Category: Latest Updates

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia’s Almarai plans to invest more than $4 billion through 2031 to expand production capacity, diversify its food and beverage portfolio and strengthen its presence across priority markets. The Riyadh-based company unveiled details of its 2026–2031 growth strategy at a capital markets day on Thursday, outlining four priorities covering established businesses, new product categories, emerging distribution channels and geographical expansion. The investment programme, exceeding 15 billion Saudi riyals, will support additional manufacturing capacity, operational improvements and capabilities

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Senior Emirati women leaders have gathered in Dubai for a Women Board of Directors and PwC Middle East forum focused on leadership, resilience and expanding women’s influence across the UAE’s public and private sectors. The “Reaffirmation” gathering, held on September 28 at PwC Middle East’s Emaar Square offices, brought together Huda Buhumaid, Raja Al Mazrouei, Aarefa Al Falahi and Maha Al Hosani with leaders from government, finance, aviation, healthcare and business. The programme combined panel discussions,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Deutsche Bank has made three key appointments in its Dubai office as the German lender broadens investment banking coverage across the Middle East and seeks to capture growing capital-markets and institutional-client business. Ilya Korobov has relocated from London to Dubai as a director of debt capital markets for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He joined Deutsche Bank in November 2025 and will now concentrate on debt capital markets coverage across the Middle East

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company has agreed to acquire another residential mortgage portfolio from Banque Saudi Fransi, marking the third portfolio purchase between the two institutions as Saudi Arabia expands liquidity in its housing finance market. The Public Investment Fund-owned company, known as SRC, said the transaction would reinforce cooperation with BSF by supplying liquidity to mortgage lenders and increasing their capacity to continue extending residential finance. No value for the portfolio was disclosed in the announcement. The

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Rasmal Ventures and Türkiye’s Bilişim Vadisi have signed a three-year cooperation agreement aimed at creating a structured route for startups, investors and companies between Türkiye and Gulf markets. The memorandum of understanding, signed in Istanbul, covers joint innovation programmes, investor and business-to-business matchmaking, knowledge exchange, capacity building and the movement of startups, specialists and networks between the two regions. The partnership also involves Terminal Istanbul, Bilişim Vadisi’s flagship entrepreneurship hub being developed at the former Atatürk Airport. The

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Yemen’s internationally recognised government has ordered its armed forces into a nationwide campaign to retake Houthi-held territory, marking a sharp expansion of fighting after weeks of escalating confrontation involving the Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia. Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council and supreme commander of the armed forces, announced the operation on Sunday, saying the government was moving from preparation to action after exhausting opportunities for de-escalation. He said the objective was to restore state

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Israel’s Supreme Court has unanimously restored the country’s two main Arab electoral lists to the October 27 parliamentary ballot, overturning disqualifications imposed by the Central Elections Committee before voting this month. The court ruled that neither Ra’am nor the Joint List met the stringent legal threshold required to exclude a political list from a Knesset election. The decision preserves the principal electoral vehicles representing Israel’s Arab minority in a vote that could determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The UAE Ministry of Finance has listed its second five-year Sovereign Retail T-Sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, opening the government-backed Islamic instrument to secondary-market trading after subscription, allocation and settlement were completed. The offering drew subscription orders of AED285 million, about 5.7 times its AED50 million target, underscoring demand among individual investors for the second issuance under the sovereign retail programme. The sukuk carries an annual profit rate of 5.06 per cent, with distributions every six months, and has

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The two pilots involved in a violent cockpit altercation aboard flydubai flight FZ1073 have been transferred from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi, placing them directly within a UAE investigation seeking to establish what triggered the mid-air emergency. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior said the captain and co-pilot left for Abu Dhabi on Thursday after receiving medical clearance, accompanied by a UAE security team. Preliminary Saudi findings established that the co-pilot assaulted the captain during the flight and

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia has lifted crude flows through its East-West Pipeline to nearly 6 million barrels a day, restoring more than 80% of the strategic route’s capacity and sharply increasing oil available for export from the Red Sea coast. The 7 million-barrel-a-day conduit, operated by Saudi Aramco, is now carrying volumes close to levels reached during the Iran war, after running at roughly half capacity earlier this week. About 4.5 million barrels a day can be made available

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised Captain Smit Machchhar as a “hero” for his actions during a cockpit emergency aboard a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, saying his courage helped avert a major tragedy. Modi said on Thursday that Machchhar showed “immense courage” and an unwavering determination to protect others despite suffering serious injuries. “India is proud of Captain Machchhar,” he said, while wishing the pilot a speedy recovery, renewed strength and good health. PM

