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Startup Wrap — Saudi firms continue to raise funding ahead of LEAP25 

Startup Wrap — Saudi firms continue to raise funding ahead of LEAP25 
Fasanara Capital CEO Francesco Filia (L) with Forus Founder and CEO Nosaibah Al-Rajhi. Supplied
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Updated 08 February 2025
Nour El-Shaeri 
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Startup Wrap — Saudi firms continue to raise funding ahead of LEAP25 

Startup Wrap — Saudi firms continue to raise funding ahead of LEAP25 
Updated 08 February 2025
Nour El-Shaeri 
Follow

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem continues to gain momentum ahead of the Kingdom’s flagship technology conference, LEAP 2025, fintech, artificial intelligence, and industrial technology companies securing major funding rounds.

Key investments include Saudi-based peer-to-peer lending platform Forus securing a $60 million credit facility from Fasanara Capital. 

The funding will enable Forus to provide over $150 million in working capital loans to Saudi small and medium-sized enterprises. 

Founded in 2019 by Nosaibah Al-Rajhi, Forus has facilitated more than $390 million in working capital financing for over 400 Saudi SMEs. 

The company aims to address financing gaps for businesses that struggle with access to traditional banking services. 

Vminds.ai raises six-figure pre-seed investment 




Founded by Ahmed Al-Mashhadi, vminds.ai is an intelligent, self-learning platform. Supplied

Saudi-based AI startup vminds.ai has closed a six-figure pre-seed funding round from undisclosed angel investors. The company plans to use the funds to support its platform’s official launch for individuals and its enterprise rollout in the third quarter of 2025. 

Founded by Ahmed Al-Mashhadi, vminds.ai is an intelligent, self-learning platform that integrates more than 150 AI tools from global companies into a unified system. The startup aims to simplify AI adoption by businesses and individuals in the region. 

Khazna closes $16m pre-series B round 




Launched in 2020 by Omar Saleh, Ahmed Wagueeh, and Fatimah El-Shenawy, Khazna focuses on serving Egypt’s underbanked population by providing access to financial services. Supplied

Egyptian fintech Khazna has secured a $16 million pre-series B funding round, with participation from new and existing investors, including SANAD Fund for MSME, anb Seed Fund, and Aljazira Capital, as well as Khwarizmi Ventures, Nclude, ICU Ventures, and Quona, Speedinvest, and Disruptech Ventures. 

Launched in 2020 by Omar Saleh, Ahmed Wagueeh, and Fatimah El-Shenawy, Khazna focuses on serving Egypt’s underbanked population by providing access to financial services such as general-purpose credit, buy now, pay later, and bill payments. 

The company plans to use the fresh funding to apply for a digital banking license in Egypt and expand into the Saudi market. 

Simplex secures $13m to build CNC factory in Riyadh 




Founded in 2013 by Ahmed Shaaban, Mohamed Mansour, and Amr Mahmoud, Simplex provides industrial manufacturing solutions across various sectors. Supplied

Egypt-based CNC machine manufacturer Simplex has raised $13 million in funding, led by Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development Center. 

The investment will be used to establish a factory in Riyadh dedicated to producing advanced CNC machines. 

Founded in 2013 by Ahmed Shaaban, Mohamed Mansour, and Amr Mahmoud, Simplex provides industrial manufacturing solutions across various sectors. 

The company’s expansion into Saudi Arabia aligns with the Kingdom’s efforts to localize industrial production. 

Myne raises $2m pre-seed round 




Founded in 2024 by Karim Chouman, Myne (R) is a wealth management platform offering asset tracking, real-time market integration, budgeting tools, and digital estate planning. Supplied

UAE-based fintech startup Myne has secured a $2 million pre-seed funding round led by Scene Holding, with participation from Raz Holding, Plus VC, Annex Investments, and angel investors. 

Founded in 2024 by Karim Chouman, Myne is a wealth management platform offering asset tracking, real-time market integration, budgeting tools, and digital estate planning. 

