Abu Dhabi-based BlueFive Capital and China International Capital Corp.’s private equity arm are preparing a new fund to support Chinese companies aiming to expand in the Middle East.

The proposed investment vehicle will target sectors where Chinese firms can build up operations across the Gulf region, leveraging both capital and regional market access, Bloomberg reports.

While details regarding the fund’s size and timeline remain undisclosed, the move reflects growing financial collaboration between Chinese investors and Gulf economies.

The planned fund is positioned to facilitate business expansion by offering both strategic and financial resources to participating Chinese companies.

Abu Dhabi is pouring $2 billion into hedge fund powerhouse Brevan Howard to anchor a new investment hub in the Gulf.

The deal was set in motion by Abu Dhabi-owned asset manager Lunate’s agreement to acquire a minority stake in Brevan Howard and commit the funds to launch a new investor platform.

Lunate, which has more than $100 billion under management and is backed by Abu Dhabi’s ADQ and Chimera Capital – investment arms tied to Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed – said the partnership is designed to strengthen the city’s role as a global hub for alternative investments.

The venture will be based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market, the emirate’s international financial center, and will oversee funds tailored to global investors. 

London-based Brevan Howard, which manages more than $35 billion worldwide and is best known for its macro trading and digital asset strategies, will contribute its investment expertise and client base to the new platform.

Brevan Howard’s founder, Alan Howard, said in a statement that the partnership “reflects our deep and ongoing commitment to the region.”

The UAE is going deep into Angola.

On a state visit to the southern African nation, which holds substantial supplies of diamonds, copper and oil, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed sat beside Angolan President João Lourenço to witness the signing on Monday of a free-trade deal between the two countries.

Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, said the Comprehensive Partnership Trade Agreement and other accords signed during the trip would generate bilateral returns reaching $10 billion a year by 2033.

Among the areas for cooperation covered in the deal are artificial intelligence, banking, agriculture, tourism and energy.

With ample resources to run power-hungry AI servers, Saudi Arabia is plunging into the worldwide race to build massive data centers.

Humain, an artificial intelligence firm owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, has started construction on its first set of data centers and plans to launch operations early next year.

Driving the facilities will be semiconductors from U.S. chipmakers, including 18,000 of Nvidia’s latest AI chips in centers at Riyadh and Dammam, Bloomberg reports.

“It depends on the governance and the protocols and the approval of the U.S. government, and these are formalities that we are going to start going through very, very soon,” Humain CEO Tareq Amin told the news agency.

After seven weeks of grueling battle in Saudi Arabia over computer screens and joysticks, the Esports World Cup 2025 competition proclaimed Riyadh-based Team Falcons as champ from a field of more than 2,000 players representing over 100 countries.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman presided over the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup 2025 on Sunday, presenting the trophy to the Falcons, who led the standings with 5,200 points.

The team won the $7 million grand prize from a record-breaking $70 million total prize pool, the largest in esports history.

Among prominent personalities who attended the closing ceremony were soccer star Christiano Renaldo, Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and billionaire investor Evan Spiegel.

The tournament is part of the kingdom’s national esports strategy that aims to attract investment and achieve the goal of becoming the world leader in the $2.9 billion esports industry.

Over the course of the Esports World Cup, the site of the competition at Boulevard Riyadh City drew more than 3 million visitors, according to the Saudi Press Agency. At the same time, over 750 million viewers worldwide followed the competition through digital platforms.

HSBC’s Swiss private bank is cutting ties with more than 1,000 wealthy Middle Eastern clients, including individuals from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon and Egypt, some with assets exceeding $100 million.

The move follows scrutiny from Swiss regulators, who in 2024 said the bank had breached anti-money laundering obligations, the Financial Times reports.

HSBC confirmed its Swiss private bank is shifting strategic focus as part of a wider group reshaping announced last year.

Barry O’Byrne, HSBC’s CEO of International Wealth and Premier Banking, told Reuters the bank remains committed to its Middle East and Swiss wealth operations.

Space42, the Abu Dhabi-backed satellite communications company, is considering a new fundraising push to expand its satellite mapping project in Africa.

While the financing is in early talks and no formal target for the amount it will seek to raise has been set, the Space42 initiative aims to provide detailed maps for all of Africa’s 54 countries that can be used for logistics, disaster response and urban planning, Bloomberg reports.

Working with Microsoft and U.S. mapping firm Esri, Space42 has said it expects to license the data it collects to governments, and later make it available to businesses.

Space42’s potential funding efforts involve discussions with the African Union Development Agency and other financial institutions active on the continent, according to Bloomberg. Among Space42’s shareholders are the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, G42 tech company and International Holding Co.

In a related development, Space42 has secured a $696 million export credit facility from European banks, backed by French export insurer Bpifrance, to develop its Al Yah 4 and 5satellites with advanced, reconfigurable payloads, SpaceTech in Gulf reports. 

The satellites are scheduled for launch in 2027 and 2028 and are part of a 17-year UAE government contract costing $5.1 billion.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional details on Space42’s mapping project published by Bloomberg.

First came news stories earlier this week about construction delays and concerns about snowmaking capacity at NEOM’s planned Trojena desert ski resort.

Now, the Financial Times reports that organizers of the 2029 Asian Winter Games are shopping for alternative countries in which to hold the competition because they fear the Saudi site won’t be ready.

One part of the project requires blasting out huge amounts of rock and installing some 3,000 tension cables, a process that could take eight years, according to the FT.

Trojena, which is 2,600 meters above sea level, is planned to have 30 kilometers of ski runs available between December and March each year.

While there is some natural snow in the area, it is rare, and so the resort will rely completely on artificial snow.