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Global air passenger demand fell 0.8 per cent year-on-year in August, as a renewed contraction in Middle Eastern traffic outweighed growth across several other regions, the International Air Transport Association said. Demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, declined from August 2025 even as airlines increased total capacity by 0.3 per cent, measured in available seat kilometres. The global passenger load factor consequently slipped 0.9 percentage points to 85.1 per cent. The figures marked a reversal from July, when

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Israel’s Transport Minister Miri Regev has called for all Flydubai flights to Israel to be suspended after a Dubai-Tel Aviv service made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia following a serious cockpit incident on Wednesday. Regev asked Israel’s Shin Bet security service to halt the Dubai-based carrier’s operations pending an investigation into the episode and compliance with security arrangements governing its services to Israel. Her intervention followed the diversion of Flydubai flight FZ1073 to Tabuk, north-western Saudi

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Oman’s manufacturing output rose 16.1 per cent year on year to about RO2.188 billion in the first half of 2026, with chemicals and refined petroleum products driving a broad expansion in industrial activity. Data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed basic chemicals manufacturing increased 22.7 per cent to RO659.6 million, while refined petroleum products climbed 40 per cent to RO397.2 million. Other manufacturing industries grew 6.3 per cent to RO1.132 billion, indicating that the

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Chicago’s City Council has approved the $2.53 billion sale of its privatised parking-meter concession to Stonepeak Partners, clearing the transfer from a Morgan Stanley-led investor group after months of political dispute over the transaction. Aldermen voted 46-3 on Tuesday to authorise Stonepeak, a New York-based infrastructure investment firm, to acquire Chicago Parking Meters LLC, which controls the city’s metered street-parking system under a 75-year concession signed in 2008. The approval came one day before a September 30

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia’s local-currency debt market is poised to attract greater foreign participation as riyal-denominated government sukuk enter JPMorgan’s Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets series from 2027, according to Fitch Ratings. Fitch said the planned inclusion should draw additional overseas investment into a market that is already more developed than local-currency debt markets elsewhere in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Foreign investors accounted for 15% of Saudi sovereign primary debt issuance in the first half of 2026, up from 12%

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Iraq Stock Exchange has begun live trading through Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange’s Tabadul network, giving investors in Iraq direct access to securities listed in Abu Dhabi and opening the Iraqi market to eligible investors across the cross-border platform. ADX said on Tuesday that ISX had become the eighth market to go live on Tabadul, while the wider network now comprises 11 exchanges. The platform allows participating markets to connect without requiring companies to pursue dual listings, with

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi-based Shorooq and Presight have invested in Maven Robotics as part of the US industrial robotics company's $100 million Series A financing round. The investment was made through the Presight–Shorooq AI and Bedaya funds managed by Shorooq, the companies said. RoboStrategy, LocalGlobe, Vine Ventures and XTX Ventures also participated in the financing, which Maven announced earlier this month. The individual commitments from Shorooq and Presight were not disclosed. Maven, founded in 2024 and headquartered in Santa Clara,

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Majid Al Futtaim has opened ELMNT33° at Mall of Egypt, investing EGP457 million in a new dining, lifestyle and co-working destination as the Dubai-based group broadens its footprint in Egypt. The 5,250-square-metre development brings restaurants and cafés together with lifestyle offerings and flexible workspaces at the mall in 6th of October City. The company said the concept is intended to extend the role of the shopping centre beyond conventional retail by combining dining, work and social

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Unilever Egypt has commissioned a new Sunsilk shampoo production line at its Mashreq Personal Care factory in 6th of October City, raising the plant’s annual production capacity by 20% and directing the additional output entirely to export markets. The line is the 13th at the factory and forms part of the consumer goods group’s expansion of manufacturing in Egypt. The facility currently sends about 65% of its production to overseas markets, supplying more than 30 countries, while

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Sharjah Islamic Bank has completed a $500 million five-year sukuk after attracting $1.3 billion of orders, giving the Sharia-compliant lender demand equal to 2.6 times the issue size. The sukuk was priced at a final yield and periodic distribution rate of 5.85 per cent, equivalent to a spread of 105 basis points over five-year US Treasuries. The transaction was priced at par and represented the bank’s 13th sukuk issuance since it entered international capital markets in 2006. Investor

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Huawei is making its first appearance at the Egypt Mining Forum on Monday, presenting digital-power and clean-energy technologies aimed at improving the reliability, efficiency and sustainability of mining operations. The company is participating in the fifth edition of the two-day forum, which opens on September 28 at the St Regis New Capital in Cairo under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources is hosting the gathering, which runs through Tuesday