The funding will be used to scale operations, enhance the platform’s technology infrastructure, accelerate user acquisition, and expand regionally. 

Qeen.ai secures $10m seed round 




qeen.ai Founders Morteza Ibrahimi, Ahmad Khwileh, and Dina Alsamhan. Supplied

UAE-based AI startup qeen.ai has closed a $10 million seed funding round, marking one of the largest early-stage investments in the MENA region. 

The round was led by Prosus Ventures, with participation from Wamda Capital, 10x Founders, and Dara Holdings. 

Founded in 2023 by Dina Al-Samhan, Ahmad Khwileh, and Morteza Ibrahimi, qeen.ai offers AI-driven solutions for e-commerce businesses. 

The funding will support the expansion of its agentic AI platform, team growth, and customer acquisition. 

With this investment, qeen.ai has raised a total of $12.2 million, following a $2.2 million pre-seed round in June.

VISARUN.AI raises $700k in pre-seed funding 

UAE-based visa-as-a-service platform VISARUN.AI has secured $700,000 in pre-seed funding from undisclosed angel investors. 

The company plans to use the funds to enhance platform development, expand its sales team, and extend its footprint in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India, and China. 

Founded in 2024 by Vladimir Indjikian and Alena Iakina, VISARUN.AI streamlines visa processing by reducing manual labor by up to 70 percent. 

The platform aims to simplify and expedite visa applications for businesses and individuals. 

Rasmal Ventures secures backing from QIA 

Qatar-based venture capital firm Rasmal Ventures LLC has received funding from the Qatar Investment Authority under its $1 billion Fund of Funds program. 

The investment will support Rasmal Ventures’ inaugural fund, Rasmal Innovation Fund I LLC, which focuses on high-growth startups across fintech, B2B Software-as-a-Service, health tech, and AI. 

The fund, which launched in June with an initial $30 million from institutional investors and family offices, is targeting a $100 million close. 

Rasmal Innovation Fund I is the first VC fund to join QIA’s initiative to boost Qatar’s startup ecosystem. 

Beltone Venture Capital invests in Morocco’s LNKO 




Ali Mokhtar, CEO of Beltone Venture Capital. Supplied

Egypt-based Beltone Venture Capital, the investment arm of Beltone Holding, has invested an undisclosed amount in Moroccan eyewear startup LNKO. 

Founded in 2020 by Maha Bennani, LNKO operates a direct-to-consumer model, offering sunglasses and optical frames. 

The company claims to have served over 100,000 customers. The investment will support LNKO’s expansion across Africa. In 2021, the startup raised $335,000 from CDG Invest. 

Foundation Ventures announces first close of $25m fund 




Founded in 2018 by Mazen Nadim, Omar Barakat, and Ziyad Hamdy, Foundation Ventures focuses on early-stage and growth-stage startups. Supplied

Egypt-based venture capital firm Foundation Ventures has reached the first close of its $25 million fund, FVFII. 

The fund is backed by the Egyptian American Enterprise Fund, the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Agency, and Onsi Sawiris. 

Founded in 2018 by Mazen Nadim, Omar Barakat, and Ziyad Hamdy, Foundation Ventures focuses on early-stage and growth-stage startups. 

The new fund aims to support Egyptian startups from their initial development to regional and global expansion, with a portion allocated for investment in African early-stage businesses. 

EasyBank secures $370k for expansion 




Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Khelifi, EasyBank provides digital banking solutions, including access to loans and other financial services. Supplied

Tunisia-based fintech EasyBank has raised $370,000 from undisclosed investors. The company plans to use the funds to expand operations across the Middle East, North Africa, and France. 

Founded in 2023 by Mohamed Khelifi, EasyBank provides digital banking solutions, including access to loans and other financial services. 

The startup aims to bridge financial inclusion gaps across emerging markets. 

