from the UAE and India will meet next month to start work on the first phase of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (Imeec), according to a media report. The officials are slated to meet on May 15 after UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi signed […] April 11, 2024
Construction ADIA backs Indian developer in $240m deal Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund, and India’s Kotak Alternative Investment Fund will support Indian developer Prestige Group in building residential projects across four Indian cities. The deal is valued at 20 billion rupees ($240 million), Prestige Group said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday. The projects will be […] April 1, 2024
Analysis Real Estate What Dubai’s united nations of property buyers want When purchasing a property in Dubai amenities are important to Brits, while Indian buyers are all about the return on investment, according to real estate experts. Last year Dubai recorded 1.6 million real estate transactions, a record 17 percent year-on-year increase, according to data from the Dubai Land Department. The demand comes from a largely […] March 25, 2024
Aviation India’s Akasa Air to fly to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Akasa Air, India’s newest low-cost airline, plans to start flights to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia by the end of October. “We have traffic rights for Kuwait, Riyadh and Jeddah, all of which we hope to launch by the end of the IATA summer season,” founder and CEO Vinay Dube told the state-run Press Trust of […] March 25, 2024
Retail UAE’s Lulu selects banks for potential $2bn IPO UAE’s retail conglomerate LuLu Group International has appointed local and international banks to lead its proposed $2 billion initial public offering (IPO), according to a media report. The company, which is among the largest hypermarket chain operators in the Middle East, has selected Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Citigroup, Emirates NBD Capital and HSBC Holdings to […] March 22, 2024
Analysis Markets Gulf weightings increase on MSCI Emerging Markets The MSCI Emerging Markets Index has increased the weightings of Gulf countries since their inclusion on the benchmark, as regulators loosened rules and companies ease foreign ownership restrictions to make it easier to invest. According to MSCI, more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AuM) was benchmarked against its emerging markets indexes as of […] March 21, 2024
Health Aster DM says India, GCC business split nears closure Hospital chain Aster DM Healthcare has confirmed that the separation of its GCC and Indian businesses and the proposed investment in the former by a Dubai private equity firm are nearing completion. The company agreed to sell a 65 percent stake in its Gulf business to a state-backed Fajr Capital-led consortium for $1 billion in November […] March 21, 2024
Banking & Finance India is top Asian target for Middle East investors India is more than twice as important as China as a target for Middle East investment, an industry report has revealed. Since 2020, private capital deal value from the Middle East into Asia has soared more than sixfold, from $14 billion between 2016 and 2019 to $83 billion since 2020, data from the Global Private […] March 11, 2024
Sustainability Saudi Arabia and UAE back fishing subsidies ban The UAE and Saudi Arabia were the only GCC countries to back a failed bid by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to curb subsidies that contribute to overfishing and wider fishing sector overcapacity. It had been hoped that the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS), which, according to WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has “been on the […] March 4, 2024
Tourism Saudi Arabia starts issuing free stopover visa to Indians Saudi Arabia has started offering a 96-hour free visa to Indian citizens to help reach its newly set target of 150 million tourists by 2030. The stopover programme provides a four-day free visa to individuals traveling through Saudia or Flynas airlines. Additionally, travellers holding a US, UK or Schengen visa are eligible for an e-visa […] March 4, 2024
Opinion Business of Sport Why cricket could be next on the list for Saudi Arabia’s PIF Saudi Arabia wants sports with mass participation, rich histories and big economies February 27, 2024
Tourism Dubai introduces multiple-entry visa for Indian nationals Dubai has introduced a five-year multiple-entry visa for Indian nationals to strengthen economic, tourism and business ties with India, the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has said. The decision follows closely on the heels of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE, marked by significant developments including the opening of the Middle […] February 23, 2024
Transport Emirates SkyCargo plans service expansion in India Emirates SkyCargo plans to add three new destinations in India by June, an Indian business news daily has reported. “We are looking forward to operating scheduled freighter flights to three additional cities in India,” Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice-president at the Dubai-based company, told The Hindu Business Line. The three destinations were not disclosed. Emirates […] February 19, 2024
Agriculture Onion prices surge 300% in Oman Onion prices have increased by 300 percent in Oman, primarily due to a ban on exports from India, according to a local media report. Prices rose from 0.14 baisas ($0.36 cents) per kilogramme in 2023 to 0.47 baisas per kilogramme in December of 2023, before surging to 0.6 baisas per kilogramme by mid-February 2024, the […] February 19, 2024
Analysis Trade Modi’s UAE visit ‘adds to execution of deals’ Indian prime minister Narendra Modi deftly blended politics and commerce last week as he opened the Middle East’s largest Hindu temple on a visit to the UAE, a Muslim state that is home to 3.5 million Indian expatriates and a major trading ally. The temple’s inauguration was widely covered in Indian media, while tens of […] February 19, 2024
Trade Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi deepens UAE-India trade ties Top-level talks between the UAE and India have taken place in Abu Dhabi, on the back of a deal to strengthen their ties and a 16 percent rise in bilateral trade. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, and Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, met on Tuesday to review progress since […] February 14, 2024
Trade Maharashtra plans food security corridor with UAE The central Indian state of Maharashtra is working to develop a food security corridor with the UAE. The government of Maharashtra, which has 11 million farmers, has linked up with US fund manager Pegasus Capital Advisors for the food trade project. Under their agreement, the Maharashtra authorities will share an operational plan within three months, […] February 14, 2024
Analysis Trade $112bn of trade with India ‘ready to be tapped’ Untapped trade opportunities between India and the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey could be worth more than $112 billion, research has found. An HSBC report, which analyses data from the UN/WTO International Trade Centre, estimates that there is a $61 billion export gap for Indian companies in the key markets of the UAE, Saudi […] February 12, 2024
Oil & Gas QatarEnergy to sell cheaper LNG to India’s Petronet QatarEnergy has renewed its contract to supply 7.5 million tonnes per year of liquefied natural gas to Indian importer Petronet LNG. The 20-year contract, which will begin in May 2028, is reportedly valued at $78 billion – significantly less than the agreement it will replace. Petronet could save around $6 billion over the contract term, […] February 7, 2024
Analysis Industry Gulf steel has a keen edge on Chinese and Indian rivals While the Gulf is currently a minor player on the global steel-making stage, economic diversification and the energy transition may be about to change all that. As the world seeks to decarbonise, Gulf steel makers have a head start, already producing lower-carbon steel than global sector leaders China and India. The region’s ample supplies of […] February 7, 2024
People & Lifestyle Mubadala buys stake in Indian hospital chain The Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company has invested in Manipal Health Enterprises (Manipal), India’s second-largest hospital chain by number of beds. “Given the ever-increasing demand for high-quality hospital care across India, we look forward to supporting Manipal’s growth journey in the years ahead,” said Camilla Macapili Languille, head of life sciences at Mubadala, according to the […] February 6, 2024
