Business

Preparations are in full swing to welcome Qatar's 2025/26 cruise season, which has put the country on a high pedestal in the international tourism market. "A co-ordination meeting was held as part of the preparations for 2025/26 cruise season, bringing together stakeholders, agents, and tour operators to discuss operational plans and co-ordination efforts to ensure a successful season and an exceptional visitor experience," Mwani Qatar said in its social media handle X. Qatar's 2024/25 cruise season had welcomed more than 396,000 visitors aboard 87 cruise ships, marking a 5% jump in visitors and a 19% rise in vessel calls against the previous season. Doha Port’s cruise terminal is strategically located minutes away from key attractions such as the National Museum of Qatar and Souq Waqif, optimising the visitor experience by allowing cruise passengers to make the most of their time in the city. Qatar Tourism plans to strengthen its collaborations with more international cruise lines, which is vital for driving further growth in Qatar’s the tourism sector and contributing to Qatar’s economic diversification efforts. The 2023/24 cruise season had seen 73 cruise ships and more than 347,000 visitors, representing a significant milestone in Qatar’s cruise market. This marks an increase from its predecessor, the 2022/23 season which saw 54 cruise ships and 253, 191 passengers. "Doha has become a prominent cruise destination with varied tourism experiences offered to visitors. From its debut in October 2023 to its grand finale in April 2024, this cruise season has exceeded all expectations breaking the records of visitors and cruise ships from previous seasons. The Grand Cruise Terminal symbolising Qatar's commitment to excellence” Saad bin Ali al-Kharji, chairman of Qatar Tourism had said. Qatar is gaining popularity as a world-class cruise destination in the region as it showcased exceptional tourism capabilities, especially after hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In this regard, efforts are currently underway to attract more cruise lines and travellers in the upcoming seasons. Many international cruise lines had their maiden calls to Doha Port, depicting Qatar’s increasing allure on the global stage in terms of cruise tourism. Travellers were from across the world including Germany, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, the US, the UK, China, Spain, France, and Uzbekistan, as well as the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) countries. International world-class ships including MSC Virtuosa, Seabourn Encore, AIDAprima, Artania, Mein Schiff 2, Azamara Journey, MS Riviera, MS Hamburg, and Norwegian Dawn have all previously docked in Doha. Mwani Qatar is committed to enhancing the capabilities of Doha Port in line with the Ministry of Transport's strategic plan, according to its top officials.

Qatar ranks among the top countries globally for broadband quality, data infrastructure, digital government services, and innovation, according to a report by Digital Co-operation Organisation (DCO). For example, the report notes that Qatar recorded a higher number of Internet exchange points, improvements in online banking services, and growth in innovative companies. Digital Co-operation Organisation, which is an international organisation dedicated to advancing inclusive and sustainable digital economies, launched the Digital Economy Navigator 2025 (DEN 2025) during the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha. The report highlights Qatar’s world-class digital infrastructure, advanced governance frameworks, and pioneering investments in sustainability technologies, reaffirming its role as one of the region’s most future-ready digital economies. Qatar’s early adoption of 5G networks and investment in green, energy-efficient data centres position it as a leader in sustainable digital innovation. The report also emphasises Qatar’s commitment to digital skills development and innovation ecosystems, including improved access to online learning resources, digital training at work, flexible working arrangements, and digitally enabled access to employment opportunities. These efforts reflect Qatar’s national digital strategy and its broader vision to diversify the economy and accelerate sustainable growth. Covering 80 countries representing 94% of global GDP and 85% of the global population, the DEN 2025 is the most comprehensive benchmark of digital economy maturity worldwide. Drawing on 145 indicators and insights from more than 41,000 respondents, it provides policymakers, businesses, and development partners with a detailed view of how nations are using technology to drive inclusive, sustainable growth. DCO Secretary-General Deemah al-Yahya said DEN 2025 illustrates both the progress already made and the opportunities ahead. Commenting on DEN 2025, she said: “The Digital Co-operation Organisation envisions a future where every nation can participate meaningfully in the digital economy, not only as consumers of digital services, but as creators and innovators.” She added that collective effort will be essential to turn this potential into reality. “DEN 2025 is a reminder that our collective progress depends on decisive action. We must move from measuring digital transformation to accelerating it, with governments adopting agile and forward-looking policies, businesses investing with purpose and responsibility, and societies embracing innovation as a force for inclusion. “The cost of inaction is exclusion, but the rewards of collaboration are limitless. If we work together across borders, sectors, and communities we can shape an inclusive, trusted, and sustainable digital future where every nation has the opportunity not only to participate, but to lead.” The DEN 2025 shows that digitalisation is creating new opportunities for growth across all income levels. Internet access now reaches more than four in five people globally, and lower-middle-income countries are recording the fastest progress. The report estimates that connecting underserved communities could enable more than 1.3bn people to benefit from digital banking and online services, enhancing inclusion and economic resilience. Artificial intelligence continues to advance rapidly, and the new “Digital for Sustainability” pillar highlights how innovation can support more efficient, environmentally responsible economies. The DCO notes that Qatar’s leadership in green digital infrastructure and sustainable policy integration demonstrates how advanced economies can balance technological ambition with environmental stewardship. The DCO encourages policymakers, the private sector, and innovation stakeholders to use the DEN 2025 as a framework for collaboration and shared progress. Qatar’s achievements in connectivity, governance, and sustainability illustrate how long-term planning and investment can build resilient, inclusive digital economies.

The Nairobi International Financial Centre (NIFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority as part of efforts to enhance cross-border investment, innovation and financial co-operation.The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the Second World Summit for Social Development, currently underway here in Qatar. It was signed by Daniel Mainda, chief executive officer of NIFC Authority, and Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida, chief executive officer of QFCA.Through this agreement, the NIFC and QFC reaffirm their commitment to global best practices and to fostering sustainable, inclusive growth across Africa and the Middle East.This renewed collaboration aims to enhance cross-border investment, innovation and financial co-operation through the respective international financial centres.This partnership builds on a decade-long relationship that began when the Ministry of Finance of Qatar through Kenya’s National Treasury, provided technical support in establishing the NIFC, making Qatar a key partner present at the very inception of the NIFC’s story.The NIFC is a transformative project designed by the Kenyan government to position Nairobi as a premier financial hub in Africa. It is a key initiative under the economic pillar of Kenya’s Vision 2030 project.The NIFC aims to attract global investment by providing an efficient, conducive environment for financial services and innovation. With a focus on modern infrastructure, regulatory transparency, and strategic partnerships, the NIFC will foster economic growth and facilitate capital flow across the region through its business-friendly environment.

