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UK international trade minister Ranil Jayawardena visited Doha in early June, where he met commerce and industry minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani. Jayawardena was also hosted by the Syrian-Qatari Al-Khayyat brothers, Ramez and Moutaz.

Iran Trade Centre in Doha will initially focus on trade in areas including medicines, food and building materials; it will also work to promote medical tourism to Iran.

The UAE has signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with Israel at a ceremony in Dubai. The  signing came just 20 months after the two countries signed their so-called Abraham Accord in September 2020 and less than a year after the governments said they had started negotiating a deal.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has sold a 16.87% stake in his Kingdom Holding investment company to the state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) for SR5.68bn ($1.5bn).

Saudi officials issued a statement on 16 May insisting that the futuristic city of Neom, under construction in the north-west of the kingdom, would be governed by the same rules that apply to the rest of the country in terms of security, defence and border protection.

Muscat expects to launch a personal income tax in the first half of 2023, according to an unnamed official at the National Programme for Fiscal Balance cited by Al-Monitor on 22 April.

Qatar has told the World Trade Organisation’s Dispute Settlement Body that it has agreed to terminate the ‘DS567’ dispute over football rights piracy, involving Saudi-based pirate operation beoutQ and Qatari English Premier League rights-holder beIN. The dispute gave a global public face to the tensions between Qatar and its ‘GCC-3’ rivals marked by the 2017-21 boycott.

GSN Risk Grade – Abu Dhabi A1, Dubai A2↓ UAQ blue economy: The Umm Al-Quwain authorities launched a “sustainable blue economy strategy” during the World Government Summit in Dubai on 29 March.

Former Saudi deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz and his half-sister Princess Deema are suing their former financial consultant, international lawyer Ronald Gibbs, over a $25m investment pot they want back.

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said has long maintained close links to the Omani business elite, but his own commercial career did not begin well.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) almost tripled the size of its initial public offering (IPO) on 30 March from 6.5% to 17% of its equity.

The Muscat Stock Exchange is to allow full foreign ownership of listed companies. In a brief statement issued on 28 March, the bourse said the cancellation of foreign ownership limits would make it more attractive to international investors.

Petrofac’s Sami Iskander was in buoyant mood as the London Stock Exchange-listed contractor released 2021 results days after Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) lifted its suspension from bidding for contracts, which had been imposed a year earlier as the extent of Petrofac’s governance problems emerged.

Dubai is looking to revive its position as a favoured spot for conferences and international trade shows, with the firm support of the ruling Maktoum family, as Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted around the world.

Emir Tamim Bin Hamad’s uncle Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa has sold the Hôtel Lambert in Paris for over $226m to French businessman Xavier Niel. GSN examines the background to the deal and provides a brief profile of Sheikh Abdullah.