Topics: Start-up of the Week Investment Saudi

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Kuwait, Qatar, UAE maintain non-oil growth momentum; Egypt shows recovery signs while Lebanon struggles

Kuwait, Qatar, UAE maintain non-oil growth momentum; Egypt shows recovery signs while Lebanon struggles
Updated 57 min 19 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan
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Kuwait, Qatar, UAE maintain non-oil growth momentum; Egypt shows recovery signs while Lebanon struggles

Kuwait, Qatar, UAE maintain non-oil growth momentum; Egypt shows recovery signs while Lebanon struggles
Updated 57 min 19 sec ago
Nirmal Narayanan

RIYADH: Non-oil business activity in the Middle East showed mixed trends in July, with Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar maintaining growth, while Egypt demonstrated signs of recovery and Lebanon remained under pressure.

According to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index report released by S&P Global, Kuwait’s PMI ticked up to 53.5 in July from 53.1 in June, signalling a solid monthly improvement in the health of the non-oil private sector. 

This robust performance of non-energy business conditions in Kuwait aligns with the wider trend observed in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where countries are pursuing economic diversification efforts to reduce dependence on crude revenues. 

“Kuwait’s non-oil private sector began the second half of 2025 in much the same way as it ended the first, with output and new orders up markedly again in July,” said Andrew Harker, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

Survey panelists linked higher new orders in July to advertising efforts and price discounting, which helped to further raise the output. 

According to the report, employment levels in Kuwait’s non-oil sector remained broadly unchanged in July, following a record increase in June. 

S&P Global added that inflationary pressures softened in the seventh month of the year, with purchase prices and staff costs increasing at the slowest rates in six and four months, respectively.

“Firms will have been cheered by a softening of inflationary pressures during the month, but the reluctance to hire extra staff did mean that backlogs of work accumulated again,” said Harker. 

The survey data also revealed that Kuwaiti companies remained strongly optimistic about future growth, on the hopes that output will rise further in the remaining months of the year. 

“The prospects for further expansions in new business in the months ahead appear bright, and we’ll hopefully see this reflected in renewed hiring activity soon,” added Harker. 

UAE’s PMI declines amid geopolitical tensions

UAE’s PMI slipped to 52.9 in July from 53.5 in June but remained well above the 50 mark that signals expansion of the non-energy business conditions. 

S&P Global attributed this decline to a slowdown in new business growth across the non-oil economy, as ongoing regional tensions made some clients hesitant to commit to new spending.

Panelists who took part in the survey also pointed to weaker tourism activity and headwinds from global trade disruptions to lower activities in July. 

Despite this decline, output expanded sharply in June, as non-oil firms in the Emirates sought to prevent further increases in backlogs of work.

“Business conditions improved in July, but the rate of growth was the weakest since the middle of 2021. As has been the case recently, output was supported by positive demand trends,” said David Owen, senior economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

He added: “New order volumes helped firms to expand, but this trend is declining, with the latest data indicating the softest rise in incoming new work in almost four years.” 

The softer increase in new orders contributed to a slight easing in the rate of activity expansion in July, which was further dampened by intensified competitive pressures

The report also revealed that some firms reported that output increased in response to new sales opportunities, rising client incomes, advancements in technological investment, and the clearance of pending work.

The July survey data indicated that job growth softened in over the month, marking the weakest uplift in four months. 

“Should regional tensions ease, we may see a recovery in sales growth in the coming months. This would also be supported by the subdued price environment, with input costs rising only modestly despite the pace of increase reaching a three-month high,” said Owen. 

He added: “Nevertheless, the ongoing trends of rising competition, limited inventory, constrained hiring growth and relatively low confidence among surveyed firms suggest that downside risks remain elevated.” 

In the same report, S&P Global revealed that Dubai’s PMI rose to 53.5, up from a 45-month low of 51.8 in June, signalling a solid upturn in operating conditions across the Emirate’s non-oil private sector economy.

Dubai non-oil firms also expanded their output at the sharpest rate in five months in July, while continuing efforts to increase employment and inventories.

