Saudi Arabia pushes off its Red Sea Film Festival to 2027
Saudi Arabia is postponing its Red Sea International Film Festival, pushing the star-studded annual event to late 2027 as an escalating conflict with Yemen’s Houthis and continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz deepen security concerns.
Organizers scrapped the red-carpet premiere scheduled for Dec. 3 in Jeddah, though they cited only the logistical demands of staging the international festival, The National reports.
Last year’s event drew Hollywood stars including Dakota Johnson, Uma Thurman, Queen Latifah and Vin Diesel. The decision to delay the Jeddah event comes just days after news that neighboring Dubai plans to revive its own international film festival in December 2027 after a decade-long break.
Despite the growing conflict with the Houthis, Saudi Aramco told several Asian refiners that oil shipments from the Red Sea port of Yanbu should resume soon. At least three processors received informal assurances from company executives, though no timetable was given, Bloomberg reports.
Loadings have largely stopped since drone attacks from Iraq shut the East-West pipeline on Sept. 10. The pipeline had carried about 4 million barrels a day to Yanbu, with Aramco now working to restore half its capacity.
The Daily Circuit: Red Sea Film Festival postponed + QIA-JPMorgan deal
In today’s Daily Circuit, we report on QIA planning a $20 billion partnership with JPMorgan Chase, Paramount Skydance settling the lawsuits blocking its Gulf-backed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, the wealthy Gulf residents building private data centers, and Saudi EV startup CEER unveiling its first electric vehicles. But first, Saudi Arabia won’t be staging its annual film festival in Jeddah this year.
Saudi Arabia is postponing its Red Sea International Film Festival, pushing the star-studded annual event to late 2027 as an escalating conflict with Yemen’s Houthis and continued disruption in the Strait of Hormuz boost security concerns.
Organizers scrapped the red-carpet premiere that was scheduled for Dec. 3 in Jeddah, citing only the logistical demands of staging the international festival, The National reports.
Last year’s event drew Hollywood stars including Dakota Johnson, Uma Thurman, Queen Latifah and Vin Diesel. The decision to delay the Jeddah event comes just days after news that neighboring Dubai plans to revive its own international film festival in December 2027 after a decade-long break.
Despite the growing conflict with the Houthis, Saudi Aramco told several Asian refiners that oil shipments from the Red Sea port of Yanbu should resume soon. At least three processors received informal assurances from company executives, though no timetable was given, Bloomberg reports.
Loadings have largely stopped since drone attacks from Iraq shut the East-West pipeline on Sept. 10. The pipeline had carried about 4 million barrels a day to Yanbu, with Aramco now working to restore half its capacity.
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📰 Developing Stories
HOLLYWOOD ENDING
Paramount Skydance has cleared the way for its Gulf-backed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by settling lawsuits brought by U.S. states and the Writers Guild trade union. The settlements include a wide range of promises, including a guarantee to release 30 movies a year into theaters or pay fines of $30 million per film short of that goal. Paramount also agreed not to sell either of its big studio lots in Los Angeles and to invest $1.5 billion in domestic film and TV production, Bloomberg reports. Paramount CEO David Ellison said the company now has “complete clearance for this merger.” Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’Imad Holding are all backing the deal, but will not have voting rights in the merged entity.
PRIVATE DATA
Wealthy Gulf residents and family offices are building private data centers for homes and luxury yachts. Demand has accelerated since Iranian drone attacks disrupted Gulf cloud infrastructure, including Amazon Web Services facilities in Bahrain and the UAE. Rain Ibajo, Chief Technology Officer at Dubai-based Ragoa Technologies, told Arabian Gulf Business Insight that private systems cost between about $550,000 and $1.1 million. Advances in AI are also making the systems more useful, allowing owners to analyze sensitive data locally while reducing reliance on external cloud providers.
💲 Sovereign Circuit
Qatar Investment Authority: The sovereign wealth fund said it is planning a $20 billion partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co., spanning public and private markets in equities and credit, Bloomberg reports.
Public Investment Fund: Saudi EV startup Ceer, a joint venture between the PIF and Foxconn, unveiled its first two models, the Exobot sedan and Exobot SUV.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: Property firm New World Development Co. and ADIA are in talks to sell their stakes in Hong Kong’s Hyatt Regency Kowloon to Singapore’s UOL Group in a deal valuing the hotel at about $382 million.
QatarEnergy: Qatar says repairs to two damaged Ras Laffan LNG trains will take three years, while a separate gas-to-liquids line is expected to resume by Q1 2027.
↪↩ Closing Circuit
💵 International Sale: Qatar raised $3 billion in its first international bond sale of the year as the U.S.-Iran war and Strait of Hormuz disruption weigh on LNG exports and public finances.
