Saudi Aramco is going to the debt market again amid a slide in oil prices that has chopped the cost of the industry’s benchmark Brent crude almost in half over the past three years.

Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, said on Monday that it raised $5 billion in a London bond sale that was the U.K.’s largest this year and followed the sale of Islamic bonds a year ago that raised $6 billion.

The record borrowing should enable the state-owned oil colossus to continue generating the level of funding that the kingdom has been counting on to finance its drive to diversify the economy. 

The price of Brent crude has fallen 20% this year and 45% since June 2022. It was trading at $62 a barrel this morning.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put the country on an expensive course of investing in massive infrastructure projects such as the $1 trillion-dollar Neom development, while  deepening its interests in a variety of industries including minerals, electric vehicles and sports.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has tightened its dominance over OPEC+, pushing through a significant increase in production across the bloc of oil producers despite opposition from other powerful members such as Russia, Oman and Algeria, Bloomberg reports.

Financial influencers are now required to register for official “Finfluencer” status with the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority.

The regulator has launched an official authorization scheme mandating compliance with strict content and conduct standards, in a move to ensure transparency and protect investors in digital financial markets.

Approved finfluencers will be permitted to share investment insights and recommendations, with a three-year waiver on registration fees offered to encourage uptake.

The SCA said it also urges the public to verify finfluencer credentials and report unlicensed activity, as it steps up oversight of financial content amid rising digital engagement.

Stepping inside any of the UAE’s palatial-sized attractions – from Dubai’s 163-story Burj Khalifa and metal-domed Louvre Abu Dhabi to the gleaming white Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque – visitors hit a wall of cool air that provides relief from the Gulf’s scorching sun.

The company responsible for keeping the heat at bay is National Central Cooling, known as Tabreed, which looks likely to expand its portfolio of district cooling contracts soon to include a large swathe of Abu Dhabi’s offices and residential buildings. Tabreed is backed by the French electric utility company, Engie.

Abu Dhabi’s Multiply Group has entered exclusive talks to sell its PAL Cooling unit to Tabreed, and private equity firm CVC for $1.1 billion, Reuters reports. With it will come long-term agreements with Abu Dhabi master developers, including Aldar Properties and Reem Developers.

Multiply, the Abu Dhabi-based investment company controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed’s IHC, was first reported to be working with the Standard Chartered bank on finding a buyer for the cooling unit earlier this year. 

District cooling, described as “chilled water” on utility bills in Abu Dhabi, is a system of centralized cooling that pumps cold water via insulated pipes into many of the UAE capital’s skyscrapers and residential buildings to keep them comfortable.

The system is viewed as more environmentally friendly than traditional air conditioning and has become a critical utility in the Gulf, where the hot season is growing longer every year, with extreme temperatures driving the population indoors for months at a time.

The UAE and the European Union are moving closer to a trade agreement that would give the emirates consolidated access to the world’s largest trading bloc while reinforcing the country’s own status as a global logistics hub.

A deal between the UAE and the EU could also be key to unlocking a wider agreement between the 27-member bloc and the Gulf Cooperation Council, a stop-start negotiation which has not yielded consensus in the 35 years since talks started.

Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, met with the EU’s trade chief Maros Sefcovic in Dubai on Wednesday to launch the talks officially over a potential Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the UAE’s framework for the dozens of trade deals it has made since 2021 to diversify its economy. 

During his visit to the emirate, Sefcovic also met with the private sector to discuss opportunities for increased investment flows. The EU currently accounts for $67.6 billion in non-oil trade with the Emirates, 8.3% of the UAE’s total trade.

Speaking to reporters alongside Sefcovic, Al Zeyoudi said the UAE wants to seal a deal with the EU “in a very short period, three to six months from now.”

The Emirati cabinet minister added he did not see the talks as a hurdle for a future EU deal with the GCC and noted that bilateral talks with New Zealand and South Korea had led to trade agreements with the GCC, Reuters reports.

“We are seeing it’s a flow which is going to be starting from here and moving to the GCC,” he said. “Usually, the blocs are much slower than the bilateral, and that’s why we’re starting here, so we can move quickly.”

Globalpharma is preparing to manufacture generic versions of blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

The Dubai Investments subsidiary is partnering internationally to develop peptide-based injectables using off-patent precursors, aligning with national goals to localise pharmaceutical production.

“The capability to produce, develop and analyse is what we are working on,” Dr. Basem Al-Barahmeh, the company’s General Manager, told Arabian Gulf Business Insights.

Globalpharma has more than doubled sales since 2019 and expects revenues to triple this year, with projections exceeding $150 million.

With two UAE plants producing 40 million medicine packs annually, Globalpharma is preparing for local production of complex injectables once regulatory approvals are secured.

China has granted visa-free access to all GCC countries, expanding a policy that now includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain alongside the UAE and Qatar.

The move comes as trade between China and the Gulf bloc surpassed $288 billion in 2024 and air connectivity surged, with carriers like Emirates and Gulf Air increasing flights to meet rising demand.

Under the new waiver, effective June 9, ordinary passport holders can stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, or family visits.

Speaking at the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit, Premier Li Qiang said negotiations on a long-delayed free trade agreement with the GCC were nearing completion.

Having disrupted the athletic world with billions poured into golf, tennis, mixed martial arts and esports, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is diving deeper into soccer.

SURJ Sports, an investment arm of the sovereign wealth fund, signed an agreement on Tuesday to form a joint venture with the upstart Kings League.

The move brings a wildly popular new brand of football to the kingdom that features seven players on each side of the field. 

An inaugural event is planned for November, which will be streamed on a range of platforms including TikTok and YouTube. The league has close to 30 million social media followers.

Kings League was founded in 2022 by former Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué and has a growing young audience drawn by its fast-paced format.

Most of the league’s revenue comes from sponsorship and merchandising, rather than broadcasting, which fuels traditional football teams that play with 11 to a side. 

“Our priority today is to maximize reach and get in front of as many fans as possible,” Kings League CEO Djamel Agaoua tells Bloomberg.

“In the future, as the product matures, we want to develop our media rights revenue stream, and we might consider more exclusive deals with broadcasters and streaming platforms,” he said.

Dubai Holding’s $584 million residential real estate investment trust jumped 10% on its trading debut today, reflecting the strength of the emirate’s property market in the city’s first IPO of the year.

The listing on the Dubai Financial Market, which was oversubscribed last week within minutes of its launch, values the trust at approximately $3.9 billion, Bloomberg reports.

Backed by the investment arm of Dubai’s ruling family, the Dubai Residential REIT offering was managed by Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Emirates NBD Capital and Morgan Stanley.

Dubai’s residential market continues to rally, buoyed by the inflow of wealthy expatriates drawn by relaxed visa policies and low taxation.