Category: Latest Updates

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiRas Al Khaimah’s economic regulator has stepped up public and business awareness over counterfeit goods, warning that fake products threaten consumer safety, undermine legitimate traders and expose offenders to serious legal action.The Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development, through its Commercial Control and Protection Department, carried out an awareness campaign titled “Protect Your Products from Counterfeiting” as part of wider efforts to curb the sale of fake goods and strengthen trademark protection across the emirate.

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiUber Technologies has agreed to acquire FlyTaxi, strengthening its position in Hong Kong’s fast-changing point-to-point transport market as the city prepares to bring ride-hailing platforms under a formal licensing regime.The deal gives Uber control of one of Hong Kong’s main remaining independent taxi-hailing apps and adds to its earlier acquisition of HKTaxi, deepening its reach into the licensed taxi trade. FlyTaxi is expected to continue operating without immediate disruption, with existing drivers and passengers on both

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDamac International has launched Harir Residences inside its Damac Hills Baghdad master community, adding twin premium residential towers to a capital city property market increasingly shaped by private developers, affluent buyers and demand for planned urban living.The project comprises two 12-storey towers with 210 apartments, offering one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The towers are positioned within a larger community near Baghdad International Airport, an area that has become a focal point for large residential schemes, commercial

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai’s aviation regulator has launched a passenger-rights framework that gives travellers a clearer route to raise complaints, track cases online and seek resolution when disputes arise with airlines or licensed travel agents.The Aviation Consumer Welfare Directive, introduced by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, establishes a formal regulatory reference for the relationship between passengers, carriers and travel agents operating in the emirate. It places the authority in a more visible mediation role, allowing it to handle

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi’s Modon has sold out Tara Park on Reem Island, generating about AED 2 billion in sales and underscoring the depth of buyer appetite for well-located residential projects in the capital.The sell-out followed strong demand for the development, which is positioned as a freehold residential community connected to Reem Mall and close to Abu Dhabi Global Market, Al Maryah Island, Downtown Abu Dhabi and key education and healthcare facilities. The response points to sustained confidence

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Emerging-market assets came under pressure as investors moved towards the dollar, cutting exposure to riskier currencies and equities before the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and amid rising doubts over artificial intelligence spending and stalled Middle East peace efforts.MSCI’s emerging-market currency gauge fell 0.3 per cent, with most major developing-economy currencies weakening against the greenback. The Philippine peso, the rupee and the Thai baht led declines, reflecting the strain on Asian foreign-exchange markets from higher oil prices,

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiEtihad Airways has launched a codeshare partnership with Air Cambodia, widening its Southeast Asian network and giving travellers a single-ticket connection from Abu Dhabi and beyond to Siem Reap through Phnom Penh.The agreement allows Etihad customers to book journeys from across its international network to Siem Reap, the gateway to the Angkor Wat temple complex, via the Cambodian capital. The arrangement includes through-checked baggage to the final destination, reducing the complexity of separate bookings and airport

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai’s Emirati Human Resources Development Council and Dubai International Financial Centre have launched a specialist programme to prepare UAE nationals for roles in wealth management, private banking and financial technology, strengthening the emirate’s push to deepen local participation in high-value financial services.The Wealth Strategist Programme is designed to equip Emirati talent with practical skills required by private banks, asset managers, family offices, FinTech firms and investment advisory businesses operating in and around DIFC. The initiative places

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Al Ain’s major citizen housing programme is moving ahead with five residential developments that will deliver 10,316 villas, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s push to build integrated neighbourhoods around family stability, public services and sustainable urban growth.Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region, reviewed progress on the projects being implemented by the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority with strategic partners. The update covered delivery timelines, infrastructure works and community facilities planned across the developments,

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiGulf bourses posted modest gains on Sunday even as hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran weakened, leaving investors to balance fragile ceasefire expectations against higher oil prices, inflation risks and slowing global growth.Trading was cautious across the region, with market moves reflecting selective buying rather than broad confidence. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index rose 0.1 per cent, supported by gains in heavyweight financial and mining stocks. Al Rajhi Bank advanced 0.6 per

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Qatar’s media-sector push has gained fresh momentum after Media City Qatar and the International Association for MediaTech entered a Platinum Partnership designed to raise the country’s profile as a regional centre for media, technology and content creation.Announced in Doha on 26 April 2026, the agreement gives Media City Qatar wider access to IAMT’s international platforms, industry events, market intelligence and training programmes. The partnership is intended to connect Qatar’s expanding media ecosystem with global broadcasters, production houses,