Non-energy business conditions improve in Qatar

In a separate report, S&P Global revealed that business conditions in Qatar’s non-energy sector continued to improve in July, with the country’s PMI remaining above the 50-expansion zone for the 19th consecutive month. 

The country’s PMI fell to 51.4 in July from 52 in June.

The report revealed that non-energy private sector employment in Qatar increased at the second-strongest rate in the eight-year survey history, driving a further sharp increase in wages.

“The PMI remained above the neutral threshold at 51.4 in July, signalling sustained overall growth in the non-energy private sector. But the headline figure continues to mask underlying weakness in demand and output, being heavily supported by another round of strong employment growth,” said Trevor Balchin, economics director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

Companies in the non-energy private sector remained optimistic regarding the 12-month outlook for activity in July, due to expected growth in investment, tourism, and industrial development, as well as a recovery in construction, population expansion, and government initiatives. 

Egypt’s PMI nearing growth trajectory 

In another report, S&P Global revealed that Egypt’s PMI increased to 49.5 in July, up from 48.8 in June, but still remaining below the 50 no-change threshold for the fifth consecutive month. 

According to S&P Global, Egyptian non-oil business conditions deteriorated for the fifth consecutive month in July, although the decline was less severe than in June, with firms reporting softer contractions in both activity and new orders.

The report added that businesses increased headcounts for the first time since last October, while cuts in purchases softened. 

“Although the Egypt PMI stayed below 50 in July, indicating a worsening of non-oil business conditions, the latest survey data provided some cause for optimism. Several firms reported the securing of new work, which helped to soften the rate of decline in sales,” said Owen. 

He added: “Businesses also had the confidence to hire new staff, leading to an increase in employment for the first time in nine months, if only a fractional one.”

Input prices also rose at a slightly quicker pace in July, with survey panelists attributing this trend to higher costs for items such as cement, fuel and packaging. Increased staff wages also contributed to cost pressures, although the rate of growth was mild. 

Regarding future activity, companies in Egypt continued to express concerns about demand strength and broader economic uncertainty, with optimism improving slightly from June’s record low. 

Lebanon’s PMI drops 

According to the latest report, Lebanon’s private sector economy remained under pressure at the start of the second half of the year, with the PMI in July dropping to 48.9 from 49.2 in June. 

The report revealed that business activity volumes across Lebanon’s private sector fell further in July, extending the current sequence of contraction to five months, driven by subdued demand conditions, particularly from abroad.

“The July 2025 BLOM Lebanon PMI dropped to 48.9. This result was not unexpected as the economy lacked any meaningful demand stimulus: the government does not have any money to spend and the private sector is not able and willing to spend,” said Ali Bolbol, chief economist and head of research at BLOMInvest BANK. 

Private sector companies in Lebanon lowered their purchasing volumes as a part of their efforts to reduce costs. 

Looking ahead, surveyed companies remained pessimistic toward the year-ahead outlook for business activity, with these firms expressing negative consequences of a potential escalation of conflict and tensions across the Middle East region. 

Topics: Egypt economy kuwait economy qatar economy Puchasing Manager's Index

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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil growth stays strong despite softer July PMI

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil growth stays strong despite softer July PMI
Updated 05 August 2025
Reem Walid
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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil growth stays strong despite softer July PMI

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil growth stays strong despite softer July PMI
Updated 05 August 2025
Reem Walid

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil business activity continued to expand in July, even as growth momentum softened, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index easing to 56.3, down from 57.2 in June, a market tracker showed. 

Compiled by S&P Global for Riyad Bank, the PMI remained well above the neutral 50-point threshold, signaling ongoing improvement in private sector operating conditions. 

The robust growth in Saudi Arabia’s non-oil business activity aligns with the broader goals of Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy and reduce its reliance on oil revenues. 

This comes as Saudi Arabia’s economy grew by 3.9 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2025, driven by strong non-oil sector performance, according to flash estimates released last month by the General Authority for Statistics. 

Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank, said: “Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economy remained on a solid growth track in July, supported by higher output, new business, and continued job creation. Although the headline PMI edged down to 56.3 from 57.2 in June, the reading still pointed to a healthy level of activity across the private sector.” 

He added: “Firms continued to benefit from ongoing project work, resilient domestic demand, and focused marketing efforts, even as some indicators showed signs of cooling compared to earlier in the year.” 

Al-Ghaith noted that the slight dip in the headline index was primarily due to a moderation in new order growth. He said businesses were still experiencing improved demand, though “competitive pressures and more cautious client spending weighed on the pace of expansion.” 

He also pointed out that external demand was softer and that purchasing activity had increased at a slower pace. 

On the employment front, Al-Ghaith said firms continued to expand their workforce to support rising activity, with “July marking another solid month of hiring as companies worked to keep operations running smoothly.” 

He further noted that firms expect growth to continue over the coming year, underpinned by steady demand, strong pipelines, and Vision 2030-linked investments. 

Employment is expected to remain supportive, although rising input costs and wages led to price hikes — especially in services, construction, and manufacturing. 

The PMI report also showed that non-oil private sector output grew strongly in July, driven by ongoing projects and new orders. However, the pace of expansion was the slowest in three and a half years. 

Order books continued to develop, buoyed by solid domestic demand and active sales efforts. However, growth was partially offset by intensifying competition, lower footfall, and the first drop in export orders in nine months, as firms faced challenges in attracting new foreign clients. 

In response to rising activity and backlogs, firms recorded another sharp increase in hiring, following June’s 14-year employment peak. The uptick was attributed to capacity constraints and growing workloads. 

Inventory levels rose significantly in July, particularly among manufacturers and wholesale and retail firms, even as new input purchases slowed. Delivery times improved but at a slower rate, in part due to customs delays. 

Input prices in the Kingdom’s non-oil sector increased strongly during the month — albeit at a slightly slower pace than in the second quarter — driven by steep salary hikes to retain staff. This contributed to a rise in selling prices for the second straight month. 

Topics: Saudi PMI Purchasing Managers' Index

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MENA IT spending to reach $169bn in 2026 

MENA IT spending to reach $169bn in 2026 
Updated 05 August 2025
Nour El-Shaeri
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MENA IT spending to reach $169bn in 2026 

MENA IT spending to reach $169bn in 2026 
Updated 05 August 2025
Nour El-Shaeri

RIYADH: Information technology spending in the Middle East and North Africa region is forecast to reach $169 billion in 2026, marking an 8.9 percent increase from 2025, according to the latest projections from Gartner.

The surge is driven by accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence, intelligent automation, and AI-optimized infrastructure upgrades, as organizations across the region prioritize digital transformation amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainties. 

Gartner’s forecast is already taking shape in Saudi Arabia, where AI adoption is surging, as seen with the launch of Humain, a state-backed AI company unveiled in May by the Public Investment Fund.

Positioned at the forefront of the Kingdom’s ambition to become a global AI hub, Humain focuses on deploying advanced AI infrastructure, developing Arabic multimodal large language models, and forging strategic partnerships with global technology leaders such as Nvidia, AMD, and Amazon Web Services. 

“The MENA region is rapidly emerging as a global tech powerhouse, with the Gulf Cooperation Council leveraging its stability, infrastructure and forward-looking policies to attract global partners and build digital skills that empower innovation and support resilient AI-driven economies,” said Mim Burt, practice vice president at Gartner. 

“Even amid global economic and geopolitical uncertainty, chief information officers in MENA are making strategic investments in AI, intelligent automation and multi-cloud strategies, while strengthening cyber defenses and advancing talent upskilling,” Burt added. 

Data center systems will remain the highest-growth segment in 2026, with spending projected to increase by 37.3 percent to $13 billion. 

However, Gartner noted that the pace will moderate compared to 2025’s 69.3 percent growth, as the market transitions from rapid buildouts to more incremental and sustained investments. 

