Seeing what others can’t

Crossroads of the Silikon Road:

China's Belt and Road Initiative was met with fear and scepticism when it launched in 2013. Thirteen years on, it has quietly reshaped global trade flows to the benefit of the GCC, while catalysing a wave of solar and renewable investment that is now powering the region's ambitions in data, compute, and research.

Dubai: It Gets Better

Five years into Dubai's unprecedented expansion, the superlatives risk sounding trite. But the numbers tell the story: a population up nearly 50%, productivity gains outpacing employment growth, and a real estate market that has defied every peak call for four years running.

‍Life at the Centre of the ‘Rest-ern’ World

The headlines trumpeting the end of globalisation are comically incorrect. While the West slams shut doors to migration and investment, the rest of the world is deepening ties at pace, with the GCC sitting squarely at the nexus.

Conviction Amidst Headwinds

The Ajeej MENA Fund ended 2025 essentially flat at +0.4%, against a deeply bifurcated regional backdrop. But beneath the headline, a year of contrasts provided fertile ground for building high-conviction, long-term positions.

‍Natural Gas: A Transition Fuel In Multiple Dimensions

Vision 2030 is often framed as a story of social reform. But underpinning it is something more tangible: a massive buildout of gas infrastructure and power generation that is reshaping the Gulf's industrial base, from Jafurah to the North Field, and from pipelines to data centres.

Email Was Instant. Payments Will Be Next.

Stablecoins, cross-border payments, and the next phase of global financial infrastructure

Dubai's Gravitational Pull

Dubai’s rapid inflow of people, capital, and infrastructure is transforming it into a global economic magnet, echoing the postwar American Dream through open migration and premiumised consumption.

Dubai: Desert to Destination

Dubai’s property boom has reached global-city scale, driven by migration, regulation, and infrastructure investment, with public-market developers now offering investors direct exposure to the emirate’s economic expansion.

Building Saudi v2.0

Saudi Arabia is building “v2.0” by using Vision 2030–driven infrastructure, energy, and tourism investment to grow domestic industry, attract FDI, and shift the economy decisively beyond oil.

Human Desires, Digital Modalities: The Future of Consumption and Productivity in the GCC

Amid a whirlwind of geopolitics and policy shocks, the Gulf spent early 2025 proving its resilience—turning volatility into momentum and cementing its role as the new centre of gravity in a shifting global order.

Porcelain Jubilee: 20 Years of Transformation

Saudi’s regulator turns twenty with a transformation so dramatic it now eclipses the very markets that once set the regional benchmark.

The Gulf's quiet ascent: Beyond oil, a new financial order beckons

A region once defined by oil is now quietly rewriting the playbook, emerging as a modern financial force reshaping the future of global markets.

UAE vs. SAUDI FDI: A TALE OF TWO VISIONS

Two Gulf giants are chasing foreign capital with very different trajectories—one soaring on years of groundwork, the other pushing hard to prove its vision in 2025.

Believing in IPOs & Unicorns

A year once clouded by doubt turned into a full-blown revival of IPO appetite, with unicorns stepping out of myth and back into the market spotlight.