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiQNB Egypt has signed an EGP 5.5 billion medium-term facility agreement with MARAKEZ to finance part of the investment cost for residential and commercial expansion at District 5, strengthening one of East Cairo’s major mixed-use developments at a time when developers are turning increasingly to structured bank financing.The agreement covers funding for District 5, a 268-acre project in New Katameya that combines homes, offices, retail, leisure and food and beverage outlets. The development is positioned near

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Nokia has chosen Egypt as its support hub for the Middle East and Africa, setting up a centralised operational centre in Cairo to handle regional support activities and customer services across one of the world’s most diverse telecoms markets.The move places Egypt at the centre of Nokia’s service delivery model for operators, enterprises and public-sector customers across the region. The Cairo hub is expected to support technical operations, managed services and customer-facing functions, giving the Finnish telecoms

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiGulf Bank has renewed its long-term strategic collaboration with Mastercard, strengthening a payments alliance aimed at expanding digital banking services, improving transaction security and responding to changing customer behaviour across Kuwait’s financial sector.The renewed agreement gives Gulf Bank continued access to Mastercard’s payment technologies, digital solutions and global expertise, with a focus on contactless payments, mobile wallet services, card security, customer convenience and data-led product development. The partnership is positioned as a platform for customer-driven innovation

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Wall Street climbed to record levels as hopes for renewed US-Iran diplomacy, a stronger-than-expected Intel forecast and reduced uncertainty around Federal Reserve succession combined to fuel a broad risk rally across US assets.S&P 500 gained nearly 1 per cent on Friday, extending its longest weekly advance since 2024 and pushing the benchmark to an all-time high. Nasdaq also advanced, helped by a powerful move in semiconductor and artificial intelligence-linked shares, while Treasury yields slipped as traders

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiGlobal gas markets face a deeper supply squeeze after the International Energy Agency estimated that conflict in the Middle East could remove about 120 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas from world supply between 2026 and 2030, a loss equal to roughly 15% of expected LNG availability over the period.The warning marks a sharp reversal for a market that had been preparing for a wave of new liquefaction capacity from North America, Africa and

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi’s Aldar has sold 80 per cent of the homes released at Yas Park Place, generating more than AED800 million in sales and underscoring sustained investor appetite for lifestyle-led residential communities on Yas Island. The sales result places the project among the developer’s stronger launches of 2026, at a time when Abu Dhabi’s property market is drawing deeper interest from both local buyers and overseas investors.Yas Park Place, positioned beside Yas Central Park, is being developed

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Aldar has sold 80% of the homes released in the first phase of Yas Park Place on Yas Island, generating more than AED800 million in sales and underlining the continuing pull of Abu Dhabi’s off-plan residential market at a time when demand remains strong from both domestic and overseas buyers. The project, announced on 23 April, adds another fast-moving launch to the developer’s expanding pipeline on one of the capital’s most closely watched residential and leisure corridors.The

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiRaimondi Middle East has crossed the threshold of 100 cranes in operation across the UAE, underscoring how deeply the company has embedded itself in one of the Gulf’s busiest construction markets. The 100th machine, a Raimondi LR273 luffing jib crane, has been deployed in Dubai and is the first unit of that model to be installed in the country.The milestone is more than a branding exercise. It reflects the intensity of building activity across the

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Stake has teamed up with ACE & Company to build a secondary transfer facility for fractional real estate investments in the UAE, a move aimed at tackling one of the biggest weak points in digital property ownership: liquidity. The Dubai-based platform said the arrangement is designed to give investors clearer routes to sell holdings before the eventual disposal of an underlying asset, while improving price visibility and strengthening confidence in a market that has drawn growing

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi has stepped up its push to place more Emiratis in banking, finance and insurance, with the Central Bank of the UAE saying the sector’s Emiratisation programme outperformed its 2025 target and moved beyond entry-level hiring towards strategic and specialised roles. The latest official update said the “Ethraa” programme reached 160% of its 2025 goal, building on a strong 2024 performance and tying the hiring drive to broader efforts to strengthen the country’s financial system,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Al-Futtaim has launched a nationwide initiative called “One Family”, positioning the programme as a year-long effort to create more opportunities for families across the UAE to spend time together through shared experiences, practical support and community-focused activities aligned with the country’s Year of Family 2026. The group said the initiative will run across its retail, automotive, real estate, health, financial services and education businesses, with access centralised through its Blue lifestyle app and a dedicated “One Family”

