News related to
Middle East

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is leading a high-stakes campaign across East Asia and the Middle East to secure investment and bolster chip supply for the company’s AI infrastructure push. He has held talks since late September in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan with leading hardware suppliers to prioritise OpenAI’s orders and expand capacity.

Altman has met with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Foxconn, as well as Samsung and SK Hynix, pressing them to accelerate production and give OpenAI preferential access. In South Korea, Samsung and SK Hynix have signed letters of intent to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centres. Meanwhile, OpenAI plans further fundraising discussions in the United Arab Emirates.

The urgency of Altman’s mission reflects the intensifying global competition for advanced computing resources. OpenAI projects it will spend around US$16 billion this year on renting computing servers, with long-term forecasts stretching to US$400 billion by 2029 as AI models grow ever more complex.

Industry analysts note that the semiconductor supply chain remains highly constrained. TSMC dominates GPU chip production, and memory manufacturing is largely concentrated in East Asia, creating significant strategic leverage for the manufacturers approached by Altman.

As part of his tour, Altman is also pressing Japanese firms to contribute to infrastructure support. Hitachi has entered discussions to provide power transmission and distribution systems for OpenAI’s data centres, while sharing technical resources under joint development agreements.

Sources familiar with the process say Altman pushed for direct prioritisation in chip delivery schedules, asking that OpenAI receive top-tier production slots. In some cases, he proposed co-investment or co-development of next-generation AI hardware to bind partner incentives more closely.

In South Korea, early architecture proposals include planned data centres of 20 megawatts in collaboration with Samsung and SK Hynix. Altman is reportedly exploring “floating” data centre designs to manage land constraints and cooling demands.

The UAE leg of his mission is expected to involve negotiations with sovereign investment firms such as MGX and Mubadala, with the aim of funding both OpenAI’s expansion and joint infrastructure ventures in the region. In past rounds, UAE investors have already taken part in funding OpenAI operations.

Challenges remain significant. The sheer scale of chips and memory required for stacked AI model training is pushing the boundaries of global wafer fabrication capacity. Market watchers point to the high capital expenditure and long lead times in the semiconductor industry as obstacles to rapid scaling. Some of Altman’s proposals—for example, co-development of bespoke ASICs—are still in preliminary stages and face technical risk.

OpenAI’s valuation and investor backing give the company leverage. Earlier this year, it closed deals that valued it at about US$500 billion, with new capital injections from investors including SoftBank and UAE entities. Those moves have fortified its position in negotiating upstream deals with manufacturers.

Tesla has launched sales of its Cybertruck in Qatar, bolstering its Middle East expansion as the electric carmaker seeks growth beyond saturated U. S. and Chinese markets. The announcement was made via its social media channel on 3 October, following its earlier push into Saudi Arabia this year.

Underlining its Gulf ambitions, Tesla has already made the Cybertruck available in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and now Qatar joins as one of the first markets outside North America to offer the pickup. The company plans to support local sales with online ordering, pop-up showrooms, Supercharger stations, and service centres.

Tesla does not provide regional breakdowns for Cybertruck deliveries, but a U. S. recall filing notes that 46,096 units had been built between November 2023 and early 2025. Analysts say the Qatar move is timely, given Tesla faces weakening demand and intensifying rivalry in its core markets.

Qatar, meanwhile, has signalled ambition in building an EV framework. The country is working toward installing 1,000 public charging stations by 2025 and targeting 4,000 by 2035. A partnership between Tesla, the utility Kahramaa, and real estate projects like Doha Festival City aims to deploy Superchargers capable of delivering 250 kW charging, enabling about 200 miles of range in 15 minutes.

Tesla’s introduction in Qatar is part of a broader Gulf strategy that seeks to replicate its Saudi model—offering multiple variants of the Cybertruck tailored to regional conditions. For example, orders in Saudi Arabia include both All-Wheel Drive and Cyberbeast trims, with the Saudi AWD variant priced starting at around 434,990 Saudi Riyal.

However, Tesla is also reshaping its product line due to weak uptake. It has dropped the standalone rear-wheel-drive Cybertruck variant from its U. S. configurator, leaving only two higher-end models in the lineup. This shift signals that Tesla is consolidating its offerings to better match market demand.

Competition in the Gulf is mounting. Chinese manufacturers BYD and Zeekr are pushing aggressively into the region, and the U. S. EV maker Lucid—backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund—poses a formidable local rival.

Tesla’s Q3 performance provided a temporary boost: the company reported record global deliveries, partly driven by a rush before the U. S. EV tax credit expired on 30 September. Yet analysts anticipate a steep drop in Q4 sales given the expiration of that incentive.

Tesla’s entry into Qatar underscores its strategic pivot toward markets where expansion potential remains, even as challenges loom in technology adaptation, climate conditions, and consumer uptake.

Oil prices are sliding as traders cite mounting unsold Middle Eastern crude and weakening demand from key importers. This shift raises prospects of a global oversupply even as OPEC+ debates its next policy move.

Estimates from trading houses place unsold crude cargoes for November loading in the Middle East between 6 million and 12 million barrels. These volumes represent a departure from usual patterns where discount-seeking buyers quickly absorb surplus cargoes. Market participants point to a combination of subdued Chinese demand and logistical bottlenecks as contributing factors.

Spot premiums on benchmark grades such as Oman, Dubai and Murban have plunged below $2 per barrel, reflecting the discounts sellers are forced to offer to entice buyers. One trading analyst noted that the drop in premiums signals heightened desperation amid a buyer’s market for Middle Eastern crude.

