Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio signed a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services to India, a surprise move from the billionaires after being at odds for several months over how the country should grant them spectrum.

The deal follows a similar partnership announcement between Starlink and India’s No. 2 telecom player Bharti Airtel a day before.

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The Indian telecom operators will stock Starlink equipment in their retail stores, giving Starlink a direct distribution point in thousands of such outlets across the country.

Both deals are conditional upon Starlink obtaining government approval to begin operations in the country.

The agreements come weeks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Elon Musk in Washington, where they discussed issues including space, mobility, technology and innovation.

India’s satellite service sector

India’s satellite service sector is set to grow 36 per cent a year to $1.9bn by 2030, according to Deloitte.

“The deal creates a business modality for Starlink to make government approvals easier,” said Chaitanya Giri, Space Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.

Starlink has been waiting since 2022 for licenses to operate commercially in India, with no clear timeline yet on a decision. It has been delayed for reasons including national security concerns.

“The advantage with Starlink is that it is a larger constellation, it benefits from SpaceX’s high rocket launch frequency, and the geopolitical heft thanks to the Trump-Musk relationship,” Giri added.

The pact is tied to certain financial terms, a source familiar with the matter said, without disclosing details.

“This is a low-cost entry model for” Starlink in India, the person added.

Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, will also provide installation and activation support for the Starlink devices, too.

Reliance said in a statement that Jio and SpaceX are also evaluating other areas of cooperation to leverage their respective infrastructure, without elaborating.

Musk and India

The stakes are high for Musk in India, where he also recently signed a deal for first Tesla showroom to sell its imported electric cars.

Yet, tariffs of over 100 per cent weigh on the carmaker, with Musk repeatedly complaining that they are among the steepest in the world.

“While it has been surprising, it’s a prudent strategy for Starlink to enter the India market and a win-win for all the parties involved earlier competing for the pie and now cooperating and sharing,” said Neil Shah, co-founder of research firm Counterpoint.

Jio Platforms, which already operates a satellite internet joint venture with Luxembourg-based SES, has secured approvals from India’s space regulator to launch commercial satellite broadband services in the country.

Ambani’s Reliance and Musk have previously clashed over the methodology of awarding spectrum for satellite services in India.

Reliance had urged an auction but the Indian government sided with Musk, who wanted it to be allocated administratively, in line with global trends.

Over the past decade, GCC issuers mainly relied on banks, bonds, and sukuk to meet their funding needs.

The total amount of private capital financings raised by GCC issuers between 2020 and 2024 increased significantly to $54.8bn, from $10.4bn between 2015 and 2019, and is set to rise further.

In the next few years, we anticipate private capital financings in GCC countries will gain further importance, considering higher interest from private capital providers in the region.

The number of transactions that were financed with private capital peaked at $20.4bn in 2023, however, this decreased to $14.5bn in 2024 (see chart 1).

The steep decline over 2024 largely resulted from improving financing conditions in local banking sectors and bond and sukuk markets, and the decline in interest rates.

Even so, the number of transactions in 2024 was still 2.7 times higher than in 2015 (see chart 1), which is indicative of the strong fundamentals that underpin the increase in private capital financings.

Bonds continue to dominate

We analysed the data related to financing raised by GCC issuers over the past decade. We specifically focused on financing from banks, bond and sukuk issuances, equity capital market transactions – such as initial public offerings (IPOs) – and private capital financings via private credit investments, private equity investments, venture financing, sovereign wealth fund investments, and other fund investments or credits.

Based on our analysis, GCC issuers, including GCC governments, raised $3.5tn over the past decade (see chart 2). Bond issuances, which accounted for 51 per cent of the total amount raised in 2024, constituted the preferred method of financing, followed by financing from banks, which contributed 26 per cent.

In addition, three other asset classes experienced a significant increase in GCC issuers’ funding mix: sukuk issuances accounted for 19 per cent of the amount raised in 2024, equity capital market transactions – such as IPOs – or 6 per cent, and private capital financings for 3 per cent.

Focus on large deals

Private companies received most of the private capital financing and those investments concentrated on the largest deals.

