Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning food delivery scene is being reshaped once again, as Uber consolidates its position in the kingdom’s app-based transport market.

The U.S. rideshare and delivery giant is taking direct control of some of the Middle East’s biggest food and grocery delivery networks via its $14.8 billion takeover deal for Berlin-based Delivery Hero.

In Saudi Arabia, the deal brings market leader HungerStation, which operates in more than 100 cities across the kingdom and Bahrain, under Uber’s umbrella. The Public Investment Fund has direct exposure via its 3.58% stake in Uber, which is valued at about $5.24 billion, Arab News reports.

Combined with its ride-hailing service, the deal effectively turns Uber into the biggest player in Saudi Arabia, where its main competitors, Jahez Group and Keeta, are also aggressively expanding. Industry commentators expect it will herald further consolidation as players look to strengthen their market positions.

Uber will also swallow a majority stake in Dubai-listed Talabat, a business which has transformed the food industry across the Middle East since its launch in Kuwait 20 years ago. Talabat was valued at more than $10 billion when Delivery Hero listed 20% of its shares in a $2 billion IPO in 2024.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund-backed helicopter company is expanding into the private jet industry with a deal to purchase up to 60 aircraft from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

The Helicopter Co. signed a letter of intent for the purchase of five Challenger 3500s, five Global 5500s and two Global 8000s at England’s Farnborough International Airshow, with options for 48 more aircraft.

THC has also placed orders at the airshow for an additional 11 Leonardo AW139 helicopters and eight Airbus H145 helicopters.

THC was founded in 2018 as a part of the PIF’s plans to expand the kingdom’s aviation sector and is now rapidly expanding its fleet to meet growing demand for private charters and business aviation.

It currently operates a fleet of more than 60 aircraft serving emergency services, aerial work, private charters and tourism.

Saudi Arabia will be allowed to develop a civilian nuclear program with the help of U.S. companies under a landmark agreement expected to be announced today.

U.S. President Donald Trump has given formal approval to the 30-year agreement, which is expected to be worth tens of billions for American firms while shutting out Russian and Chinese competitors, The Wall Street Journal reported. Westinghouse, which manufactures the AP1000 reactor, is expected to be a major beneficiary.

While the accord is aimed at strengthening Saudi-U.S. relations amid the Iran conflict, some U.S. lawmakers and Israeli officials have expressed opposition amid concerns the kingdom could use a civilian program to eventually develop nuclear weapons.

Trump’s agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman includes only limited inspections of nuclear sites and allows a pathway for Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium on its own soil.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Saudi Arabia shortly before Trump’s 2025 visit for discussions around building out the country’s nuclear power industry. 

ADNOC is writing another multibillion-dollar check to bolster its natural gas business, approving a $6.2 billion offshore project as it accelerates investment beyond crude oil.

The Abu Dhabi energy giant and partners TotalEnergies, Eni and China National Petroleum Corp. expect the Umm Shaif Gas Cap project to start producing in 2030, Bloomberg reports.

At full capacity, the project will deliver up to 600 million cubic feet of gas a day, about 10% of the UAE’s current consumption.

The package includes $5.1 billion of offshore contracts and a $365 million drilling program that will add 14 wells.

It’s the latest piece of ADNOC’s bigger expansion drive, which spans new gas fields, a major LNG buildout and a $150 billion spending plan aimed at growing both at home and abroad.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chief of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, were among the Gulf business figures who stood out at the FIFA World Cup final.

Al-Rumayyan, who is also Chairman of the U.K.’s Newcastle United football club, mounted the podium beside U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino and took part in the trophy ceremony on Sunday after Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina.

Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s Group CEO and Chairman of the Manchester City football club, attended the match at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and was also spotted at Fanatics Fest, a raucous four-day gathering for sports fans at New York’s Javits Center.

He and his brother, Mohamed Al Mubarak, Chairman of both Aldar Properties and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, were photographed with billionaire Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, who posted the shot on Instagram.

UAE leaders also seen at the World Cup final included Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Head of the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court; Sayd Basar Shueb, CEO of International Holding Co.; Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation and Vice Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council; and Fouad Darwish, CEO of Palms Sport.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which designed Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper, will lead the masterplan of Qatari Diar’s $30 billion Alam Al Roum smart-city project on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

The massive development will include more than 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) of private beachfront and be supported by a consortium of global design and engineering firms, Arabian Gulf Business Insight reports.

Qatari Diar, owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, has committed $3.5 billion to the project.

The move comes as Gulf-backed coastal developments accelerate in Egypt, with Abu Dhabi’s Modon leading the Ras El Hekma master development.

Abu Dhabi’s XRG, the international investment arm of state-owned oil giant ADNOC, is ramping up its push into the U.S. and Latin America.

“The United States is central to XRG’s ambition to build a globally integrated energy and industrial platform,” XRG Americas CEO Philip Haddad told the Emirates News Agency, calling the country the company’s top market for growth.

The centerpiece is Texas, where XRG now owns stakes in all five trains serving the Rio Grande LNG export project, one of the world’s largest export facilities under construction.

XRG is also investing in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale gas fields and expanding its North American chemicals business through Covestro and NOVA Chemicals.

The strategy reflects ADNOC’s effort to use XRG as a global investment vehicle, expanding the UAE’s presence in energy, chemicals and industrial businesses well beyond its own oil and gas production, Haddad said.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange is expanding its push into Africa by bringing the Botswana Stock Exchange into its Tabadul cross-border trading platform.

Botswana will become the first African exchange connected to the network, giving investors in both markets direct access through local brokerages.

Tabadul, launched in 2022 by ADX and the Bahrain Bourse, now links 11 exchanges with a combined market capitalization of more than $1 trillion, over 700 listed companies and 11 million registered investors.

The agreement boosts Abu Dhabi’s efforts to position itself as a gateway for investment flows between the Middle East and Africa.

Botswana Stock Exchange CEO Aupa Monyatsi said in a statement that the agreement represents a “significant milestone in the BSE’s internationalization strategy and our continued efforts to position Botswana as a globally connected investment destination.”