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The Airbus site at Bristol in the UK. The company has been negotiating engine problems with provider Rolls-Royce

Middle East airlines expected to ride out delivery delays

Aircraft delivery delays will continue to dog Middle East airlines in 2025, according to the International Air Travel Association (Iata).  The issue will have little bearing on the bottom line, however, and the industry is expected to continue growing regardless. Globally, Iata forecasts that 1,802 aircraft will be delivered over the next 12 months, down […]

Elon Musk xAI funding

Regional investors rush to Musk’s $6bn xAI funding round

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI has attracted funding from regional investors including Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding, the Qatar Investment Authority and the Oman Investment Authority.  The latest Series C funding round for xAI has closed after raising $6 billion from backers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Sequoia Capital and Valor Equity Partners, as well as […]

The atrium of Trump Tower in Manhattan. Damac’s Ali Sajwani says Trump-branded properties in Dubai have doubled in value since 2020

Damac secures rights to build Trump Tower Abu Dhabi

The Dubai luxury developer Damac Properties has secured the rights to build a Trump Tower in Abu Dhabi, sources familiar with the matter have told AGBI, as the Trump Organisation expands its footprint in the Gulf. Damac has an established relationship with the Trump Organisation, the family business of US President-elect Donald Trump, with a […]

Turkey Gazprombank

US gives Turkey sanctions waiver for gas payments to Russia

The US has given Turkey an exemption from sanctions on Gazprombank for its gas payments to Russia, the Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Friday. New sanctions on Russia’s Gazprombank were imposed by the US in November, creating an obstacle for buyers of Russian gas, who had been using the bank to make payments. […]

Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, says that ChatGPT receives 1 billion queries every day

ChatGPT’s search expansion raises concerns for businesses

OpenAI’s decision to roll out its ChatGPT search to all users could indicate a shift in how people access information online and pose challenges for Gulf businesses when it comes to issues such as online advertising, data privacy and revenue models. The feature, introduced to premium subscribers two months ago, allows users to receive real-time […]

Elon Musk with President-elect Donald Trump. Oman's investment in Musk's AI project is its latest tie-up with the billionaire

Oman buys stake in Elon Musk’s AI company

The Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the sultanate’s sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a stake in xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.  The deal was announced on Wednesday by the Omani state news agency but the size of the investment was not disclosed. Musk, who is worth around $486 […]

Donald Trump during a tour of an oil facility in Texas in 2020. Opec+ plans to raise output in April 2025

Opec+ wary of rise in US oil output under Trump

Opec+ members are contemplating a renewed rise in US oil output when Donald Trump returns to the White House, delegates from the group said. More US oil would further erode Opec+ market share and hamper the producer group’s efforts to support prices. Opec+ pumps about half of the world’s oil and earlier this month delayed […]

Investors remain concerned about corporate governance and transparency despite substantial improvements over the past decade

US fund managers expected to accelerate Gulf investment

North American fund managers are underinvested in Gulf equities but that may soon change, according to new research. The region’s low correlation to global and other emerging markets, accelerating economic diversification and improving bourse diversification could make Gulf investments more attractive. Saudi Arabia (4.41 percent), the UAE (1.28 percent), Qatar (0.86 percent) and Kuwait (0.84 […]

A bitcoin ATM kiosk in Krakow, Poland. A recent report suggests 13 nations already hold bitcoin as a reserve currency

The ‘race is on’ to set up bitcoin national reserves

The concept of national bitcoin reserves is moving from theoretical discussion to geopolitical reality. A member of Russia’s parliament has called on its central bank to consider bitcoin as a reserve asset, it was reported last week. Thirteen nations already hold the cryptocurrency, according to a report released this month by bitcoin exchange River. The […]

The partnership between Mubadala and AlpInvest will provide 'portfolio senior fund financing' to private equity firms Carlyle

Mubadala and Carlyle launch partnership

Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala and a subsidiary of US investment firm Carlyle have launched a partnership to lend to private equity companies worldwide. Mubadala, which has $302 billion in assets under management, and AlpInvest Partners have already completed their first deal, according to a statement by the Abu Dhabi institution. The partnership will provide […]

A rendering of the $530m Trump Tower in Jeddah. The developers plan another Trump Tower in Riyadh