“Data center system spending is expected to accelerate as MENA CIOs and technology leaders invest in AI-enabled software and AI-optimized infrastructure,” said Eyad Tachwali, vice president, advisory at Gartner. 

“This surge is largely fueled by pent-up demand for generative AI and advanced machine learning, which depend on robust computing power for large-scale data processing,” Tachwali added. 

“Most of this demand is being driven by governments, hyperscalers, technology providers and organizations focused on developing and deploying AI models, rather than traditional enterprises or consumers,” he noted. 

Software spending is also expected to see significant growth, rising 13.9 percent to $20.4 billion in 2026, as organizations across MENA integrate GenAI capabilities into their operations. 

Gartner projects that by 2028, 75 percent of global software spending will be directed toward solutions embedded with GenAI functionality. 

“CIOs will increasingly be offered embedded GenAI capabilities in enterprise applications, productivity and developer tools, more advanced large language models as well as AI-optimized servers to support AI-as-a-service,” said Burt. “Providers are also exploring new pricing models across software and hardware to drive revenue.” 

IT services spending in the region is projected to grow 8.3 percent in 2026, reflecting the shifting priorities as AI becomes a central component of enterprise strategies. 

“With the rapid acceleration of AI infrastructure and adoption in MENA, CIOs must move beyond GenAI as a productivity tool and embed it into the heart of their business strategy,” said Tachwali. 

“The real competitive edge will come from building strong data foundations, composable technology platforms and cultivating AI-fluent talent — core enablers for unlocking differentiated value from AI,” he added. 

Initiatives in this field across the region include those contained in Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 strategy, under which the Saudi Data and AI Authority is spearheading nationwide efforts to embed AI across economic sectors and elevate the country’s competitiveness. 

Similarly, the UAE continues to reinforce its leadership in the sector with its UAE AI Strategy 2031, which aims to position the nation among the top AI-driven economies worldwide. 

The UAE’s partnership with OpenAI under the Stargate UAE initiative will establish a 5-gigawatt AI campus in Abu Dhabi, providing nationwide ChatGPT access and positioning the country as a regional AI hub with global-scale compute infrastructure. 

Topics: IT spending Gartner

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Global M&A hits $2.6tn peak year-to-date, boosted by AI and quest for growth

Global M&A hits $2.6tn peak year-to-date, boosted by AI and quest for growth
Updated 05 August 2025
Reuters
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Global M&A hits $2.6tn peak year-to-date, boosted by AI and quest for growth

Global M&A hits $2.6tn peak year-to-date, boosted by AI and quest for growth
  • M&A value up 28 percent from last year, driven by US megadeals
  • AI and regulatory changes boost corporate growth motivations
  • Private equity re-enters market, fueling deal activity
Updated 05 August 2025
Reuters

LONDON: Global dealmaking has reached $2.6 trillion, the highest for the first seven months of the year since the 2021 pandemic-era peak, as a quest for growth in corporate boardrooms and the impact of a surge in AI activity has overcome the uncertainty caused by US tariffs.

The number of transactions to August 1 is 16 percent lower than the same time last year, but their value is 28 percent higher, according to Dealogic data, boosted by US megadeals valued at more than $10 billion.

They include Union Pacific Corp’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of small rival Norfolk Southern and OpenAI’s $40 billion funding round led by Softbank Group.

The upsurge will be a relief to bankers who began the year with expectations the administration of US President Donald Trump would lead to a wave of consolidation.

Instead, his trade tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty made companies pause until renewed confidence in corporate boardrooms and the US administration’s anti-trust agenda changed the mood.

“What you’re seeing in terms of deal rationale for transactions right now is that it’s heavily growth-motivated, and it’s increasing,” Andre Veissid, EY Global Financial Services Strategy and Transactions Leader, told Reuters.

“Whether it’s artificial intelligence, the change in the regulatory environment, we see our clients not wanting to be left behind in that race and that’s driving activity.”

Compared with August 2021, when investors, rebounding from pandemic lockdowns drove the value of deals to $3.57 trillion, this year’s tally is nearly a $1 trillion, or 27 percent, lower.

