UAE economy grows 0.4% in first half as non-oil sectors expand
Non-oil activities accounted for 79.2% of the economy, led by trade, finance, construction and manufacturing, despite a second-quarter contraction amid...
Economy
AI market could need $6 trillion annual revenue by 2031, report says
Much of the value is expected to come from new innovation beyond employee productivity, Bain & Company said in its...
Business
Business
UAE launches first 7-year Islamic Treasury Sukuk worth $150 million
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- The UAE Ministry of Finance said on Sunday it had launched its first-ever seven-year tranche of...
- The new tranche attracted strong demand amounting to approximately 3.1 billion dirhams, nearly six times the issuance size.
- Total bids reached 5.88 billion dirhams, representing an oversubscription ratio of 5.3 times.
GCC as the bridge in a fragmented global ad tech market
S4 Capital founder Martin Sorrell tells TRENDS digital dominance, AI disruption and consolidation are reshaping global advertising, urging agile, tech-first...
- The industry is effectively “two industries” — a fast-growing digital sector and a declining traditional media business — Martin Sorrell told TRENDS
- CMOs should stop experimenting with AI and move to full-scale implementation, radically reorganising workflows and cutting creative costs, he adds
Interview
Startups need more than funding: they need an ecosystem
Drew Propson, Head of Technology and Innovation in Financial Services at the World Economic Forum, explains how sustainable growth, AI...
- The UAE’s Vision 2031 and Saudi Vision 2030 are clear calls to action that outline not just ambition, but execution.
- The third quarter 2025 marked the fourth consecutive quarter with over $90 billion in funding, something not seen since early 2022.
Interview
UAE is shifting from attracting talent to unleashing it: Sheraa vice-chairperson
With national campaigns such as The Emirates: The Startup Capital of the World setting targets of training 10,000 Emiratis and...
- The most significant opportunity lies in closing the conversion gap: the space between generating knowledge and turning it into scalable enterprises.
- More than 18,000 young people have been upskilled through Sheraa, giving them the confidence and competence to navigate a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Economy
Sovereign tech: Building a regional stack, not rival silos
As Gulf states race to build sovereign AI and cloud infrastructure, the real opportunity lies in pooling capital, standards and...
- Technical and compliance challenges are pushing GCC countries toward common governance constructs and vendor frameworks
- To boost talent mobility, GCC SWFs can underwrite regional AI academies, and visa standardization for tech talent
Interview
Gulf startup hubs: Converging strategies, diverging ambitions
Despite fierce branding as rivals, Gulf startup hubs share capital, policy, and talent structures that are quietly shaping distinct, globally...
- Shared infrastructure, capital flows, and policy choices bind these ecosystems together more than they divide them.
- The critical question for Gulf ecosystems is not whether they have capital or talent, but whether both are organized toward genuinely global ambition.
Weaker dollar creates window for international property buyers in Dubai
Dubai faces substantial supply headwinds that may absorb currency-driven demand without triggering significant price gains. Approximately 45,000-50,000 new residential units...
- A 9.88% slide in the US dollar has boosted foreign buying power in Dubai, cutting the sterling cost of a AED 5 million home by nearly £105,000 in a year
- UAE’s 1 USD–3.6725 AED currency peg means the dirham weakens with the dollar, making Dubai property cheaper for overseas investors while staying stable for locals
Economy
Battle of the Tech Hubs
The GCC is competing to build world-class technology hubs, investing heavily in AI, infrastructure, and sovereign capital to drive digital...
- The GCC smart cities and digital transformation market reached $145.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $907 billion by 2032.
- Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala, for instance, was the largest sovereign-owned investor globally in 2024, deploying $29 billion across 52 deals, a 67 percent increase from the previous year.
Economy
‘Innovation takes time—The Gulf’s economic transformation requires patience and persistence’
In an interview with TRENDS, Josh Lerner says Gulf economies pursuing diversification must recognize that transformation takes time, patience, and...
- Innovation reforms take time, strong institutions, and market-aligned policies, Josh Lerner tells TRENDS
- Funding alone is not enough; follow-on capital and a culture that rewards risk are essential, he adds
Economy
UAE Innovation Month: Why 2026 is the year of the agentic enterprise
The synergy between humans and AI agents is driving a ‘Great Redeployment’ where there is a structural shift in how...
- AI adoption is surging, but enterprises are stuck in “pilot purgatory”, failing to scale isolated AI experiments into orchestrated, ROI-driven systems
- The shift to an Agentic Enterprise requires multi-agent orchestration, shared enterprise context, and strong governance, especially as GCC regulations tighten
UAE economy grows 0.4% in first half as non-oil sectors expand
Non-oil activities accounted for 79.2% of the economy, led by trade, finance, construction and manufacturing, despite a second-quarter contraction amid...
Economy
Company News
Latest News
AI to cancer vaccines: Emerging technologies edge closer to large-scale adoption
World Economic Forum's Top 10 Emerging Technologies Report 2026, developed alongside the Dubai Future Foundation, has identified 10 technologies that...
Geostrategy
Bain identifies four priorities for sovereign wealth funds as assets approach $30 trillion
State-backed investors are expanding beyond traditional investment models, increasing exposure to alternatives, AI and direct deals while balancing returns with...
Economy
Saudi Arabia rises to 13th in global competitiveness rankings
The Kingdom ranked 13th out of 70 economies assessed in the annual report, improving from 17th place a year earlier...
Economy
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Geostrategy
Middle East conflict slows global growth outlook, World Bank says
Most economies saw forecasts downgraded as rising energy costs, inflation and borrowing expenses create fresh challenges for growth and development...
- World Bank is making up to $60 billion available immediately through existing instruments to support affected countries.
- More than 30 countries are working with the institution to strengthen preparedness and enable rapid crisis responses.
Business
AI success in life sciences depends on people as much as technology: Bain
Organizations creating the most value from AI are not necessarily those deploying the most technology. Instead, they are redesigning workflows,...
- Organizations achieving the strongest AI outcomes prioritize a handful of enterprise-wide initiatives rather than dispersing resources across numerous experiments.
- Workforce adoption remains the biggest challenge, prompting successful companies to invest heavily in change management, skills development and leadership engagement.
Geostrategy
Saudi, UAE startups join World Economic Forum’s global tech cohort
Saudi Arabia was represented by intella, which develops Arabic-language speech recognition and analytics tools, and Nommas Technologies, which provides AI-powered...
- World Economic Forum's 2026 Technology Pioneers recognizes early-stage companies developing technologies with the potential to reshape industries and societies.
- The cohort underscores a shift in global innovation patterns, with emerging economies playing a larger role in frontier technologies.