United Arab Emirates

Early trade on Wednesday saw a mixed performance on the Gulf stock exchanges, with Saudi Arabia continuing its decline on fiscal concerns. Market participants were awaiting a third round of U.S. - Iran nuclear talks, scheduled for Thursday. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell 0.3%. This was a continuation of its decline as the budget deficit in the kingdom increased quarter-on-quarter because of higher spending. Financial?stocks led the way in losses. Al Rajhi Bank - the largest Islamic bank in the world - and Saudi National Bank - the largest lender of the country by assets – both fell?0.7%. Saudi Aramco,...

Three sources familiar with the process have confirmed that U.S. Private Equity firm Carlyle is in exploratory "talks" with UAE investors, to find partners if its initial agreement to purchase Russian firm Lukoil’s international assets proceeds. Carlyle and Lukoil announced on Thursday a preliminary agreement that would transfer assets, including oilfields and refineries located in eastern Europe and Iraq to the U.S. company. A separate source told us on Thursday that neither company had disclosed an estimate for the deal. This excludes Lukoil’s Kazakh assets. Three sources said that state-controlled Abu Dhabi investor Mubadala and XRG had talked to Carlyle...

Indian Oil Corp, the top refiner in the country, has purchased 7 million barrels from Petrobras and other suppliers for loading in March to replace Russian oil. Indian refiners have re-calibrated their strategies in order to move away from Russia as the top supplier and increase imports from the Middle East. This could help New Delhi to clinch a deal with the United States for lower tariffs. Sources said that the refiner purchased 2 million barrels Upper Zakum and 1 million barrels Murban from Shell. IOC also purchased 1 million barrels of each Angola Hungo and Clove grade from Exxon....

Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund and Humain - the artificial intelligence company of the Kingdom - announced on Wednesday that they had reached a financing deal of up to $1.2 billion. The agreement is intended to'support the expansion' of AI and digital technology in the country. According to a press release, the agreement sets out non-binding terms of financing for the development up to 250 Megawatts of AI data centre capacity to support Humain’s customers. It was announced in Davos, Switzerland. As part of an 'overall effort' to diversify economic activity and income sources away from hydrocarbons, the world's largest...

The chief executive of TotalEnergies, a French oil company, said that the company would consider returning to Venezuela. However, it is not a top priority. "People want a quick return to Venezuela, but it's going to take some time to get a clear investment framework in place. TotalEnergies left Venezuela in 2021. Pouyanne pointed to 'the high capital investment needed to produce and transport Venezuelan heavy crude oil, and to manage greenhouse gas emissions. Pouyanne stated that adding 100,000 barrels a day would require an additional $100 billion. The CEO stated, "We will look at it, we'll be sure to...

The Southern Transitional Council (Yemen's largest separatist group), denied on Saturday that it was disbanding. This contradicted a statement made by one of its members who claimed the group had dissolved itself. The conflicting statements show a split within the STC. This group, supported by the United Arab Emirates, took over parts of the southern and eastern Yemen last December, in an advance that increased tensions between Saudi Arabia and another Gulf power. Saudi Arabia and UAE used to?work together in a coalition battling Iran's backed Houthis during Yemen's civil conflict, but the STC?advances revealed their rivalry. Saudi-backed fighters largely...

Portuguese energy company Galp is in talks with private equity-backed Moeve to merge their refining and?chemicals businesses as well as fuel retail businesses. They announced the deal on Thursday. According to their non-binding contract,?Galp, Spain's Moeve and the United Arab Emirates state-owned investment firm Mubadala, as well as U.S. investment firm Carlyle Group plan to form two new companies. One would run 3,500 retail fuel stations, primarily in Spain and Portugal. It would sell more than 6 million metric tonnes of refined products per year. The other would run Moeve’s Huelva, Algeciras and Galp’s Sines oil refineries. Three facilities with...

Aidarous al Zubiaidi, leader of Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, did not board the plane that was supposed to take him to Riyadh and instead fled to an unknown destination. The Saudi-backed coalition said this on Wednesday. The remarks were made amid efforts to stop fighting between the STC - backed by United Arab Emirates - and Yemen's internationally recognised Saudi government. This has caused a major dispute between the Gulf allies. Zubaidi had planned to visit Saudi Arabia just days after the Yemeni government claimed it asked Riyadh for a forum to discuss southern issues. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the...

