Tag: Expert View

Riyadh Air launched its first commercial passenger flights on June 10, 2026, operating Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on a Riyadh–London Heathrow route, with Dubai, Cairo, Madrid and Manchester routes launching through July. The airline plans a fleet of 72 Dreamliners.

GCC nations are fast-tracking pipelines, port expansions, and rail connections to reduce dependence on the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, the UAE's Habshan-Fujairah bypass, Oman's Indian Ocean ports, and Etihad Rail are all being accelerated as the 2026 Hormuz disruption makes alternative routing a commercial and strategic emergency.

A potential SpaceX IPO is generating sustained Gulf sovereign fund attention because Starlink — the world's most commercially advanced satellite internet constellation — represents the connectivity layer that is conspicuously absent from portfolios that already cover AI models, chips, and data centre infrastructure.

Off-plan apartments purchased in 2021-23 and now reselling near completion are trading 10-15 per cent below original investor prices in supply-heavy Dubai communities — creating a genuine buyer opportunity alongside the removal of the AED 750,000 residency visa threshold and a 65,000-unit pipeline being delayed to 2027.