Doha’s tech scene is in the spotlight this week as a Middle East edition of Web Summit — touted as the world’s biggest technology conference — opens today in Qatar’s capital city.

More than 1,100 startups from 80 countries are expected to attend the four-day event as the Qatari government joins its neighbors in trying to lure early-stage tech companies to set up shop in the country. Tickets sold out more than a week ago.

One of those efforts, which is expected to be promoted heavily at Web Summit, is Startup Qatar. The program was rolled out last week and is offering free visas, tax waivers, licenses, office space and funding to promising tech firms.

Among the event’s prominent participants are Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan.

Top financiers and founders include Huda Al-Lawati, founder and CEO of UAE fund manager Aliph Capital; Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of U.S. wearable tech company Whoop; Fadi Ghandour, Managing Partner at UAE VC fund Wamda Capital; Hosam Arab, co-founder & CEO of Riyadh-based FinTech startup Tabby and Edward Achtner, Head of AI at HSBC.

Qatar Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will also feature prominently with Daniyal Khan, a Director for QIA’s advisory group in New York, and Head of Tech Mohammed Al-Hardan set to speak.

One topic driving the conversation will be why VC dollars are drying up almost everywhere except the Middle East – in particular, the GCC countries. A session tomorrow will tackle this directly: QIA Chief Investment Officer for the Americas Mohammed Al-Sowaidi; Noor Sweid, Founder & Managing Partner at Global Ventures, and Khaled Talhouni, Managing Partner of Nuwa Capital, will be in conversation with TIME contributor Zachary Karabell.

Emirates is making some senior executive changes that appear to signal a final-stage competition to succeed 74-year old President Tim Clark, who has run the Dubai-based airline for two decades.

Promotions were announced on Thursday for Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel Al Redha and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim, who were both named Deputy Presidents under Clark.

Budget carrier Flydubai, meanwhile, said profit reached a record high of $572 million last year, rising 75% from 2022, as passenger numbers on the UAE budget airline surged 31% to 13.8 million. 

As Qatar prepares to host next week’s Web Summit extravaganza, government planners are trying to attract early-stage tech companies to set up shop in the country.

One of those efforts, Startup Qatar, was rolled out on Wednesday, offering free visas, tax waivers, licenses, office space and funding to promising tech firms.

All the services are described and accessible through the campaign’s website and will be promoted heavily at Web Summit Qatar.

The conference, which opens Feb. 26 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, expects more than 1,100 startups from 80 countries. Tickets are already sold out.

A three-year price rally for Dubai property has some declaring that an affordability crisis is taking shape in the UAE’s most populous emirate. It has also made for a seller’s market, as analysts predict a slowdown is coming in 2024 and investors are cashing out now.

Property prices crossed the 2014 peak last year amid unprecedented demand, fueled by surging rental prices and a rising population. Russian buyers and a post-pandemic bump have also spurred house sales in the famously safe UAE. 

Sellers are positioned well, according to a study by Betterhomes, one of the city’s biggest real estate firms, and are now capitalizing on a surge in property transactions and escalating prices driven by heightened buyer demand. 

A seller’s market in Dubai signifies robust demand, limited inventory and a consistent trend of delivering elevated returns to both investors and end-users, according to Toni Abou Jaoude, a Betterhomes sales manager. Betterhomes calculated a significant increase in value from 2020 when the price increases began, ranging from a conservative estimate of 50% to as high as 200% in certain areas of Dubai.

A cooling-off period is expected. Mayed Alrashdi, a research analyst at Emirates NBD, told Khaleej Times headwinds are expected in 2024 as high-interest rates prevail and new units come onto the market. “The anticipated increase in supply, comprising 41,500 apartments and 18,500 villas in 2024, should help to stabilize residential real estate prices this year,” he said.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative gabfest is taking the show on the road  — landing in Miami tomorrow for the second annual edition of its Priority Summit. 

The two-day agenda at the Faena Forum is expected to see about 800 executives, investors and policymakers meet around the theme “on the edge of a new frontier,” with a focus on investment opportunities and disruptive technologies.

“The world feels like an increasingly troubled place, with violent conflicts, cost of living crises, climate change, AI uncertainties, pandemic threats and other big problems,” Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute, told Arab News. “And so, it has never been more important to convene leaders from investment, business and government to address the root causes and come up with practical answers.”

The FII is a non-profit run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Other editions of FII’s Priority Summits have taken place in Hong Kong, London and New York. The events serve as a tee-up for the big “Davos in the Desert” conference, taking place each November at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh.