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Washington’s suggestion that the United Arab Emirates might need outside financial support has drawn a swift rebuttal from Abu Dhabi, with the country’s envoy in the United States saying such claims misread the strength of the federation’s economy and balance sheet. The response followed remarks by President Donald Trump that a currency swap arrangement with the UAE was under consideration and that he would help if needed, comments made against the backdrop of conflict-related disruption linked

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Commodity trading houses are drawing another surge in earnings as the conflict centred on Iran tears through oil, gas and shipping markets, sending prices higher, widening regional differentials and creating the kind of volatility that large physical merchants have historically turned into outsized gains. The upheaval has hit flows through the Strait of Hormuz, jolted tanker availability, lifted insurance costs and scrambled crude quality balances, giving the biggest energy traders fresh scope to profit from arbitrage,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Donald Trump has said Washington is considering a currency swap arrangement with the United Arab Emirates, opening the door to an extraordinary financial support mechanism as Gulf states assess the economic risks created by the war involving Iran and the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz. The remark has thrust an arcane central-banking tool into a fast-moving geopolitical crisis and underlined how quickly military confrontation can spill into liquidity, trade and currency markets.Trump’s comment came

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai International Financial Centre has unveiled plans to remake itself as what it describes as the world’s first AI-native financial centre, tying the ambition to a projected $3.5 billion contribution to Dubai’s economy and the creation of 25,000 jobs as artificial intelligence is woven into regulation, operations, talent development and the district’s built environment. The move marks a step beyond the common industry approach of using AI mainly for back-office efficiency or client-facing tools, and instead

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiDubai Holding Real Estate has moved to reshape the financing model for off-plan home sales by partnering with Emirates NBD to embed mortgage solutions into purchases across projects developed by Meraas, Nakheel and Dubai Properties. The arrangement allows eligible buyers to seek mortgage pre-approval at the off-plan stage, widening access to bank finance earlier in the transaction and reducing dependence on developer-led instalment structures.The agreement is significant because off-plan sales have become one of the

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The United Arab Emirates said it had dismantled a terrorist organisation inside the country and arrested its members over what authorities described as a covert plot to undermine national unity, infiltrate sensitive locations and prepare sabotage operations. Investigators said the group was tied to Iran’s Wilayat al-Faqih doctrine, while state-linked reporting in the UAE said officials had publicly identified 27 suspects as part of the case.Authorities said the organisation had moved beyond rhetoric and was

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiUAE officials used the World Bank Group and IMF Spring Meetings in Washington to press a broader case for stronger multilateral coordination, flexible fiscal policy and wider financial partnerships, as the gatherings unfolded against a darker global backdrop of slower growth, energy-market strain and rising uncertainty. The delegation, led by Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said the meetings from 13 to 18 April produced concrete outcomes in bilateral and multilateral

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiPrestige One Developments has begun handing over Vista, a 140-home residential project in Dubai Sports City, marking a delivery milestone for the developer as it expands construction activity across the emirate. The handover comes as Prestige One says it has more than 20 active developments under way and about 2,500 residential units under construction, underscoring how mid-sized developers are trying to convert off-plan momentum into completed stock at a time when Dubai’s property market is balancing

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The Integrated Transport Centre, an affiliate of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport, has held its annual ceremony to honour strategic partners, using the event to spotlight the role of public-private collaboration in shaping the emirate’s transport ambitions. The gathering in Abu Dhabi came as the transport authority continues to widen its work with technology firms, mobility operators and infrastructure partners across road, maritime and advanced mobility projects.The ceremony was framed not simply as a recognition

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained far from normal on Friday evening even after Tehran said the waterway was open to all merchant traffic, with ship-tracking data showing a cluster of vessels moving towards the passage before many stopped or turned back. The movements underlined the gap between Iran’s political signal and the shipping industry’s assessment of operational risk across one of the world’s most sensitive maritime chokepoints.Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai UAE equities closed higher on Friday, extending a second straight week of gains as traders responded to signs that Washington and Tehran may keep diplomatic channels open, lifting sentiment across Gulf markets and pushing Dubai to its highest level in about six weeks. Dubai outpaced Abu Dhabi, with buying concentrated in banking and property names as investors weighed the prospect of lower geopolitical risk around the Strait of Hormuz and the wider region.Dubai’s main share

Arabian Post Staff -DubaiAbu Dhabi has moved to expand lower-cost rental housing through a new partnership between the Department of Municipalities and Transport and Aldar, with the two sides planning about 9,000 value housing units across Mohamed Bin Zayed City and Baniyas in a scheme aimed at easing pressure on tenants and broadening access to professionally managed homes. The projects, announced on 17 April, sit within the government’s Value Housing Programme and carry a gross development value of AED2.8