Reflecting the global markets' concerns on valuation, especially of tech companies, the Qatar Stock Exchange today closed in the negative with its key index losing about 21 points, even as it managed to stay above 11,000 levels.The transport and industrials counters witnessed higher than average selling pressure as the 20-stock Qatar Index shed 0.19% to 11,006.6 points, recovering from an intraday low of 10,959 points.The foreign funds were seen net profit takers in the main market, whose year-to-date gains truncated to 4.12%.The foreign individuals turned bearish in the main bourse, whose capitalisation shed QR0.97bn or 0.15% to QR655.95bn, mainly on microcap segments.The Arab retail investors were seen net sellers in the main market, which saw as many as 0.16mn exchange traded funds (sponsored by AlRayan Bank) valued at QR0.38mn trade across 70 deals.The domestic institutions continued to be bearish but with lesser intensity in the main bourse, whose trade turnover were down amidst higher volumes.The Islamic index was seen declining slower than the other indices of the main market, which saw no trading of treasury bills.The local retail investors were seen increasingly bullish in the main bourse, which saw no trading of sovereign bonds.The Total Return Index fell 0.19%, the All Share Index by 0.12% and the All Islamic Index by 0.13% in the main market.The transport sector index shed 1.11%, industrials (0.28%), insurance (0.18%), real estate (0.05%) and banks and financial services (0.04%); while consumer goods and services gained 0.47% and telecom 0.34%.As many as 17 stocks gained, while 33 declined and two were unchanged.About 64% of the traded constituents were in the red in the main market with major losers being QLM, Qamco, Qatar Islamic Insurance, Estithmar Holding, Nakilat, Mazaya Qatar and Milaha. In the juniour bourse, Techno Q saw its shares depreciate in value.Nevertheless, Qatar General Insurance and Reinsurance, Meeza, Baladna, Dlala, Medicare Group and Ooredoo were among the movers in the main market.The foreign institutions turned net sellers to the tune of QR14.84mn compared with net buyers of QR6.44mn the previous day.The foreign individuals were net profit takers to the extent of QR10.25mn against net buyers of QR2.73mn on Tuesday.The Arab retail investors turned net sellers to the tune of QR4.72mn compared with net buyers of QR2.44mn on November 4.The Gulf institutions’ net buying weakened marginally to QR17.96mn against QR18.12mn the previous day.aHowever, the local individual investors’ net buying expanded perceptibly to QR16.8mn compared to QR15.96mn on Tuesday.The Gulf individuals turned net buyers to the tune of QR1.36mn against net profit takers of QR0.58mn on November 4.The domestic institutions’ net selling weakened substantially to QR6.31mn compared to QR45.1mn the previous day.The Arab institutions had no major net exposure.The main market saw 10% jump in trade volumes to 115.48mn shares but on less than 1% contraction in value to QR316.54mn and 42% in deals to 18,480.In the venture market, a total of 0.16mn equities valued at QR0.37mn changed hands across 20 transactions.(Ends)

Tech companies led a sell-off across Asia yesterday as investors grow increasingly worried about an AI bubble following a rally this year that has seen valuations hit record highs. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 2.5% to 50,212.27 points; Hong Kong — Hang Seng Index ended down 0.1% to 25,935.41 points and Shanghai — Composite closed up 0.2% to 3,969.25 points yesterday. Global markets have soared this year as an eye-watering flood of cash piled into companies linked to artificial intelligence, including US titans Nvidia, Amazon and Apple as well as Asian firms Samsung and Alibaba. But despite strong earnings releases in recent quarters, traders have started questioning the wisdom of chasing ever-higher prices, with cash mostly funnelled into a handful of big-name companies. The gains have also been helped by an easing of US trade tensions and expectations that the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates into the new year. However, last week's warning from the US central bank that another reduction in December was not a foregone conclusion jolted sentiment. After an uncertain start to the week Monday, Wall Street tumbled on Tuesday, with the tech-rich Nasdaq down more than 2% and the S&P 500 off more than 1%. US software firm Palantir slumped 8.0% despite reporting a 63% surge in revenue and profit. Traders were also spooked by a slump in New York-listed Super Micro Computer in after-hours business and disappointing forecasts from Advanced Micro Devices. Asia took up the baton in the morning, with Seoul and Tokyo the hardest hit, having just hit record highs. However many markets recovered as the day wore on and pared many of the losses. Seoul tanked 6% at one point — with chip giants Samsung and SK hynix taking a beating — but ended the day down 2.9%. "I view today's decline as a correction to cool off an overheated market — a phase of adjustment," Chung Hae-chang, analyst at Daishin Securities, told AFP. "The recent rally was extremely steep, so this is the counterbalance." He also warned Seoul's Kospi index could decline 5% further and that "SK hynix and Samsung may also see corrections proportional to their earlier gains". Tokyo finished 2.5% off, having dived more than 4%. Still tech investment giant SoftBank still lost 10% and Sony more than 1%. Nintendo, however, finished up more than 6% a day after the gaming firm hiked forecasts for its Switch 2 console and annual profits. — 'Sea of red' — Taipei was off more than 1% as market heavyweight and chip-maker TSMC gave up 3%. Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell but Shanghai and Wellington edged up. London, Paris and Frankfurt opened lower. "In the lead-up to the session, traders had been rotating out of the lower-quality end of the market and into the higher-quality plays, and this dynamic resulted in poor breadth within the US equity indices," said Chris Weston at Pepperstone. He added that dynamic had changed and traders were "cutting back on their winners and locking in performance, with the Magnificent Seven (leading tech stocks) basket and AI plays driving equity risk lower." And Mike Gitlin, president and chief executive officer of Capital Group, said that while earnings are strong "what's challenging are valuations", according to Bloomberg. His comments came at a financial summit organised by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Tuesday, where other business leaders including Morgan Stanley boss Ted Pick and Goldman Sachs' David Solomon warned of a big correction. Saxo Markets' Charu Chanana said two questions were echoing across portfolios. "Those who've ridden the rally from early 2023 are sitting on substantial gains and wondering if it's time to lock in profits (and) those still on the sidelines are feeling the pull of (fear of missing out, questioning if they've missed the best entry point. "Both are fair concerns. The AI boom has pushed the 'Magnificent' names to new highs, but under the surface, their stories have begun to diverge between companies monetising AI today and those still investing for tomorrow." The uncertainty across markets was also felt in the crypto universe, where bitcoin briefly fell below $100,000 for the first time since June, a month after topping out at a record high above $126,000.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Ratings has affirmed Commercial Bank’s issuer credit ratings at A-/A-2 with a Stable Outlook. According to S&P, Stable Outlook reflects the expectation that Commercial Bank will continue to maintain strong capital levels and further strengthen its asset quality indicators over the next 12 to 24 months. The rating affirmation also recognises Commercial Bank’s well-established corporate franchise in Qatar, its diversified funding and healthy liquidity position, and adequate earnings generation capacity as key factors supporting the rating. S&P also noted the high likelihood of government support in view of the Bank’s systemic importance within the domestic banking sector. Commenting on the announcement, Executive General Manager and Chief Financial Officer of Commercial Bank, Noman Ali said: “This rating affirmation reflects confidence in our strategy and the solid foundations we have built over the years. At Commercial Bank, we are focused on supporting our customers, maintaining a solid financial position, and contributing to Qatar’s continued economic growth.” Commercial Bank has consistently maintained strong ratings across major international agencies, reflecting its financial strength and stability. In addition to S&P’s affirmation, the Bank holds long-term ratings of A2 with a Stable Outlook from Moody’s and A with a Stable Outlook from Fitch, reaffirming the confidence of global rating institutions in Commercial Bank’s performance and stability.

