More dams are being built in the region to shield the residents against floods, offer a lifeline during drought and work towards food sufficiency by enhancing agriculture output.

The gaming markets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt is expected to be worth $3.14bn by 2025, according to California-based market research and consulting firm Niko Partners.

The budget deficit will swell to five billion dinars (more than $16 billion) for the year starting in April, up from the $10.3 billion predicted for the current fiscal year, the finance ministry said. Kuwait, a major oil producer and member of the OPEC cartel, has the Gulf's only fully...

There is a rise in the interest of foreign investors in the MENA startup ecosystem as their share increased from 20 percent in 2021 to 47 percent in 2022, reports suggest.

Around 27-39 companies in the Gulf region are expected to come out with IPOs in the first few months of this year with the Kingdom and UAE leading from the front, reports suggest.

The region remains cautious as it takes a strategic approach to invest in the technology by focusing on experimentation and finding suitable business use cases, says an expert.

At G20's first Health Working Group meeting in India, UAE affirmed its commitment to play an active role in addressing global health challenges.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Standardization Organization (GSO) has announced its training plan for 2023 in the field of standards and metrology through the GCC Standardization Training Center affiliated with GSO. The GSO President, Saud bin Nasser Al-Khusaibi, said in a statement Sunday that the 2023...

Solar-photovoltaic panel in a GCC country produces twice as much output as it would in Germany or any similar European country, ZOLA Electric CEO Bill Lenihan tells TRENDS.

The Gulf countries are witnessing an increase in investors' confidence due to the region's comparatively good economic conditions, a latest JLL report highlights.

Non-Gulf countries' contributions to the digital economy in the region will increase to more than 35 percent during this time, says a latest report.

Agile brands, especially luxury ones with sizeable marketing budgets, have readily tapped into the metaverse, creating exclusive NFTs and new revenue streams, says an expert.

Robust monetary policies curtail the impact of geopolitical tensions, energy crisis, worsening inflation rates and market volatility on the region during 2022, a report highlights.

Secretary-General of the GCC Dr. Naif Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf has warned that the act would inflame and provoke Muslims around the world. He said the GCC stood for the importance of spreading the values of tolerance and rejecting extremism.

The sector gains meteoric traction, largely due to structural shift in consumer interests and partly because of the pandemic-induced accelerated digitalization, says an expert.

The region's SWFs more than doubled their investments in Western economies to $51.6 billion in 2022 from $21.8 billion a year earlier, says the latest Global SWF report.

The move aims at supporting Kingdom's infrastructure development, boosting logistics and providing unique business environment in transport sector, air traffic and ports.

Despite the challenges of the digital transition in some MENA countries and the rising unemployment, about 90% of professionals in the region remain enthusiastic about 2023.

The year 2022 witnessed several deals involving Gulf nations and leading natural gas consumer countries that seek to secure their LNG supplies in both near and distant future.

The summit, which will be held from 23-25 Jan, 2023, ""will shed light on the strong impetus and promising prospects of the IPO sector in Dubai". The emirate's media office said the summit comes on the back of a record IPO activity in 2022.

Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange finished 2022 with a gain of almost 20 percent, making it the highest performer among GCC indices. In 2023, Saudi and UAE ended the weekly exchange down or stable.

China, Singapore and Hong Kong are planning to convert 80 percent of their cities into sponge areas by 2030 for various purposes.

The Middle East region welcomed 2023 with fireworks at Burj Khalifa as revelers rang in the New Year without being subjected to Covid-related curbs for first time since pandemic.

Mobile data service revenues are expected to reach 60 percent of the total GCC mobile service revenues by 2026.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, GCC banks have experienced a growth of more than 10 percent annually, a positive sign that is likely to earn a higher return on equities.

DUBAI, UAE -  The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) under-construction pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant site in Hatta is 58.48 percent complete. This is the first station of its kind in the GCC, with investments of up to US$387 million (AED 1.421 billion). The project is planned for completion in...

In the first nine months of 2022, real estate transactions in the region totaled more than US$143bn, surpassing the full-year US$136.9bn figure during 2021, says Kamco Invest.

“E-commerce sales via marketplaces will continue to grow in double-digit percentages in 2023, driven by a higher proportion of cross-border shopping, and ongoing increase in the adoption of credit cards, and logistics services such as Aramex’s Shop & Ship, MyUS and DHL’s Easy Shop,” he adds.

Businesses in the region are working closely with their governments to get cloud security solutions implemented to reduce the success rates of phishing attempts.

As the Gulf nations look to deepen economic partnership with China, the US, the region's dominant security force, watches with concern the GCC tilt toward its rival.

The region was ranked the riskiest by the Global Risk Report Quarterly Update. But the GCC region stood out, offering some of the best supporting environments for investors.

Saudi and the UAE equities beat sluggishness of the past few weeks, recording gains across many sectors, with Abu Dhabi index posting gains not seen since last October.

The regional panel, during its fourth meeting in Riyadh, reviews the implementation of the strategic plan to improve educational institutions in the bloc and their needs.

Saudi Arabia's GDP witnesses 9.3 percent increase in the third quarter of this year as the rally in oil prices has fuelled economic growth across the Gulf region.

The Gulf countries have highlighted the importance of coordinating and unifying the stances of the regional bloc in all international environmental forums.

Industry experts stress the need for harnessing the momentum the industry has gained after the recovery from Covid setbacks.

Cities across Europe and North America, and their infrastructure, service and hospitality are pale in comparison to the Arab region – particularly Gulf countries, writes Julien Hawari.

"China will continue to firmly support the GCC countries in maintaining their own security... and build a collective security framework for the Gulf," Chinese President Xi said at the start of the China-GCC summit.

About $30 billion in agreements will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.

The participating Gulf countries highlight labor reforms to ensure protection of workers at the 17th Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeting of ILO in Singapore.

Various IPOs raised nearly $4.8 billion in the GCC in the first five months of 2022 alone, which was higher than in Europe.

Beside leadership and vision, trust, communication and transparency between all the stakeholders play a key role in any and every project’s success, experts had said at the event.

Thanks to a strong rebound in domestic activities and higher oil prices, the latest IMF report suggests the GCC economies to expand further than previously expected.

During Q3-2022, non-interest income declined to a four-quarter low of $7.4 billion as compared to $7.8 billion during Q2-2022.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Engineer Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli inaugurated Sunday the Aquatic Animal Diseases Network in the Middle East in the Kingdom. The inauguration took place in the presence of the Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health...

Both employers and employees stand to benefit from the UAE's recent labor law amendments, Ben Brown, Partner at the law firm Addleshaw Goddard, tells TRENDS.

The equities had a lackluster week owing to a decline in global crude oil prices amid fears that the surge in Covid-19 infections in China, the largest oil importer, will reduce demand.

Beside approving various programmes and joint projects, the region's information ministers discuss strategic plan for joint media cooperation between the GCC countries.

High inflation and the West's sanctions on Russia for its Ukraine invasion besides the supply chain disruptions caused by China's intermittent Covid-19 restrictions intensify the decline.

Riyadh has surpassed all other MENA cities in terms of startup activities with higher literacy rate, faster average broadband speed, a latest report points out