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UAE Approves Strategy to Double Contribution of Digital Economy to GDP Within 10 Years

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid chairing a cabinet session on Monday, April 11, 2022. (WAM)
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid chairing a cabinet session on Monday, April 11, 2022. (WAM)
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UAE Approves Strategy to Double Contribution of Digital Economy to GDP Within 10 Years

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid chairing a cabinet session on Monday, April 11, 2022. (WAM)
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid chairing a cabinet session on Monday, April 11, 2022. (WAM)

The UAE cabinet on Monday approved a digital economy strategy to double the contribution of the digital economy to the GDP from 9.7% to 19.4% within the next 10 years. It also aims to transfer the UAE into a hub for digital economy regionally and globally.

The strategy includes more than 30 initiatives and programs targeting six sectors and five new areas of growth.

It will define the digital economy in the country, with a unified mechanism for measuring its growth while measuring its indicators periodically.

The strategy will define the priorities of digital economy in the country, ensuring the contribution of all other economic sectors to promote and support the digital economy.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, said: “Our goal is to increase the contribution of the digital economy sector to the non-oil GDP by 20 percent over the next 10 years.”

“We formed a Council for Digital Economy chaired by Omar bin Sultan al-Olama, the UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications,” he added.

The cabinet also approved a federal law about the public finance. It compels federal authorities to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to achieve the financial strategy’s objectives.

It approved executive regulation of the federal decree-law on private education aimed at regulating the work of private schools in the country, in accordance with the objectives of the private education law, the provisions of which apply to all private schools in the UAE.

The executive regulation aims to enhance a high-level educational system that regulates the licensing mechanism for private schools, to ensure the quality of education and to place students among the best in the world in knowledge assessment tests.

The cabinet further adopted a unified framework to coordinate and organize the humanitarian and development work of the charitable institutions.

It includes a guide that organizes the seasonal work of all UAE donors concerned with foreign aids, in accordance with international standards, and in line with the UAE foreign aid policy and strategy.

This framework includes the establishment of coordinating offices in the country's missions abroad for foreign aid.

It will contribute to regulating financial transfers to donors, and the UAE charitable institutions in the beneficiary countries.

In addition to reviewing and discussing several reports, the cabinet approved an agreement to linking payment systems among GCC countries, an agreement with Brazil, two agreements with Denmark and an agreement with the United States.

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Business

Türkiye Unveils Steep Tax Cuts to Boost Competitiveness, Investment

Commuters arrive to take a ride across the Bosphorus at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP)
Commuters arrive to take a ride across the Bosphorus at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP)
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Türkiye Unveils Steep Tax Cuts to Boost Competitiveness, Investment

Commuters arrive to take a ride across the Bosphorus at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP)
Commuters arrive to take a ride across the Bosphorus at Karakoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP)

Türkiye unveiled details on Monday of a broad package of incentives aimed to boost competitiveness and attract investment, and also position its biggest city Istanbul as a leading financial gateway across the region.

At a press conference, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Türkiye was extending a tax exemption on services exports to 100% to target high-value sectors like software, gaming, medical tourism.

At the same time, it is reducing manufacturing exporters' corporate tax rate ‌to 9% to ‌boost competitiveness and attract foreign direction investment (FDI), he ‌said.

The ⁠tax reductions are ⁠long-term and "here to stay," he told reporters, days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan first floated the comprehensive legislative package including the tax plans.

The package aims to bolster an economy that officials hope is emerging from a years-long inflationary crisis that cut deeply into individuals' and companies' savings and earnings, prompting many Turks to seek stability ⁠abroad. Inflation was above 30% last month.

Some of the incentives, including zero corporate income tax on transit trade, are focused on the companies located ‌in the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), a new state-backed clutch of glassy towers on the city's Asian side.

The ⁠rate is ⁠95% for those located outside the IFC, Simsek said, noting it was set at 50% in years past.

The package aims to "export more goods and services, attract more talent, entrepreneurs, capital, a new home that's more encouraging local citizens to use Türkiye as a center of their activities and ... placing IFC as one of the key regional hubs," he said.