QatarEnergy has signed two new production sharing contracts (PSC) for offshore Blocks 9 and 10 in Suriname. The blocks were awarded to a QatarEnergy consortium during the POST SHO2 bid round held in June 2025. Pursuant to the signed agreements, QatarEnergy will hold a 20% working interest in Block 9, with its partners PETRONAS Suriname the operator holding 30%, Chevron holding 20%, and Staatsolie’s affiliate, Paradise Oil Company (POC) holding 30%. QatarEnergy will also hold a 30% working interest in Block 10, with its partners Chevron (the operator) holding 30%, PETRONAS Suriname holding 30%, and POC holding 10%. Commenting on the signing, HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who is also the President and CEO of QatarEnergy said: “We are pleased at the conclusion of these two new production sharing agreements, which will increase our Suriname footprint to seven offshore blocks, allowing us to further explore its promising basins. “We are also pleased to cooperate with our partners Chevron, PETRONAS Suriname and Staatsolie, and we look forward to working with them in these blocks.” Al-Kaabi added: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Surinamese authorities, and our partners for the excellent collaboration and support that have resulted in the signing of these agreements.” Both blocks 9 and 10 are located offshore Suriname in water depths of up to 50 meters. They lie adjacent to recent discoveries that have significantly enhanced the petroleum potential of the basin.

Premier Li Qiang said yesterday that China's economy will exceed 170tn yuan ($23.87tn) by 2030, presenting a big market opportunity for the world as trade restrictions rise globally.In his speech at the opening ceremony of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Li criticised tariffs and said that China wanted to reform the global economic trading system to make it more reasonable and transparent, especially for developing countries.Tariffs are "seriously undermining international economic and trade rules, and also disrupting the normal operation of enterprises in various countries," he said, without mentioning the US."In five years, China's economy is expected to exceed 170tn yuan, which will make new and important contributions to global economic growth," Li added.China has said its GDP will top 140tn yuan this year, and the projection by 2030 is in line with proposals for its upcoming five-year plan that predicted annual growth of 4.17% over the next five years.CIIE was launched under President Xi Jinping in 2018 to promote China's free trade credentials and counter criticism of its trade surplus with many countries.But the expo has its sceptics, as the country's trade surpluses with other markets have only grown in the years since.While China's supply of manufactured goods to the world is growing, its contribution to global demand is less significant, with imports barely growing — a dynamic economists have said fuels trade tension abroad and deflationary pressure back home.Global trade this year has been heavily disrupted by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and have launched the US and China into a fresh trade war that has ebbed and flowed in tit-for-tat actions through this year.Last week, Xi and US President Donald Trump met in South Korea to reach a trade truce. The US agreed to reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods and pause some export controls, and China agreed to pause new export restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and resume purchases of American soybeans.But analysts say it may be no more than a fragile truce in a trade war with root causes still unresolved.Li in his speech said China wanted to increase its imports of high quality products and repeatedly stressed that it was open to business and trade."Let enterprises from all over the world develop in China with more peace of mind, more comfort and more confidence," he said.China's trade surplus is set to exceed last year's record of roughly $1tn as exporters offset a plunge in US sales due to higher US tariffs by selling more to the rest of the world, often at a loss in pursuit of market share.Exports to the US fell about 27% in September versus the same month a year prior, while shipments for the European Union, Southeast Asia and Africa grew 14%, 16% and 56% respectively.More than 155 countries, regions and organisations plan to participate in this year's CIIE, the commerce ministry said. Over 4,100 overseas enterprises will take part, with US companies maintaining the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year.

