A 17.9% credit expansion and banking assets crossing AED 5.4 trillion tell you something specific about where capital is flowing in the UAE. The Central Bank’s latest annual report puts hard numbers behind a story that investors and business leaders across the MENA region have been watching closely. The CBUAE’s annual report confirms real GDP … Read more
Five years of progress that was supposed to take fifteen — that’s the timeline compression the new chairman of the Arab Federation of Capital Markets says has already reshaped the region’s exchanges. Now the question is whether that momentum can be extended beyond a handful of dominant markets to the broader Arab world. Abdulla Salem … Read more
When 190 countries vote on where to convene the world’s most consequential financial gathering, the result says more about a nation’s economic credibility than any credit rating ever could. Abu Dhabi just won that vote for 2029, and the implications for the UAE’s position in global finance deserve a closer look. The UAE has secured … Read more
Swapping out a patchwork of dollar and sterling loans for a single dirham facility worth AED 815 million is not just housekeeping — it tells you where Aramex sees its financial centre of gravity shifting. The move, valued at $222 million, ties the company’s borrowing costs directly to sustainability targets, a structure still relatively uncommon … Read more
A single-day jump of 8% in crude oil is the kind of move that rewrites quarterly forecasts across the Gulf overnight. That is exactly what energy markets delivered on Sunday, driven by a geopolitical escalation that places Iran — and by extension the entire MENA energy corridor — at the centre of global supply anxiety. … Read more
A $60.7 billion window is opening in global logistics, and the companies that stitch together sea, rail and road into a single cargo journey stand to capture most of it. That figure comes not from a consultancy pitch deck but from a detailed whitepaper by one of the Gulf’s largest port operators, and it signals … Read more
Holding rates steady sounds routine until you consider what it signals for every mortgage holder, business borrower, and deposit saver across the UAE. The Central Bank of the UAE has once again chosen to keep its base rate exactly where it has been, and the reasoning tells a broader story about where Gulf monetary policy … Read more
For the roughly 3.5 million Indian nationals living and working across the UAE, the company handling their passport renewals, visa applications, and consular paperwork is about to change. That shift carries real practical consequences for one of the largest expatriate communities in the Gulf. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has awarded a new … Read more
Six billion dollars aimed at a region where bond markets remain shallow relative to GDP signals more than development financing. It signals that Southeast Asia’s capital market infrastructure is now a strategic priority for multilateral lenders preparing for a more volatile decade ahead. The Asian Development Bank has announced plans to mobilise up to $6 … Read more
A $1.4 billion bet on commercial real estate along Sheikh Zayed Road tells you more about one billionaire’s reading of Dubai‘s trajectory than any sentiment survey could. Khalaf Al Habtoor is putting that capital to work at a moment when some developers are trimming prices to keep buyers engaged. The founding chairman of Al Habtoor … Read more