Business

Saudi Home Ownership Rises to 66 Percent on Decade of Reforms

The Nesaj Town project in the Al Wajiha suburb of Dammam, one of the Sakani housing program projects developed in partnership with the private sector. (SPA)
The Nesaj Town project in the Al Wajiha suburb of Dammam, one of the Sakani housing program projects developed in partnership with the private sector. (SPA)
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Saudi Home Ownership Rises to 66 Percent on Decade of Reforms

The Nesaj Town project in the Al Wajiha suburb of Dammam, one of the Sakani housing program projects developed in partnership with the private sector. (SPA)
The Nesaj Town project in the Al Wajiha suburb of Dammam, one of the Sakani housing program projects developed in partnership with the private sector. (SPA)

Saudi Arabia has raised home ownership among its citizens to 66.24 percent over the past decade through regulatory reforms, expanded mortgage financing and digital housing platforms under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program.

The increase, up from 47 percent before the launch of Vision 2030, reflects a government push to make housing a development priority through reforms aimed at increasing supply, improving financing access and reducing wait times for home-buyers.

Policies under the Housing Program, one of Vision 2030’s initiatives, helped cut what were once years-long waits for support into a streamlined process backed by digital platforms and financing solutions. More than 851,000 Saudi families have become homeowners through support programs, according to official figures.

The housing and real estate sectors have undergone broad changes in recent years, driven by regulatory and legislative reforms, expansion in mortgage finance and wider residential options aimed at creating a more balanced property market.

Vision 2030 initially targeted raising Saudi family home ownership to 60 percent by 2020, a goal it surpassed.

Authorities have also moved to address supply constraints and market distortions, particularly in Riyadh, where recent directives included doubling housing developments north of the capital and lifting restrictions on development across more than 81 square kilometers of land.

Plans also call for supplying between 10,000 and 40,000 serviced residential plots annually over five years at prices capped at SAR 1,500 per square meter.

Additional measures included regulations governing landlord-tenant relations in Riyadh, amendments to the Kingdom’s white land tax system and expanded monitoring of property prices.

Efforts to improve land and property data also pushed Saudi Arabia’s land and property coverage indicator to 53 percent, above a 45 percent target.

Mortgage lending has expanded sharply alongside the reforms. Outstanding residential mortgages to individuals exceeded SAR 907 billion ($241 billion) in the third quarter of 2025.

Housing contracts topped one million, while land financing contracts exceeded 74,000. Self-build contracts surpassed 286,000 last year, while contracts for ready-built homes exceeded 534,000. Off-plan sales contracts topped 114,000.

A broader range of housing products, including land, off-plan developments, ready-built units and self-build options, has expanded choices for buyers, while digital platforms have simplified access and financing mechanisms have sought to ease costs for households.

Furthermore, the reforms have helped reshape a sector once marked by supply shortages and long waiting periods into a more efficient system better able to meet demand.

The housing push has also been tied to broader Vision 2030 goals to improve living standards and increase private-sector participation in development.

Business

LNG Tanker Orders Gain Pace Despite Mixed Outlook from Iran War

A drone view shows the Bahamas‑flagged LNG tanker Nohshu Maru sailing through the Panama Canal as it operates at top capacity, with the war in Iran boosting demand from owners and operators of liquefied natural gas vessels, in Gamboa City, Panama, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the Bahamas‑flagged LNG tanker Nohshu Maru sailing through the Panama Canal as it operates at top capacity, with the war in Iran boosting demand from owners and operators of liquefied natural gas vessels, in Gamboa City, Panama, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
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LNG Tanker Orders Gain Pace Despite Mixed Outlook from Iran War

A drone view shows the Bahamas‑flagged LNG tanker Nohshu Maru sailing through the Panama Canal as it operates at top capacity, with the war in Iran boosting demand from owners and operators of liquefied natural gas vessels, in Gamboa City, Panama, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the Bahamas‑flagged LNG tanker Nohshu Maru sailing through the Panama Canal as it operates at top capacity, with the war in Iran boosting demand from owners and operators of liquefied natural gas vessels, in Gamboa City, Panama, March 24, 2026. (Reuters)

Global orders to build liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGC) are set to rebound this year after a 2025 slump as growing LNG output and vessel fuel efficiency drive demand, industry executives and analysts say.

