Corporate decision makers across the GCC region are largely optimistic about growth prospects through the end of 2024 while expressing caution about lurking geopolitical risks and the threat of cyberattacks, according to a survey by the consulting firm Teneo.

Sentiment among the 450 executives polled from both public and private sector companies was brightest in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, while more guarded in Oman and Kuwait. Overall, 65% of Gulf decision makers said they anticipate further improvements in the regional economy this year.

Among the biggest business challenges cited was cybersecurity, with widespread fears that computer networks are increasingly vulnerable to hackers. Some 82% said they expect positive impact from the integration of artificial intelligence in their business operations, though 41% said the AI’s costs would be a formidable barrier.

As the Middle East regional economy grows, one of the greatest concerns among corporate decision makers shown in the polling is recruiting skilled employees within their countries. Over the next 25 years, the survey indicated broad confidence that the Gulf will continue to be a leading global energy supplier while developing its resources as a world financial center.

As the political crisis in Libya deepens, the country’s National Oil Co. halted production at its petroleum fields and cut off shipments from its ports, rattling regional oil markets.

The NOC declared a “force majeure” to inform customers that orders could not be fulfilled because of unforeseen circumstances.

The cutoff derives from the continuing conflict between Libya’s two rival political factions over control of the central bank and oil revenue.

Oil prices rose on Monday, recovering some losses from late last week, amid the halt in Libyan exports and concerns about the coming decision on OPEC+ production levels.

The political crisis involves a struggle for power between the eastern government, led by commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, and the internationally recognized western government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh.

The NOC reported a 63% drop in oil production last week due to the shutdown, which began Aug. 26. Output was estimated at 591,000 barrels per day, down from 1.2 million barrels in late July.

Visions of the Gulf as a tax-free haven are rapidly fading.

Bahrain is the latest member of the GCC to introduce corporate taxes, imposing a new 15% profit tax on multinational corporations starting in January.

The new taxes will be limited to the largest companies –  whose annual global revenue exceeds $830 million. 

The move brings Bahrain in line with new OECD reforms requiring member-nations to ensure large multinational enterprises pay taxes in every country where they operate.

It aims to address issues of international competition arising from the digitalization and globalization of the economy, according to the OECD.

Dubai Fashion Week kicks off on Sunday, offering a showcase for Emirati designers with runway shows, parties and public chats.

The coming edition, which takes place Sept. 1-7 in the Dubai Design District, highlights Italian fashion houses, in line with the city’s aspirations to join the ranks of Paris, Milan and New York on the couture circuit.

Among designers from the Middle East and Asia, the event will feature Dima Ayad, Heba Jasmi and Rizman Ruzaini.

Fausto Puglisi, the head of Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli and a designer for Madonna, Beyonce and Taylor Swift, will be the guest of honor at the closing reception on Sept. 7.

The fluorescent orange uniforms of Talabat delivery drivers have become so ubiquitous in the UAE that The Circuit’s Abu Dhabi correspondent counted at least a dozen whizzing past on the road beneath her window as this sentence was written. 

Now the business, which has transformed the food industry across the Middle East since its launch in Kuwait 20 years ago, will be listed on the Dubai bourse in what will be one of the most hotly-anticipated initial public offerings of the year.

Berlin-based parent company Delivery Hero is preparing to capitalize on the high investor interest in IPOs in the Gulf this year to raise capital by offering shares in its UAE subsidiary on the Dubai Financial Market in the fourth quarter of this year.

Delivery Hero, which is publicly listed in Frankfurt, will retain a majority interest in the local listing after the IPO, the company said in a filing on Thursday.

While the company has not yet given details of target pricing or how much it plans to raise, RBC values Talabat at $5.5 billion.

Talabat is the latest in a growing list of regional companies seeking to tap equity markets through public listings this year, with $890 million raised through IPOs in the UAE in Q2 alone.

NMDC Energy announced on Wednesday that it plans to raise $875 million in an initial share sale on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

NMDC Energy’s IPO is shaping up to be the UAE’s biggest this year.

The Abu Dhabi subsidiary of NMDC Group, which provides construction and dredging services to the oil and gas industry, aims to raise $875 million when the subscription period for its initial share sale opens on Friday.

That tops the $515 million that Alef Education Holding raised on the ADX in June and will give NMDC Energy a market value of $3.8 billion, Bloomberg reports. The IPO will be the largest since Pure Health Holding raised $986 million in December. 

NMDC Energy won a $255 million contract with ADNOC Gas last month for dredging work on its Estidama natural gas pipeline project. First Abu Dhabi Bank is the lead manager for the IPO.

Saudi Arabia’s push to become a regional center for gaming is paying off, with the esports sector expected to contribute $13.3 billion to the kingdom’s GDP by 2030, according to a new report from PwC Middle East and the Saudi Esports Federation.

Interest in esports is growing across the region, with gaming revenues for the Middle East and North Africa reaching $7.2 billion in 2023.

Saudi Arabia is preparing to host the first Olympic Esports Games from next year, after successfully holding its inaugural Esports World Cup at Riyadh’s Boulevard City over the past two months.

The event, in which an estimated 2,500 gamers competed for a prize pool of $62.5 million, concluded on Sunday with the Saudi Falcons team declared as champions.