DHL is locking in plans to invest some $565 million to expand its Middle East operations, betting that the region will emerge from war with Iran as a dominant global logistics hub.

Tobias Maier, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding Middle East & Africa, said upcoming infrastructure and energy projects financed by Gulf sovereign wealth funds present new opportunities for the express delivery company amid the war’s disruption of traditional shipping routes.

“These investments don’t stop because supply chains become more complicated – they become more important,” Maier said in an interview with The Circuit.

DHL has committed about half of its planned investment to expand logistics facilities in Riyadh and Dubai. The new funding comes as ships have been targeted by missile and drone attacks in both the Gulf and the Red Sea during the war between the U.S., Iran and Israel that began in late February.

The supply-chain disruptions resulting from the war have prompted many customers to switch their shipping from sea vessels to air freight to avoid delays and keep products on shelves. DHL has the third-largest air network among global delivery services, behind FedEx and UPS.

“There was a shift in reality,” said Maier, who took over the Dubai-based DHL unit last December. “Typically, most cargo volumes go via sea freight on shipping lines, which is, of course, much cheaper and lower cost.” 

DHL Group, which employs roughly 400,000 people worldwide, is building a 55,000-square-meter warehouse in Dubai South at a cost of $140 million, with construction underway and completion planned for summer 2027. The site sits inside the emirate’s aviation, logistics and free-trade zone, anchored around the under-construction Al Maktoum International Airport, which Dubai is positioning to become the world’s largest.

The ongoing disruptions have highlighted a broad shift in the logistics industry, where shipping expertise provides additional value in areas such as customs clearance, documentation, market intelligence, routing alternatives and access to diversified transportation networks.

From the perspective of cargo shippers, the Strait of Hormuz blockade has reinforced the need to focus on dependability, even at the expense of speed. 

“Companies are increasingly moving away from a purely lowest-cost model and prioritizing redundancy, flexibility and continuity of supply,” Rohan Mehta, Managing Director of Petrochem Middle East, the largest independent chemical distributor in the region, told The Circuit.

 “What we are seeing is not just a short-term rerouting exercise; it is a clear shift toward resilience,” he said.

Mehta said that means more diversified routing and greater use of alternative export corridors, such as the UAE’s eastern emirate of Fujairah and Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Historically, the UAE and other Gulf ports have served as logistics hubs for Africa, with companies storing inventory in the region’s free zones before distributing products across the continent. The recent war-related disruptions, though, have encouraged some companies to bypass Dubai and ship directly from Europe or China into African markets.

At the same time, countries such as Egypt are attracting increased manufacturing investment, particularly from Turkey, creating new logistics opportunities for DHL across the region. Beyond the Riyadh and Dubai facilities, DHL has earmarked $85 million for its first regional aircraft maintenance hangar, at Bahrain International Airport, and about $30 million for an air-side gateway facility at Muscat International Airport in Oman.

Still, Maier said the UAE retains advantages that are difficult for competitors to replicate.

“It’s not just about infrastructure or capital,” he said. “The UAE has developed a business-friendly culture, agility, and government support that are difficult to replicate.”

While the Gulf will remain a critical hub, Petrochem’s Mehta said the new conditions are accelerating structural changes that will determine how companies plan logistics. 

“Companies that adapt now are likely to be better protected against the next shock, whether that is geopolitical, operational or commercial,” Mehta said.

Qatar’s former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who transformed the country into a global energy and investment power, has died at 74.

Qatar’s royal court announced his death on Sunday without giving a cause. Sheikh Hamad seized power in a bloodless 1995 coup and ruled for 18 years before handing power to his son, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in 2013.

Under his rule, Qatar became the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and created the Qatar Investment Authority, now one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds.

He also turned Doha into a global center for finance, education and sports, culminating in Qatar hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

His foreign policy raised Qatar’s international profile but also fueled years of tensions with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

UAE telecom giant e& is cashing out of Vodafone, selling its entire 16.2% stake for about $5.9 billion to French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel’s investment vehicle Vega.

The sale gives e&, which is majority-owned by the Emirates Investment Authority, a clean exit from the holding it started building in 2022.

Under e&, Vodafone has spent the past three years shrinking its European portfolio, selling businesses in Spain and Italy, while merging with Three UK to create Britain’s largest mobile operator.

E&, short for Emirates Telecommunications Group, first bought a 9.8% stake in Vodafone in 2022, then steadily increased its holding to 16.2%.

The transaction ends the companies’ four-year relationship, and former e& CEO Hatem Dowidar has resigned from Vodafone’s board.

Saudi Arabia’s Humain artificial intelligence company and Canada’s Cohere have formed a partnership to build one of the region’s largest AI computing centers, with operations targeted to begin in late 2027.

The announcement came during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to the kingdom, the first by a Canadian premier in 26 years.

During the prime minister’s visit, the two countries signed more than $760 million in agreements and expanded cooperation in energy, mining and infrastructure.

Carney also met Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser in Jeddah on Thursday, and the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation in mining and energy.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the majority owner of Humain, accepted Carney’s invitation to a Toronto investment summit in September.

Oman and Jordan agreed to create a $100 million joint investment company to back projects in the Hashemite kingdom’s energy, mining and technology industries.

The venture will be owned equally by Oman Investment Authority and Jordan’s Social Security Investment Fund, with each contributing half the capital, Arab News reports.

Executives from the two funds say the project is intended to support economic diversification, deepen cross-border investment and expand commercially viable projects in high-growth sectors.

The announcement follows the World Bank’s approval of a $700 million loan to support Jordan’s private-sector growth.

The Iran war’s toll on corporate earnings will become clearer this week as Gulf companies start to report second-quarter earnings.

Abu Dhabi-based ADNOC Gas should reflect a near 20% drop in domestic gas sales following Iranian drone and missile attacks at its Habshan gas processing plant in April that disrupted supplies, Reuters reports. 

Dubai-based Emaar Properties, Aldar and other developers are likely to demonstrate the war’s toll on the UAE housing market with declines reported in second-quarter residential sales.

Lenders including Saudi National Bank and Emirates NBD will show the effects of weaker trade finance, tourism and international spending, the news agency said.

Saudi Arabia’s economy is now forecast to grow 1.7% this year after the IMF cut its estimate by 1.4 percentage points, while lowering its overall 2026 growth forecast for the Middle East to 0.7% from 1.9% because of the fallout from the Strait of Hormuz disruption.

Oil prices surged on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran was “over,” jolting energy markets and raising fresh concerns about the security of Gulf oil exports.

Brent crude jumped more than 5% to above $78 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbed above $74, wiping out several days of market calm.

The U.S. also revoked a waiver allowing Iran to sell oil, as American forces struck more than 80 targets in Iran that officials said were linked to attacks on commercial shipping.

Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, extending the conflict and increasing the risk of further disruption in the Gulf.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal after attacks this week on three commercial vessels, including a Saudi oil tanker and a Qatari LNG carrier, threatening another squeeze on global energy supplies.

Abu Dhabi’s Inception42 plans to start deploying agentic artificial intelligence across the UAE federal government this quarter, with a goal of automating 50% of government operations within two years.

The government-backed company, a unit of G42, says the systems will independently carry out complex, multi-step tasks with limited human intervention.

Chief Executive Ashish Koshy told Arabian Gulf Business Insight the rollout is on a fixed timetable and is beginning to be used by government agencies.

The initiative is part of a broader G42 and Microsoft collaboration expected to bring $15.2 billion of AI investment to the UAE while creating a unified AI platform for governments and businesses.