Dubizzle Postpones IPO Plans…

UAE News:

Dubizzle Group Holdings, the leading digital classifieds marketplace in the MENA region, has announced it will postpone IPO plans to assess “optimal timing”. The listing was planned for November 6 on the Dubai Financial Market and was expected to see around 30.34% of the company’s total issued share capital offered to investors through a combination of new and existing shares.

UAE Foreign Trade Minister disclosed that the UAE has started to introduce new safeguards – including anti-dumping duties on specific categories of imports such as ceramic tiles, porcelain, and certain electrical equipment – to protect “local markets” after seeing “huge dumping” from China as it attempts to circumvent US tariffs.

Etihad Airways welcomed 1.9mn passengers in September, up 21% YoY, raising the total number this year to 16.1mn passengers (18% YoY). The airline expects to cater to approximately 21.5mn passengers in 2025, more than double the number recorded in 2022 – supported by the delivery of 18 new aircraft and an expanded network (80+ destinations).

Dubai’s in5 incubator successfully facilitated over AED 9bn (USD 2.45bn) in funding for startups since its inception in 2013, up 14% versus total funding as of October 2024. The incubator supports firms across four sector-specific verticals: technology, media, design and science. 

The Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) has set an ambitious goal to support over 1,000 entrepreneurs by 2030. Since its inception, Sheraa has trained over 10k Emirati youth and supported more than 450 startups, with the latter generating combined revenues of over USD 370mn and attracting USD 300mn in capital.

MENA News:

Growth in MENA is forecast to increase to 3.3% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026, according to the IMF. This is largely due to the faster unwinding of oil production cuts, lower disruptions to oil production & shipping (spillover from regional conflicts) and GCC’s robust non-oil sector growth. The UAE is projected to growth by 4.8% this year (2026: 5.0%) and Saudi Arabia by 4.0% in 2025 & 2026. Though the region has a relatively smaller exposure to the US tariff hikes, there will be indirect effects from commodity prices (as global demand remains subdued). Inflation is expected to ease, partly due to monetary policy tightening and lower energy costs, with oil importers’ averages declining to 12.2% and 8.8% in 2025 and 2026. 

Egypt welcomed about 15mn tourists in January-September, up 21% YoY, in line with meeting the year-end target of 17 to 18mn, driven by renewed global travel demand and the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum in November is expected to nearly triple current daily numbers.

Egypt unveiled plans to drill 480 exploratory wells with an investment of USD 5.7bn over five years, with close to 101 wells planned for next year.  The plan underscores Egypt’s strategic pivot to energy self-sufficiency: more upstream activity, exploration in the Mediterranean & inland basins and raise petrochemical exports (USD 4.2bn by 2030 from USD 2.4bn in 2025).

Kuwait issued a new decree relaxing real estate ownership restrictions for companies, investment funds, and portfolios (including those with foreign participation), subject to certain conditions and oversight. The reform maintains safeguards: entities must include real estate activities in their charter and ownership of residential property for purely private use is still prohibited. 

Venture capital funding in the Middle East surged by 152% YoY to a record USD 2.77bn in January-September 2025, according to MAGNiTT, also defying a global downturn in investment. The number of deals also rose by 10% to 388, indicating a growing appeal of the region to global investors. Q3 alone saw USD 1.2bn in VC funding, the highest quarterly total on record, driven by significant investments in companies like XPANCEO, Airalo, and Hala.

Saudi Arabia’s Finance Minister, speaking at an event in the US, highlighted sovereign debt as a significant global risk, particularly in low-income countries and emerging economies lacking fiscal buffers. He went on to say that the rise in Saudi’s debt-to-GDP (to 40.6% by 2030 from 30% this year) is a “policy choice” considering that the spending is on programmes that lead to “productivity”, “jobs” and “business opportunities”. 

Saudi Arabia’s total number of commercial registrations surpassed 1.7mn as of the end of Q3, thanks to reforms that have streamlined procedures and eliminated subsidiary registers, making a single registration valid nationwide. The number of limited liability companies climbed to over 500k (+158%) while joint-stock company registrations reached 4,488 (+49% vs the same period in 2020). Women now own 49% of the 128k new commercial registrations in Q3, while businesses owned by young Saudis (aged 18-40) account for 38% of all active commercial registrations.

Saudi Arabia’s four main industrial free zones aim to attract SAR 100bn (USD 26.7bn) in investments, revealed the president of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Firms are being offered incentives such as exemptions from VAT on exchanged goods and customs duties on stored goods, a reduction in income tax to 5% from 20% for 20 years and exemption from fees for foreign employees and their families. 

The volume of mortgage financing in Saudi Arabia has exceeded SAR 900bn (USD 240bn+) this year, and this now accounts for 27% of Saudi banks’ portfolios, according to the Minister of municipalities and housing.

Industrial rents in Riyadh surged by 16% YoY in H1 2025, reaching an average of SAR 208 (USD 55.47) per square meter. This increase is attributed to heightened demand in e-commerce warehousing, logistics, data centres, and cold storage for pharmaceuticals and food. Despite 1.2mn square meters of new industrial space entering the market, overall occupancy remains high at 98%, reported Knight Frank.

Mineral exploration spending in Saudi Arabia jumped to SAR 487 (USD 130) per sq. km, more than double its Vision 2030 target of SAR 200, revealed the CEO of the Saudi Geological Survey. The estimated value of discovered mineral wealth was close to USD 2.5trn by end-2024, double the 2017 estimates.

Aramco’s President and CEO stated that the world will remain “locked in” on oil and gas for decades as the narrative around energy transition is “shifting” as renewable energy sources (like electric vehicles and solar power) are not yet growing sufficiently enough to meet global demand. He also revealed that Aramco plans to accelerate development of its gas resources and petrochemicals, and its low-cost production capabilities and substantial resource base position it to continue leading in the oil industry.

Global News:

Major US markets were up last week after trade tensions with China and credit quality concerns in US regional banks were deemed to be less of a threat, and investors calmed down. European markets ended in the red (FTSE slid to a 2-week low on Friday), as did many Asian markets, while regional markets were mostly up. The USD ended up lower on continuing trade uncertainty and safe haven assets benefitted, including the JPY and CHF, as well as the gold price (pulled back from a record high to close near USD 4230 an ounce). Oil prices slipped by more than 2% compared to a week prior.

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SOURCE:
Nasser Saidi & Associates

Arabian Business