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Modi India GCC

From taxes to FDI rules – how India’s budget affects the Gulf

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first budget of his third term brings welcome news for international investors but mixed outcomes for non-resident Indians. Notable initiatives include abolishing the contentious “angel tax”, simplifying foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, increasing capital gains taxes and cutting gold import duties. Angel tax abolition: relief comes too late India’s finance minister […]

A Yes Bank branch in Kolkata, India. FAB says it is not evaluating any possible offer for a stake in the bank

FAB rules out bid for stake in India’s Yes Bank

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has denied it was planning to acquire a stake in Bombay Stock Exchange-listed Yes Bank. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that the Abu Dhabi-listed lender was among the possible suitors for a $5 billion stake in the Indian lender, citing informed sources. FAB was reportedly considering an offer for up to […]

Expat remittance from Saudi Arabia rose 11 percent month on month in May 2024

Expat remittances from Saudi rise 12% to $3.4bn

Expat remittance from Saudi Arabia jumped by 12 percent year on year to SAR12.6 billion ($3.4 billion) in May, according to the Saudi Central Bank (Sama). Remittances rose 11 percent month on month, or SAR1.3 billion, in May, the central bank said. Globally, remittances to low- and middle-income countries grew by an estimated 3.8 percent […]

An ATR 72-600 in flight. Air Kerala will operate three of the aeroplanes in its initial stages

Dubai entrepreneurs draw closer to launching Air Kerala

Two Dubai-based businessmen are on the verge of launching Air Kerala, an ultra low-cost carrier in the Indian state, with long-term plans to offer flights to the Gulf. The venture by Afi Ahmed, chairman of the travel company Smart Travels, and Ayub Kallada, chairman and managing director of Kallada Food Industries, made progress this week […]

The Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai

ADIA among funds investing $60bn in Indian stocks

Two sovereign wealth funds from the GCC and one from Singapore have invested a total of Rs5 trillion ($60 billion) in the Indian stock markets and startups as of March 31, 2024, a news report said. These investors include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Kuwait Investment Authority and GIC Holdings Pte, Mint, an Indian financial newspaper, […]

BitOasis crypto Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, Cofounders, CoinDCX

Indian crypto exchange buys UAE’s BitOasis

CoinDCX, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in India, has bought UAE-based crypto exchange BitOasis for an undisclosed amount. CoinDCX co-founder Sumit Gupta said the move would “establish an even more formidable foothold across the Mena region”. The Middle East-focused BitOasis, founded in 2016 by Ola Doudin, Tarek Kaylani and Daniel Robenek, has processed more than $6 […]

Startup Purplle’s valuation has increased by 14 percent to $1.25 billion after the latest funding round

ADIA leads Indian beauty retailer’s $120m fundraising

The UAE’s Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has led the $120 million funding round of Indian online beauty retailer Purplle Group, local media reported. The startup’s valuation has increased by 14 percent to $1.25 billion after the latest funding round, Mint, an Indian financial daily, reported. Overall, Purplle has raised more than $500 million. “ADIA […]

Field, Nature, Outdoors In 2023, El Niño arrived early, impacting crops. The Indian government reacted by banning exports of non-basmati white rice

Weather and politics keep pressure on price of rice

The status of rice as a global food staple means that it is also a political minefield for producer nations. So all eyes are on India as rice prices fluctuate at around a 15-year high.  Different varietals and markets command different prices, but trading on “contracts for difference”, which track benchmark prices, saw the cost of […]

RAK Cement

UltraTech of India scales back bid for RAK Cement

India’s UltraTech Cement, one of the largest cement makers in the world, has scaled back its offer to acquire a larger stake in an Abu Dhabi-listed, Ras al-Khaimah-based company. UltraTech was initially looking to acquire an extra 31.6 percent stake (158 million shares) in RAK Cement Co for White Cement and Construction Materials (RAKWCT). However, […]

A miner inside a tunnel of the Parrilla silver mine, Mexico. Mexico is the world's biggest producer of mined silver.

