The Middle East’s rapidly advancing space sector has seen a slew of landmark achievements in the last few years.

By Alexander Hendry

In 2014, the UAE established the UAE Space Agency to oversee and grow its space sector, and it has since successfully completed numerous projects. In July 2020, it became the fifth country in the world to launch a probe to Mars, and in December 2022, the UAE-built Rashid Rover was launched on a path to the moon. Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri was the first person from the UAE in space, and Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi will soon embark on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre has launched four satellites, and UAE-based satellite company Yahsat currently manages a fleet of five satellites and provides services in more than 150 countries. In 2022, the UAE established an US$817 million fund to support its space sector, including the development of a constellation of advanced radar imaging satellites.

Virtual Currency B - SingleOutsourcing has historically not been a major pillar in Middle East public and private sector organisation’s strategic architecture. While the benefits of outsourcing are understood and recognised, organisations have sought to engage with major outsourced service providers through managed service agreements and joint ventures. This approach has generally worked well. It has enabled local organisations to maintain control of their infrastructure, environments, people and third-party contracts and, in the case of joint ventures, provided organisations with the potential opportunity to

Mall financingThe continuing strong economic conditions of the UAE and other GCC economies has led to an upsurge in consumer spending in recent years. With retail sales in the region expected to reach US$284.5 billion by 2018, the need to meet the growing demand for consumer goods has led to a boom in planned shopping mall developments in the Middle East.

Dubai might be the world’s most visited retail destination thanks to The Dubai Mall, which attracted nearly

An unexpected surge in production coupled with weakened global demand has resulted in a 50 percent drop in the price of crude oil since June 2014 and currently averaging US$50 a barrel. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it would leave market forces to determine crude oil price and would not cut oil output. The current oil price is the lowest it has been since Spring 2009. As oil and gas companies begin to

A number of GCC governments, including those in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have set ambitious clean energy and energy efficiency targets. As the fastest growing region in the world, the GCC’s population is expected to grow more than 53 million by 2020. Substantial amounts of investments will be required to finance the clean energy and energy efficient projects necessary to meet the needs of the future population.

Capital markets allow investors a low-cost alternative

Green bonds, which tie

Data protection in the Middle EastGlobal cyber-attack threats stand at the highest ever recorded level, jumping 14 percent from 2012 to 2013 (Cisco 2014 Annual Security Report). Furthermore, a recent Microsoft Security Intelligence Report found that operating system infection rates in the GCC countries were almost twice the worldwide average, with up to 13 computers out of every 1,000 being infected.

The general lack of cybercrime disclosure has made measuring the financial impact of cyber breaches challenging. Reporting of cyber attacks remain

The Sukuk Opportunity

Total Sukuk issuances for 2013 stood at approximately US$120 billion and the Sukuk market is likely to sustain double-digit growth in the coming two to three years with assets in Islamic finance expected to reach US$2.8 trillion by 2015.

The growth of the Sukuk market has allowed investors to diversify their portfolio and invest in credit that they would not otherwise have access to, such as Islamic institutions, which only raise funds in a Shari’ah-compliant manner. The

GCC ExchangesThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries accounted for IPO issuances valued at US$1.1 billion in 2013, according to Bloomberg. Notably, Qatar Exchange bounced back this year with the successful IPO and listing of Mesaieed Petrochemical Holding company Q.S.C. (a Qatar Petroleum Subsidiary), the first IPO in Qatar since 2010 and the first under the current listing rules of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority.

With momentum returning to local exchanges combined with increasingly favourable market conditions, the GCC IPO

With investment pouring into the education sector, academic institutions have never been in a stronger position to capitalise on costly real estate assets to fuel future expansion.  Research suggests the public and private education market in MENA is projected to be worth US$96 billion by 2015, with the GCC region claiming US$61 billion of that predicted value. (Al Masah Capital Report)

The sale and leaseback model is enabling educational institutions to unlock capital.

In the most straightforward form,

Data protection in the Middle EastDigital Identity Dominates

 Having a digital identity for online browsing, transactions and interactions has become necessary to operate in this information age.  As more and more lifestyle and business services shift to the digital platform, there has been an explosive growth in personal data capture.  The “Big Data” phenomenon has the potential to transform, innovate and optimize entire industries, yet policy makers need to be able to strike the balance between productivity and privacy to protect personal data.

Protecting Personal