News

New curbs on oil production to continue until March 2020 OPEC and its allies currently lowering production by 1.2 million barrels per day Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have agreed to extend their oil production cuts to support oil prices against a backdrop of weakening global demand and increasing US shale oil production. The 14-member group, […]

12,949 mortgage contracts worth SAR 5,653 billion signed in May KSA aims to increase local home ownership rates to 70% by 2030 Residential loans awarded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) jumped 212% in May 2019, compared to the same period a year ago, official data showed. According to data from Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), 12,949 mortgage contracts […]

Plant features 3.2 million solar panels and is installed across an 8 sq km site Plant’s capacity sufficient to cover the demands of 90,000 people Project to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by 1 million metric tons The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) announced that Noor Abu Dhabi, the world’s largest single solar project with a capacity of 1,177MW, has started […]

AED 4 billion fund announced to boost R&D ‘Instant Licence’ to improve ease of conducting business Government-backed loans scheme designed to promote lending to SMEs The Abu Dhabi government has launched a raft of new initiatives under the Ghadan 21 programme, announced last year, to further support private sector expansion in Abu Dhabi. The programme includes an AED 50 billion […]

Non-oil sector expanded 1.6% in Q1 2019 Inflation declined and private sector employment rebounded The UAE registered GDP growth of 2.2% in Q1 2019 versus the same period last year, backed by continued momentum in the non-oil sector as a result of government spending, according to the Central Bank of the UAE. The non-oil sector expanded 1.6% during the period. […]

Permanent residency available for SAR 800,000 Temporary, one-year renewable residency visa to cost SAR 100,000 Programme aimed to attract foreign investment and provides several benefits Saudi Arabia has opened applications for a permanent residency programme, with the aim of attracting foreign investment. The new scheme offers two options – one provides permanent residency for SAR 800,000, while a cheaper, one-year […]

Upgrade to lead to doubling of lanes in each direction over a 17km sector Capacity of road to be enhanced from 6,000 to 12,000 vehicles per hour Transit time from Emirates Road interchange to Oud Metha Street to be halved An AED 2 billion plan to upgrade road links between Dubai and Al Ain has been approved by Sheikh Mohammed bin […]

The UAE is the only country in the MENA region within the top 10 UAE ranks 5th behind Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark and Sweden The UAE is the fifth most change-ready country in the world, according to KPMG’s 2019 Change Readiness Index report, which ranks countries on their preparedness for change and their ability to respond to it. The UAE followed Switzerland, […]

International real estate investors are inadvertent currency speculators, facing currency risk from unhedged investments. As a result, they receive two returns: the performance of the real estate asset  itself, plus the return on the currency used to purchase the security. Currency volatility can be significant, and the return from the currency can sometimes swamp the gain or loss on the […]

Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Iraq are more exposed to potential blockade of Strait of Hormuz UAE and Saudi Arabia have alternative routes for oil transport Oman’s major ports located outside of Gulf Should geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran continue to escalate following oil tanker attacks in Gulf waters, Iran may choose to act on its threat of blocking […]