INSEAD Day 4 - 728x90

Business

Samsung biggest chip investor

The tech giant invested nearly $59.2bn in 2025.

flynas to set up new hub

Five destinations in first phase of operations.

AD Ports Group acquires CLI

CLI is Brazilian agri-bulk terminal operator.

$1.59bn Makkah project awarded

A consortium will develop two districts in the Holy City.

2PointZero posts profit surge

Growth driven by merger consolidation.
  • Emirates NBD H1 profit $3.40bn

    Total income rose by 12 percent in the same period.
  • First foreign firm takes ownership of Saudi football club

    The Harburg Group -- led by American Ben Harburg -- said it had "officially completed the 100 percent acquisition of Al Kholood Club, of the Saudi Pro League, as part of the groundbreaking privatization initiative of Saudi Vision 2030."
  • DP World mobilizes $1 billion in working capital to boost trade flow

    Dubai, UAE — DP World Trade Finance has mobilized more than US$1 billion in working capital to support businesses across emerging markets, significantly narrowing the global trade finance gap and ensuring uninterrupted movement of goods through some of the world’s most difficult economic environments. This was achieved through a combination...
  • ADIB H1 pre-tax profit $1.08bn

    Q2 pre-tax net profit increases by 14 percent.
  • AstraZeneca to invest $50bn in US

    Bulk of funds to go into a Virginia manufacturing center.
  • Mawani adds FRS1 shipping service to Jeddah Islamic Port

    Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- The Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) has added  CStar Line's new Far East-Red Sea service (FRS1) to Jeddah Islamic Port to enhance the port's competitiveness, expand its maritime network, boost operational efficiency, and solidify its position as a strategic logistics hub on the Red Sea. The FRS1...
  • Dubai real estate transactions exceed $117.34 billion in first half of 2025

    The number of new investors in the market reached 59,075, with investments totaling $42.74 billion, a 22 percent increase in the number of investors and a 40 percent growth in investment value.
  • UAB net profit up by 50% for H1

    Total assets increase by 11 percent.
  • Ajman’s real estate sector deals up 37% in H1 to hit $3.37bn

    Ajman, UAE -- The real estate sector in the Emirate of Ajman recorded real estate transactions worth AED 12.4 billion ($3.37 billion), marking a record growth of 37 percent compared to the same period last year. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of the Department of Land and Real...
  • Gulf Air orders 12 Boeing 787 Dreamliners for $4.6 billion

    San Francisco, United States -- US aviation giant Boeing on Thursday signed a contract worth billions of dollars to sell 12 787 Dreamliners, with options for six more, to Gulf Air, as the Bahrain-based carrier looks to expand its global network. The order comes one month after an Air India...
  • Global markets rise as Trump weighs future of Fed boss

    US indices were near record highs two hours into the Wall Street session with all eyes on an incoming earnings reports, notably for streaming giant Netflix.
  • TSMC Q2 profit up 60%

    TSMC is the world's largest contract maker of chips.
  • ADNOC shifts OMV stake to XRG

    XRG is ADNOC's wholly-owned international investment company.
  • China’s Baidu to deploy driverless cars on Uber

    Beijing, China -- Chinese internet giant Baidu plans to launch its driverless cars on ride-hailing app Uber in Asia and the Middle East this year, the two companies said on Tuesday. The multi-year partnership will see "thousands of Baidu's Apollo Go autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across multiple global...
  • Saudi leads MENA in VC funding for H1, surpassing 2024’s full-year total

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia retained the top spot across the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of Venture Capital (VC) funding in the first half of 2025, according to the “H1 2025 MENA Venture Investment Report”. A total of $860 million was deployed during the period, surpassing...
  • SIB H1 net profit $189m

    The bank's total assets increased by $1.49 billion.
  • Salini awarded $600m contract for 400 retail units in Diriyah Square

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Diriyah Company has announced the award of a major new $600 million (SAR2.249 billion) contract for construction work on the high-profile Diriyah Square retail precinct to Salini Saudi Arabia, a subsidiary of the Webuild Group. Diriyah Square is located at the heart of Diriyah, the City...
  • Low-cost carrier Wizz Air to stop Abu Dhabi operations

    Budapest, Hungary -- Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air said Monday that it would end its Abu Dhabi operations, which have struggled to turn a profit in the conflict-hit region. The airline will exit its  Abu Dhabi hub starting from September. The seventh biggest European airlines in terms of daily flights...
  • Syria signs $800 mn port deal with DP World to develop Tartus port