Over the past decade, the top 10 transactions accounted for almost 80 per cent of the total annual volume of private capital financings. What’s more, large corporates, including government-related entities (GREs), were among the recipients of private capital financing.

Both large corporates and GREs will continue to optimise their funding mix and seize opportunities, while smaller companies will increasingly turn to private financings, particularly if they are at an early development stage.

Our analysis of private financing transactions shows that private financiers have expanded their reach over time to provide funding to more mature and established companies, not just those at early development stages.

Established companies received 79 per cent of private financings in December 2024, up from 31 per cent in 2015 (see chart 3).

Private financing can help early-stage firms

Even though these established companies could have easily raised the required funding from banks or capital markets, they chose private financings, which could provide a faster or more streamlined execution, more flexible terms, or more competitive pricing.

Nevertheless, we do not expect private capital to challenge the role banks play in the region because the overall volume of private financings remains relatively small.

On the demand side, private capital financing can help early-stage firms and make them bankable over time, which fuels the financial ecosystem by creating more growth opportunities. Banks tend to be wary of providing loans to companies at early development stages unless they benefit from external support or guarantees.

On the supply side, regional private capital providers for GCC corporates, including sovereign wealth funds, will continue to diversify their geographic exposure to avoid over-relying on a single economy or region.

GCC investors will remain on the radar of large companies that aim to raise money outside of the traditional banking system or capital markets, especially when interest rates are high.

The writer is the MD and Financial Institutions Sector lead at S&P Global Ratings (for the emerging EEMEA region).

Read: Private equity rebound gains momentum amid challenges, shows report

Dubai is set to take a step forward in addressing its ongoing traffic problems with the introduction of the Dubai Metro’s Gold Line.

According to a MEED (Middle East Business Intelligence) report, the procurement process for the Gold Line has already begun, setting the ball rolling in this direction.

Read-Dubai Metro Blue Line to begin operations in Sept 2029

The metro’s Gold Line will start at Al Ghubaiba in Bur Dubai and run through Business Bay, Meydan, Global Village, and Dubailand.

It will help ease the pressure on the Red Line and improve accessibility between the older part of Dubai and the newer residential and commercial developments.

As the first phase of the project, the RTA has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to invite global firms to submit bids for the lead consultancy role. The RFP will close in May 2025, a report in Metro Rail Daily said.

The consultancy contract for the Gold Line will cover several elements, including the concept design, preliminary design, and preparation of tender documents. It will also include optional stages, such as construction supervision and post-construction services during the defects liability period.

The entities vying for the role include prominent companies such as AECOM (US), AtkinsRéalis (Canada), Jacobs (US), Mott MacDonald (UK), Parsons Corporation (US), and SYSTRA (France).

In the works: Dubai Metro Blue line

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) had officially launched the Dubai Metro Blue Line project, in December 2024.

The Dhs20.5bn project will span 30 kilometres, featuring 14 stations and providing seamless connectivity to key urban areas and will be connecting key residential and commercial areas, including Dubai Creek Harbour, Festival City, Mirdif, and Dubai Silicon Oasis.

The line will also feature a mix of underground and elevated tracks, with a total of 14 stations along its 30-kilometre route, including three major interchange stations: Al Khor (on the Green Line), Centrepoint (on the Red Line), and International City (1).

Prominent feature of the Blue Line

One of the most distinuished features of the project will be a signature station at Dubai Creek Harbour, which will feature a unique architectural design by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM).

This station will be a key focal point of the project, and it will be designed to handle 160,000 passengers daily by 2040.

The Blue Line will also feature Dubai Metro’s first-ever crossing over Dubai Creek via a 1,300-metre bridge, adding a striking visual and functional landmark to the project.

Publicis Sapient, a digital business transformation firm, has signed a five-year strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to leverage AI and machine learning for enterprise IT modernisation and customer experience enhancement, the companies said on Tuesday.

The collaboration aims to integrate Publicis Sapient’s SPEED methodology — spanning strategy, product, experience, engineering, and data and AI — with AWS’ cloud services to accelerate the migration of legacy IT workloads.

The companies will develop generative AI-powered solutions for personalised digital experiences, software development optimisation, and cloud adoption acceleration.

