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QUOTED
“Within the GCC, we see increasing concentration, with the large banks accounting for a significant proportion of domestic activity. In Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two banks account for at least half of aggregate shareholders’ equity of all commercial banks in those countries. QNB alone has half the Qatari market and Bank Muscat about 40 percent.” Stable, if lacking excitement: the outlook for Gulf banks [Arabian Gulf Business Insight]
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TOP STORY
Lenovo, the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, will issue $2 billion in convertible bonds to Saudi Arabia’s PIF as part of a broad investment agreement that will include a new PC and server manufacturing plant. [more]
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MORE TOP STORYLINES
in mailchi.mp: Much has been written about how Donald Trump’s election will affect the political and security outlook for the Middle East, including with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, and U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey. But how will a second Trump term affect the economic and business outlook for the region? While President-elect Trump is defined most by his unpredictability, we believe a few themes are likely to play out over the next four years partly as a result of the U.S. presidential election: 1) Continued downward pressure on oil prices, and therefore on Gulf budgets and government spending; 2) Greater openness to and appeals for foreign direct investment in the U.S. from Middle Eastern sovereigns and others from the region; and 3) A more complicated landscape of controls on exports to the region of sensitive U.S. technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors, weapons and advanced fighter jets, and civilian nuclear energy.
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Via Megha Merani in agbi.com: “Four or five years ago the region began focusing more on PPPs, announcing pipelines of projects,” says Sami Neffati, managing partner of Investcorp Infrastructure Partners, part of Bahrain’s Investcorp (part-owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala). But when you look at the delivery, “you would have seen delays, process [challenges] and cancellations.” The region is still “teething”, Neffati says, and learning about the discipline of PPPs. While most countries have PPP offices, often housed within finance ministries, Neffati says the authorities, who own the assets, still struggle to delegate project management and “intervene too much”. “They feel they need to control the process, but they don’t know how,” he says. “Very often, that leads to a failed or delayed process.” Progress is being made, Neffati says, but “delivery needs to accelerate”.
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Via Kate Abnett and Alison Withers in reuters.com: The world just experienced the first full year in which global temperatures exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial times, scientists said on Friday. The milestone was confirmed by the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which said climate change is pushing the planets temperature to levels never before experienced by modern humans. The trajectory is just incredible, C3S director Carlo Buontempo told Reuters, describing how every month in 2024 was the warmest or second-warmest for that month since records began.
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MORE ON THE KINGDOM AND BEYOND
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Ongoing transformation in the global screen industry has created an opportunity for GCC countries to establish themselves as prominent players. As the industry grapples with...[By Tarek Matar, Karim Sarkis and Maansi Sagar via strategyand.pwc]
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The delegation consists of nine technical teams covering various sectors, including goods, services, investment, general provisions, e-commerce, intellectual property, government procurement, rules of origin, and...[via spa.gov]
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After years of regulatory uncertainty under both Democratic and Republican administrations, Trump has pledged to protect bitcoin ownership and encourage blockchain...[By Carla Sertin via agbi.com]
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68.1m international tourists visited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by the end of 2023, according to data issued by the Statistical...[via arabianbusiness.com]
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Since China is the US’s third-biggest export destination for food and agricultural products after Canada and Mexico, Beijing may retaliate by...[By Martin Keulertz via agbi.com]
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A recent analysis by Capital Economics highlights the consequences of these tariffs and their broader implications for global trade dynamics. The administration's agenda to...[By Issac John via khaleejtimes.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy started 2025 on a high as business conditions improved substantially. This improvement was largely due to the fastest increase in total...[By Yara Abi Farraj via economymiddleeast.com]
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Some of the Kingdom’s prominent military branches are participating in the drills, including forces from the Presidency of State Security and the Saudi Arabian National...[via arabnews.com]
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Strategic inbound and domestic M&A activity in the region surged 88 per cent year-on-year to reach $36 billion during the first 10 months...[By Tala Michel Issa via arabianbusiness.com]
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The Saudi Arabia Council of Health Insurance (CHI) has announced penalties against several employers for failing to meet mandatory health insurance...[By Roxanne Libatique via insurancebusinessmag.com]
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday. The two leaders held an official session...[via arabnews.com]
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"Ultimately, we're going to see the seasonal dance: Gas prices are going to go up this spring regardless of tariffs or not, they're going to...[By Julie Hyman and Josh Lipton via yahoo.com]
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The IPO proceeds are to be deployed for funding the infrastructure, land settlements, and development of the MASAR Destination, a major Makkah redevelopment project valued...[via arabianbusiness.com]
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Figures from the General Authority for Statistics released in 2023 show that 63 percent of the Kingdom’s population is under 30 years old, and the government...[By Nadin Hassan via arabnews.com]
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Pakistan has signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development to defer a $1.2 billion payment on the country's oil imports by one year,...[By Alex Kimani via oilprice.com]
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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has allocated $78 billion for defense spending in 2025, up from $75.8 billion spent in 2024, Governor of the General...[By Agnes Helou via breakingdefense.com]
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Valued at more than $200 billion globally – larger than the film and music industries combined – the gaming industry has evolved far...[via linkedin.com]
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Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab delivered 766 jets...[By Tim Hepher via reuters.com]
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