Speakers include Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton, Mary Callahan Erdoes of JP Morgan, David Rubenstein of Carlyle, Dina Powell McCormick of BDT & MSD Partners and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. Others exploring global economic trends, financial markets, and policy dynamics include Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the PIF and the Chairman of the FII Institute; Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.S.; and Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi Minister of Investment.

Emirati business owners are setting their sights beyond the Middle East and focusing overseas. In an HSBC study of multimillionaire entrepreneurs, the UAE ranked second after Hong Kong in ambition to expand internationally, with 86% of Emirati firms looking abroad.

First choice for foreign expansion among UAE business owners with assets of between $2 million and $20 million was Europe, the favored site for 55% of those surveyed. Next was the Middle East with 42%, North America at 32% and Asia at 23%.

“It is no surprise that entrepreneurs and family business owners based in the UAE have a global outlook,” Farzad Billimoria, HSBC’s Head of Global Private Banking for the Middle East, said in the bank’s report on the survey. “The country’s strategic location, pro-entrepreneurial policies, advanced infrastructure and market access encourages global outreach and expansion.”

Key factors in looking abroad for business were access to direct investments, real estate opportunities and operational efficiencies, the survey found. HSBC polled nearly 1,000 entrepreneurs across nine markets for the study, including the UAE, the U.S., the UK, India, Hong Kong and mainland China.

The subject of foreign expansion is bound to generate interest at next month’s Abu Dhabi Family Office Summit, one of the largest meetings in the Middle East of family businesses and investors, which starts March 1.

In Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, the emirate’s Competitiveness Office and Hub71 startup accelerator launched the Abu Dhabi Regulatory Sandbox Program on Monday, aimed at helping firms in healthtech, mobility, and agritech learn to innovate within the scope of government regulations.

Saudi Arabia is touting the strength of its stock exchange as the Saudi Capital Markets Forum gets underway today in Riyadh. The two-day forum is being hosted by the Saudi Tadawul Group, the parent company of the kingdom’s main stock exchange that goes by the same name, which had a market cap of $2.9 trillion at the end of January.

The kingdom has sought to attract foreign investment through its capital markets by implementing reforms, aligning regulatory frameworks with international standards and gaining inclusion in major global indices while at the same time pursuing investor outreach and investing in technology and infrastructure, according to Saudi Tadawul Group CEO Khalid Al-Hussan.

The hard work appears to be paying off. IPOs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been booming since late 2021. The total number of shares traded on the Saudi exchange exceeded 8 billion in January, an almost fourfold increase from the prior January, according to data published by the exchange.

“Momentum is great, and all the indications so far for 2024 are excellent,” SNB Capital’s Head of Investment Banking Zaid Ghoul said in an interview with Bloomberg, highlighting a surge in share trading in recent months. The level of activity is encouraging more firms to prepare for IPOs, Ghoul said.

The Saudi Tadawul is also looking beyond capital markets. Last month, it announced plans to buy a 33% stake in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, bolstering its position in global commodities markets. Once the deal closes, Saudi Tadawul will become the largest shareholder next to the CME Group and the exchange will be rebranded as the Gulf Mercantile Exchange.

Thinking shorter term: Most major stock markets in the Gulf fell in early trading today after data showed U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in January, adding to concerns over inflation and dampening hopes for early rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, Reuters reports. Most GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar and follow the Fed’s policy moves closely.

Dubai welcomed a record number of companies to its financial center in 2023 as competition heats up in the Gulf to attract businesses.

The Dubai International Financial Center, better known as DIFC, saw a 34% increase in new registrants last year, now with 41,597 workers and 5,533 companies, according to new figures released Thursday.

“Our aspirations are just beginning,” Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, wrote on X on Thursday. “In the coming years, there will be plans for expansion and development of policies and legislation.”

The DIFC’s development aligns with the master plan for Dubai’s economic growth known as D33 that was introduced last year. D33 aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy, with a target of reaching 32 trillion dirhams ($8.7 trillion) by 2033 that would put it among the top global cities.

Dubai is leading regionally, with the DIFC a model for financial free zones in the Gulf, which are gaining in popularity amid economic diversification efforts that aim to boost foreign investment and trade. Opened in 2004 — the same year construction began on the Burj Khalifa next door — DIFC has poured money into developing an independent regulatory framework, a financial exchange and attractive places to do business to bring in financial firms and cut down on the cost of doing business in the region.

Saudi Arabia is taking a more direct approach: The kingdom now requires international companies vying for big contracts with Saudi Arabia to relocate their corporate headquarters to the kingdom. The move is a square-off with the UAE, which has long held the majority of regional headquarters and attracted the lion’s share of corporate spending.