Still deal-makers at JP Morgan Chase have said there is more to come, with companies pursuing bigger deals in the second half of the year as executives adapt to volatility.

“People have got used to the prevailing uncertainty, or maybe the unpredictability post-US election is just more predictable now,” Simon Nicholls, co-head of Slaughter and May Corporate and M&A group, said.

Nigel Wellings, partner at Clifford Chance said the market was moving beyond tariffs. “Boardrooms are seeing the M&A opportunity of a more stable economic environment and positive regulatory signals. But it is not a frothy market.”

From health to tech

While the healthcare sector drove M&A in the years after the pandemic, the computer and electronics industry has produced more takeover bids in the US and the UK in the last two years, according to Dealogic.

Artificial intelligence is expected to drive more dealmaking. M&A activity has increased around data center usage, such as Samsung’s $1.7 billion acquisition of Germany’s FlaktGroup, a data center cooling specialist.

Palo Alto Networks $25 billion deal for Israeli cybersecurity peer CyberArk was the largest deal in Europe, Middle East and Africa so far this year as rising AI-driven threats push companies to adopt stronger defenses.

Private equity, which had been sitting on the sidelines, has once again been active, with Sycamore Partners’ $10 billion deal to take private Walgreens Boots Alliance and rivalling 4.8 billion pound offers from KKR and Advent for UK scientific instrument maker Spectris.

The US was the biggest market for M&A, accounting for more than half of the global activity. Asia Pacific’s dealmaking doubled over the same year to date period last year, outpacing the EMEA region. 

Topics: Mergers and Acquisitions

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Oil Updates — crude little changed as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns

Oil Updates — crude little changed as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns
Updated 05 August 2025
Reuters
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Oil Updates — crude little changed as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns

Oil Updates — crude little changed as OPEC+ output hikes counter Russia disruption concerns
Updated 05 August 2025
Reuters

BENGALURU/SINGAPORE: Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as traders assessed rising supply by OPEC+ against worries of weaker demand and US President Donald Trump’s new threats on India over its Russian oil purchases.

Brent crude futures dipped 1 cent to $68.75 a barrel by 9:31 a.m. Saudi time, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2 cents at $66.28.

Both contracts fell by more than 1 percent in the previous session to settle at their lowest in a week.

Both benchmarks have receded because extra capacity from OPEC+ is acting as a buffer for any shortfalls in Russian supplies, said Priyanka Sachdeva, a senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September.

It marks a full and early reversal of the group’s largest tranche of output cuts, amounting to about 2.5 million bpd, or around 2.4 percent of global demand, though analysts caution the actual amount returning to the market will be less.

The rising supplies come amid renewed concerns about demand, with some analysts expecting faltering economic growth in the second half of the year.

JPMorgan analysts said on Tuesday the risk of a US recession was high as labor demand has stalled. In addition, China’s July Politburo meeting signalled no additional policy easing, with the focus shifting to structural rebalancing of the world’s second-largest economy, the analysts wrote in a note.

At the same time, investors are eyeing possible supply disruptions.

US President Donald Trump has said he could impose 100 percent secondary tariffs on Russian crude buyers such as India after announcing a 25 percent tariff on Indian imports in July.

On Monday, Trump again threatened higher tariffs on Indian goods over the Russian oil purchases. New Delhi called his attack “unjustified” and vowed to protect its economic interests, deepening the trade rift between the two countries.

India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, importing about 1.75 million bpd from January to June this year, up 1 percent from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by trade sources.

Traders are also awaiting any developments on the latest US tariffs on its trading partners, which analysts fear could slow economic growth and dampen fuel demand. 

Topics: oil updates oil prices

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Thousands in besieged Sudan city at ‘risk of starvation’: WFP
Nigeria seizes 1,600 birds at Lagos airport bound for Kuwait
Nigeria seizes 1,600 birds at Lagos airport bound for Kuwait
Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages

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