Since generative artificial intelligence began to make headlines in 2022, investors have poured money into Nvidia Corp, convinced that its leading position in AI hardware will deliver riches.The bet has paid off handsomely. The company reached a valuation of $5tn in late October and is on course to report more net income this year than its two main rivals will chalk up in sales, combined. A flurry of multi-billion-dollar data centre investments in recent months suggests that, if anything, the AI gold rush is still accelerating.But a massive run-up in stock prices — and the questionable nature of some AI deals — has left some in the industry wondering if it’s all happening too fast. There are concerns that, when the dust settles, there won’t be enough profitable work to justify the massive outlays on AI infrastructure.Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has rejected concerns that AI is a bubble that will eventually pop. He’s been touring the world in an effort to win over politicians still sceptical of the technology and lobby for the removal of national security restrictions that prevent Nvidia from selling its most powerful and profitable chips in China — the world’s biggest market for semiconductors.What are Nvidia’s most popular AI chips?Nvidia’s most lucrative product right now is the Blackwell range of AI accelerators, named after mathematician David Blackwell, the first Black scholar inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. Like the Hopper range that preceded it, Blackwell was adapted from the graphics processing units used for video games. It comes in various forms, ranging from individual “cards” to massive computer arrays.Both Hopper and Blackwell include technology that turns clusters of computers equipped with Nvidia chips into single units that can process vast volumes of data and make computations at high speeds. This makes them a perfect fit for the power-hungry task of training the neural networks that underpin the latest generation of AI products. Nvidia has fine-tuned its offering to better handle inference, in which an AI platform identifies objects through their common characteristics — differentiating, for example, between a cat and a dog. Demand for this capability is soaring as more people turn to AI to help with a growing array of tasks.The Santa Clara, California-based company is offering Blackwell in a variety of options, including as part of the GB200 superchip, which combines two Blackwell GPUs with one Grace central processing unit — the heart of a computer that executes program instructions. (The Grace CPU is also named for Grace Hopper.)What’s so special about Nvidia’s AI chips?Nvidia, founded in 1993, was already the king of GPUs, the components that generate the images you see on a computer screen. The most powerful of those are built with thousands of processing cores that perform multiple simultaneous threads of computation. This allows them to produce the complex 3D renderings like shadows and reflections that are a feature of fast-paced video games.Nvidia’s engineers realised in the early 2000s that they could retool these components for other applications. AI researchers, meanwhile, discovered that their work could finally be made practical by using this type of chip.So-called generative AI platforms learn tasks such as translating text, summarising reports and synthesising images by ingesting vast quantities of pre-existing material. The more they absorb, the better they perform. They develop through trial and error, making billions of attempts to achieve proficiency and sucking up huge amounts of computing power along the way.Blackwell delivers 2.5 times Hopper’s performance in training AI, according to Nvidia. The new design has so many transistors — the tiny switches that give semiconductors their ability to process information — that it can’t be produced conventionally as a single unit. It’s actually two chips married to one other through a connection that ensures they act seamlessly as one, according to the company.For customers racing to train their AI systems to perform new tasks, the performance edge offered by Hopper and Blackwell chips is critical. The components are seen as so key to developing AI that the US government has restricted their sale to its strategic rival China.What are Nvidia’s competitors doing?Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Intel Corp are striving to match the capabilities of Nvidia’s AI products. But for now it controls about 90% of the market for data centre GPUs, according to market research firm IDC. The lack of credible competition is a worry for Nvidia’s cloud computing customers Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and Microsoft Corp, which are responding by trying to develop chips in-house for their cloud computing operations.At the Computex trade show in Taiwan in May, Nvidia signalled a willingness to accommodate the moves by some customers to produce their own key components, with Huang announcing that the company’s NVLink server backbone — a set of components that act as a high-speed link between the main chips in a computer — will be opened up to products from other companies. Previously, that technology had been reserved solely for Nvidia’s own processors and accelerator chips.AMD, Nvidia’s closest rival in graphics chips, signed a deal to supply ChatGPT maker OpenAI Inc with a huge array of its new AI accelerators. That agreement, and a deal with Oracle Corp, suggested AMD has gained some credibility as an alternative to Nvidia.How does Nvidia stay ahead of its competitors?Nvidia has updated its offerings, including software to support the hardware, at a pace that no other firm has been able to match. The company has also devised cluster systems that help customers to buy chips in bulk and deploy them quickly. Huang keeps up a frantic pace of appearances at tech shows and company events all over the world to tout new offerings and tie-ups.Nvidia has committed to annual introductions of new flagship products for years to come, reflecting what Huang says is an unprecedented commitment to advancing innovation in the industry. Such pledges serve as a warning to rivals that they are trying to catch a moving train.How is AI chip demand holding up?Huang and his team have said repeatedly that the company has more orders than it can fill, even for older models. In late October, at a company conference in Washington DC, Nvidia projected revenue of about $500bn from its data centre unit over the next five quarters. That forced even the most optimistic analysts to raise their estimates and helped to add $400bn to Nvidia’s market value in one week.Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms Inc and Google have announced plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars collectively on AI and the data centres to support it. OpenAI has been making serial purchases of computing power to be deployed in the near future. The great AI build continues apace in the face of concerns that underlying use-cases for the technology may not yet justify such gargantuan investments.How do AMD and Intel compare with Nvidia in AI chips?AMD, the second-largest maker of computer graphics chips, unveiled a version of its Instinct line in 2023 aimed at the market that Nvidia dominates. A new, ramped up version, MI450, will debut next year and has already been included in the plans of Oracle and OpenAI. Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su, typically one of the technology world’s less effusive leaders, has estimated the market for her company’s AI chips will be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.Intel, the dominant provider of computer processors for the majority of Nvidia’s existence, is rebooting its attempt to get into the AI accelerator market. A new management team is focusing on raising cash to bolster its balance sheet, and Intel doesn’t have a directly competitive product scheduled to appear for at least a year. In the meantime, it’s actually teaming up with Nvidia, acknowledging that partnering with the new industry leader makes more sense than trying to fight it. New PC and data-centre chips that are a combination of Intel and Nvidia products will appear soon, opening previously closed markets to Nvidia products.GeopoliticsThe US and Chinese governments have done a lot more than Nvidia’s competitors to make a dent in the company’s sales. In April, Nvidia said it was taking a $5.5bn inventory writedown caused by a US ban on the supply of its H20 chip to companies in China. The H20 is a chip with pared-back capabilities designed to get it past earlier US restrictions on China sales. The US later gave Nvidia a green light to resume H20 sales, but then the government in Beijing retaliated by telling Chinese companies to avoid Nvidia’s offerings.Huang has travelled to Washington to try to convince President Donald Trump that doing more business with China is good for US national security. If US companies don’t provide the building blocks of AI, he argues, other nations — most notably China in the form of Huawei Technologies Co — will step in and that will threaten America’s technological leadership.That point of view has gained some traction among politicians in Washington, and the president has name-checked Nvidia’s products and talked about discussing them with his Chinese counterparts. But so far there’s been no concrete agreement that would allow Nvidia to sell to China again.

