The wire

enDataVolt to secure finance for Saudi AI sites within 6 months

DataVolt, a Saudi-backed investor, developer and operator of renewable-powered AI data centres, expects to secure financing for all its facilities under construction in the kingdom within six months, chief executive Rajit Nanda said. The company is pursuing non-recourse financing, in which lenders are repaid mainly from the cash generated by an individual facility rather than from the overall project.

The board of Adnoc Distribution, the Abu Dhabi-based fuel and convenience retailer, has announced a second-quarter dividend after revenue rose on higher fuel volumes and network expansion. The dividend of $175 million, or 5.14 fils per share, will be paid in September, the company said in a statement to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). […]

enSaudi Energy revenue up 11% on expanding customer base

Saudi Energy, formerly Saudi Electricity Company, reported revenue growth in H1 2026 driven by an expanding customer base and higher income from building substations and transmission lines. Revenue rose 11% to more than SAR 52 billion ($14 billion), with net income up nearly 8%.

Kuwaiti developer Mabanee’s shopping malls held steady occupancy and footfall during the regional conflict, but weaker hotel demand weighed on earnings as travel disruption hit its hospitality business. Second-quarter net profit fell 8 percent year on year to KD15.5 million ($50.5 million), as regional conflict impacted its hospitality division. Revenue slipped 6 percent to KD32.2 […]

Saudi developer Jabal Omar Development Company said revenue rose in the second quarter and first half of 2026, supported by a focus on its hotel and mall segments. Revenue grew 43 percent year on year to SAR715 million ($191 million) in the second quarter as a result of continued improvement in hotel performance, particularly during […]

Dubai Financial Market (DFM), operator of the emirate’s stock exchange, said trading volume rose by nearly one-third in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, driven by strong participation from international investors. The total number of trades rose 31 percent year on year to 2.23 million, while average daily trades increased 35 percent […]

Emirates NBD Egypt, the Egyptian subsidiary of Dubai’s largest bank by assets, has agreed to acquire the retail banking business of HSBC Bank Egypt, an indirect subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, as part of the Emirati lender’s global expansion plan. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.

Saudi Arabia’s budget deficit narrowed in the second quarter as higher oil revenue offset increased spending, easing pressure on government finances. The deficit shrank to SAR34 billion ($9 billion) in April, May and June, 1 percent lower than in the same period in 2025, according to the ministry of finance. The improvement was largely driven […]

The US government will grant Jordan millions of dollars in foreign assistance to support economic growth and the development of critical infrastructure. The $355 million grant, the first of its kind under the current US administration, aligns with its new foreign-assistance priorities, according to the state-run Jordan News Agency (Petra). The agreement will fund programmes […]

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) reported net profit surged in Q2 2026 due to higher aluminium prices amid supply disruptions reducing global inventories. Net profit rose 164% year-on-year in April–June to BD65 million ($173 million), with total income rising 195% [...].

Dubai’s DP World has agreed to establish a special economic zone in Kenya, as the port and logistics operator strengthens its presence in Africa. Mombasa Industrial Park will be developed in partnership with GulfCap Africa, a Kenya-based investment and development group, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, citing a company statement. The project, covering 222 […]

Saudi Aramco’s second-quarter profit rose as higher oil prices boosted earnings, allowing the world’s biggest oil producer to maintain its quarterly dividend. Net profit jumped 42 percent year on year to SAR122 billion ($32.5 billion). Revenue rose 19 percent to SAR451 billion, […]

Abu Dhabi petrochemical company Borouge reported increased revenue in the second quarter. The top line increased 8 percent year on year to $1.4 billion in the quarter ending in June, as the company used alternative logistics routes to cut its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. The company said the rise was driven by higher average [...]

Oman’s state-owned energy group OQ’s exploration and production unit was the sultanate’s most profitable listed company in the first half of 2026, as higher oil prices helped lift earnings across the stock market. Listed companies on the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) reported total net profits of OMR867 million ($2.25 billion) in the first six months […]

Oman’s three- to five-star hotels recorded a double-digit revenue drop in the first half of 2026, driven by fewer visitors from Arab countries and Europe. Revenue fell 12 percent year on year to OMR124 million ($323 million) as guest numbers declined 13 percent to 992,000 by the end of June, the state-run …

Turkey‘s tourism industry lost momentum in the second quarter as the Gulf conflict disrupted travel patterns, while high domestic inflation made the country more expensive for overseas visitors. Tourist traffic fell 5 percent year on year in the April-June period, with visitor numbers slipping to 15.5 million, a total that included 2.5 million Turkish overseas […]

Dubai’s population has grown to 4.73 million, larger than it was before the Iran war began in February, despite 61,000 people leaving the emirate in March, according to new data released by the government. The population shrank 1.3 percent in March, the first full month in which Iranian drones began targeting sites in Dubai, one of the seven […]

Dana Gas has begun supplying natural gas from its Khor Mor field in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to a local power plant, reducing the country’s dependence on gas imports from Iran. Abu Dhabi-listed Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum, joint operators of the Kurdistan Gas Project, signed a deal with Iraq’s power ministry last December to supply 100 […]

Neom’s planned artificial intelligence data centre campus is expected to break ground within months, its developer DataVolt said. The start of construction would mark a milestone for one of Saudi Arabia’s most closely watched giga-projects, as Neom’s focus shifts from futuristic plans to practical infrastructure such as ports, logistics and data centres. “The development [at […]

Iraq’s borrowing accelerated in the first five months of the year as the government fought to plug widening budget gaps caused by disruption to oil exports. Official data showed Iraq was borrowing from local banks to fund ballooning deficits caused by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iraqi domestic debt hit an all-time high […]