Silver is riding high but the market remains volatile

With a gain in its spot price of nearly one-third since the start of the year, silver is now 2024’s best-performing precious metal.  It is a major industrial material with an important role in the green energy transition. Yet, while these factors are combining to give silver a moment, analysts are quick to warn of […]

Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was first appointed to the Reliance board in 2021 for a three-year term

Aramco chairman re-elected onto India’s Reliance board

Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been reappointed as an independent director on the board of India’s Reliance Industries Limited. Nearly 84 percent of shareholders voted in favour while 16 percent voted against his reappointment for the five-year term, the company said in a filing with the Bombay stock exchange. Al-Rumayyan was first appointed to […]

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who claimed victory in the elections this week, says the corridor forms the 'basis of world trade for hundreds of years to come'

Dispute forum vital for trade corridor to work, says law officer

A robust forum for resolving disputes will be vital to the success of the planned  India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, a senior official from the Indian Supreme Court told delegates at an event in Abu Dhabi. Seven countries signed an agreement during the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi to establish an economic corridor connecting the Middle […]

Indian Hajj pilgrims say goodbye to relatives in Kashmir before leaving for Saudi Arabia

India’s Akasa Air to start Jeddah and Riyadh flights

Saudi Arabia has licensed Indian low-cost airline Akasa Air to begin flights this week as the Hajj pilgrimage begins, giving a further boost to the kingdom’s tourism plans.  The flights into Jeddah include two from Ahmedabad and 12 from Mumbai per week starting from 8 June, and seven into Riyadh from Mumbai per week starting […]

Modi UAE relationship

What Modi must do for India-UAE relationship to thrive

While Narendra Modi claims a rare third term as India’s prime minister, a raft of issues must be addressed for economic relations with the UAE to thrive. Despite the strong foundations laid, experts highlight ongoing concerns such as bureaucratic red tape, protectionism, sluggish investment and trade growth. The Modi-led Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won […]

PM Narendra Modi greets supporters at BJP headquarters in New Delhi. He took office in 2014

642 million votes counted … now India can get back to business

Narendra Modi has claimed victory in India’s election – and many in the Gulf will be delighted at the prospect of a third Modi term. The prime minister’s pro-business credentials and economically liberalising tendencies remain credible, if battered, after 10 years in office.  His Bharatiya Janata Party did not perform as well as expected, however, […]

A Tata Motors car plant in Sanand, Gujarat. Zulfiquar Ghadiyali called on Indian manufacturers to 'show us you aren’t just here to take money away, you’re here to give it back and employ people'

Indian manufacturers urged to set up shop in UAE

The future of the UAE’s economic partnership with India hinges on more manufacturing taking place in the Gulf state, a senior executive from a royal family office has said. Zulfiquar Ghadiyali, managing director of Royal Arab Holdings, the business arm of the private office of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said Indian businesses were […]

Construction is one of the sectors most affected by the issue of late payments in the UAE

UAE official keen to address government payment delays

A senior UAE official is advocating for policymakers to reassess government payment schedules, citing the strain late payments places on the private sector. Omar Saif Ghobash, adviser to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ambassador to the Holy See, told a panel at the India-UAE Business Forum in Dubai last week that the systemic […]

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met last year to improve trade relations, but red tape still hampers investment

India must cut red tape for investors, says Mubadala executive

Reducing red tape is critical to making India more attractive to global investors, an executive at Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has said. Sridhar Iyengar, chief financial officer of Mubadala’s Aerospace, Renewables and Information Communications Technology business, said the New Delhi government must enhance its bureaucratic efficiency to improve the pace at which projects […]

fractional property ownership Dubai Video length: 06:12

Dubai fractional ownership is promising, but untested

Fractional ownership of property in Dubai promises to widen access to real estate investment in the emirate’s surging market. But the lack of a proven secondary market raises questions about just how much liquidity this asset class can count on in a potential crisis, experts say. Buying even small portions of one or more units […]

The UAE subsidiary of India's UltraTech Cement will hold 61 percent in RAK Cement if the offer is successful

India’s UltraTech offers to boost stake in RAK Cement

India’s UltraTech Cement has offered to acquire a 31.6 percent stake in Abu Dhabi-listed RAK Cement Co for White Cement and Construction Materials (RAKWCT). The Indian cement producer’s wholly owned subsidiary in the UAE, UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments, bought a 29.4 percent stake in RAKWCT in April 2022 for $101 million. The UAE subsidiary […]