New Disney Theme Park announced in Abu Dhabi...
Announcement of the Disney Theme Park Resort project on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, following a strategic partnership agreement between The Walt Disney Company and Miral.
UAE News:
Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, witnessed the announcement of the Disney Theme Park Resort project on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, following a strategic partnership agreement between The Walt Disney Company and Miral.
The IMF projects Abu Dhabi and Dubai growth to touch 4.2% and 3.3% respectively in 2025. In 2026, growth is estimated to rise further: by 5.8% in Abu Dhabi and 3.5% in Dubai. Abu Dhabi’s faster pace will result from oil sector recovery and ongoing infrastructure investments.
ADNOC will supply India with cheaper US LNG cargoes from June-July, following a request from Indian refiners, allowing it to send more of UAE’s LPG to China. The price gap between Middle Eastern and US LPG has widened following the US-China trade war.
International tourists into Dubai grew by 3% YoY to more than 5.3mn in Q1 2025. Visitors from Western and Eastern Europe dominated, accounting for 22% and 17% of total visitors, followed by the GCC (15%).
Bloomberg reported that the US is easing restrictions on the export of high-end semiconductors to the UAE; this could be announced during the US President’s trip to the GCC.
Dubai International Airport welcomed 23.4mn passengers in Q1, up 1.5% YoY, thanks to a recovery in Chinese tourist numbers. Dubai Airports CEO disclosed that the impact from tariffs is not yet visible in passenger volumes (or any fluctuations), also confirming that the current location of the airport will become obsolete operationally once the move to Dubai World Central is completed (no deadline announced yet).
The value of real estate activity in Abu Dhabi surged by 27% YoY to AED 15.5bn in Q1 while the volume was up 11% to 3,819. Top choices for property were in Saadiyat Island (AED 5.6bn) and Yas Island (AED 3.6bn).
MENA News:
The IMF forecasts the Middle East & North Africa region to grow by 2.6% YoY in 2025, following a very subdued growth rate of 1.8% recorded in 2024. There is a divergence within MENA oil exporters: GCC is projected to drive growth (3.0% in 2025), thanks to robust non-oil sector activity and gradual phase-out of oil production cuts. Break-even oil prices are inching lower: Qatar (USD 44.7 in 2025) and UAE (USD 50.4) are better placed than Bahrain (USD 137.0) or Saudi Arabia (USD 92.3) to a prolonged period of lower oil prices.
Eight members of OPEC+ have agreed to raise oil production by 411k barrels per day in June – this is equivalent to three monthly increments. A similar uptick is likely in July, reported Reuters, citing five OPEC+ sources. This is likely to put further downward pressure on oil prices, given the downward revision of global growth and oil demand. Oil prices have dipped to below USD 60 per barrel after trading began today.
The number of tourists in Egypt increased by 25% YoY to 3.9mn in Q1 2025, according to the Minister of Tourism. This year, the number of tourists is expected to rise by 8% by end-2025 and the country will add 18k new hotel rooms to meet rising demand
Qatar attracted QAR 50mn in new industrial investments in Q1 2025 and reported a 32% rise in commercial registrations (supported by efforts to lower service fees and simplify business registration for overseas investors).
International visitors into Qatar touched over 1.5mn in Q1, slightly below 1.6mn clocked in Q1 2024: visitors from the GCC topped the charts (36% of arrivals) followed by Europe and Asia & Oceania at 28% and 20% respectively.
QatarEnergy is in discussions with Japan for a long-term LNG deal from its North Field expansion project, reported Reuters. The report mentioned that Jera, Japan’s largest power generator and trading house Mitsui & Co were part of the discussions.
US approved multiple military sales to the GCC: this included a USD 3.5bn missile sale to Saudi Arabia (an arms package upwards of USD 100bn is likely to be announced during the US President’s visit in May) and a USD 425mn sale of Patriot missile systems equipment and support services.
FDI inflows into Saudi Arabia touched SAR 23.8bn in Q4 2024: this was up 16.7% qoq but down by 11.5% when compared to Q4 2023. Net FDI inflows stood at SAR 22.1bn in Q4. FDI inflow totalled SAR 85.3bn in 2024, down by 11.1% YoY; this amount is short of the annual National Investment Strategy target (of over SAR 100bn).
Saudi Arabia amended its White Land Tax Law, raising the levy on undeveloped land to 10% of its value (from 2.5% before; applicable to land greater than 5,000 square metres) and introducing an annual tax on long-vacant properties without justified use.
Real estate brokerage contracts in Saudi Arabia surged by 97% YoY to more than 96k in Q1 2025: this works out to 44 per hour and 1,066 per day.
Global News:
Major equities markets rallied last week, with the S&P 500 having erased all its losses since “reciprocal tariffs” were announced on the 2nd of April, thanks to strong corporate earnings results and data consistent with a resilient US labour market. China’s announcement that it was “evaluating” US trade talks proposals supported gains in European and Asian markets as well. However, the announcement of 100% tariffs on movies produced outside the US could trigger a damaging services trade war. Regional markets were mostly up, with only Saudi posting a slight dip weighed down by lower oil prices, while Abu Dhabi’s weekly gain was the most since early November 2023. Among currencies, the dollar regained, while the euro and GBP posted weekly losses (most since mid-March and late-February, respectively). Crude oil prices fell over 7.5% (WTI) to 8%+ (Brent) from a week ago (ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on Saturday). Oil prices have since dipped to below USD 60 per barrel after trading began this week following OPEC+ decision to expand production. Gold price reversed gains and declined by more than 2.0% on the perception of easing trade tensions.
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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates