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Saudi Arabia’s flagship New Murabba project is poised to become a major investment hub, with plans to attract capital in technology, real estate, and construction sectors. Michael Dyke, the CEO of New Murabba, announced the initiative at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh, marking a significant step forward in the kingdom’s diversification strategy.

Launched in 2023 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the New Murabba project is part of Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030, aimed at reducing the nation’s reliance on oil revenues by fostering new industries and boosting economic growth. The initiative aims to transform the heart of Riyadh into a sprawling mixed-use urban area, poised to redefine the cityscape with a mix of residential, commercial, and entertainment offerings.

The project will cover an area of 19 square kilometres, positioning it as one of the largest urban developments globally. Its scale is unprecedented, making it one of the most ambitious projects in Saudi Arabia’s recent history. The new district is expected to accommodate over 100,000 residents and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in various sectors, significantly contributing to Riyadh’s economic development.

One of the key areas that Dyke highlighted during his speech at the forum is the focus on technology. The New Murabba project aims to integrate cutting-edge technological innovations into its design and infrastructure. The development will feature smart city technologies, including AI-driven systems for traffic management, energy conservation, and public services. Moreover, the project is expected to foster a thriving ecosystem for tech startups and established companies, making it an attractive destination for both domestic and international tech investors.

The project’s real estate and construction sectors will also play a pivotal role. With residential spaces, luxury hotels, office towers, and retail outlets planned, the project is designed to meet the needs of a diverse range of residents, businesses, and tourists. This focus on mixed-use developments aims to create a self-sustaining urban area, with a heavy emphasis on sustainability and green architecture. Additionally, the construction phase alone is expected to generate significant economic activity, providing a substantial number of jobs in the kingdom’s building sector.

New Murabba’s strategic location within Riyadh further boosts its potential as a central business and cultural district. It will be positioned in close proximity to key landmarks, including the King Abdulaziz Historical Centre and the King Saud University, enhancing its accessibility and making it a focal point for both locals and visitors. The project’s proximity to the King Khalid International Airport is also expected to make it a prime location for international businesses, especially in the tech and tourism industries.

The Saudi government’s backing of the New Murabba initiative signals a strong commitment to its diversification efforts. As part of the Vision 2030 programme, the kingdom is looking to foster a more sustainable and diversified economy, moving away from its dependence on oil exports. This development aligns with broader trends in urbanisation across the Middle East, where large-scale projects are shaping the future of cities and driving economic change.

The investment opportunities presented by New Murabba are expected to attract a wide range of investors from various sectors. For real estate developers, the sheer scale of the project represents an unparalleled opportunity. For technology firms, the integration of smart city technologies offers a unique environment in which to develop and test innovative solutions. Meanwhile, the construction sector stands to benefit greatly from the demand for infrastructure and buildings, with the long-term potential for growth in both residential and commercial spaces.

With the Saudi government’s push for private sector involvement, the New Murabba project is expected to be a catalyst for further investments in the kingdom. The involvement of international investors and companies will be crucial to its success, with the project acting as a gateway to other opportunities within Saudi Arabia’s growing economy.

Gulf states are emerging as influential players in digital assets, with governments across the region intensifying efforts to regulate cryptocurrencies, tokenisation and Web3 innovations. A growing number of jurisdictions are introducing licensing frameworks for virtual asset service providers, stablecoin regimes and asset-tokenisation structures, signalling a shift in strategy from reactive oversight to proactive design.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has introduced a Payment Token Services Regulation that obliges issuers, distributors and custodians of payment tokens to maintain full reserve backing, undergo mandatory licensing and meet robust anti-money-laundering and cybersecurity standards, thereby positioning the UAE as a regulatory pioneer in the region. Across the region, countries such as Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have developed layered digital-asset frameworks, with Bahrain’s central bank among the earliest movers and Saudi launching fintech sandboxes and pilot token-asset schemes under its Vision 2030 plan.

Market data underline these developments. Analysis shows that between July 2023 and June 2024 the Middle East and North Africa region handled some US$338.7 billion in on-chain crypto value, accounting for approximately 7.5 per cent of global transaction volume. Institutional flows dominate: about 93 per cent of value transferred in the region came in amounts of US$10,000 or more.

Several regional platforms have obtained new licences under this regulatory push. The region’s first licensed crypto-asset service provider, Rain Financial Inc., has expanded its services under licence from both Bahrain’s regulator and Abu Dhabi’s ADGM-FSRA. In Bahrain, over 50 firms including nearly half focused on digital-assets are in discussions to establish operations under the Central Bank’s regime.

The tokenisation of real-world assets is gaining traction, with banks and global institutions exploring issuance of token-backed bonds, real estate and commodity-linked tokens. According to consultancy research, tokenisation could add as much as US$230 billion annually to MENA-region GDP. Major international exchanges and asset-managers are establishing footholds: for instance, the global exchange Binance uses the UAE as its regional base and has obtained a licence under Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.

Despite this momentum, the region faces challenges. Implementation remains uneven: regulatory capacity across jurisdictions varies, local consumer-protection rules are still emerging and cybersecurity vulnerabilities in wallet providers and exchanges pose material risk. Energy-use and environmental impacts of crypto-mining have also drawn regulatory scrutiny: in one Gulf city, electricity consumption fell by over fifty per cent after enforcement of mining curbs.

Taxation and corporate-governance issues are also under development. In Saudi Arabia individuals currently pay no capital-gains tax on crypto, though businesses may face up to 15 per cent tax with corporate income taxed at 20 per cent plus a 2.5 per cent zakat levy. Given the youth-skewed demographics of Gulf markets and high smartphone penetration, regulators see digital-assets as both a diversification lever and a conduit to broader fintech innovation.

For global crypto and Web3 players the Gulf region offers a combination of clear regulation, large capital pools and government-driven ambition. However firms must navigate rigorous licensing conditions, reserve-backing rules, AML frameworks and evolving governance standards. The regulatory focus on stability and consumer protection underscores that the region expects digital-asset innovation to be embedded in mainstream finance rather than existing outside it.

The Ministry of Finance has introduced the “Retail Sukuk” programme enabling citizens and residents to purchase government-backed Treasury Sukuk via participating banks with a minimum investment of AED 4,000. The first bank partner will be announced on 3 November 2025.

The move directly expands access to sovereign Islamic finance instruments previously reserved for institutional investors. According to the announcement, the scheme permits investment in Shariah-compliant Islamic treasury securities through fractionalised digital platforms operated by the banks. Leader Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum described the initiative as “translating our leadership’s vision of empowering individuals, promoting a culture of saving and developing government investment instruments that enhance individual participation in economic growth and provide a direct opportunity to contribute to the national development journey.”

The initiative aligns with the nation’s financial-inclusion agenda and the strategy to deepen local capital markets. By lowering the threshold to AED 4,000, the scheme reduces entry barriers for retail investors and broadens the investor base for the domestic sovereign debt market. Analysts point out that universal access to such instruments represents a structural shift in how governments engage with individual savers.

Industry experts say this development reflects emerging trends in the Gulf’s Islamic finance sector, particularly the fractionalisation and tokenisation of Sukuk products. A legal-advisory report on the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Sukuk market noted that digital platforms and smaller tickets are “redefining how Sharia-compliant capital is structured, distributed and accessed.” The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank earlier launched a “Smart Sukuk” platform allowing retail investment from about USD 1,000 in fractionalised Sukuk.

Governance stakeholders emphasise that the retail programme remains denominated in dirhams and linked to sovereign-backed Sukuk already traded in the market, ensuring exposure to high-quality government assets rather than untested structures. The Ministry reaffirmed that the rollout will follow the “highest standards of transparency and quality.”

Financial institutions stand to benefit from expanded customer-base growth and increased assets under management, while retail investors gain a compliant savings vehicle offering diversification beyond deposits and conventional investments. Yet risks remain. While sovereign-backed, Sukuk carry credit, liquidity and market-risk dimensions; beginners may require enhanced education around profit-sharing-based returns, Shariah-compliance nuances and secondary-market liquidity.

Some market participants caution that the success of the scheme will depend on the secondary-market functioning and investor confidence in digital platforms. Previous fractional-Sukuk roll-outs in the region flagged the need for robust regulatory oversight, clear smart-contract frameworks, and standardised product terms to build long-term participation.

India’s online retail sector is showing signs of stabilising momentum outside of its traditional festival peaks, as consumer habits increasingly shift toward year-round purchasing patterns. According to a report by consulting firm Redseer, while the September-October period continues to see elevated demand—driven principally by mobiles and electronics—overall online shopping volumes are less reliant on a single event window than in previous years.

The study noted that during the opening two days of the 2025 festive sales period, gross merchandise value for online platforms rose 23 to 25 per cent year-on-year; this uptick marked a four-to-five-fold improvement relative to the equivalent stage of last year. The growth was particularly strong for premium smartphones and large-screen televisions.

Analysts say this shift reflects structural changes in India’s commerce ecosystem. According to a separate 2025 report by Bain and partners, India’s e-retail market hit roughly US$ 60 billion in 2024, despite growth rates moderating to around 10-12 per cent from earlier double-digit levels, due to inflation and slower wage growth. Long-term projections remain optimistic, with the market expected to grow at over 18 per cent annually and reach US$ 170-190 billion by 2030.

Several key drivers underpin the movement toward more stable demand. First, a broader geographic spread: Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are playing an increasing role in online retail, with the Internet and smartphone penetration expanding rapidly beyond metro areas. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, Tier-3 cities posted 21 per cent year-on-year growth during summer sales in 2025 and accounted for 38 per cent of order volumes.

Second, tax policy reforms have had an impact. In September 2025, the government implemented new Goods and Services Tax rate cuts affecting electronics, furniture and mid-priced apparel. For instance, GST on large-screen TVs fell from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, producing a 6-8 per cent drop in retail price in those segments according to reporting by the Economic Times. These changes helped elevate consumption in discretionary categories and show how policy can shift timing and category mix of online purchases.

Third, the rise of quick-commerce and digital payment adoption is changing how and when people shop. Q-commerce platforms delivering in under 30 minutes have been growing rapidly: one market report forecasts the segment will hit US$ 1.6 billion in 2025 and account for 12 per cent of online sales. These platforms are increasingly used for impulse or gifting purchases rather than just replenishment.

Yet, the data also show nuance and caveats. Even as online retail becomes less festival-driven, mobiles and electronics continue to dominate during the peak windows. The Redseer survey found that the surge in early festival days was led by premium smartphones and TVs—users that were already loyalty-members or heavy-buyers. This suggests the shift to steady year-round demand is underway, but not yet universal across all product categories. Beauty, apparel, and general merchandise are still heavily influenced by the time around festivals.

Brands and retailers are responding by adjusting their strategies. Many are investing more in digital-first discovery, including influencer content and short-form video, recognising that consumers are engaging earlier and across multiple touchpoints. For example, analysis by HT Media found that in the 2025 festival season shoppers were starting purchases up to six weeks ahead, and were blending online research with offline store conversions, especially for high-value items.