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The UAE’s hosting of the COP28 climate summit in November comes just as Gulf companies and investors are playing an ever-bigger role in electricity supply industries across Africa. Among the most prominent players, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power has been an early mover and Abu Dhabi-backed Infinity Power is now developing gigawatts of new capacity.

Saudi-UAE rivalry may soon take on a new sporting dimension, with speculation the two leading men’s professional cycling teams could be backed by the Gulf countries from next season.

Qatar Airways reported in July its highest-ever revenues, confirming the Fifa World Cup’s impact in November and December. However, while the group's revenues were up 45% year-on-year to QR76.3bn ($21bn), net profits were down 21% at QR4.4bn.

Saudi Arabia's former deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz is facing another legal challenge in London's Commercial Court after Dublin-based Yuntian 10 Leasing Company, owned by China Minsheng Bank, filed a case against him relating to a Boeing 787 leased by Bermuda’s Dream Aircraft, on which the prince provided personal guarantees.

The UAE's federal cabinet agreed to set up a Ministry of Investment, with Mohammed Hassan Al-Suwaidi named as the inaugural investment minister. The cabinet also approved a federal law to set up a Financial Stability Council, which aims to underpin stability in the markets and monitor associated risks.

A contract signed in December has given the well-connected UAE company Primera Group the right to export and process much of Democratic Republic of Congo's artisanal gold, attracting scrutiny and criticism inside and outside the African country.

Bahrain's government has said it will start issuing a "platinum residence permit" to those who have lived in the country for at least 15 years and have no criminal record. Anyone wanting to take advantage of the visa will need to have a minimum salary of BD4,000 ($10,600) for the past five years in Bahrain.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept the UAE on its 'grey list' of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. The UAE is one of 26 jurisdictions on the grey list, alongside the likes of Jordan, Turkey and Yemen. The inter-governmental watchdog also kept Iran on its 'black list' of high-risk jurisdictions, alongside North Korea and Myanmar.

Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul)-listed Red Sea International (RSI) has bought a 51% stake in Jeddah-based construction company First Fix for SR544.1m ($145m).

Budget balance: The government said it is aiming for a budget deficit of less than 1% of gross domestic product in 2024, which will bring it close to the target set out in the amended Fiscal Balance Programme of balancing its books that year. The government originally hoped to break even by 2022, but delayed that by two years during the Covid pandemic.

IAEA report: Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has risen by over a quarter in three months, according to comments by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi on 5 June. Grossi told a board of governors meeting in Vienna that “some progress” had been made on monitoring and verification. However, it was “not at the level, pace and sustained rhythm that I would expect.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has said Qatar needs to make major improvements in its approach to tackling complex money laundering and terrorist financing cases.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Industry signed a $5.6bn agreement with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Human Horizons to set up a joint venture to develop and manufacture cars in the kingdom. Human Horizons makes cars under the HiPhi brand.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani's government has launched Iraq down a perilous fiscal path, with an extravagant three-year budget for 2023-25 which gained Council of Representatives (Majlis an-Nuwwab or parliament) approval.

His political affiliations in Qatar will be scrutinised thoroughly – although the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s purchase of Newcastle United has set the bar low on whether a buyer is considered an arm of the state – but banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani seems to have emerged as the leading bidder for Manchester United Football Club, paying a possible $6bn.