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Independent analysis on the UAE economy, sovereign capital, AI infrastructure, energy transition and the businesses shaping the next cycle.
FeaturedReal Estate
Occupancy across Dubai's three integrated economic zones hit 96 percent in the first half of the year, with the company count up 13 percent and headcount up 24 percent. The zones are responding by building rather than waiting, and the investment arm attached to them is now the busiest venture backer in the country.
Finance
London's non dom exodus and volatility around the Gulf have sent tens of thousands of wealthy households looking for a new base, and most of that money has landed in Dubai. Turkey now wants a share of it, and its pitch to the Istanbul Financial Centre is more serious than the reputation suggests.
Finance
The Dubai International Financial Centre has passed 10,000 active firms for the first time, adding 2,318 new companies in a single year even as a regional conflict weighed on tourism, aviation and property. The resilience of the finance and wealth sectors is the part worth sitting with.
Finance
Blackstone, the largest alternative asset manager in the world, is planning to open an office in the Dubai International Financial Centre while keeping its Abu Dhabi base. The decision to hold both is the most revealing part.
Finance
Another global hedge fund has chosen Dubai, while Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh compete to attract the world's startups and finance. The contest between the Gulf's capitals is intense, and the region as a whole is the winner.
Partnerships
The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with One Business Season to strengthen collaboration in trade, investment promotion and international business, extending the initiative's growing network across Pakistan.
Partnerships
One Business Season and the Asian Business Forum have forged a global partnership that keeps business leaders engaged from October into January 2027. The idea is to replace the fleeting conference with a sustained ecosystem in which conversations have time to become partnerships.
Partnerships
One Business Season and the Asian Business Forum are launching what they describe as the world's longest business summit, a programme running for more than 100 days and built around the fast-growing markets of Asia.
Finance
One of the world's largest fintech companies has taken a formal step toward offering regulated crypto services in the UAE, winning in-principle approval from Dubai's virtual assets regulator. The location of that decision is as telling as the decision itself.
Finance
As sustainable bond issuance falls sharply across the world, the Gulf is moving the other way, with a record year for green Islamic finance and a pipeline of clean energy to fund. The region is building green finance on its own terms.
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