News Bites

Real Estate

• A $953 mil residential project has just been approved by the UAE. Yas Canal Residential Project 🌊 will contain over one thousand new residential villas (YASSSS QUEEN👸)! The project should be completed end of 2027

• In a bid to make Dubai lifestyle even more… wait for it… luxurious, AHS Properties has sold 80% of their project called Casa Canal. Not even the sky is the limit for luxury here folks ✨ This building would have a canal-type feature for each one of its units 😱 In a desert y’all…a desert 🏜️

• Qatar is going wilddd with real estate contracts 🌆 Last week alone saw a total of $63 Million in sales 💰💰💰 Empty plots, houses, offices you name it! All being cashed out in Qatar

Economy

• When you’re running out of oil, you gotta run towards something else 🏃🏾‍♂️ like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE have been doing. Kuwait is the latest country to join the bandwagon and has seen a GREAT fiscal year so far thanks to non - oil revenues surging 24% 📈!! Makes you wonder what one of the smallest desert countries in the world has to offer 🤩 #nexttrip

• BUSINESSES ARE BOOMING in Saudi (or at least it seems so), with a 12% increase from 2019 to 2023, looks like folks are realizing the long-term potential of investing there 💸💸💸

• Egypt hopes to grow GDP by 4% in their 2025 budget. With rising inflation and a massive deficit, we’re thinking one’s gotta be cautious with these numbers…👀

Arts and Culture

• The hot pink-flamingo-pineapple vision that is Miami Vibes 🦩 is coming back to Abu Dhabi from March 31-April 14! It’s Ramadan meets food trucks— what’s not to love??? P.s. The food vibes are also coming to Dubai on the same dates! Stay tuned for their announcements on who’s serving delish dishes 🤤

• We got some Ramadan vibe films/TV shows on our list! Crashing Eid (Saudi Netflix rom-com with an Arab/Pakistani love story). Film critic, Andrew Mohsen, thinks Egyptian drama Masar Egbari (Mandatory Path) is worth a watch. Anddd let’s throw in a classic Diriliş: Ertuğrul and all of its spawn spin-offs that keep our grandparents glued to their seats 🌚

• Any Dragon Ball fans out here?? Saudi is gonna be home to the first theme park based on the hit Japanese anime! Expect roller coasters inside a Shenron dragon and lots of other fun nods to the comics 🐉

Technology

• Lucid Group, a luxury electric vehicle maker (there isn’t just Tesla, folks!), is raising $1 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, sending its shares up 8%!! Also, FYI, Saudis already own 60% of Lucid 🧐 They’re now buying $1 billion in convertible preferred stock. Seems like they’re really sticking to their non-oil strategy by backing Lucid's electric ambitions. The real question is, what don’t the Saudis own?

• Abu Dhabi is preparing to unveil the world's first eSports Island, a groundbreaking project spearheaded by True Gamers. It’s a hugeee draw for the gaming community, with state-of-the-art facilities for major tournaments, professional training centers, and spaces for influencers and game developers to record some ace content! How much is being invested?? $280 million! It’s a pretty sweet milestone in AD's technological and entertainment landscape. Get ready to let your nerd/geek flags fly!! 🎮

✨ akhbaar Spotlight ✨

Ramadan or Eid treats are always on our minds! So what better way to share the love than to spotlight a local UAE business (using local ingredients to support local farmers!!) 🙌🏾

Soixante 3 was founded by Emirati businesswoman and baker, Amani Abu Aishah, who named her sweet shop after her mom’s birth year ✨🥹

Don’t wait— drool over brownies, cookies, and banana bread HERE

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