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman stated on Monday that a new mechanism adopted by OPEC+ for assessing members' maximum production capacity will help stabilize markets and reward those investing in production. OPEC announced on Sunday that the OPEC+ group has approved a mechanism for assessing members' maximum production capacities to be used to set baselines starting in 2027 against which output targets will be set. Prince Abdulaziz claimed that the production level determination mechanism was "fair" and "transparent". He said, "Now, we have the most detailed and transparent approach to managing the market in the future, as well...

The European Commission announced on Friday that ADNOC, the state oil company of Abu Dhabi, has received conditional approval from the EU for its bid of 14.7 billion euros ($17 billion) for German chemicals firm Covestro. The approval was conditional on the full compliance of the commitments made by both parties, which included ADNOC's proposal to adapt its articles of Association and the sharing of Covestro patents in sustainability with other market participants. Last week, people with direct knowledge of this matter said that they expect the deal to be approved. According to an update posted on the Commission's website...

The Gulf's major stock exchanges rose early on Tuesday. This was aided in part by the rising expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in December and signs that the U.S. shutdown may be nearing its end. The U.S. economy lost jobs last week. Retail and government sectors were the main culprits. A survey released on Friday showed that the U.S. consumer's sentiment had fallen to its lowest level in 3-1/2 years at the beginning of November, due to concerns about the effects the shutdown would have on the economy. The shutdown has delayed important economic metrics including the non-farm...

Bloomberg News, citing the CEO of ADNOC, reported that the trading division at the Abu Dhabi state oil company plans to double its volume in the next few year as part its international expansion. ADNOC has increased its global expansion over the last few years in order to find new revenue sources for the Gulf State, including by building trading operations. Ahmed Bin Thalith is the chief executive officer of ADNOC Global Trading. He told Bloomberg that the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company views trading as a means to maximize the value of fuels sold in the emirate or...

Ghana's Finance Minister said that the country plans to transfer 127 metric tonnes of gold per year from small-scale artisanal mining to official trade as part of revised sector reforms. This will boost foreign exchange earnings and reduce smuggling losses. African countries suffer from major gold leakage due to ASM. They lose billions of dollars in revenue every year, as undeclared and smuggled gold is transported through porous border crossings into global hubs like Dubai. According to Swissaid, Ghana's non-profit foundation, it is the continent's largest gold producer, Ghana has lost about $11.4 billion between 2019-2023. ARTISANAL SILVER TO RECOVER...

Emirates Global Aluminium stated on Wednesday that the outlook for the "aluminium" market is healthy. They cited opportunities created by China's production capacity ceiling, and the demand caused by the high cost of copper, which has led to some manufacturers using aluminium in place of copper. In an interview, Abdulnasser Bin Kalban said that the demand for aluminum was increasing worldwide...and moving away from copper. He also stated that he anticipated demand to exceed supply. EGA, owned jointly by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, and the Dubai sovereign wealth fund ICD, is planning to build the U.S.'s first primary aluminum plant in...

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a Gulf company, said on Wednesday that it had benefited from record metal sales last year despite a $765m 'hit' by?Guinea for revocation of a bauxite?concession to the Gulf firm. Guinea, which is the second largest producer of bauxite in the world, has revoked last year, a mining concession of 690 square kilometers awarded to EGA subsidiary, Guinea Alumina Corporation, and transferred it to a newly-created state-backed company, citing "violations of their mining code". EGA has said that the decision was "a flagrant breach" of GAC’s legal and contractual rights. The UAE-based firm said in a...

Investors shifted their focus to?corporate profits, while also weighing U.S. - Iran tensions. Officials from both sides said on Monday that Iran and the U.S. will resume nuclear talks in Turkey on Friday. Trump warned that if the sides failed to reach a deal, bad things could happen with U.S. warships advancing toward?Iran. Saudi Arabia's benchmark stock index rose 0.2% thanks to a 1.9% increase in ACWA Power, and a 0.6% rise in Saudi Arabian Mining Company. According to estimates by the government, the economy of Saudi Arabia grew 4.9% on an annual basis in its fourth quarter. This was...