    Damascus, Syria -- Syria signed a $800 million deal with UAE-based company DP World on Sunday to develop the port of Tartus, state media reported, as the new authorities continue their efforts to support post-war reconstruction. Following the toppling of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the new Islamist...
  • TSMC’s H1 revenue up 40 percent

    Robust demand for AI technology behind the surge.
  • Cricket’s Indian Premier League value surges to $18.5 bn: report

    New Delhi, India -- The Indian Premier League's business value has been estimated at $18.5 billion with reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru its wealthiest franchise, according to a report by an investment bank. The world's richest cricket tournament has been a top revenue earner for the Board of Control for...
  • Investments rise in data, AI, outpacing physical assets: UN

    Geneva, Switzerland - The purchase of physical assets was eclipsed last year by a surge in investment in intangible items like software, data and AI, the UN said Wednesday, describing a "fundamental shift in how economies grow and compete". Investment in intellectual property-backed assets grew three times faster in 2024...
  • Nvidia tops $4 trillion as US stocks shrug off latest tariffs

    After Congress gave Trump a big win last week with his fiscal package, the Republican's aggressive trade posture has returned with a vengeance this week. On Tuesday, he added threatened levies on copper and pharmaceuticals to a laundry list of countries warned of higher tariffs.
  • Dubai Islamic Bank completes $1bn sovereign financing Pakistan

    Dubai, UAE -- Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has announced the successful completion of a landmark US$1 billion syndicated term-finance facility for the Government of Pakistan, arranged in collaboration with a consortium of regional and international financial institutions. The five-year facility is an innovative transaction, partially guaranteed by a Policy-Based Guarantee...
  • Saudi chocolate industry booms with over 3,500 commercial records

    Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- On the World Chocolate Day, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Commerce announced that the total number of existing commercial records for cocoa and chocolate manufacturing activities in Saudi Arabia reached 3,532 by the end of the second quarter of 2025. Riyadh leads the Kingdom in chocolate manufacturing,...
  • Eyeing early release, prison inmates produce Bulgaria’s coveted dairy products

    Smolyan, Bulgaria -- At a prison nestled deep in Bulgaria's southern Rhodope mountains, Georgi Filyanov stirs a large tank of curdling milk to make traditional feta-like cheese in the facility's dairy operation. Filyanov is the latest success story to emerge from the dairy located inside Smolyan prison, where about 15 selected...
  • AI robots pluck weeds in California fields, make up for shortage of laborers

    Los Banos, United States -- Oblivious to the punishing midday heat, a wheeled robot powered by the sun and infused with artificial intelligence carefully combs a cotton field in California, plucking out weeds. As farms across the United States face a shortage of laborers and weeds grow resistant to herbicides,...
  • ‘Wadeem’ sold out for $1.49bn

    This is the highest Abu Dhabi real-estate release to date.
  • Microsoft laying off several thousand employees

    San Francisco, United States -- Microsoft on Wednesday said it was slashing a little less than four percent of its global workforce as it seeks to cut layers of middle management and leverage new technologies. "We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for...
  • Tesla Q2 sales down 13.5%

    Shares rally after the disclosure, better than some forecasts.
  • Eight-country coalition aims to tax luxury air travel

    Seville, Spain -- Countries including France, Kenya, Barbados and Spain on Monday launched a coalition to push for taxes on wealthy air passengers to help poorer nations respond to climate change, the French presidency said. The coalition, which also brings together Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Antigua and Barbuda, said...
  • Meta’s AI talent war raises questions about strategy

    New York, United States -- Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are spending billions to recruit top artificial intelligence talent, triggering debates about whether the aggressive hiring spree will pay off in the competitive generative AI race. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently complained that Meta has offered $100 million bonuses to lure...
  • TomTom cuts 300 jobs

    The firm said it was realigning its organization as it embraces AI.
  • Trump metal tariffs wreak havoc on US factory

    Belcamp, United States --  In the sweltering US summer, metal containers decorated with snowmen and sleighs are taking shape -- but tempers are also rising as their manufacturer grapples with President Donald Trump's steep steel tariffs. At Independent Can's factory in Belcamp, Maryland northeast of Baltimore, CEO Rick Huether recounts...
  • Indonesia begins $5.9 bn EV battery project despite environment fears

    Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesia broke ground Sunday on a $5.9 billion megaproject for EV battery production backed by Chinese giant CATL, despite NGOs raising concerns over a lack of environmental guarantees. Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer and it is trying to capitalize on its vast reserves, with a...
  • China’s Xiaomi receives almost 300,000 SUV pre-orders in minutes

