Gulf

1. Rabbi murder shocks UAE
2. Abu Dhabi fund rush
3. Saudi financial and…
4. …foreign policy upgrade
5. Belt and Road beckons

Balloon space race is on in the Gulf.

UAE Jewish community on edge

The murder of Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in Abu Dhabi, has shaken the UAE’s small Jewish community, which has maintained a low profile since the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and subsequent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Kogan, who managed a kosher grocery store in Dubai, helped establish a Jewish community following the 2020 Abraham Accords. UAE authorities arrested three Uzbek nationals in connection with the murder but did not suggest a motive.

While trade and aviation links between the UAE and Israel remain intact, outward signs of Judaism — such as head coverings, facial hair on men, and Mezuzahs in doorways — have become less visible. Protecting Jewish residents and Israelis poses significant challenges in an Arab country, even in the UAE, which boasts one of the world’s lowest murder rates. High-profile cases like Kogan’s are usually resolved quickly, and both the UAE and Israel have committed to strengthening ties.

I Squared plans Gulf push

I Squared Capital is expanding in the Gulf, drawn by growing investment opportunities in renewables, logistics, and data centers — as well as a glut of capital pouring into global infrastructure from Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds. I Squared is planning to hire up to 20 employees in Abu Dhabi, Sadek Wahba, the Miami-based fund’s founder and managing partner, told Semafor.

Revamped regulations, privatization of state-owned assets, and a surge in mega-projects are creating new investment opportunities: Half of I Squared’s new hires will work on direct investments in the region over the next five years, Wahba said.

Saudi Arabia gets a rating upgrade

Moody’s upgraded Saudi Arabia’s sovereign credit rating to Aa3, citing progress in economic diversification and prudent fiscal management. The agency’s fourth-highest grade reflects confidence in the kingdom’s ability to sustain forecasted deficits of 2%-3% per year through 2030, supported by a low debt-to-GDP ratio. Government debt is projected to rise to 35% of GDP by 2030, below peers with similar ratings. Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in sectors such as tourism, mining, petrochemicals, and electric-vehicle manufacturing. Moody’s said Riyadh’s plan to prioritize spending amid material and labor constraints may slow implementation of some projects but is “credit positive.”

Saudi-first era could herald stability

Three prominent articles on Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman highlight a shared theme: the kingdom’s transformation is real, and its “Saudi-first” policy could be a stabilizing force. Writing for Bloomberg, Bradley Hope — author of a 2020 book on the crown prince’s early years in power — finds a leader who has solidified control and expanded the kingdom’s influence “far beyond oil markets.” Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, reported from a trip to Riyadh that the kingdom was determined to keep regional instability from derailing Vision 2030, noting that achieving even a fraction of its goals would be “an astounding success.” Maria Fantappie and Bader Al-Saif argued in Foreign Affairs that Saudi Arabia’s rapprochement with Iran could play a pivotal role in ending conflicts, because “Riyadh is in a uniquely strong position to midwife a better regional order.”

Masdar inks Belt and Road partnership

The amount China’s Silk Road Funds plans to invest alongside UAE green energy firm Masdar in renewable-energy projects. The pair will invest in countries part of the Belt and Road Initiative — the strategy to link China to Africa, Europe and Latin America through trade corridors — following a partnership agreement signed on the sidelines of COP29. The UAE has been active in China’s economic initiative, so far investing $10 billion in a joint China-UAE fund to support Belt and Road-related projects in East Africa. Masdar meanwhile, is aiming to increase its renewable energy portfolio capacity to 100GW by 2030: It’s about a fifth of the way there already.

Tech

• Saudi Aramco is making a major play into telecoms as its digital unit prepares to plunge $1 billion into Texas-based Mavenir, valuing the company at $3 billion and giving Aramco a significant minority stake. The startup develops technologies to drastically reduce the cost of building mobile networks. — Reuters

Energy

• Kuwait Petroleum Corp. plans to invest $33 billion over the next five years to increase oil production capacity from 3.2 million barrels a day to 4 million by 2035. The company also aims to spend $110 billion on its 2050 net-zero strategy, which includes carbon capture and solar power. — Bloomberg

Media

• News Corp.’s Dow Jones is deepening its ties to Qatar with a new office to open in Doha in 2025 on the back of a partnership agreement with the country’s Government Communications Office.
• Nine out of 10 people in Saudi Arabia aged 13 to 34 use Snapchat, with users opening it 50 times a day on average. The fandom has caught parent company Snap’s attention as it plans to open a space for content creators in Riyadh’s Diriyah district, in a partnership with the kingdom’s Ministry of Culture.

Gulf countries aren’t just competing for tourists on land anymore. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar are looking up for the next big thing in travel: High-altitude balloon rides. US space tourism company Space Perspective has fielded serious queries from officials in all three as it develops hydrogen-powered balloons that float passengers nearly 20 miles above Earth, its CEO told The National. The Gulf is a good location for future launch sites because tourism here targets luxury travelers, a demographic Space Perspective is going for with its $125,000 balloon rides. The company is aiming to launch commercial flights in 2026.

Corporate executives and other public figures emerged from this month’s election with a new task for their handlers: urgently figure out how to make them more like the loose, podcast-friendly Donald Trump, and less like the scripted and corporate Kamala Harris, Semafor’s Ben Smith and Max Tani wrote.