Century Aluminum will take a 40% share in a U.S. aluminum smelter planned by Emirates Global Aluminium. This is the first primary aluminium plant built in the United States in nearly 50 years. EGA,?which retains 60% of the joint-venture, announced plans to construct the smelter at Inola in?Oklahoma in May 2025. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed by either company. EGA said last year that it was expecting to invest $4 billion in the development of the project. The smelter will now be able to produce 750,000 tons of aluminum annually, up from the previous 600,000 tons,...

According to two sources familiar with the situation, negotiations with Emirates Global Aluminium are slowing down, but that does not mean that the potential sale of Brazilian aluminium manufacturer Companhia Brazileira de 'Aluminio has stopped. One source said that the process is still competitive. One person and another source involved in the negotiations said that China's Aluminum Corporation?of China, and a potential third bidder were actively pursuing the deal. One?of the sources stated that an announcement could be made within days or even weeks. Negotiations could still fail, however. CBA's shares were up 5% in Brazil at mid-morning trading on...

Two people with knowledge of the situation say that negotiations?with 'Emirates Global Aluminium' have slowed down. One source said that the process is still competitive. One of the people involved in the negotiations said that China's Aluminum Corporation of China and a third bidder were actively pursuing this deal. One of the sources stated that an announcement could be made within days or even weeks. Negotiations?could, however, still fail. CBA and Grupo Votorantim (which controls CBA) declined to comment. EGA and Chinalco didn't immediately respond to requests for comments. CBA is a Brazilian aluminium producer in seven Brazilian states. Votorantim...

The Gulf stock markets rose early on Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve officials' dovish comments prompted a rise in interest rate bets. However, weak oil prices limited gains. Neel Kazhkari, Minneapolis Fed president, said that inflation was gradually decreasing but that unemployment could "pop". This would increase the likelihood of rate cuts. Investors await the non-farm payrolls data on Friday for new clues about?the Fed?s next move. CME's FedWatch showed traders inclining toward easing. The Fed's position?has implications for Gulf economies where most currencies are pegged to the U.S. Dollar, making it a stable anchor for regional currency. Saudi Arabia's...

Axis International Ltd, based in the United Arab Emirates, is seeking $28.9billion from Guinea through a World Bank Tribunal after Guinea revoked its permit to operate a mine of bauxite there earlier this summer. Guinea, which has the world's largest reserves bauxite and is seeking to increase revenues and local processing, has tightened state control of the mining sector over the last year, revoking some permits and reallocating others. These moves by the government led by coup leader 'Mamady Doombouya' have led to several arbitration challenges. One was filed by Nomad Bauxite Corporation in November and another by Nimba Investment...

Analysts say that a smelter closure in Mozambique will have a negative impact on global aluminum supplies next year. The plant's "core European Union" customers may be forced to look for alternative suppliers. South32 confirmed Tuesday that it would place the Mozal smelter, which has a capacity of 560,000 metric tons per year, on care and maintenance from mid-March. This was after discussions with Mozambique’s government and utilities failed to produce a new deal. Trade Data Monitor figures show that the plant exported almost 430,000 tonnes of aluminium to Europe in the first ten months of 2025. This makes Mozambique...

Guinea and EGA talk to avoid legal battles over assets seized EGA loses GAC license due to row over alumina refinery Nimba Mining to increase bauxite production By Maxwell ?Akalaare Adombila DAKAR, 16 December - Guinea and Emirates Global Aluminium are in discussions over a 'possible bauxite agreement, which would see the company sourcing the 'aluminium /feedstock from Guinea’s state-owned Nimba Mining. Guinea's military government, following a dispute that lasted a year over the construction an alumina refining plant, revoked Guinea Alumina Corporation's licence in July. The company then transferred its mining assets to Nimba Mining. Sources, including a government...

The major Gulf stock markets rose early on Thursday. This was due to rising oil prices, and the anticipation of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting next week. Investors are looking for more information on the direction the central bank will take with interest rates. The oil prices rose after Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure indicated potential supply constraints. Stalled peace talks dampened expectations that a deal would restore Russian oil to global markets. However, weak fundamentals limited gains. Saudi Arabia's benchmark Index gained 0.5%. Saudi Arabian Mining Company rose 1%, while oil giant Saudi Aramco increased 0.4%. A survey...