BMW yesterday reported rising profitability in the last quarter despite slowing Chinese sales and the impact of tariffs, offering some rare good news for Germany's beleaguered auto sector. The premium carmaker also welcomed "positive signals" after China said it would exempt some Nexperia chips from an export ban which had sparked warnings of production stoppages from European manufacturers. CEO Oliver Zipse said BMW was proving itself "resilient" despite numerous difficulties. These included "a shifting geopolitical framework with trade impacts such as tariffs, as well as a rapidly evolving market in China," he said. In the July-September period, BMW posted an operating profit margin in its auto unit, closely watched by investors, of 5.2%, compared to 2.3% in the same period last year. **media[377907]** However, tariff costs in the US and the European Union — BMW exports electric vehicles made in China that are subject to EU levies — were weighing on profits, it warned. BMW has generally sounded more upbeat about riding out Trump's tariff storm than other German automakers as it has a sizeable American footprint, with its biggest plant worldwide in South Carolina. Its deliveries in the US rose about 25% in the third quarter from a year earlier, while deliveries worldwide were up nearly nine %. This is far better than domestic rivals Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz. VW, Europe's biggest carmaker, last week warned that the US tariffs were set to cost it €5bn a year. But BMW, whose brands also include Mini and Rolls-Royce, is not immune to the current turmoil in the European auto sector. It cut its outlook for 2025 in October due to tariff costs and worsening prospects in China, where German firms are being challenged by local rivals for electric sales. Sales in China were down slightly in the July to September period, BMW said. BMW also said that research and development spending had fallen significantly in 2025 compared to last year, when it splashed huge sums on building up a new range of EVs that the carmaker hopes can help it compete in China. Zipse welcomed signs of easing tensions after China's weekend announcement on softening the export ban on Nexperia semiconductors, which it imposed due to a fight with the Netherlands over control of the chipmaker. The situation at BMW with regard to supply of chips, crucial to cars' onboard electronics, was currently "going well", Zipse said, but warned that it was still "volatile". "We continue to assess the situation — we do this several times a day," he told journalists on a call. The group's net profit in the third quarter came in at €1.7bn ($1.9bn), in line with forecasts. This was sharply up from €476mn in the same period in 2024, when results were heavily impacted by a massive vehicle recall. Revenues were flat at around €32bn. Novo Nordisk Wegovy-maker Novo Nordisk trimmed its full-year profit and sales forecasts on Wednesday as sales growth slows, but investors cheered a better-than-expected Medicare pricing deal that helped lift the shares after an initial slide. Novo is going through a tumultuous period marked by a share price plunge and slowing sales growth, which have prompted a change of CEO and a board shake-up. It's also in a bidding war with US rival Pfizer for biotech Metsera. CEO Mike Doustdar, who took the helm in August and is driving a turnaround plan, is trying to claw back lost ground in a fiercely competitive obesity drug market against US rival Eli Lilly, which posted far stronger results last week. Doustdar said on a media call that Novo was working to expand its direct-to-consumer sales in the US and was confident it would beat Pfizer in acquiring obesity drug developer Metsera. Novo said its guidance cut — the fourth this year — was due to a weaker growth outlook for the firm's blockbuster treatments Wegovy and Ozempic for weight loss and diabetes. But Novo also said it had agreed pricing for semaglutide — the active ingredient in the two drugs — under the US Medicare scheme, addressing a major uncertainty for investors worried that the Trump administration would take a tough line in talks. Novo did not disclose the agreed price, but said that if applied this year it would have had a "low-single-digit negative impact on sales". JP Morgan analysts estimated this could equate to around a 6bn Danish crown ($937mn) hit to sales, adding that was "better than feared" and could offset the negative news from the guidance cut. "The shares could ultimately be in positive territory today," they wrote in a note. Fuelled by the rapid take-up of Wegovy, the first in a new class of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists, Novo became Europe's most valuable firm last year. But sales growth has slowed sharply amid competition from Eli Lilly and compounded copycat drugs made from the same ingredients as branded drugs. Novo's market value peaked in June 2024 at around $650bn, but has since fallen by about 70%, close to its value around Wegovy's launch in 2021. Novo now expects full-year operating profit — measured in local currencies — to grow between 4% and 7%, down from 4%-10% previously. It trimmed its outlook for 2025 sales growth to between 8% and 11%, compared with its previous 8%-14% range. The company expects sales growth to slow further in the fourth quarter, after growing at the slowest pace since early 2022 in the third quarter at 11%, just shy of 11.4% estimates. Mikael Bak, head of the Danish Shareholders' Association which has 17,000 members — a majority of them invested in Novo — said the third-quarter update was not a surprise, but it was "nevertheless a disappointment". "We support the transformation process now underway and view this as a moment for patience, focus, and disciplined execution," he added. UBS analysts said investors would be disappointed by the magnitude of the guidance cut and the growth outlook. Novo warned that unlawful mass compounding — copycat drugs custom-made from the same ingredients as branded drugs — continued in the third quarter. Sales of Wegovy rose 18% year-on-year in the period to 20.4bn crowns, versus analysts' forecasts of 20.9bn. Weekly prescriptions in the US for Wegovy had fallen by 10,000 over the last three months to around 270,000, the company said. Operating profit fell 30% to 23.7bn crowns, below the expected 24.6bn crowns. Barry Callebaut Swiss chocolate group Barry Callebaut reported a drop in annual net profit on Wednesday as high cocoa prices and falling consumption took a bite out of its earnings. Barry Callebaut, whose financial year runs through the end of August, said its profit after tax fell 1.3 % to 188.4mn Swiss francs ($233mn) in the 2024-2025 period. Revenue rose 42.4% to 14.8bn francs as the supplier of cocoa and chocolate products passes fluctuations in raw material prices on to clients. In terms of volume, however, sales fell 6.8% to 2.1mn tonnes. Barry Callebaut supplies cocoa and chocolate products to major food groups such as Oreo cookie producer Mondelez, KitKat maker Nestle and Magnum ice cream owner Unilever. "The past fiscal year was marked by exceptional and unprecedented volatility in the cocoa and chocolate markets, impacting both Barry Callebaut and our customers," chief executive Peter Feld said in an earnings statement. Cocoa prices have soared for two consecutive years, reaching a historic high in December 2024 at $12,931 per tonne in New York and 10,100 pounds per tonne in London. Bouygues French conglomerate Bouygues reported a stronger than expected operating profit for the first nine months of the year on Wednesday, helped by resilient construction activities even as political turmoil in France weighed on its media arm. Current operating profit from activities was €1.81bn ($2.11bn) between January and September, slightly above the €1.77bn euros expected by analysts polled by the company. Group sales reached €41.86bn euros, broadly in line with the consensus. Family-owned Bouygues, whose activities span from construction and energy services to media and telecommunications, is leading a joint effort to consolidate France's telecoms market by carving up a large portion of Altice France, which owns the country's second-largest operator SFR. The €17bn offer, launched together with Orange and Iliad, was rejected by Altice France in October. Still, the trio has stood by the bid and stated its intention to pursue talks with Altice shareholders. "There was no particular dialogue before, and there is no particular dialogue after," Deputy CEO Pascal Grangé said in a call with reporters. "The offer we made was clearly not acceptable to Altice. That is where we stand today." The construction business benefitted from a strong order book and offset weaker advertising that weighed on the media unit. The company has secured a major civil works role at Britain's Sizewell C nuclear project, with orders worth about €3bn to be booked from late 2025. Marks and Spencer British clothes-to-food retailer Marks and Spencer on Wednesday said a cyberattack that affected its online service sent profits sliding in the group's first half. Net profit plunged 98% to £6.2mn ($8.1mn) in the six months to late September, compared with profit after tax of £282.1mn one year earlier, M&S said in a statement. The company halted online sales for about six weeks after hackers targeted the business around Easter, stealing some customer data. "The first half of this year was an extraordinary moment in time for M&S," its chief executive Stuart Machin said in the earnings release. "However, the underlying strength of our business and robust financial foundations gave us the resilience to face into the challenge and deal with it." The group forecast that its second-half profit would be "at least in line with last year, as the residual effects of the incident continue to reduce in the coming months". M&S flagged in May that the cyberattack would cost the group around £300mn. On Wednesday, it booked a charge of £101.6mn on dealing with the incident such as fixing systems. It expects a further hit totalling about £34mn in the group's second half, while M&S has managed to recover £100mn via an insurance payout. Emphasising its robust underlying performance, sales grew 22% in the reporting period to almost £8bn. The company's share price dipped 0.1 % in early London trading.

