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Equinor signs $27 bn gas deal

The 10-year contract was signed with Centrica.

ADNOC Drilling secures $1.15bn contract

The contract for two jack-up rigs begins in the second quarter.

Etihad Q1 profit $187 million

This is a 30% YoY increase over Q1 2025.

Yalla Group Q1 revenue $83m

Net income rose to $36.4 million, a 17% YoY increase.

Qatar Airways annual profit $2bn

This was a record 28% jump in annual net profit.

Slower GCC growth expected in 2023

  • Maroun Kairouz, Director for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the World Economic Forum says GCC countries would be the least affected by the recession.
  • Easing of pandemic restrictions, and positive developments in the hydrocarbon market drove strong recoveries in 2021 and 2022 across the GCC, World Bank says.

Dubai, UAE—The global economy faces another period of uncertainty in 2023, with many countries expected to face recessions and continued inflation putting pressure on both government and household budgets. Some Middle Eastern countries are experiencing the full force of these headwinds. Nonetheless, the GCC appears to be an island of calm in this storm, as it appears to be bucking the trends of the predicted global recession, which is expected to hit at least a third of the world’s economies in 2023, according to the IMF. TRENDS takes a look at the country-wise economic outlook of the GCC states:

The region's biggest economy, Saudi Arabia, Growth was expected to accelerate to 8.3 percent in 2022 before moderating to 3.7 percent and 2.3 percent in 2023 and 2024, according to new World Bank Gulf Economic Update last year.