📈 Expanding Locally: Saudi-listed SHL Finance Company secured a $53.3 million credit facility from Saudi Investment Bank to support its expansion and boost sales by extending new financing to customers.
🚧 Construction Projects: Egyptian developer QORE has launched its new Maydan real estate project as part of a roughly $580 million investment plan through 2030.
🗣 Circuit Chatter
🏦 Rebuilding Fund: The Trump administration has proposed a $5 billion fund to rebuild critical Middle East infrastructure damaged in the Iran war, including projects aimed at bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reports.
⛽ Diesel Drain: The global diesel shortage is expected to last into 2027 as the wars in Iran and Ukraine disrupt supplies and drive fuel prices to record highs, Reuters reports.
🏨 Hotel Recovery: Occupancy at Emaar’s Dubai hotels has rebounded to about 60% from a wartime low of 20%-25%, with founder Mohamed Alabbar predicting a return to the previous 83% level within a year.
🇬🇧 Aerial Backup: The U.K. government agreed to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi jets conducting defensive missions against the Houthis.
🚄 Rail Pass: Etihad Rail tickets on the first route between Dubai and Abu Dhabi are on sale ahead of the line’s Sept. 30 launch. Fares start at 39 dirhams ($10.61).
🌍 Power Circuit
Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, met with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thanioffered his condolences to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on the passing of his brother, the late Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs, held separate meetings in New York with a number of foreign ministers including Cho Hyun, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea; Juraj Blanár, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia; and Constantinos Kombos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.
➿ On the Circuit
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC and Executive Chairman of XRG, met with Morgan Stanley Chairman and CEO Ted Pick in New York. Al Jaber also met with Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt.
Majed Al Ansari, adviser to Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, said in New York on Monday that economic interdependence between Iran and its Gulf neighbors could provide a foundation for security in the long term.
Sana Amairi-Pyka, Technology Innovation Institute’s Lead Scientist for Quantum Communications, is leading an Abu Dhabi project using quantum technology to protect sensitive data from future cyber threats, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, called for member states to send more naval vessels to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea, Bloomberg reports.
🎶 Culture Circuit
🎟️ Ticket Time: Tickets for the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi have gone on sale ahead of the museum’s opening on Dec. 11. The museum in the Saadiyat Cultural District joins the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum and teamLab Phenomena. Tickets are priced at 70 dirhams ($19.06).
📷 Photo of the Day
Saudi Arabian carmaker CEER unveiled its first electric vehicles, under the name Exobot, in King Abdullah Economic City on Monday. (Luo Chen/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Sept. 22-28, New York. U.N. General Assembly. Close to 100 heads of state take the stage for a marathon week of speeches and top-level diplomacy. U.N. Headquarters.
Sept. 28-Oct. 1, Singapore. SuperReturn Asia. The region’s premier private capital gathering. Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre.
Sept. 29-Oct. 1, Abu Dhabi. LIVEX 2026. Abu Dhabi’s inaugural Livability and Investment Exhibition. ADNEC Centre.
Oct. 6-7, Abu Dhabi. Ai Everything. The AI forum brings together policymakers, innovators and business leaders. ADNEC Centre.
Oct. 7-9, Singapore. Milken Institute Asia Summit. Bringing together a global community of influential leaders shaping the next era of intelligence, collaboration and growth. Four Seasons Hotel.
Oct. 21, 22, 24, Riyadh. Six Kings Slam. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will defend his Six Kings Slam title when the tennis exhibition tournament returns, to be streamed globally on Netflix. ANB Arena.
Oct. 26-29, Riyadh. Future Investment Initiative. Saudi Arabia’s keystone annual business conference, sponsored by the Public Investment Fund. King Abdulaziz International Conference Center.
Shipping industry calls for urgent action to end Red Sea attacks
Cargo shippers, cruise boat owners and insurers are calling for urgent action to put an end to eight months of attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
“We call for states with influence in the region to safeguard our innocent seafarers and for the swift de-escalation of the situation in the Red Sea,” 14 of the world’s biggest shipping companies said in a joint statement issued on Wednesday.
The signatories are: Asian Association of Shipowners, Bimco, CLIA, ECSA, Intermanager, Intercargo, IAPH, ICS, IFMSA, IMEC, International Maritime Pilots Association, IPTA, FONBASA, and World Shipping Council.
Insurance industry sources said that additional war risk premiums, paid when vessels sail through the Red Sea, had hovered close to 0.7% of the value of a ship in recent days after rising to as much as 1% earlier this year, Reuters reports.
They say more attacks are likely to push insurance rates higher, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars of extra costs to every voyage.