Publicis Sapient will offer clients access to its AI and ML ecosystem, including Bodhi, an enterprise AI/ML platform built on AWS. Bodhi utilises Amazon SageMaker and Amazon Bedrock, providing model selection, enterprise-grade AI capabilities, and security measures.

Another tool, Slingshot, will facilitate software lifecycle automation and legacy system modernisation.

“Publicis Sapient has been a proud AWS partner for years. This agreement strengthens our commitment to harnessing AWS’s generative AI services to drive transformation for our clients,” said Nigel Vaz, CEO of Publicis Sapient.

AWS CEO Matt Garman said the collaboration “marries AWS’s advanced AI capabilities with Publicis Sapient’s transformation expertise to help businesses accelerate cloud adoption and deepen customer engagement”.

Publicis Sapient to set up an AWS business unit

As part of the agreement, Publicis Sapient is establishing an AWS business unit, investing in business development, sales, marketing, and AI capabilities. The companies plan to co-develop industry-specific AI solutions and provide AWS training for Publicis Sapient employees.

The partnership builds on existing initiatives, such as a digital showroom for a global automaker that consolidated online car shopping data across 190 markets, increasing test drives by over 900 per cent.

Another project for a pharmaceutical firm used AskBodhi on AWS to automate localised marketing content, cutting content creation costs by 35-45 per cent. Additionally, a wealth management firm transitioned its financial data platform to AWS, reducing search response time by 80 per cent and increasing advisor satisfaction.

Saudi Arabia’s national carrier, Saudia, is among the enterprises leveraging the collaboration. “AWS’s generative AI services, combined with Publicis Sapient’s expertise, are helping us innovate while ensuring security standards,” said Abdulgader Attiah, Saudia Group’s chief data and technology officer.

Publicis Sapient, recently named a leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Cloud Professional Services 2024 Vendor Assessment, is also offering solutions like AskBodhi and Wealth Management Accelerator via AWS Marketplace.

Read: AWS’ Kevin Miller on AI, sustainability and plans for the region

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) welcomed the listing of Alpha Data, a leading UAE-based digital transformation provider and systems integrator, marking the country’s first initial public offering (IPO) of 2025 and the exchange’s second offering of the year.

Alpha Data’s IPO attracted strong demand from regional and international investors, with the offering oversubscribed by double digits. The company raised Dhs600m through the issuance of 400 million shares, representing 40 per cent of its issued share capital, at the top end of its offer price of Dhs1.50 per share.

Upon listing, Alpha Data’s market capitalisation stood at approximately Dhs1.5bn, reinforcing its strong position in the UAE’s technology sector.

The listing strengthens ADX’s position as a diversified market, expanding its technology offerings with companies specialising in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and cloud computing.

The exchange continues to enhance its role as a platform for high-growth enterprises seeking access to capital markets.

Alpha Data is ADX’s second offering during the year

“We are delighted to welcome Alpha Data to ADX as the UAE’s first IPO of 2025 and our second offering during the year. This milestone reflects our unwavering commitment to providing investors with access to a dynamic and diversified marketplace, particularly in the high-growth digital infrastructure and technology sector,” said Abdulla Salem Alnuaimi, group CEO of ADX. “As ADX continues to expand its offering, we are creating greater opportunities for investors to participate in the digital economy.”

“As a key enabler of sustainable growth and capital market development in the region, we will continue to support more private companies in achieving their growth ambitions via the ADX listing platform,” Alnuaimi added.

Fayez Ibbini, founder and CEO of Alpha Data, said: “We are incredibly proud to join the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange as a homegrown UAE family business after seeing strong demand and support for our strategic vision during our IPO. Our listing marks an exciting new chapter for Alpha Data and is more than just a milestone in our 40-year journey of growth and innovation; it’s a commitment to our shareholders and the broader market to keep delivering growth and champion technological developments.”

ADX recently launched ADX Group, which has introduced advanced trading, clearing, and settlement capabilities through its new subsidiaries, AD Clear and AD CSD.

Read: New ADX Group to boost Abu Dhabi’s investment ecosystem