Trump Towers proposed for Saudi and UAE capitals

The Trump Organization intends to build Trump Towers in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, marking its expansion across the Gulf region. The projects will be developed in partnership with Dar Global, the global development arm of Saudi-listed Dar Al Arkan, Eric Trump, the US president-elect’s son, told Reuters. The Abu Dhabi project is scheduled for launch next year, he said. Ziad El […]

Chevron CEO Michael Wirth at the Gastech conference earlier this year. Wirth says the energy transition may take longer than originally hoped

Conflict hampering Mediterranean operations, says Chevron CEO

US energy major Chevron has struggled to keep natural gas production online in the Eastern Mediterranean during the conflict in the Middle East, according to its chairman and chief executive Mike Wirth. Chevron is the largest producer of natural gas for Israel, in particular through two “large” offshore platforms, Tamar and Leviathan, that also supply […]

Anthony Kim at the LIV Golf Jeddah event. The PIF's PGA investment is happening as talks continue to merge the PGA and LIV tours

PIF close to $1.5bn stake in PGA commercial arm

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a minority stake in PGA Tour Enterprises, the tour’s commercial arm. The sovereign wealth fund is aiming to acquire a stake of around 6 percent as part of the deal, Bloomberg reported.  The investment will amount to $1.5 billion, the Wall Street […]

Crowd, Person, Adult

Eric Trump tells Abu Dhabi bitcoin will hit $1m

President-elect Donald Trump is planning to make the US the “crypto capital of the world”, his son Eric Trump said in a keynote speech in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Speaking at the Bitcoin Mena event being held at Abu Dhabi’s ADNEC centre, the younger Trump said he was “confident” that bitcoin would hit $1 million. […]

Claridge's Hotel. Maybourne also owns the Berkeley, the Connaught and the Emory in London

Qatar-backed owner of Claridge’s to open hotel in Dubai

Maybourne Hotels, the owner of Claridge’s in London, is planning to expand to Dubai, Paris, New York and Miami, its co-chief executive has said.  The company, owned by Qatari royals Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani and Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, owns and operates six hotels – four in London and […]

John Bass, US undersecretary of state, will visit Jordan this week

US senior official in Jordan to discuss bilateral issues

US undersecretary of state John Bass will arrive in Jordan on Monday to discuss a range of bilateral issues and this week’s $845 million cash transfer to support the Arab state. During meetings with senior Jordanian government officials Bass will also discuss efforts to de-escalate regional conflicts, the US Department of State said in a […]

President-elect Donald Trump has lent his name to a range of Dar Global projects

Dar Global plans two Trump-branded projects in Riyadh

Real estate developer Dar Global has signed an agreement with The Trump Organization to build two “landmark projects” in Riyadh.  No details were provided on the Trump-branded projects, which are set to be the fourth and fifth collaborations between the two companies.  Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi-listed developer Dar Al Arkan,said the projects […]

An illustration of Donald Trump holding Bitcoin is displayed at a cryptocurrency store in Hong Kong after Bitcoin's value reached $100,000

Trump’s crypto team in Abu Dhabi for bitcoin conference

Several key staff in President-elect Donald Trump’s new cryptocurrency venture are in Abu Dhabi today for the largest bitcoin gathering in the Gulf region, Bitcoin Mena 2024. Speakers include Trump’s son Eric and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the new White House envoy for the Middle East and co-founder of World Liberty Financial (WLF), a crypto platform […]

Qatar's energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi said oil and gas projects were planned over decades and 'survive governments'

Qatar says Trump’s LNG export plan poses ‘no threat’

Qatar’s energy minister Saad Al-Kaabi believes that US president-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to remove the cap on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will not be a concern for the Gulf nation. Qatar will be able to cope with any competition, Reuters reported, citing Kaabi’s speech at the Doha Forum. However, all LNG projects are driven […]

An oil refinery in Wuhan, China. The sluggishness of the country's economy is a major factor in stagnating oil demand

Fear of oil-price collapse lurks behind Opec+ cuts decision

An Opec+ decision to delay raising oil output for another three months and extend the gradual phase-out of production cuts to the end of 2026 could crimp Saudi hopes for a major GDP boost – but shows how fearful oil states are of a price collapse.  Cuts were scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 […]