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai The UAE’s ambassador to Uzbekistan has received a joint delegation from the Emirates Scholar Center for Research and Studies and the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with talks focusing on expanding academic, cultural and research cooperation with Uzbek institutions. Dr Saeed Matar Al Qamzi hosted the delegation at the UAE Embassy in Tashkent during its visit to Uzbekistan, the Emirates Scholar Center said. Mohammed Al Dhaheri, deputy ambassador and head of the embassy’s economic, political

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Young delegates have presented the outcomes of the inaugural Young Voices for Justice Youth Forum to the UAE Ministry of Justice as the 15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice opened in Abu Dhabi. The handover on Saturday placed youth recommendations before the six-day UN gathering after 62 young people from around the world spent two days developing proposals on crime prevention, criminal justice and the rule of law. Half of the forum participants

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Iran has presented the United States with a proposed regional ceasefire framework that would halt attacks on Arab states, gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set a timetable for broader negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, according to officials briefed on the diplomatic effort. The proposal, conveyed during talks around the United Nations General Assembly in New York, envisages a ceasefire lasting as long as 60 days while Washington and Tehran work through disputes over

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Saudi Arabia is driving a $90 billion hotel and resort development pipeline across the Gulf and North Africa, accounting for about 110,000 of nearly 200,000 rooms planned across the region, new HVS data show. The pipeline would expand the region’s existing hotel room supply by about 27 per cent, underlining the scale of investment continuing across major tourism markets despite a more selective financing environment. Around 88,000 rooms are already under construction and another 25,000 are in

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Turkish Airlines has finalised an agreement with Boeing for up to 150 737 MAX aircraft, securing 100 firm 737-8 orders and options for 50 more jets in its largest single-aisle purchase from the US manufacturer. The agreement, announced on Wednesday, concludes negotiations that began in 2025 and gives the carrier substitution rights allowing some of the additional aircraft to be converted to the larger 737-10 variant. Boeing said the deal was completed in the presence of Turkish

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Morgan Stanley has moved to contain the fallout from an accidental disclosure of a confidential investment-banking deal list, with regulators and market participants assessing the implications of the breach. The document, sent by email from Hong Kong on Tuesday, contained details of more than 100 transactions the bank was pitching, monitoring or discussing across Asia and some other regions. It included prospective initial public offerings, private-equity arrangements, pension-fund involvement and projects that had been put on hold. Morgan

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Abu Dhabi-listed MAIR Group has agreed to acquire a 70 per cent stake in Eslab, owner of Turkish-origin specialty coffee chain Espressolab, marking the investment group’s first international acquisition since its stock-market listing. The company said it had signed a share purchase agreement for 70 per cent of Eslab’s issued share capital. Eslab’s founders and existing shareholders will retain the remaining 30 per cent and continue supporting the business as it enters its next phase of growth. Completion

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Huspy has acquired Italian credit intermediary Integra Finance and committed $86 million to Italy, marking the UAE-founded property technology company’s entry into its fourth market and a stage in its European expansion. The Dubai-based company said the investment, equivalent to about AED315 million, will support plans to build a mortgage finance and real estate business in Italy by combining Integra’s distribution network with Huspy’s artificial intelligence-led operating platform. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Italy joins

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Dubai Run will return to Sheikh Zayed Road on November 22, turning one of the UAE’s busiest highways into a car-free running course as part of the 2026 Dubai Fitness Challenge. The seventh edition of the mass participation event is scheduled to start at 6.30am and will again offer two distances, with organisers opening the run to people of all ages and fitness levels. Participation is free, although registration is required and runners must wear an official

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai New World Development Co. and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are in talks with Singapore’s UOL Group Ltd. over a potential sale of the Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, in a transaction that could value the hotel at about HK$3 billion. New World is discussing the disposal of its 50% interest in the property, while Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, or ADIA, is also in talks to sell its half, people familiar with the negotiations said. The

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Lending growth at the UAE’s 10 largest listed banks slowed in the second quarter of 2026 as regional disruption from the US-Iran conflict intensified, while profitability and asset quality remained broadly resilient. Net loans and advances increased 4.2 per cent from the previous quarter, down from about 5.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, according to the latest UAE Banking Pulse compiled by Alvarez & Marsal. Deposit growth also cooled, to 2.3 per

Arabian Post Staff -Dubai RcrutAI has expanded its Panther real estate intelligence platform into commercial and mixed-use development, adding tools for site analysis, tenant planning, parking demand, pricing and project feasibility. The Cairo-based artificial intelligence company announced the move on September 21, extending a platform that was initially built to support residential development decisions. RcrutAI said the new commercial capabilities are intended to connect decisions that developers often examine separately, from assessing land and surrounding demand to determining product mix, pricing,