Blocked funds, where governments restrict or delay the repatriation of airline revenues, have significant and far-reaching consequences for the global airline industry.Blocked or trapped funds seem to have become a perennial issue for the industry, especially in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and parts of South Asia.As of September this year, there were $1.3bn of airline revenue which are, for various reasons, blocked from repatriation, according to the International Air Transport Association.Some 93% of this is in the Africa and Middle East region, which points to the fact that it is impacting airline businesses in the region.According to IATA, the following countries with outstanding balances are in the Mena region: Algeria ($245mn), Lebanon ($139mn), Libya ($29mn), Yemen ($17.5mn) and Sudan ($10mn).At a recent industry event in Morocco, IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted, “As much progress as we make, a new challenge always emerges. With your support, we will continue to highlight that airlines cannot provide economically vital connectivity if they are unable to repatriate the revenues needed to pay the bills!”Industry analysts say blocked funds are revenues earned by foreign airlines in a country that cannot be converted or transferred out due to local foreign exchange controls, currency shortages, or government restrictions.These funds typically arise from ticket sales or cargo operations paid in the local currency, which airlines normally repatriate to their home countries to cover operating costs.On the immediate financial impact on airlines (due to blocked funds), analysts say, “Airlines operate on tight margins and rely on regular repatriation of local earnings to cover expenses like fuel, leases, and salaries. Blocked funds disrupt this flow.“When hundreds of millions of dollars are trapped, airlines must find alternative liquidity or borrow at higher costs to sustain operations. Prolonged inability to recover funds may lead airlines to write off those amounts, directly impacting their profitability.”Leading GCC carriers such as Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad and other regional airlines often face secondary effects — such as reduced feeder traffic from affected regions and complex currency hedging requirements.IATA has repeatedly urged governments to remove all barriers preventing airlines from the timely repatriation of their revenues from ticket sales and other activities in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations.Earlier this year, Walsh noted, "Ensuring the timely repatriation of revenues is vital for airlines to cover dollar-denominated expenses and maintain their operations. Delays and denials violate bilateral agreements and increase exchange rate risks. Reliable access to revenues is critical for any business—particularly airlines which operate on very thin margins. “Economies and jobs rely on international connectivity. Governments must realise that it is a challenge for airlines to maintain connectivity when revenue repatriation is denied or delayed.”Clearly, some countries devise unconventional means to shore up their depleted treasuries, notwithstanding the damage these can inflict on their profile.One way of channelling funds into their kitty seems to be preventing foreign airlines from repatriating funds.Governments’ blocking airline funds, often due to foreign exchange shortages or restrictive economic policies, significantly impacts the airline industry in several ways.Countries that block funds are very likely to deter foreign investment and reduce their appeal to international businesses.Obviously, investors and stakeholders will see the affected markets as high-risk, influencing strategic decisions.The result will be fewer flights to these countries, which can lead to a decrease in tourist inflows and trade opportunities, hurting local economies.Certainly, fewer flight options will inconvenience travellers and businesses relying on air connectivity. Increased fares and reduced competition will make travel more expensive for passengers.Industry analysts also say airlines are unable to repatriate revenue earned in these countries, leading to a liquidity crunch.Carriers rely on consistent revenue to manage operations, pay debts, and fund investments. Blocked funds disrupt these cash flows.Therefore, airlines will have to account for these funds as potential losses, adversely impacting their financial performance.Pratap John is Business Editor at Gulf Times. X handle: @PratapJohn.

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) is taking part in the Kids Expo 2025, which will run until November 8 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) under the theme ‘Our Children are The Greatest Treasure’. At this year’s Expo, QIB is inviting families to explore QIB Junior, Qatar’s first digital banking experience made especially for kids and teens. Through fun, hands-on activities, and interactive demos, children can discover how saving, spending, and learning about money can be easy and enjoyable. Kids Expo brings together education, health, culture, and entertainment for children under one roof across Halls 1 & 2 at DECC, offering parents a one-stop destination and a fun-filled programme throughout the week. QIB’s presence focuses on introducing young visitors to smart money management securely and intuitively, under the safe and guided supervision of their parents. D Anand, general manager – Personal Banking Group at QIB, said: “We are delighted to take part in Kids Expo 2025 to introduce the QIB Junior App to children and their parents. QIB Junior helps kids and teens learn how to save and spend wisely, while parents can supervise and support their journey. By helping kids build confidence with money today, we are creating a financially confident and responsible generation for the future.” QIB Junior is designed to turn everyday moments into learning experiences, setting savings goals, tracking tasks, or using a prepaid card under a parent’s supervision. At the Kids Expo, families can get a hands-on feel for how the app helps their children learn good habits, while parents stay firmly in control through flexible limits and approvals. Across the week, visitors to QIB’s booth can explore the app interface with QIB representatives, learn about the Junior prepaid card, and discover how features like savings, tasks, and parental controls work together to build confidence and responsibility. For more information, visit www.qib.com.qa/en-Junior.

Ooredoo Qatar, in partnership with Huawei, has launched the Next Generation IdeaHub S3 under the theme ‘Collaboration Redefined by AI+’. Next Generation IdeaHub S3 combines intelligent display, video conferencing, and smart connectivity in one seamless solution. It enables teams to host smarter meetings, share ideas instantly, and collaborate more efficiently — whether in offices, classrooms, hotels, or retail spaces. As part of the event, Ooredoo offered attendees a firsthand look at how the IdeaHub S3, powered by advanced AI capabilities, is redefining the way businesses collaborate and communicate. The company also introduced a limited-time promotion offering bundled plans that combine IdeaHub with selected Ooredoo Business services, reinforcing its commitment to delivering integrated, value-driven solutions to its customers. Hassan al-Emadi, senior director of Business Accounts at Ooredoo Qatar, said: “At Ooredoo, we are committed to empowering Qatar's business community with smart, connected, and scalable digital solutions.” The event featured keynote sessions from Ooredoo and Huawei, live demonstrations of the new IdeaHub S3, and customer testimonials highlighting real-world success stories. The collaboration reflects both companies' shared vision to drive digital transformation and enable smarter workplaces across Qatar.

