Artificial Intelligence IBM to help Saudi Arabia train AI models in Arabic Saudi Arabia has signed a deal with US tech giant IBM to develop the kingdom’s generative artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) said on Tuesday that its Arabic language AI model, ALLaM, will be trained on IBM’s platform to run more efficiently. This will also add new language skills […] May 22, 2024
Opinion Oil & Gas As Iran mourns, questions about its oil remain The next president will have to deal with economic woes and rumblings from Washington May 22, 2024
Opinion Energy Shell and BP have seen the error of their ways – but is it too late? What TotalEnergies got right about energy transition, the UK giants got very wrong May 21, 2024
Analysis Energy Saudi Arabia’s nuclear plans stall while UAE pushes on The UAE is moving ahead with its second nuclear power plant, but plans for Saudi Arabia’s first facility remain bogged down in controversy and delay. The kingdom is attempting to win US approval to enrich its own uranium and use US technology. Saudi Arabia said last year it would allow inspections of future nuclear facilities, […] May 19, 2024
Finance PIF slashes Starbucks stake as it cuts US stocks by $15bn Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has slashed its US equity holdings by 42 percent to $20.6 billion, including its stake in Starbucks, the global coffee chain that has suffered calls for a boycott as a result of the Gaza conflict. The latest US government data highlights funding challenges facing the Saudi giga-projects. The filing […] May 17, 2024
Opinion Banking and Finance Catastrophic floods are a wake-up call for insurers Regional insurance penetration needs to be higher and policies must be overhauled May 10, 2024
Manufacturing Saudi Arabia willing to drop China for US tech alliance Saudi Arabia will sever technology ties with China if the United States compels it to, the chief executive officer of Alat, an investment company backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund, has revealed. According to Bloomberg US officials have told their Saudi Arabian counterparts that they will have to decide between […] May 9, 2024
EXCLUSIVE Finance Binance clamps down on suspicious UAE crypto trades Binance has blocked hundreds of thousands of suspicious cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE as it ramps up compliance efforts, senior executives have told AGBI. The business, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange, received nearly 60,000 law enforcement requests from governments around the world in 2023 after heightened regulatory scrutiny. Meera Judge, the Dubai-based director […] May 7, 2024
Opinion Oil & Gas Biden administration blunders again with Opec collusion allegations Scott Sheffield, who helped save the oil industry in 2020, has been banned from the board of Exxon May 6, 2024
Markets Saudi stock trading slumps as interest jumps in US stocks Saudi trading in US stocks trebled in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the previous year to SAR58.7 billion ($15.6 billion), as the kingdom’s interest in US equities revived following the Covid pandemic. Total trading in foreign and domestic markets remains historically low. The transactions in the US market accounted for more than 97 […] May 5, 2024
Exclusive Finance Tim Draper: UAE benefits from US crypto ‘overregulation’ Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper has criticised the US for its restrictive stance on cryptocurrency, claiming it is driving innovators towards more encouraging and friendlier markets such as the UAE. The Gulf state is actively developing regulatory frameworks to lure new forms of business, amid intense regional economic competition. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have set […] May 5, 2024
Opinion Economy Is it back to the 1970s as global macro storm clouds loom? Even the rises in US Treasury bond yields and dollar have not derailed the bull market in gold May 2, 2024
Aviation Dubai aircraft lessor slams Boeing for delivery delays Aircraft lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise has criticised troubled US manufacturer Boeing for its failure to deliver the promised amount of aircraft. DAE’s CEO Firoz Tarapore said it is likely to only receive around half the number of aircraft from Boeing this year than the planemaker had originally committed to deliver. “The only thing we can […] May 2, 2024
Trade Florida port service could increase Saudi non-oil exports Saudi Arabia’s exports are set to improve following the introduction of a new container service that will link Jeddah with Florida. Non-oil exports rose 4.4 percent year on year in February while production cuts led oil exports to slip to 77 percent of the total, the government said. Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) in Florida said […] April 25, 2024
Logistics Boeing plane conversion facility to be built in Casablanca A production facility is to be set up in Morocco to convert Boeing 777-300ER passenger jets into freighters. Stratos Industries will build three wide-body aircraft hangars at the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca as part of a deal between US-based companies Kansas Modification Center (KMC) and Integrated Aerospace Alliance (IAA). KMC will convert up […] April 25, 2024
Opinion Economy Shanghai’s enterprising spirit is China’s best hope Returning to the city 20 years after his first visit, our columnist is still bowled over by its dynamism April 22, 2024
Economy US treasury holdings high in Saudi Arabia’s estimation Saudi Arabia’s holdings of US treasuries stayed close to a two-year high in February at $130.5 billion as yields rose in recent months, according to new data. The Saudi central bank’s holdings fell $3.2 million month on month, or 0.3 percent, to $130.5 billion, maintaining Saudi Arabia’s place at number 17 in the list of […] April 22, 2024
Artificial Intelligence Microsoft invests in UAE’s AI leader G42 The US tech giant Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in the Abu Dhabi-based artificial intelligence (AI) company G42 to help accelerate its global expansion strategy. As part of the deal G42 will run its AI applications and services on Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform. Brad Smith, vice-chair and president of Microsoft, will join the G42 […] April 16, 2024
Economy UAE to advance talks on debt sustainability at global event The UAE’s finance ministry intends to advance discussions on global macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability at the 2024 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). The spring meetings will be held in Washington, D.C., from April 15 to 20. The UAE will also promote a dialogue to address […] April 15, 2024
Analysis Economy Lebanon needs more than US rate cuts to turn its economy around Probable US interest rate cuts could help Jordan and Morocco attract additional foreign investments as well as easing their already manageable loan repayment commitments, experts predict, but Lebanon’s financial problems remain so acute that a reduced debt burden will make little difference. US 10-year treasury yields – the most important determinant of government borrowing conditions […] April 9, 2024
Trade Egypt’s garment exports to Saudi Arabia rise 90% Egypt’s garment exports to Arab countries rose 35 percent year on year to $100 million during the first two months of 2024, a trade association executive has said. Sales to Saudi Arabia surged 90 percent year on year to $25 million during the January and February period, Daily News Egypt reported, quoting Marie-Louis Bishara, president […] April 8, 2024
Trade Israel’s trade with Arab countries up 16% in 2023 Trade between Israel and the seven Arab countries that have normalised relations with the Jewish state broke records in 2023, exceeding $4 billion, up 16 percent from 2022, according to a report. Bilateral trade among the nations decreased by only 4 percent following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October, from $937 million […] April 5, 2024
