Search results

The sale of a 2% stake in Saudi Telecom Company has raised $1bn for the sovereign wealth fund to plough back into other domestic deals. Meanwhile STC is said to be considering increasing its investment in Spanish telco Telefónica.

Long associated with Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Hamas, Qatar has insisted that it has not ordered the Palestinian militant group to close its Doha office – a key point of contact in Qatar’s now-suspended mediation efforts to end the Gaza conflict – but the Hamas leadership is no longer in the country and is said to be sizing up alternative bases around the region including Türkiye.

The days of Ankara focusing its attention in the GCC solely on Qatar are now firmly in the past, as recent agreements point to Türkiye steadily growing its military and commercial links with Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, as well as with Doha.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa has taken over as transport and telecoms minister from Mohammed Al-Kaabi, while the social development file has passed from Osama Al-Asfoor to Osama Al-Alawi, in a small reshuffle of the Bahraini cabinet.

The new UAE Aid Agency will take charge of the UAE’s international disaster relief activities, a role until now filled by the Emirates Red Crescent. The latter has become embroiled in allegations that the UAE has used a relief effort on the Chad-Sudan border as cover to funnel weapons to one of the main combatants in the Sudanese civil war.

Sheikh Mubarak Humoud Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was appointed by emiri decree on 13 November, some three months after the previous post-holder, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabeh, died. He is only the second person to take charge of the force since it was established in the 1960s.

Iranian officials have revived the idea of building a tunnel under the Gulf to Qatar – an idea that previously suggested in 2022. The megaproject would require a tunnel with an underwater section of at least 185km – almost five times further than the current longest submarine tunnel in the world. Officials are due to hold discussions in Doha in the coming weeks, but the limited levels of bilateral trade mean the megaprojects is unlikely to make economic sense.

Sheikh Theyab, son of UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has taken on a number of other roles in the international aid sector over the past year, including chairman of the International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council set up in January.

Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim has overseen a centralisation of power in the Emiri Diwan, to move away from the style of previous governments. This family tree of the Al-Thani shows the main lines of the Qatari ruling family, including branches now quite distant from the Emir whose members remain influential. Key individuals are linked to profiles and curated material from GSN’s unrivalled multi-decade archive of reporting..

The eighth government reshuffle under Emir Tamim Al-Thani sees minister of state for defence affairs Khalid Al-Attiyah ending his long government career. There have also been changes in the leadership of the Emiri Diwan, the Qatar Investment Authority and the State Security Agency. GSN takes a closer look at the changes.

QatarEnergy has bought a 23% interest in Egypt’s North El-Dabaa (H4) Block in the Mediterranean Sea for an undisclosed amount.

The Saudi government-owned Istedamah Holding was set up in late 2017, seven weeks after hundreds of senior  figures were arrested in an anti-corruption sweep in early November and held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel Riyadh. Istedamah is now emerging as an important institution in Riyadh’s reshaping of the kingdom’s business environment. The full extent of its portfolio is still unclear but more details are emerging.

Since the early summer there have been several meetings between senior Abu Dhabi and Qatari officials, reflecting their shared foreign policy concerns and increased economic co-operation. But the UAE seems to view the rapprochement more favourably.

The issue leads with Kuwait, where Sheikh Mishaal Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is nearing his first year as emir. After taking office in December 2023, Sheikh Mishaal promised significant reforms to shake up Kuwait’s political and economic systems, but the emir has made little apparent impact during his first year in power, other than suspending parliament and clamping down on critics. Politics coverage includes a focus on Qatar's move to end future elections to the Shura Council and instead give the emir the power to appoint all members of the chamber. Diplomatic coverage leads with the recent  Brics summit, hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which included the first face-to-face talks between the current UAE and Iranian presidents. GSN also includes a look at Iraqi politics. The Kurdistan Democratic Party secured a solid win in the October election to the regional parliament, cementing its dominance over its main rival the PUK. In Baghdad, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani was elected speaker of the Council of Representatives in late October, almost a year after his predecessor was removed by the courts. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammad Al-Sudani faces a potentially explosive wiretapping scandal. Energy and industry coverage leads with Oman, where state-owned energy group OQ is preparing to list a minority stake in its Base Industries subsidiary on the Muscat Stock Exchange. Wealth watch leads with analysis of an agreement for Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire a controlling interest in broadcaster MBC from the Ministry of Finance's Istedamah Holding – a vehicle which was set up in late 2017, seven weeks after hundreds of senior figures were arrested in an anti-corruption sweep and held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel Riyadh. The Risk management report is on Bahrain. The GSN View focuses on what the Trump win in the US presidential election might mean for the Gulf economies and for regional security. GCC leaders may feel relatively comfortable with Trump’s transactional approach to diplomacy, but Iran will be on edge while waiting to see just how hawkish he and his advisors will be.

The Saudi sovereign wealth fund has signed an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in broadcaster MBC from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) vehicle Istedamah Holding. Istedamah was set up in late 2017, seven weeks after hundreds of senior  figures were arrested in an anti-corruption sweep in early November and held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel Riyadh. The deal shows how the 2017 Ritz-Carlton affair continues to shape business affairs in the kingdom.