Latest news with #businessdeals
Wall Street Journal
18-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Meet the Takeover King Who Leans on Yoga and Team Bonding to Make Billions
Brad Jacobs starts every morning with meditation and yoga. He jokes that the 'X's and 'O's he puts in the names of his companies stand for hugs and kisses. He engages employees in group bonding exercises that can last for hours. The 68-year-old, who has built a career striking more than 500 deals in sleepy industries such as garbage collection and supply-chain logistics, has become an unlikely guru in M&A circles.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meet the Takeover King Who Leans on Yoga and Team Bonding to Make Billions
Brad Jacobs, who has built a career striking more than 500 deals in sleepy industries like garbage collection and supply-chain logistics, has become an unlikely guru in M&A circles.
Arabian Business
17-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Business
Donald Trump's $2tn Gulf tour; Dubai Golden visa for nurses; Etihad Rail announces UAE launch – 10 things you missed this week
US President Donald Trump took a whistlestop tour of Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar as he looked to announce business deals worth a combined total of around $2tn this week. With the President taking in sights in the Gulf it has been a busy week in the region, with further news of UAE golden visa announcements, a launch plan for Etihad Rail and more. Catch up on the biggest stories this week, as selected by Arabian Business editors. Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE President Donald Trump's visit to the Gulf saw the announcement of massive trade and investment deals between companies in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. The visits were among Trump's first international trips since beginning a second term as president and witnessed state addresses, deepening diplomatic ties and enormous long-term investments. The roadshow started in Saudi Arabia with $600bn of investment in US businesses, before moving on to Qatar for a $1.2bn economic exchange and. Dubai announces UAE golden visa for nurses Dubai will offer UAE golden visas to nurses who have worked in the country for more than 15 years. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence of the UAE, issued directives to grant golden visas to nursing staff employed with Dubai Health who have served for more than 15 years. The decision comes in recognition of their invaluable contributions to the community and their crucial role in advancing the quality of healthcare services. Etihad Rail to launch passenger service in 2026 Etihad Rail will launch its UAE passenger train service next year, according to a statement from the transport operator. When complete, the high-speed train is expected to contribute AED145bn ($39.5bn) to the UAE's GDP over the next five decades. It will also slash travel time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to just 30 minutes. In a post on X, Etihad Rail said: 'We're honoured to have been hosted by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, where H.H. Sheikh Hamdan received a delegation from Etihad Rail at Al Dhanna Palace, led by H.E. Shadi Malak, the meeting, we briefed His Highness on the latest developments of the UAE National Railway Network and the passenger train service, which is set to launch in 2026″. Dubai traffic to ease: RTA completes Al Shindagha Corridor project; opens new bridge The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has inaugurated the fifth and final bridge as part of the Sheikh Rashid Road and Al Mina Street intersection development project, marking the completion of all phases of the Al Shindagha Corridor Development Project in Bur Dubai. The completed project now ensures uninterrupted traffic flow from Al Garhoud Bridge towards Port Rashid, via Infinity Bridge, and onward to the Waterfront Market, and vice versa. Travel time along the corridor has been reduced from 80 minutes to just 12 minutes, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement. Dubai real estate: Wasl reveals massive Jumeirah Golf Estates expansion with 12,000 new homes Dubai developer Wasl has announced a significant expansion of Jumeirah Golf Estates, unveiling a masterplan that will add more than 12,000 new residential units across six planned lifestyle districts. Spanning 4.68 million square metres, the development – dubbed 'The Next Chapter' – will include 780 villas, 752 estate homes, 97 branded residences, 62 ultra-luxury hilltop mansions, and 10,654 apartments. Once completed, the project is expected to house over 51,700 residents. Dubai real estate forecast for 2025 positive as world's wealthy lured by Golden visas, low tax and lifestyle Dubai's residential market started the year on a strong note, amid sustained demand by a growing population and heightened investor interest. According to the Savills Q1 2025 Dubai Residential Market in Minutes report, the first quarter of the year recorded a robust 23 per cent year-on-year increase in transaction volumes, underscoring the emirate's ability to hit a sweet spot between