Opec's oil output rose further in October after an Opec+ agreement to raise production, a Reuters survey found yesterday, though the scale of the increase slowed sharply from September and the summer months.The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) pumped 28.43mn barrels per day (bpd) last month, up 30,000 bpd from September's total, the survey showed, with Saudi Arabia and Iraq making the largest increases.Opec+, comprising Opec and allies including Russia, slowed the pace of its output increases for October on growing concern over a possible supply glut. Simultaneously, some members are tasked with extra cuts to compensate for earlier overproduction, limiting the impact of increases.Under an agreement by eight Opec+ members covering October output, the five of them that are Opec members — Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — were to raise output by 86,000 bpd before the effect of compensation cuts totalling 140,000 bpd for Iraq and the UAE.The survey shows that the actual increase by the five was 114,000 bpd, but declines in Nigeria, Libya and Venezuela offset those gains.Estimates of output in Iraq and the UAE vary widely, with many outside sources putting the countries' output higher than the countries themselves.While the Reuters survey and data provided by Opec's secondary sources show they are pumping close to the quotas, other estimates, such as those of the International Energy Agency, say they are pumping significantly higher volumes.The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is based on flow data from financial group LSEG, information from other companies that track flows, such as Kpler, and information provided by sources at oil companies, Opec and consultants.

Ryanair Holdings Plc expects to exceed its passenger growth target for the full year as the airline receives aircraft early from Boeing Co and demand for travel remains strong.The Irish budget carrier predicted more than 3% growth in fiscal 2026 to 207mn passengers, up from a previous forecast of 206mn.The improved passenger goal is a sign of progress at Boeing, which has struggled to deliver planes on time, limiting growth prospects for Ryanair, its biggest customer in Europe. Ryanair was among the most vocal critics of Boeing as delivery delays forced the carrier to cut its passenger traffic goal several times in the past year.“It’s humming along nicely, things are going well, quality is very good,” Chief Financial Officer Neil Sorahan said of the Boeing deliveries in an interview.More recently, Ryanair’s executives have reported progress at the planemaker, saying last month that the carrier received at a more steady tempo.The remaining six Max 8 aircraft from its order book will be delivered “well ahead” of next summer, allowing for traffic growth to reach 215mn next year, Ryanair said. Certification of the new Max 10 is scheduled for mid-2026 and Boeing expects to meet Ryanair’s contract delivery dates for the first 15 models in spring 2027.Ryanair would move about 10% of capacity out of the UK and into countries such as Sweden and Italy if the Labour government decides to increase tax this month in the upcoming budget, Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Leary said in an interview on Bloomberg TV following results.“More capacity, more flights, more aircraft and more jobs will move from the UK,” said the CEO, who has been a vocal critic of governments taxing the aviation industry.While Ryanair said it’s too early to provide “meaningful” profit guidance for the fiscal full year, the company expects to recover last year’s 7% fare decline in its entirety and achieve “reasonable” profit growth for the year.At the same time, the company said that while third-quarter forward bookings are “slightly ahead,” fare growth will be more challenging because of difficult comparisons to the prior-year period.

The US consumer's durability as a prop for the economy may be tested in coming weeks as family budgets, particularly among the less affluent, are stressed by rising healthcare costs, the potential loss of federal food benefits, and a wobbly job market outlook that is already taking a toll on earnings. November is typically the start of a buoyant shopping and travel season, with the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month and Christmas following in late December. This year it also coincides with the possible loss of food benefits for many families amid an ongoing US government shutdown, and rising healthcare costs for others if federal subsidies are cut at the start of the year for insurance policies offered under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Add in the lost spending by hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers, a raft of layoff announcements from top companies, rising prices, and a recent drop in consumer confidence, and the staying power of US shoppers may be tried. "The American economy is a $30tn dynamic and resilient beast, but it's going to face a test here at the turn of the year," said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, with "adverse policy shocks emanating from Washington and the change in behaviour among corporates who hoarded labour for the past four to five years.... That was never an indefinite behaviour. We're going to see migration up in the unemployment rate." The coming shocks to household budgets will take place against a backdrop of still-low unemployment and consumer spending that, at least as of August, was growing at a 2.7% annual rate, slower than last year but still expanding. For now, however, policymakers at the Federal Reserve and elsewhere will lack updated government reports to understand how the economy is adapting at a critical moment, with the shutdown not only turning off benefits but also the flow of data. Funding for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for nearly 42mn low-income people, nearly 12% of the US population, was due to run out on November 1 because of the shutdown, which is now in its second month. A federal judge in Rhode Island, however, ruled on Friday the suspension of the benefits was illegal, and it was unclear if some of them would be paid this month. The loss of SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, would "impose significant hardship on many households, but the impact on overall consumers' spending and GDP probably will be relatively small," at about $100bn a year, said Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. However, that is "just one channel through which the shutdown will weigh on activity this quarter." In their absence, at least a dozen states have plans to fill some of the food benefits gap, but the amounts involved are a fraction of what the program provides each month, and some large states including Texas and Florida have not announced any effort to step in. Economists don't necessarily see the economy tipping into recession as a result of the growing pressures on consumers, though Brusuelas estimated the shutdown may lower growth for the fourth quarter by a full percentage point, to as low as 1%. Just as the current shutdown may hit household budgets ahead of a peak shopping season, offsetting forces, including tax cuts and exemptions for things like overtime pay and tipped income, will boost many household refunds next year. "In the first quarter of the year, we are going to see substantial tax refunds for working Americans," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network recently, something that will also allow some taxpayers to withhold less and keep more of their weekly paychecks. How that all nets out, however, remains to be determined and will be closely watched by Fed policymakers trying to understand whether the economy slows and unemployment rises or whether it will accelerate as firms and households finish adjusting to trade, immigration and other policy changes during the first year of President Donald Trump's second term in the White House. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, speaking to reporters after the central bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point last week, noted how consumer spending "has defied a lot of negative forecasts" and helped sustain economic growth. But he also noted, as have other Fed policymakers, the current "bifurcated" pattern — sometimes called the "K-shaped economy" — of higher-income families riding stock market gains and spending freely on travel, high-end goods, and restaurant meals, contrasted with signs of stress, including rising auto loan defaults and intense bargain shopping in the rest of the country. "There is so much anecdotal information on that, we think there is something there," Powell said. Meanwhile, announced rounds of layoffs by Amazon.com, UPS and others "could absolutely have implications for job creation" that some economists already consider at a standstill, Powell added. The question for the Fed is whether the good times at the higher "spur" of the K remain enough, in aggregate, to offset weakness elsewhere. The headwinds are about to get stiffer. Besides the threat to the SNAP payments, household budgets could be dealt another blow from higher premiums for health insurance purchased under the ACA. The expiration next year of tax credits to underwrite those policies is a core issue in the budget stand-off between Trump, whose tax bill earlier this year slashed ACA subsidies, and Democrats in Congress who want them maintained. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimated the loss of tax credits will cost the more than 20mn people insured through the ACA more than $1,000 a year each on average, and potentially more. Research from the JPMorganChase Institute points to another risk. Analysis of its in-house database of account holders showed inflation-adjusted income growth among those aged 25 to 54, a key consumer demographic, had slipped from around 3% annually to 2%, on par with the sluggish rate after the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession. Heading into the coming holidays, there is reason to worry about the consumer, Yardeni Research economists said. Along with all the other headwinds, recent surveys show people are planning to spend less during the Christmas shopping season, and, in addition, there will be fewer people spending because of recent deportations of migrants and tighter immigration enforcement. "There will literally be fewer people shopping in the US this holiday (season), and those who are say they'll be spending less this season," said Jackie Doherty, a Yardeni contributing editor.

