News Bites

In This Issue

Today’s issue will take around 6 minutes to read 🤓

Economy

• Dubai’s foreign direct investment is booming, with 4,351 Indian companies hopping on the bandwagon in Q1 2024. Pakistani and Egyptian businesses are also flocking to the scene, all trying to snag a piece of the tourist hotspot’s glow-up ✨

• Oman's sovereign wealth fund just flexed hard, hitting an all-time high of $49.9 Billion by the end of 2023 with a 7.4% YOY return. Somebody's definitely cashing in on a fat bonus! 💸

• Egypt's input cost inflation just hit a 38-month low in May 2024! The country was super close to positive GDP growth for the first time in years! 📉✨

Real Estate

• Listen up, Dubai’s malls just aren’t big enough, okay? The iconic Dubai Mall is getting a $408.4 million upgrade, adding 240 new retail and dining spots 🛍️🍔

• Looks like everyone got the memo: put your money in Qatar! 🤑 This tiny nation just saw an 89% jump in mortgage transactions this quarter. You’d think the surge is temporary, but the market's still holding steady 📈🏠

• It’s not just the summer sun heating up in Riyadh 🔥. Prime office rentals are up 14.5% YOY, and Q1 sales transactions are increasing. Real estate is booming! 🏢💸

Arts and Culture

• France has made their stance clear 👀. Vanity Fair France apologized for digitally removing a Palestinian flag pin from Guy Pearce’s tux for a photoshoot (yo, if you got Photoshop skills, pls do something useful and touch up our dark circles. thnx) 😎

• American artist, Kehlani, is giving us Macklemore vibes with her new music video for “Next 2 U”— picture keffiyehs galore à la Bella Hadid’s fashion PLUS tons of merch that is actually printed and stitched by Palestinians locally (we ready to drop some dollar$ now) 💸💸💸

• The world’s youngest male artist is in Ghana! Ace-Liam Ankrah (almost 2 years old now) followed in his artist mom’s footsteps by grabbing acrylic paints at 6 months old and unleashing magic onto the canvas (we were busy discovering our inner diapers while he was discovering his inner artiste— OH WELL) 🎨

Technology

• Oman's Ministry of Energy and Minerals launched 'Taqah,' a digital platform for energy and mineral investments. It covers oil, gas, renewables, and minerals with features like easy bidding, licensing, contracts, and inspections. Investors get a clear timeline and auto-evaluated bids. Soon, Taqah will integrate all digital services for oil, gas, and renewables, making it the ultimate investment hub in Oman 🌟

• Tumodo, a UAE travel tech firm, has partnered with Saudi fintech Tabby to revolutionize business travel. This collaboration streamlines trip planning and expense management using Tumodo’s advanced tools. It’s a big step in digitizing the MENA travel industry — Corporate travel, but make it digital! 🚀

✨ akhbaar Spotlight ✨

Business, law, or kids books (but make it Islamic). The British publishing house is committed to getting diverse voices heard, and they’re not afraid of covering debatable topics, too! Check out their list of books/authors HERE 📖

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