While Saudi Arabia’s impending sale of a second chunk of shares in Aramco looks like it will be among the world’s biggest stock offerings in years, the deal is falling slightly shy of expectations.

After almost a week of marketing the sale in London, New York and other financial capitals, the kingdom’s bankers told investors they plan to price shares of the world’s biggest oil company at 27.25 Saudi riyals ($7.27) each, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That compares to the target range of 26.70 to 29 riyals and means the offering should yield $11.2 billion rather than the $12 billion previously mooted.

The reduced bounty could mean more budget tightening for some of the country’s mega-projects, such as Neom, that the offering is meant to finance, especially as oil prices slide below $80 a barrel.

Sustaining the ambitious pace of construction envisioned by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would require crude oil prices closer to $100 a barrel, according to calculations by the International Monetary Fund cited by Bloomberg.

Among the stock offering’s attractions for investors are the steady and increasing dividend payouts Aramco offers relative to its global oil competitors.

The company carries a dividend yield of close to 7%, higher than the 3.4% at Exxon and 4.2% at Chevron, the Journal notes.

UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed concluded a three-day trip to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday as the UAE and U.S. look to nail down a common policy framework that protects intellectual property and data.

Amid increasing commercial activity between the two countries on advanced technology, artificial intelligence is among the fastest-growing areas of bilateral commerce, the UAE Embassy to the U.S. noted in a summary of Sheikh Tahnoon’s visit.

The relationship is a two-way street: more than $1 trillion is currently invested by the UAE in the U.S. economy, with significant backing from Emirati funds in semiconductors, AI, space and clean energy.

UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba called the U.S. “our partner of choice” on AI development with “ambitious plans to do even more.”  

Sheikh Tahnoon, who is the brother of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and chairman of sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ, met with former President Barack Obama on Wednesday to discuss joint efforts to use technology to improve education. 

He also met with his counterpart Jake Sullivan on Tuesday and held discussions with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a key figure in Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in G42.

Others who met with Sheikh Tahnoon included Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell; Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer; and Special Presidential Coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security Amos Hochstein.

Also, White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk; Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy Dan Shapiro; Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).

Traveling with Sheikh Tahnoon were UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Alsuwaidi; Executive Affairs Authority Chairman and Mubadala Investment Co. CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak; Supreme Council for National Security Secretary-General Ali Al Shamsi; National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority Chairman Ali Al Neyadi and G42 CEO Peng Xiao, who is a member of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed visited the White House on Tuesday where the UAE National Security Adviser and chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and ADQ met with his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan.

The meeting comes as Abu Dhabi has aligned itself with the world’s biggest economy on matters of technology development — inking a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft for local artificial intelligence champion G42 earlier this year with backing from the Biden administration. 

Sheikh Tahnoon’s visit to Washington, along with a delegation that includes other Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund executives, is focused on enhancing the strategic relations between the two countries with Sheikh Tahnoon speaking to Sullivan on “shared insights on regional and global issues of mutual concern,” the Emirati leader posted on X this morning.

Omar Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, said the UAE is seeking “a marriage” with the U.S. over technology development, speaking in an interview with the Financial Times published on Tuesday.

On Monday, Sheikh Tahnoon met with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell at the State Department in Foggy Bottom. The pair discussed artificial intelligence and driving economic growth both bilaterally and in Africa and India, according to a readout from the State Department.

Qatar and China are strengthening investment ties amid U.S. warnings to its Gulf allies about getting too close to Beijing.

Most recently, the Qatar Investment Authority agreed to buy a 10% stake in ChinaAMC, the country’s second-largest mutual fund, from Hong Kong-based Primavera Capital, Reuters reports.

China has become one of the major importers of liquefied natural gas from Qatar, the No. 3 exporter of LNG.

Middle East sovereign wealth funds have invested $7 billion in China since June last year, five times the amount seen during the previous 12 months, according to industry data provider Global SWF.

Etihad Airways is moving ahead with plans for a possible IPO, the first for a major airline in the Middle East, CEO Antonoaldo Neves said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The potential listing comes amid booming demand for air travel globally.

Airlines have raised their profit forecast to $30.5 billion this year as passenger count is expected to reach a record 5 billion, the International Air Transport Association said during its annual meeting, which wraps up in Dubai today.

Middle East carriers are faring particularly well, set to earn a net profit of $3.8 billion this year, up from $3.1 billion last year, according to the IATA.

Profit per passenger is among the highest in the world, netting $15.20 compared to the global average of $6.

Etihad, which has already recruited more than 1,000 cabin attendants this year, announced this week it is looking to add another 1,000 crew members.

The UAE flag carrier will host recruitment drives from June until the end of the year in 19 locations, including Athens, Vienna, Singapore, Cape Town, Colombo and Jaipur.

The Qatar Central Bank has the infrastructure ready to circulate a national digital currency and will soon start an experimental phase that will operate through October.

The state news agency reported this week that the central bank plans to focus on distributed ledger technology, enhancing liquidity and transactions with securities.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, the UAE’s Vice President and Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), chaired a meeting of the bank’s Board of Directors in Abu Dhabi on Monday in which plans to introduce a digital currency and regulate cryptocurrencies were discussed.

The CBUAE has participated in Project mBridge, in which interoperability for a digital currency was successfully tested earlier this year with the central banks of China, Hong Kong and Thailand and used for remittance payments to India.

Digital currencies are coming into focus in the Gulf as governments respond to cryptocurrency market volatility and assert their monetary sovereignty, according to the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, a Qatari think tank.

Sitting at the base of the world’s tallest skyscraper where dozens of dancing fountains greet more than 100 million credit-card-wielding visitors a year, the Dubai Mall ranks as the biggest and glitziest shopping center in the Middle East. Now it’s getting bigger and glitzier.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties, which built the 162-story Burj Khalifa that towers above, announced an expansion of the mall on Monday that will add 240 stores and restaurants to the 1,200 currently in operation.

The $408 million plan to enlarge the Dubai landmark comes after Emaar posted a 70% increase in net profit last year and the UAE reported record tourism.

“This expansion reflects Dubai’s ambitious vision to remain at the forefront of global innovation and culture, further solidifying our city’s position as a top global destination,” Alabbar said in a statement.

The mall, which first opened in 2008, is anchored by Bloomingdale’s and Galeries Lafayette, with boutiques that include Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Armani, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Dolce & Gabbana.

The vast shopping galleries also house the Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, an Olympic-size skating rink and a 24-screen cinema complex.

Emirates President Tim Clark says in a round of interviews that the crisis at Boeing is far from over and the U.S. planemaker needs to do more to address customer concerns.

For starters, he says Emirates should receive billions in compensation for delays in the development of Boeing’s latest 777 jet, Arab News reports.

Clark’s concerns carry clout given that his airline is the biggest buyer of both Boeing and Airbus widebody aircraft.

“For me, this will be a five-year hiatus starting from now,” Clark said in an interview with Bloomberg.

As a result of the manufacturing issues and delays on new widebody aircraft at the planemaker, Emirates is putting more of its Boeing 777 aircraft through an extensive retrofit program, Clark said.

That has raised the cost of the program to about $3.5 billion from previously $2 billion, he said.

Clark also advised that Boeing pick a strong CEO grounded in engineering and business to replace the departing Dave Calhoun.

The Emirates chief also said he’s certain that airfares are going up. “Unfortunately, but that’s the way it is,” he told CNBC.