When the world gathers in Doha each spring for the ‘Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg’ (QEF), it is more than a conference. It has become a marker of how Qatar is positioning itself as a bridge between regions and a host of conversations that carry weight well beyond the Gulf.The 2025 edition underscored this in striking fashion.More than 2,500 leaders from 95 countries, including 1,500 C-suite executives, gathered in Doha. Online, the Forum reached over 200mn views, with tens of thousands of executives tuning in live on LinkedIn.When headline speakers such as Elon Musk and Mary Callahan Erdoes chose Doha as their stage, their conversations did not only touch on Gulf priorities, they helped steer the global economic agenda.Every year, the Qatar Economic Forum leans into its position as the Middle East’s only editorially led economic forum to deliver one of the world’s most impactful convenings.What makes QEF distinctive is not only its scale but also its outcomes. In 2025, leaders held 234 bilateral meetings and 79 closed-door sessions, resulting in 21 memorandums of understanding.For an event that is just five years old, that level of deal-making speaks volumes. It demonstrates the Gulf’s rising centrality to global business and Qatar’s ability to transform conversations into partnerships.Qatar has taken the same convening approach across many industries.The 2022 FIFA World Cup showed the country’s ability to host events that capture worldwide attention. Now, anticipation is building for Art Basel Qatar in February 2026 – the first Middle East edition of the renowned fair.With institutions such as the National Museum of Qatar and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art already magnets for international audiences, Art Basel will add a new dimension to this cultural landscape. Together with QEF, these moments show how business, culture and sport can complement one another to build influence and collaboration that lasts.That convening power is amplified by Bloomberg’s role in powering QEF. Bloomberg Live brings Bloomberg’s global news-making authority to life, combining its strengths in journalism, data and media to deliver conversations that matter to decision-makers. The quality of conversations backed by deep industry knowledge, analysis and data is what sets QEF apart from many other global convenings. In this era of economic volatility, geopolitical tension, technological disruption and a widening global trust gap, leaders are not seeking more content; they are searching for clarity, credibility and genuine human connection. QEF embodies that model, offering intelligence-led convening underpinned by Bloomberg’s editorial trust, global reach and deep industry insights.Looking ahead, the Qatar Economic Forum will return from 12-14 May 2026 with a focus on innovation, sports and economic transformation – topics that resonate deeply with the Gulf’s trajectory. The establishment of its Global Advisory Council further institutionalises its role as a convening platform of global consequence.At a time when markets are unsettled and geopolitical uncertainty is the norm, the ability to bring decision-makers together is essential to global business and government leaders.Through the Qatar Economic Forum, and alongside its cultural and sporting platforms, Doha has become a stage where global voices gather, and where the region’s economic and cultural relevance continues to grow.Leigh Gilmore is the Global Head of Bloomberg Live.

Qatar Exports has concluded its 2025 trade mission to Oman, with participation from more than 45 Qatari firms, with the value of potential deals exceeding QR223mn.The mission represented a new milestone in advancing trade and investment cooperation between Qatar and Oman.It aligns with the joint statement issued earlier this year, which reaffirmed both countries’ commitment to supporting the private sector, intensifying efforts to increase trade exchange, and enhancing economic integration between the two countries."The strong coordination and joint efforts throughout this mission reflect the depth of economic relations between Qatar and Oman, and the real potential both countries share for building meaningful regional and international partnerships grounded in mutual interests," said Khalid Abdulla al-Mana, Qstar Development Bank (QDB) Vice President of Enterprise Development and Executive Director of Qatar Exports.Through Qatar Exports, QDB is committed to promoting Qatari products in Gulf and global markets, he said, adding "we will continue to support national exporters by building their capabilities and opening doors to new markets, helping them compete globally as part of our broader strategy to grow Qatar’s export ecosystem.”The mission brought together senior Qatari and Omani officials and featured in-depth bilateral discussions between the two sides, alongside a series of meetings and an exhibition for Qatari companies that highlighted the diversity and quality of Qatari products.In total, the program included 350 bilateral meetings, the mission’s activities attracted more than 450 visitors, and the value of potential deals exceeded QR223mn.

Gold prices rose on Wednesday, as bargain hunters stepped in after bullion dropped to a near one-week low in the previous session, while focus was also on the US private payroll data for cues on future interest rate cuts.Spot gold rose 0.8% to $3,961.85 per ounce. Bullion fell more than 1.5% on Tuesday, hitting its lowest since Oct. 30.US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2% to $3,970.10 per ounce.Bullion hit a record high of US$4,381.21 on Oct. 20, but has fallen close to 10 percent since then.Elsewhere, spot silver rose 1.2 percent to US$47.68 per ounce, platinum gained 0.1 percent to US$1,537.10, and palladium climbed 0.2 percent to US$1,394.75.

The US dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against the euro, the British pound, the yen, and three other major currencies, stabilized at 100.18 after rising to 100.25, its highest level since August 1. Both the Japanese yen and the US dollar attracted strong demand as safe-haven assets amid heavy selling in stocks, particularly technology shares on Wall Street, which extended to Asian markets.The yen rose by about 0.2% to 153.42 per dollar, continuing the gains of 0.7% it recorded on Tuesday. At the same time, the dollar was steady at 1.1483 against the euro after rising 0.3% in the previous session to reach a seven-month-high.The British pound stabilized at $1.3016 after falling 0.9% yesterday. The New Zealand dollar slipped 0.1% to $0.5635 after a 1.2% decline yesterday, touching its lowest level in seven months. It also fell to 1.1512 against the Australian dollar following labor market data, a level not seen since October 2013.The Australian dollar dropped 0.2% to $0.6476.