The rise in orders is offsetting concerns that supply disruptions from the US-Iran war may reduce near-term shipping demand and pressure freight rates.

Since late last year, shipbuilders in South Korea and China have received more orders, with 35 new LNGC builds contracted in the first quarter, according to consultancies Poten & Partners and Drewry.

By comparison, 37 LNGCs were ordered in all of 2025, with a record 171 orders placed in 2022, Drewry data shows. Each tanker costs $250 million-$260 million, and takes over three years to build.

Upcoming LNG production in the US, Africa, Canada and Argentina will generate tanker demand, along with a push towards fuel efficiency and accelerated vessel demolitions, said Pratiksha ‌Negi, Drewry's lead ‌analyst for LNG shipping, with steam turbine and diesel-electric carriers expected to be phased out.

FLEXIBLE ‌US ⁠VOLUMES

The global LNGC ⁠fleet numbers over 700 vessels, which handle the more than 400 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG supply.

Some 72 mtpa of new LNG capacity was approved globally last year, and more than 120 mtpa of new US LNG supply is coming to market in the next 3-4 years, said Fraser Carson, principal analyst, global LNG at Wood Mackenzie.

The growth of US LNG and flexible LNG supply creates trading patterns that require more shipping, he said.

US LNG is typically sold on a free-on-board basis with destination flexibility, allowing mid-voyage diversions that can tie up vessels for longer.

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, the ⁠world's largest LNGC fleet owner with 107 vessels, expects US LNG supply investment to spur ‌tanker orders, CEO Jotaro Tamura said.

The company plans to grow its ‌LNGC fleet to approximately 150 vessels by around 2035.

Meanwhile, the demolition of steam-propelled LNGCs has accelerated since 2022 to a record ‌15 vessels last year, Drewry data showed, due to poor economics and tighter emissions regulations.

A proposed framework by the ‌International Maritime Organization to cut shipping emissions is also driving demand for new builds, said Uma Dutt, vice president, LNG at global ship management firm Anglo-Eastern, as the industry switches to dual-fuel vessels that can run on LNG.

WAR COMPLICATES OUTLOOK

The Iran war, however, presents conflicting signals for LNG shipping. Supply disruptions are pushing Asian LNG buyers towards alternative sources like Atlantic basin supply, increasing travel distances ‌for ships. It could also boost demand for LNG projects elsewhere, lifting overall demand for more carriers, said Wood Mackenzie's Carson.

But on the other hand, the war ⁠has also disrupted LNG flows through ⁠the Strait of Hormuz and sidelined 12.8 mtpa of Qatari capacity for three to five years, which could curb shipping demand and weigh on freight rates at a time where an "avalanche" of ship supply is already coming, he said.

Qatar, which operates over 100 LNGCs, will add 70-80 new builds over the next 3-4 years while the UAE's ADNOC is expected to double its fleet to 18 within 36 months, said Carson.

"Most of these new build vessels were earmarked to serve under-construction LNG projects that are now facing delays," he said.

"The longer those delays persist, the more likely it is that these ships are offered to the market on sublet arrangements, softening rates considerably."

Poten & Partners and Drewry expect a record 90-100 LNGCs to be delivered this year, up from 79 in 2025.

However, Drewry's Negi said seven of nine LNGCs initially scheduled for delivery this year and now pushed back to 2027-28 are linked to QatarEnergy.

Poten & Partners senior LNG analyst Irwin Yeo said some firms may delay placing big new build orders due to uncertainties triggered by the war.

"Market uncertainty and rising shipbuilding costs, including labor and raw materials amid the current Middle East crisis could deter some from placing orders."