investment potential and quality of life. Rachael Kennerley, Director – Research said: 'In Q1 2025, off-plan sales continued as the cornerstone of transaction activity, representing 69 per cent of all deals. The residential market witnessed robust supply, with more than 30,000 units launched during the quarter, most of which were apartments. Dubai's new land law to spur strategic property market growth, boost foreign investment: Experts The recently announced new Dubai land law on allocation and management of government land plots to public entities will herald a major shift from fast-paced to foresight-led growth in the emirate's real estate sector, experts said. The move, aimed to act as a template for how Dubai will manage its future urban growth plans, will also elevate its position as one of the world's most investable cities as it will help in instilling long-term market confidence among global investors, they said. The emirate's latest legislation – Law No. (6) of 2025 – grants Dubai Municipality the authority to evaluate, approve and reclaim government-owned land assigned to federal and local public entities. EXCLUSIVE: talabat, Bolt announce ride services for 'pro' Dubai customers in major partnership The partnership will integrate Bolt's ride-hailing services into the talabat Pro subscription programme. The announcement was made at a press event attended by senior representatives from talabat and Dubai Taxi Corporation (DTC). The UAE Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (UAEICP) has announced a fine exemption for some nationals. Sudanese nationals with expired residency and entry permits are exempt from the fines, effective from May 19 until the end of 2025. The decision comes as part of UAE's humanitarian response to the current situation in Sudan, according to a statement by the Emirates News Agency (WAM). According to the ICP, affected individuals can regularise their status and submit renewal applications through official digital platforms without incurring penalties. Dubai named world's 4th smartest city Dubai has advanced eight places to rank fourth globally in the IMD Smart City Index 2025, marking a major milestone in its digital transformation journey. The achievement reinforces Dubai's position as the highest-ranked city in the GCC, the Arab world and Asia, and highlights its status as a global leader in smart city development and future-ready urban innovation. Dubai recorded strong performance across key indicators in the IMD Smart City Index 2025. These include: A satisfaction score of 84.5 out of 100 for booking medical appointments online 86.5 per cent confidence in internet speed meeting communication needs 85.4 per cent satisfaction with the online processing of identification documents 82.8 for the quality of health services 83.4 per cent satisfaction with access to green spaces 84.3 per cent for recycling services 86.5 per cent for cultural activities
ABC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Trump's Middle East tour showed the 'art of the deal' at its best and worst
Donald Trump's latest trip to the Middle East has revealed the president's agenda for this often-troubled region: a honey pot of business deals which will benefit the United States and, possibly, his own family. Traditionally, when US presidents have travelled through the Middle East they've had the region's many conflicts at front of mind — particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But not Trump. More than anything else on this trip, Trump locked the US into a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia than any president before him. Several US presidents have been stand-offish with the kingdom: Saudi Arabia was, after all, home to the culture that brought America the September 11 attacks, driven by Saudis such as Osama bin Laden who were imbued with Saudi Arabia's prevailing interpretation of Sunni Islam, Wahhabiism. The House of Saud — the dynasty which rules Saudi Arabia — is Wahhabist to its core: a sect that follows a fundamentalist, puritanical definition of the Koran. Under Wahhabiism, the West is widely seen as morally corrupt and to be avoided. Unless, of course, you are Trump, who comes bearing gifts of multi-billion-dollar contracts of weapons, aircraft and more. Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, had another reason to dislike Saudi Arabia — he protested at the cutting up, literally, of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi embassy in Istanbul in 2018 to get a visa to return home so he could be married, and was never seen again — believed to have been cut to pieces by a chainsaw and disposed of in garbage bags. Saudi Arabia's official position was that he was killed in a "rogue operation" which went wrong and had been intended to encourage him to return to live in Saudi Arabia. As for Trump, both the horrors of September 11 and the Khashoggi murder are in the past. For him, he saw another side of Saudi Arabia — the glittering economic jewel that Riyadh represents. He signed a deal for US companies to export $US142 billion ($221 billion) worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia — one of the largest arms deals in history. That, in turn, posed an intriguing question: why does Saudi Arabia think that it may need such a powerhouse of weapons? But from a US point of view, this Trump-brokered deal, and the entire trip, was a huge success. This is Trump at his best — the businessman doing deals, this time with the full force of the presidency of the US. Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been a key force behind creating business opportunities between the US and Saudi Arabia. He has also been a key driver behind Saudi Arabia and Israel potentially signing one of the Abraham Accords — agreements between Israel and various Arab countries normalising relations and creating, in effect, free trade agreements across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Israel were on the brink of signing one of these when Hamas launched its October 7 attack on Israel. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak told me he believed Hamas timed the attack to sabotage such an agreement on the basis that it would have left the Palestinians without any leverage. Kushner's relationship with Saudi Arabia is intriguing. Forbes magazine reported that after Trump left office in 2021, Kushner set up a new private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which raised more than $US3 billion in one year, with about $US2 billion coming directly from the Saudi Public Investment Fund, run by the government. "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman serves as the chair of the Public Investment Fund and reportedly personally intervened to approve the investment and overruled a panel of advisors who called the sum 'unsatisfactory in all aspects,'" Forbes reported. "Kushner developed a close relationship with bin Salman while he served as a White House advisor during Trump's presidency, helping to approve a $US110 million weapons sale to the kingdom after it faced public backlash for the murder of Khashoggi — which the [US] Department of National Intelligence later reported was directed by the crown prince." One issue that has arisen from the trip is why Trump did not visit Israel. Former US envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross says it is "remarkable" that Trump visited three Arab countries and not Israel, but says that it was clear that the president went to the Middle East to do business "and didn't see Israel as part of that". While travelling, Trump referred to the growing humanitarian crisis in Israel. For the last 71 days, Israel has not permitted any food, water or other supplies into Gaza, adding to what was already a desperate situation after more than 18 months of bombing. Israel says it is doing this to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages. "We're looking at Gaza, and we got to get that taken care of," Trump said. "A lot of people are starving. A lot of people. There's a lot of bad things going on." He added that the US had to "help out" the Palestinians. The sense from Trump of a looming humanitarian catastrophe was echoed by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who said most Israelis were against what was now happening in Gaza and that "large numbers" of the army's commanders were against expanding the military operation and wanted the war to end. Speaking about the humanitarian crisis, he told the BBC: "It's totally intolerable, unacceptable and unforgivable, it needs to be stopped right away." Olmert said Israel must provide for the humanitarian needs of the population. "We can't allow morally the beginning of famine in Gaza. That has to stop." While Trump made a brief comment about Gaza, this week the trip was all about business opportunities. After Saudia Arabia he flew into Qatar — and another deal. Trump inked a deal for Qatar Airways to buy 160 jetliners with an option for an additional 50, a deal the White House said was worth $US96 billion. But that deal was partly overshadowed by another, less formal deal. Qatar has offered as a gift a free plane to replace the ageing Air Force One which Trump has often criticised as old and in need of replacement. And here lies Trump at his worst — he has made clear that he intends to accept the gift, saying he'd be "stupid" not to and characterising the offer as a "great gesture". What does Qatar get in return for this "gift"? Surely it opens the possibility of corruption — at what point are the hard men of Qatar going to want something in return? The gift has even raised the eyebrows of some Republicans. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy, when asked generally how Trump's trip to the Middle East had gone, replied: "Well, first, quickly Qatar. I trust Qatar like I trust a rest stop bathroom. If they wanna be friendly, I wanna be friendly back. But with those guys … trust in God but tie up your camel." Fellow Republican Senator Mike Rounds said: "It seems to me that the Greeks actually had something like that happen a long time a long, long time ago. Somebody happened to have brought a golden horse inside of a community. This aircraft is beautiful and it would be great if we could accept it, but security concerns are also there." Qatar has been a major supporter of Hamas, so security issues surrounding the jet have also been raised, including by Leon Panetta, a former CIA chief. While the US has sophisticated de-bugging equipment, some bugs can be blended into walls and lights so discreetly that they can be difficult to detect. Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida raised the security concern: "Qatar's not, in my opinion, a great ally. I mean they support Hamas, and so what I'm worried about is the safety of the president of the United States." It wasn't just some Republicans who felt the plane was a bridge too far. The New York Post, one of the most prominent of the Murdoch newspapers, wrote: "Despite his administration's insistence that the jet is a gesture of goodwill to the US government, ethics watchdogs have raised concerns about transparency and foreign influence, particularly given Qatar's efforts to bolster its profile in Washington over the past decade." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the gift: "The Qatari Government has graciously offered to donate a plane to the Department of Defense. The legal details of that are still being worked out but of course, any donation to this government is always done with full compliance with the law and we commit ourselves to the utmost transparency and we will continue to do that." Asked if she was worried that the Qataris may want something in return, Leavitt replied: "Absolutely not, because they know President Trump and they know he only works with the interests of the American people in mind." Apart from the business deals, the trip included a fascinating meeting — between Trump and Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new leader of Syria. Al-Sharaa took power from Iran's long-time ally, Bashar al-Assad, when fighters with his militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, launched an extraordinary military operation: an eight-day campaign during which they essentially marched on Syria's capital, Damascus, with little resistance. Assad fled to Moscow, allowing Al-Sharaa to seize control. One of the remarkable aspects of the meeting was that until recently the US's intelligence services have long designated Al-Sharaa and HTS as terrorists. Until December, Al-Sharaa even had a bounty on his head of $US10 million for anyone who managed to capture him. HTS was a Sunni Islamist group that made its base in the northern Syrian province of Idlib, bordering Türkiye. They became political close to Türkiye, and Al-Sharaa ran the province of about 3 million people as a province independent from Syria. Politically, they were committed to the destruction of the ruling regime of Al-Assad, who was aligned with the Shia regime of Iran. During the trip, Trump made clear that the window was closing for Iran to make a deal with the US under which it would agree to limit its enrichment of uranium. "Iran will never have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. But he then added that there appeared to be the chance of a new deal with Iran. "Iran has agreed to the terms," he said. "They're not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran." From what is known, Trump's Iran deal will be substantially similar to the Iran deal struck by the Obama administration (and subsequently terminated by the first Trump administration): They can maintain a civilian nuclear program but there should be "minimal" enrichment. There has now been four rounds of negotiations between the US and Iran, with a fifth planned. In the middle of the trip, news emerged that Russia's Vladimir Putin had decided he would not turn up to Istanbul for ceasefire talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. For someone who said he would end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours, Trump was very relaxed about Putin's no-show. It demonstrated, Trump said, that this war could only be solved if he turned up. There was no reprimand whatever for the Russian leader. In other words, the problem was not that Putin had shunned an opportunity in Istanbul but rather because Trump the deal-maker had not been involved. The trip to the Middle East this week was a whirlwind of deals and talk of possible deals. It showed that for all his talk of the US withdrawing from the rest of the world, Trump will in fact be eagle-eyed when it comes to opportunities around the world. But it seems that while he gives lip-service to ending wars in Ukraine or Gaza, for Trump 2.0 these trips will be opportunities for business deals rather than solving conflicts.
Bloomberg
16-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Trump's Aerospace Deals Were Big on Numbers and Slim on Details
US President Donald Trump ended his tour of the Middle East's wealthiest countries touting new investments totaling a claimed $3.6 trillion — though upon closer inspection many of the deals appear inflated or recycled. Trump's four-day trip took him through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where he lauded the countries' deepening ties with the US and took credit for a flurry of announcements. Some were non-binding or lacked specifics, raising questions about their true scale.