China, a traditional backstop for surplus exports, is showing signs of pulling back. In May, China recorded a crude surplus of 1.4 million barrels per day—indicating that imports significantly outpaced refinery throughput. That accumulated surplus suggests refiners are prioritising inventory building over active processing, perhaps in anticipation of future market volatility.

Iran adds another layer of complexity. Tanker-tracking firms estimate that between 23 million and 33 million barrels of Iranian crude are currently held in floating storage. While Iran’s oil minister has denied any unsold inventory, satellite and maritime data paint a different picture. Analysts say the discrepancy reflects the country’s use of ship-to-ship transfers and “ghost fleet” operations to obscure the origin and movement of crude, especially in shipments headed for China.

These movements coincide with a broader recalibration in OPEC+ strategy. Some member states, notably Iraq, have increased destination-free exports, signalling an intent to saturate markets and regain influence with trading partners. Iraq’s shipment of Basrah Medium crude is projected to rise significantly in the coming month, following a period in which pledged output increases by coalition members have lagged deliveries.

Many analysts believe that OPEC+ will proceed cautiously in its production decisions. A sudden output cut might stoke accusations of market manipulation, while continued supply expansion could exacerbate falling price trends. Ahead of its upcoming meeting, the group faces the dilemma of balancing the need to safeguard revenue against the risk of triggering a price collapse.

Meanwhile, U. S. domestic supply is contributing to uncertainty. The Energy Information Administration reports that U. S. output has strengthened marginally, offset by curtailed imports of Russian crude under tightened sanctions. But some industry observers warn that U. S. production may have peaked. One petroleum engineer pointed to a 12 percent decline in output from October 2024 to June 2025, citing state-level data that may undercut EIA projections.

Oil futures reflect growing anxiety. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate have posted their steepest weekly drops since June, falling over 8 percent in some benchmarks amid concerns that global inventories will build significantly. Traders increasingly view OPEC’s next move as critical in determining whether markets stabilise or cede ground to excess supply.

In this environment, floating storage becomes a more active tool. The accumulation of oil held offshore is not just a symptom of imbalance but a way to temporally manage supply pressure. Floating oil reserves enable sellers to delay deliveries until market conditions improve—or until buyers return.

Refiners in Asia and Europe are approaching capacity constraints. Some are cutting processing rates or entering maintenance periods, reducing appetite for new crude. Because many surplus cargoes are being offered on destination-free terms, they face competition across regions—and the lack of clear demand is forcing suppliers to lengthen delivery offers or scale back premiums.

If the pricing squeeze deepens, some producers may respond by cutting output unilaterally. Others might seek to promote further cooperation on coordinated supply restraint, though such moves carry reputational risk if markets judge them as manipulative. Meanwhile, importers in developing markets—particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia—could benefit from cheaper crude. But those gains may not offset pressure on oil-producing economies that rely heavily on export revenue to fund budgets and social programmes.

Kuwait has issued $11.25 billion in sovereign bonds split across three maturities, marking its first successful US dollar debt sale since 2017 and signalling a renewed re-entry into global capital markets. The offering drew strong investor demand, allowing the country to secure attractive pricing even as it seeks to diversify its funding amid mounting fiscal pressures.

The issuance comprised $3.25 billion in three-year bonds at 40 basis points over US Treasuries, $3 billion in five-year bonds also at 40 bps, and $5 billion in ten-year bonds at 50 bps. Order books reached as high as $28 billion—roughly 2.5 times oversubscribed—enabling Kuwait to tighten guidance from initial levels. Over two-thirds of the allocations went to investors outside the Middle East and North Africa, with significant participation from the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.

Acting Finance Minister Subaih Al-Mukhaizeem described the deal as “historic”, citing that it reflects “global markets’ confidence in Kuwait’s financial strength, prudent policies, and solid reserves.” He added that this issuance reinforces Kuwait’s reputation as a credible sovereign issuer while supporting the New Kuwait 2035 vision of economic transformation.

Analysts noted that the spreads achieved in this issuance are significantly tighter than Kuwait’s inaugural dollar bond sale in 2017, underscoring market optimism about its credit metrics and macro outlook. Its low debt burden—currently less than 10 percent of GDP—offers the space for measured borrowing, even while the International Monetary Fund projects that the ratio may rise toward 25 percent by 2030 as deficits widen.

The path to this issuance was opened in March with the passage of a long-delayed public debt law, which raised the borrowing ceiling from KD 10 billion to KD 30 billion and permitted longer maturities. That law had been stalled for years due to clashes between the appointed government and the elected parliament; in response, the emir dissolved parliament for up to four years, clearing the way for reform.

Kuwait is the latest Gulf sovereign to take advantage of favourable global interest rates and strong investor appetite, joining others such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in tapping dollar markets to address fiscal gaps and finance diversification programmes.

While the bond sale delivers fresh funding, questions remain about Kuwait’s strategy for deploying the proceeds. Its economy remains heavily dependent on hydrocarbon revenues, which accounted for nearly 90 percent of government income in the most recent fiscal year. Previous reporting indicates that proposed projects include infrastructure upgrades such as a new port and airport expansion, intended to generate non-oil revenue streams.

GlobalSource Partners had speculated earlier that Kuwait’s general deficit could rise to between 7 and 8 percent of GDP in the current year, with this issuance expected to cover a large portion of the shortfall. The country has also tapped local debt markets, issuing about $5 billion in domestic bonds before turning to international markets.