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Two Saudi state-owned bodies, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), launched a new electric vehicle (EV) charging company on 8 October, in which ownership is split 75/25 in the PIF’s favour.
Saudi Arabia's government has said its budget will slip into deficit this year, amid a fall in economic activity which is largely due to the voluntary limits the country has placed on its oil production. The budget deficits are expected to continue for the three following years.
Saudi Arabia is planning to hold a naval exercise with its counterparts in the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. Exercise Blue Sword is scheduled to take place during October in Zhanjiang, where China’s South Sea Fleet is headquartered.
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) agreed a bilateral currency swap agreement with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on 28 September, allowing for the exchange of up to AED5bn and EGP42bn – equivalent in both cases to around $1.4bn – between the two institutions.
UAE Vice President, deputy prime minister and Presidential Court chairman Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan opened the 39th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec) early October.
Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has set up the €100m ($106m) Spain Oman Private Equity Fund (Sopef) II with the Spanish government’s development finance institution Compañía Española de Financiación del Desarrollo (Cofides). The move extends a relationship which began with Sopef I launched in 2018 which is now almost fully invested and comes amid a number of recent international deals by the Omani fund.
A Saudi royal order was issued to create the Imam Faisal Bin Turki Royal Reserve – the eight such reserve established in the country to date. The protected area covers territory in the provinces of Asir, Jazan and Mecca and extends into Saudi territorial waters in the Red Sea.
Oman's State Audit Institution (SAI) director general Sharifa Bint Yahya Al-Mahrouqiyya said more than 30 civil servants had been found guilty of corruption and embezzlement last year. Speaking during a local television interview, she outlined details from her organisation’s annual report for 2022.
Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company chief executive Sheikh Abdulla Bin Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa was appointed as a board member of the Economic Development Board (EDB). He will serve for the rest of the current board’s term, which is due to end in March 2024.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud returned to Riyadh, after over a month in the northwest city of Neom. In that time, he chaired several weekly cabinet meetings.
Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan – son of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) – has been named chairman of the Office of Development and Martyrs Families Affairs at the Presidential Court with the rank of minister.
Supreme Council for Youth and Sports deputy chairman Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa opened the fourth edition of Bahrain Comic Con at the Bahrain International Circuit, with some of his children attending, along with children of national security adviser Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa.
Emirati Sheikh Mohammed Bin Saqr Bin Hamad Al-Qasimi was promoted to the role of chairman of the Labour Standards Development Authority (LSDA) in a decree issued by Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al-Qasimi early October.
Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it would extend its 1m b/d production cut until the end of the year – backed by Opec+ partner Russia’s commitment to extend its 300,000 b/d export cut – moved the price of marker Brent crude back above $90/bbl for the first time since November 2022.
Yemen deaths: The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) announced on 25 September that First Lieutenant Mubarak Hashel Zayed Al-Kubaisi and Corporal Yaqoub Rahmat Moulai Mohammed had been killed while serving along the Saudi-Yemen border. Several others were wounded in what it described as a drone attack by Houthi forces; Warrant Officer Adam Salem Naseeb succumbed to his injuries two days later.
