Saudi Arabia welcomes 60 million visitors in H1 2024

Saudi Arabia welcomes 60 million visitors in H1 2024

Saudi Arabia witnessed a 22.9 per cent increase in visitor spending in Q1 2024 compared to the previous year

Dubai: Sheikh Hamdan appoints 22 AI chiefs across government institutions

Dubai’s GDP grows by 3.2% in first quarter of 2024

Dubai’s transportation and storage sector saw significant growth, driven primarily by a 6.8 per cent increase in air transport demand

UAE EU trade talks Middle east

UAE hopes to reactivate trade talks with EU this year

The UAE has long advocated deeper EU involvement in the region

PIF

Saudi’s PIF appoints Fahad Al Saif as new head of investment strategy

The PIF has a sprawling portfolio of investments ranging from date farms to multinational conglomerates

Flydubai-Cairo

Flydubai in early talks for largest ever airplane order

flydubai announced the purchase of 175 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes in 2017

Exit 55 widening near Rabat Street completed image RTA

Dubai: New widened Exit 55 to cut traffic time by 60%

By expanding the exit, RTA has increased the exit’s capacity from 3,000 vehicles per hour to 4,500 vehicles per hour

Al-Futtaim's Hasan Nergiz on BYD's popularity in UAE, Saudi Arabia

Al-Futtaim’s Hasan Nergiz on BYD’s popularity in UAE, Saudi Arabia

The MD of Al-Futtaim Electric Mobility Company shares that EV maker BYD’s SEAL, SONG PLUS and HAN models are very popular in the UAE and Saudi Arabia

UAE PASSPORT

UAE ranks in top 10 of world’s most powerful passports according to Henley Index

The ranking marks a significant rise for the UAE, which has climbed from 62nd to 9th position, over the past 18 years

G42 company Core42 unveils Compass 2.0_ Image for illustrative purposes_GettyImages

Core42, Qualcomm launch Compass 2.0 to advance AI solutions

The platform, which soft-launched in January, has successfully processed approximately 150 billion tokens since its inception

Oman-CAA-RAIN

Rain, flash flood alert issued for parts of Oman

Oman’s capital Muscat is likely to see scattered rainfall in the early hours of June 24 with temperatures hovering in the mid-to-high 30s

Saudi Arabia is a key growth market, says Honeywell exec Phil Daniell

Saudi Arabia is a key growth market, says Honeywell’s Phil Daniell

The VP and GM of Honeywell Building Automation (META) delves into the company’s expansion strategy in Saudi Arabia, including the opening of its new facility in Dhahran

ADNOC L&S invests $1.9bn to expand shipping fleet

ADNOC L&S expands shipping fleet with 13 new vessels

AW Shipping, ADNOC L&S’s joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group, awarded shipbuilding contracts to Jiangnan Shipyard in China

Aref Yehia-Head-of-Retail-E-Commerce-at-TikTok-MENA

TikTok’s Aref Yehia on how F&B brands leverage the platform

The head of Business Partnerships for Retail and E-Commerce shares how F&B brands are using the social media platform to enhance their marketing efforts

du

UAE telecom operator du’s half-year profits top 54%

du’s postpaid customer base grew by 11.3 per cent to reach 1.7 million subscribers

NEOM-TREYAM EQUINOX HOTELS

NEOM: Equinox Hotels to open bridge resort on Magna’s Treyam

The bridge will connect guest rooms and suites, a club house, a spa, and a signature Equinox Hotels fitness club

DEWA commissions 8 new transmission substations

DEWA invests Dhs1.36bn in 8 new 132/11 kV transmission substations

The projects included 89 km of ground cable to advance the efficiency of the transmission network and meet the growing demand for electricity

UAE-MAURITIUS CEPA

UAE, Mauritius sign comprehensive economic partnership agreement

The UAE-Mauritius CEPA is set to deepen trade and investment ties, and streamline market access for businesses, in both countries

Carrefour celebrates Plastic Free July, encourages shoppers to develop sustainable shopping habits

How Carrefour is encouraging shoppers to go ‘plastic free’

Starting July 3, which coincided with International Plastic Bag Free Day, Carrefour eliminated the use of plastic bags every Wednesday across all its stores

Boeing delays impede flydubai’s expansion plans

Dubai’s flydubai says expansion plans hindered by Boeing delays

The budget carrier urged the US manufacturer to honour and renew its commitment to meet its delivery obligations

Saudi data law deadline: Is your organisation ready? We ask an expert from FTI Consulting

Saudi data law deadline: Is your organisation ready?

Jack Fletcher, a privacy expert at FTI Consulting, shares his perspectives on the current state of readiness among organisations ahead of the enforcement of the Saudi Personal Data Protection Law in September

India further tighthens rice shipments -Getty Images-653903198

GCC food market to benefit as India plans to ease rice export curbs

New Delhi exports more than 4 million metric tons of premium long-grain rice to countries such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US

ADCB posts 20% rise in quarterly net profit, beats forecasts

In its Q2 2024 financial results, ADCB reported significant growth driven by increased net interest and non-interest income

OPEC

OPEC+ unlikely to change oil output policy at upcoming meet, sources say

OPEC+ is currently cutting output by about 5.7 per cent of global demand, in a series of steps agreed since late 2022

GEMS Education secures $3.25bn financing facility

Dubai’s GEMS Education secures $3.25bn new financing facility

Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreq Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank acted as underwriters on the financing facility

Flynas becomes first Saudi carrier to join UNWTO (Image: Supplied by flynas)

Airbus nears deal to sell 30 A330neos to Flynas: Reports

The Flynas-Airbus deal announcement could come as early as this week’s Farnborough Airshow

IT MICROSOFT-BDOS

World’s ‘biggest IT fail’ in numbers: Billions lost, millions of devices impacted, thousands of flights hit

The outage affected major companies including Amazon, Delta Airlines, Bank of America, and Visa among others

Dubai’s RTA announces Dhs1.1bn deal for low-emission buses

Dubai’s RTA announces Dhs1.1bn deal for low-emission buses

The buses meet the European low carbon emission standards (Euro 6) and are set to be delivered in 2024 and 2025

ramadan

When is Ramadan 2025?

The exact start of Ramadan can vary each year due to differing interpretations and methods used to sight the new moon

climate

‘It feels like 62°C’: Humidity intensifies heatwave in Dubai, Kuwait

Official temperatures in recent days have hovered above the 40°C mark, but the so-called ‘feels like’ temperature has reached 62°C