    Beijing, China -- Chinese electric vehicle maker Xiaomi received almost 300,000 pre-orders within an hour for its first sport utility vehicles in what the company said was a "miraculous" moment for the industry. Lei Jun, founder and CEO of the electronics-turned-car company, said he was astonished by the reaction from...
  • Roblox’s Grow a Garden explodes online video game numbers

    Paris, France -- A gardening game created by a teenager on online platform Roblox has attracted a record 21 million simultaneous players, a figure rarely seen in the industry. "You could quite easily never have heard of Grow a Garden... and yet it is by some measures the biggest video...
  • Oil slides, stocks rise as Iran-Israel ceasefire holds

    The main international and US oil contracts briefly bounced off their lows as Israel and Iran accused each other of breaking the ceasefire, but  then fell around five percent after Trump berated the two countries in an expletive-laced outburst.
  • Airlines suspend or reduce flights in Middle East after Iran strikes

    British Airways cancelled flights between London's Heathrow Airport and Dubai and Doha on Sunday following the US strikes on Iran. Air France halted flights to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates until at least Tuesday inclusive, the airline said.
  • Japan’s high-tech sunscreens tap into skincare craze

    Tokyo, Japan -- When YouTuber Hannah Price set out to compare Japanese and Australian sunscreen, she wasn't expecting her deep dive into the subject to rack up over two million views. The huge number of people poring over Price's video shows the growing interest in skincare products from Japan, much...
  • Tesla expected to launch long-discussed robotaxi service, will use Model Y

    New York, United States -- Tesla is expected to begin offering robotaxi service Sunday in Austin, an initial step that Elon Musk's backers believe could lead to the company's next growth wave. The launch -- which comes as Musk refocuses on his business ventures following a controversial stint in Donald...
  • Aldar nets $953m in sales at Fahid

    Aldar said 42 percent of the buyers are under the age of 45.
  • Oil prices drop, stocks climb as Iran-Israel war fears ease

    Israel's surprise strike against Iranian military and nuclear sites on Friday -- killing top commanders and scientists -- sent crude prices soaring as much as 13 percent at one point on fears about supplies from the region.
  • WhatsApp introduces first major advertising features

    San Francisco, United States -- WhatsApp announced Monday it will introduce its boldest advertising features yet, marking a significant shift for the messaging platform that has largely remained ad-free since its launch. The move is a sensitive one for WhatsApp, whose chief firmly denied a report in 2023 that said...
  • Abu Dhabi state oil firm makes US$18.7 billion bid for Australia’s Santos

    Sydney, Australia - Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company is leading a takeover bid for Australian energy group Santos, valuing it at US$18.7 billion, Santos said Monday. Santos's board said it plans to unanimously recommend the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's offer to shareholders if it can agree on the takeover...
  • Boeing lowers 2044 global air fleet outlook amid supply chain woes

    New York, United States -- The global commercial aviation fleet will stand just under 50,000 planes in 2044, with most built over the next 20 years, according to a Boeing forecast released Saturday. The global fleet will nearly double to 49,600, a bit below Boeing's prior annual outlook, the company...
  • Saudi EXIM Bank signs MoU with Credit Oman to boost bilateral exports

    Copenhagen, Denmark -- The Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM) participated as a sponsor of the TXF Global 2025 conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from June 10 to 12, aiming to enhance the bank’s role in global trade and establish strategic partnerships to support the growth and competitiveness of Saudi non-oil...
  • OpenAI enlists iPhone designer to create ideal device for using AI

    New York, United States -- ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has enlisted the legendary designer behind the iPhone to create an irresistible gadget for using generative artificial intelligence (AI). The ability to engage digital assistants as easily as speaking with friends is being built into eyewear, speakers, computers and smartphones, but some argue...
  • Chip-maker Micron expands US investment to $200 bn backed by Trump

    Washington, United States -- Chip giant Micron Technology on Thursday said it was expanding its domestic investment plan to $200 billion as its seeks to boost US semiconductor manufacturing, with the backing of the Trump administration. The move, aimed at strengthening America's domestic chip supply chain, represents an additional $30...
  • Nvidia marks Paris tech fair with Europe AI push

    Paris, France -- Drawing high-powered tech CEOs and a presidential visit, the Vivatech trade fair opened in Paris on Wednesday with a bang as Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced a major push into Europe. "In just two years we will increase the amount of AI computing capacity in Europe by...