Saudi Arabia leads Arab business news this week with energy, finance, and tech deals
Published By Arab Hub Post Staff
Saudi Arabia featured prominently in a roundup of business news from across the Arab world this week, with developments spanning energy, finance, technology, and infrastructure. The announcements, made on 12, 13, and 14 October 2026, reflect ongoing economic diversification efforts and regional cooperation.
Banking and Finance
In Bahrain, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has reached a deal with TerraPay to facilitate global payment services. The key role of the banking sector was also stressed in the kingdom.
In Saudi Arabia, a unit of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) launched its second residential mortgage-backed securities issuance. Elsewhere, the Riyadh Municipality signed up for the Future Investment Initiative summit, known as FII10.
In the UAE, Julius Baer announced new leadership for its Middle East and Africa operations. Travog partnered with Mastercard to introduce a travel and expense card for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Internationally, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) flagged risks from war and debt to the global economy. Spending on artificial intelligence (AI) was said to keep global growth at three percent.
Energy and Industry
Saudi Arabia sealed energy cooperation deals with Kuwait, Qatar, and Egypt. The kingdom also signed energy agreements with the International Energy Forum (IEF), Sierra Leone, and a US foundation. Saudi Steel Pipe won a key supply contract from Aramco. Aramco Digital and OrbitronAI signed an AI partnership to help industrial firms recover lost value. Dalipal inked a deal to set up a manufacturing base in the King Salman Energy Park. Elsewedy Electric’s joint venture landed a contract for the 2.2 billion US dollar Rabigh 2 independent power producer (IPP) project.
In Bahrain, the country’s advancements in the energy sector were highlighted. SULB received the Industrial Excellence Award at the Made in GCC event.
In Oman, Omran awarded contracts worth 316 million dollars for the Madinat Al Irfan and Yiti projects.
Internationally, oil rallied amid supply risks. A refrigeration cyberattack hit French supermarkets.
Technology and Innovation
In the UAE, the Gulf Airport Leadership Forum (GALF) highlighted the future of airport innovation and passenger experience. TrinaTracker expanded its smart photovoltaic (PV) ecosystem with two new robotics solutions. Moma marked a key construction milestone at a Dubai beachfront property. BI Group teamed up with Citic Contracting for prime Dubai projects. Indian group Casagrand awarded a contract for its debut UAE project.
In Bahrain, Hilal Technology explored innovation at a Dell summit.
In Saudi Arabia, the International Geotechnical Innovation Conference was postponed to 9 November.
Infrastructure and Projects
Saudi Arabia put a thrust on local content for diversification. The UAE eyes deeper industrial and technology links with China. Oman Air expanded its winter schedule with more flights and codeshare destinations. The UAE non-oil growth model was described as broadly resilient to a war baseline by Fitch.
