Analysis Tax GCC braces for effects of Trump’s ‘Big, beautiful bill’ A proposal under consideration in the US Congress to impose new levies on sovereign wealth funds and other foreign investors is unlikely to harm GCC-based entities directly, experts have told AGBI. It could, however, have enough of a knock-on effect on the global attractiveness of US assets to convince large Gulf players to reassess their […] June 10, 2025
Analysis Manufacturing UAE-US gallium project is an attempt to loosen China’s grip A new UAE-US effort to produce gallium, a chemical element that is critical to making semiconductors, may bring some relief to Western and Asian users choked by China’s stranglehold on the metal. But relevant manufacturing plants need years to come to fruition, and require technology and know-how that for the moment are almost entirely confined […] June 10, 2025
Trade Talks begin on US-UAE trade pact as metal tariffs double UAE officials are to begin negotiations toward a bilateral trade deal with the United States as part of efforts to secure lower tariffs on Emirati steel and aluminium products in particular. Washington and Abu Dhabi have agreed to commence talks after the idea was floated during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf in mid-May, […] June 5, 2025
Artificial Intelligence GlobalFoundries commits $3bn to microchip research GlobalFoundries, the Mubadala-backed chip manufacturer, said on Wednesday it will significantly hike research spending in the US over the next few years due to “explosive” demand for artificial intelligence and the advanced semiconductors that power it. The multi-billion-dollar investment comes as the New York state-based company works with the White House and various technology peers to […] June 5, 2025
Trade Italy’s billion-dollar jewellery sales lead trade with UAE Italian exports of jewellery to the UAE grew 24 percent in February over the same month last year, reaching €238 million ($268 million), according to the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). With overall sales of more than €1.22 billion in 2024, up 12 percent year-on-year, Italy remains the world’s third-largest supplier of jewellery to the Emirates, […] June 4, 2025
Analysis Trade Gulf FDI into US states goes well beyond usual suspects Among the flashiest deals announced during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf in mid-May was Emirates Global Aluminium’s $4 billion investment pledge to build the first new smelter in the US in 45 years in Oklahoma. The tentative agreement, EGA said in a press release, is subject to the parties finalising “state and […] June 3, 2025
Analysis Real Estate UAE property developers bank on huge order backlogs The UAE’s largest property developers are likely to post rising profits in the coming quarters as under-construction projects reach new milestones. This will enable them to book revenue from their vast order backlogs, analysts predict. Most listed developers reported big year-on-year increases in first-quarter profits. Emaar Properties’ Q1 profit rose 27 percent to just over […] May 29, 2025
Economy IMF urges Egypt to move faster on asset sales to create jobs Egypt must be even more ambitious in its efforts to bolster growth and employment prospects as its economic picture gradually improves, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The Egyptian government should in particular move forward with plans to sell state assets and work towards “decisively reducing the role of the public sector in the […] May 28, 2025
Analysis Trade Made in Saudi? Deal for Boeing F-15 parts still on the runway Boeing’s announcement that it may manufacture parts for fighter jets in Saudi Arabia highlights deepening commitments between the kingdom and the US, as well as the challenges of turning them into reality. During President Donald Trump’s trip to the Gulf this month, hundreds of billions of dollars of deals were signed in sensitive sectors such […] May 27, 2025
Tourism Oman awards $600m contracts for tourism projects Oman has awarded contracts worth more than $600 million to build three tourist resorts and an adventure park as it steps up efforts to compete with its Gulf neighbours for hospitality revenue and create jobs for its citizens. “This is another important milestone to attract more tourists in the country and property investors as part […] May 26, 2025
Analysis Trade Trump needs a good reason to walk the India-Gulf-Europe corridor President Donald Trump may reinvigorate efforts to establish a diplomatic and economic pathway from Europe to India through the Middle East. But trade advisers have told AGBI that, for the initiatives to gain fresh momentum in Washington, officials will need to outline more tangible benefits for the US. “The US is not part of the […] May 26, 2025
Tourism Skills shortage a concern for Saudi’s big-ticket events Saudi Arabia’s tourism and hospitality sector is suffering a skills shortage which it urgently needs to address before hosting some of the world’s biggest events, the CEO of one of the kingdom’s giga-project companies said. Of these events, perhaps the biggest is the 2034 World Cup. But before that lies a host of others as […] May 23, 2025
Infrastructure Syria says foreign partners vital to modernise telecoms International partners will be vital to bringing Syria’s telecom infrastructure up to date after 14 years of civil war, according to the country’s interim minister for communication and information technology. “In wanting our people to actually make that leap in technology, in enabling them through technology and giving them the services they deserve through technology, […] May 23, 2025
Trade Qatar to double US investments Qatar’s $526 billion sovereign wealth fund intends to more than double the value of its investments in the US, CEO Mohammed Al-Sowaidi said this week. At a conference in the Qatari capital, Doha, Al Sowaidi said the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will be “probably buying more than double what we’ve been doing for the past […] May 21, 2025
Analysis Finance The multi-trillion dollar deals agreed on Trump’s trip During his trip to the Gulf region from May 13 to 16, US president Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE and announced a series of deals across a number of sectors, which, according to the White House, added up to nearly $2.5 trillion. Artificial intelligence Saudi Arabia’s newly-established AI developer Humain said […] May 19, 2025
Opinion Trade Trump’s Gulf visit was grand – but the real test starts now Pledges and deals may change when reality hits May 18, 2025
Artificial Intelligence UAE and US to build largest AI campus outside America The US and UAE will develop a 10 square mile artificial intelligence campus in Abu Dhabi, according to a White House statement on Thursday. It will be the largest such facility outside of America. The announcement came as US President Donald Trump met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Qasr Al […] May 16, 2025
Tech US and UAE agree tech plan as Trump lands in Abu Dhabi US and Emirati officials agreed a framework to enhance exchanges in advanced technology as Donald Trump arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening on the third and final leg of his tour of the Gulf. The deal includes commitments from both sides to ensure the shared technology is handled securely, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed […] May 15, 2025
Trade Qatar takes centre stage on Trump’s Middle East mission Major deal announcements kept rolling in on Wednesday as Donald Trump travelled from Riyadh to Doha on the second day of his visit to the Gulf. Qatar Airways agreed to purchase up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X jets for $96 billion in what the White House described as Boeing’s “largest ever wide-body order”. […] May 15, 2025
Trade Arms, investment and AI top list of deals on busy day for Trump Tens of billions of dollars in new partnerships between the US and Saudi Arabia were announced on Tuesday in Riyadh during the first day of President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf. Artificial intelligence, aviation, energy and defence dominated the flurry of deals, with the White House again touting that the kingdom will invest $600 […] May 14, 2025
Analysis Trade Big money, big deals – but Gulf needs FDI clarity from Trump US President Donald Trump arrives in the Saudi capital Riyadh tomorrow on the first leg of his three-country Gulf visit that will also take in Qatar and the UAE. His overwhelming objective is money and big deals: to sell American goods and secure their investment to the US economy. With that in mind, the US […] May 12, 2025
Banking and Finance Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala reveals 34% rise in 2024 spending Mubadala deployed AED119 billion ($32 billion) of capital last year, a rise of nearly 34 percent on 2023, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund has revealed in its latest earnings report. The fund, which is thought to have been the world’s most active sovereign investor in 2024, has not released data on its annual revenues […] May 8, 2025
