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droppRWA, a subsidiary of droppGroup, the world’s leading provider of sovereign-grade Web3 AI and blockchain infrastructure, today announced a landmark partnership with RAFAL Real Estate Co., one of Saudi Arabia’s leading developers, to execute the Kingdom’s first-ever Real World Asset (RWA) tokenization transaction.This transaction is not just a technological milestone; it is a strategic inflection point. The RAFAL pilot will serve as a national feasibility benchmark for the future of tokenized property markets in Saudi Arabia. Redefining real estate ownership, the collaboration aims to introduce fractional ownership of high-value real estate assets, enabling Saudi citizens to invest everyday with amounts…

XRG, the international investment arm of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), is aiming to have a gas and LNG business with a capacity of between 20 million and 25 million metric tons a year by 2035, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. XRG was set up last year as an investment company focused on lower-carbon energy, gas and chemicals, with assets of more than $80 billion. On Tuesday, its board, whose members include former BP CEO Bernard Looney and Blackstone’s Jon Gray, approved the capacity target and a new five-year business plan. Board members also supported the…

Gold pulled back on Tuesday after nearing a four-week high earlier in the session, as a rebound in the dollar and profit-taking added pressure, while investors remained cautious amid ever-changing US trade policies. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $3,356.75 an ounce as of 1125 GMT, after hitting its highest since May 8 earlier in the session. US gold futures eased 0.5% to $3,381.30. The dollar rose from an over-a-month low hit earlier in the session, making gold costlier for foreign buyers. “Today, the dollar trades a tad stronger ahead of key US economic data and these developments are the main…

Russia’s embassy in London said on Tuesday that Moscow had no intention of attacking Britain, rejecting accusations by the British government of growing aggression and daily cyberattacks. Britain said on Monday it would radically change its approach to defense to address new threats, including from Russia, after endorsing the findings of an independently-produced Strategic Defense Review. After unveiling the defense overhaul on Monday, Healey said Europe was facing war, growing Russian aggression, new nuclear risks and daily cyberattacks, Reuters reported. Russia’s embassy issued a statement on Tuesday criticizing what it described as “a fresh salvo of anti-Russian rhetoric”. “Russia poses…

Profits raised share prices Foreign subsidiaries’ lending up Net interest margins falling Consumer demand for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans as well as increased corporate and government borrowing helped most major UAE banks post double-digit rises in profits in the first quarter of this year. The profit surge, which comes despite a greater tax burden on the sector, has supported a renewed rally in banking stocks. The share prices of the six top banks are up by an average of 17 percent this year to May 26, according to AGBI calculations. Emirates NBD’s (ENBD) loan book expanded 3.5 percent…

Sale three times oversubscribed Plan to raise $2bn from bonds Oman also borrowing to tackle deficit Oman has raised $130 million from treasury bills in a three-part sale that began on Monday.  The Central Bank of Oman sold $5 million, $52 million and $74 million of bonds with terms of three, six and 12 months, respectively. The coupon – or annual interest rate – is 5 percent.  By Tuesday the sale was oversubscribed more than three times, according to the Central Bank of Oman.   Sultan Al Habsi, the country’s finance minister, has told Oman Television that the government needs to…

Global airlines shaved a key forecast for 2025 industry-wide profits on Monday, blaming trade tensions and declining consumer confidence, while hitting out at “unacceptable” delays in jetliner deliveries that have hindered their growth plans. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) industry body now expects global airlines to post a combined profit of $36.0 billion this year, down slightly from a previous forecast of $36.6 billion in December, before US President Donald Trump took office. He has since launched a trade war and tightened enforcement of US border controls. But airline profits are still set to rise from $32.4 billion last…

Jobs market weaker elsewhere in Mena Employment at record pace in Kuwait Operations and sales drive Saudi growth Employment growth has accelerated in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar despite economic uncertainty, but hiring momentum remains uneven in other Mena markets, according to the latest purchasing managers’ index surveys. In Saudi Arabia, job creation was “one of the fastest seen in over a decade” in May, the Riyad Bank PMI report said.  The Saudi index’s seasonally adjusted headline figure stood at 55.8 last month, up from 55.6 in April. This is well above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction, but…

Kazakhstan finds itself as the whipping boy within the Opec+ oil alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, and within the “Group of 8” sub-group of producers that have been calling the shots in recent crude oil policy-making decisions. Persistent production-over-quota by the former Soviet republic has been blamed (obliquely) as the reason for three consecutive monthly increases of 411,000 barrels per day in output. It culminated in last weekend’s rise that took the total number of barrels returned to markets by Opec+ to 1.4 million bpd. It is likely there were other reasons too for the policy turnround: Saudi…

Oil prices ticked up on Tuesday on concerns about supply, with Iran set to reject a US nuclear deal proposal that would be key to easing sanctions on the major oil producer, while weakness in the dollar also supported prices. Brent crude futures gained 21 cents, or 0.32%, to $64.84 a barrel by 0437 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 27 cents, or 0.43%, to $62.79 a barrel, after rising about 1% earlier in the session. The oil market surged higher on Monday as rising geopolitical risks and a supply hike from OPEC+ that fell short of expectations…