Gulf

1. Brand America tarnished
2. Dubai aims to win hub race
3. Mubadala’s credit push…
4. …and AI, too
5. A billionaire’s second act
6. Airbus buys Saudi metal
7. UAE space partnership

More hurdles for Dubai property.

Welcome back to Semafor Gulf, where we’ll shortly begin the final day of Semafor’s World Economy Summit. (You can watch it live here.)

The consensus from business leaders and investors so far has been critical of US President Donald Trump’s trade agenda, with Citadel’s Ken Griffin warning that it could take “a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done” to America’s brand. Stephen Miran, the White House’s top economist, said the US will bring back manufacturing once trade deals are reached and regulations reformed.

For Gulf countries, Washington remains a crucial security and economic partner. There has been no public indication from officials of scaling back — or even questioning — investments in the US. (Even privately, they stress that America remains a key destination for their capital because of the size of its economy and breadth of opportunities.)

Much of the focus from Gulf officials is now on preparing for Trump’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE next month. When the president last visited the kingdom in 2017 and met with most Arab leaders, it was followed by a series of events that altered the balance of power in the Gulf: Saudi Arabia and the UAE imposed an embargo on Qatar, and then-Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidated his rule.

The region has changed significantly in the eight years since. While Riyadh remains the center of power, both Abu Dhabi and Doha have deepened their ties with the US. The three Gulf states are now largely aligned on regional issues and have each delivered wins for the Trump administration: Qatar helped mediate the Gaza-Israel ceasefire, Saudi Arabia hosted US-Russia talks, and the UAE pledged to invest $1.4 trillion in the US, alongside its ongoing diplomatic efforts.

This new dynamic is reflected in Trump’s expanded tour. Topics expected to be discussed — in addition to investment pledges and arms deals — include a range of security issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, the war in Gaza, normalization with Israel, Houthi attacks on shipping, and the stabilization of Lebanon and Syria. Most countries in the region are eager for progress on these fronts.

We’ll have much more on all of this in the coming weeks. For now, follow the last day of the World Economy Summit here.

Making America poorer

Billionaires, politicians, and business leaders voiced concerns about the US economy — and raised deeper questions about the country’s global standing — at Semafor’s World Economy Summit. Citadel’s Ken Griffin said the Trump administration’s recent economic policymaking risked “eroding” the American brand, which he considered the best in the world. Using the euro as a reference, the US “has become 20% poorer in four weeks,” Griffin said. US market turmoil — driven by tariffs, policy gyrations, and threats to the Federal Reserve’s independence — is pushing investors “further afield” to Europe and beyond, said George Walker, CEO of the $515 billion asset manager Neuberger Berman.

Europe is enjoying a moment of ascendancy, and its officials weren’t shy about touting it. Predictability and respect for the rule of law provide the bloc with a competitive advantage, said Valdis Dombrovskis, EU Commissioner for Economy and Productivity. Wall Street is embracing a “Sell America” approach, and Walker said this may translate to solid gains in Europe, particularly Germany. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have pledged to invest more than $2 trillion in the US over the next decade.

Dubai pitches lifestyle and opportunity

Dubai is attracting global talent and capital with its pro-business policies and quality of life, and aims to maintain that lead by further diversifying its economy, a top Emirati official said. More people are moving to Dubai “for quality of life, safety, security, tolerance, and optimism,” Hadi Badri, CEO of the Dubai Economic Development Corporation, told Semafor’s World Economy Summit. While acknowledging that other Gulf cities are also vying to attract a similar cohort — bankers, investors, tourists, and entrepreneurs — Badri pointed to Dubai’s decades-long head start in building the infrastructure and connectivity that help keep it competitive. The city aims to double the size of its economy and rank among the top five global cities in finance and trade by 2033, he said.

Prince Alwaleed is back in the spotlight

Once dubbed the “Buffett of Arabia,” Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal faded from view after his 2017 detention during the Ritz-Carlton corruption crackdown. But at 70, the billionaire is staging a comeback, Bloomberg reports. He resumed construction on the world’s tallest tower in Jeddah, is preparing an IPO for his budget airline Flynas, and is earning “hundreds of millions of dollars” from organizing concerts in the kingdom. Foreign investors and politicians regularly seek his advice, and his early investment in X and decades-old ties to US President Donald Trump keep him plugged into Washington. He’s all in on Trump’s domestic agenda: “I’m anti-woke, anti-illegal immigration, anti-left wing,” he said.

Mubadala commits $1B to private credit

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala is pushing further into private credit through a $1 billion strategic partnership with New York-based Fortress Investment Group. The deal will see the sovereign wealth fund’s investment arm co-invest in Fortress’ private credit, asset-based lending, and real estate strategies. A consortium led by Mubadala Capital acquired a 68% stake in Fortress last year, though the firm retains control of investment decisions.

Private credit, a form of non-bank loan, has been on a tear in recent years among some of the world’s biggest asset managers as traditional lenders shy away from financing riskier and costlier loans. But market volatility has been a test, two of the largest investors said at Semafor’s World Economy Summit. Wealthy investors are willing to “accept the illiquidity that comes with private markets,” said Rockefeller Capital CEO Greg Fleming, but would seek additional returns “in times of stress,” Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson said.

Mubadala remains bullish on US

The US will continue to be the biggest market for Abu Dhabi investment in the coming decade, Mubadala’s Khaldoon Al Mubarak said at Semafor’s World Economy Summit. Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump represent an “unquestionable” policy shift that will likely slow growth in the global economy over the next 18 months, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund’s managing director and group CEO said. Mubadala is taking “more time” to assess investments in this environment but is not pausing, Al Mubarak told Semafor’s Justin Smith.

Artificial intelligence is driving investment conversations at Abu Dhabi’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund. “I don’t attend any investment committee right now without our AI vector being part of it,” Al Mubarak said. “Today it’s non-voting, but at some point we’re going to make a decision on that, whether we will make it a voting member of our investment committee.”

Saudi and Airbus in a quid pro quo

In a coup for Saudi Arabia’s nascent metals mining industry, the world’s largest planemaker has lined up as a buyer. Airbus signed a deal for $666 million worth of raw material, mainly titanium, while Saudi’s flag carrier Saudia agreed to buy as many as 20 long-range A330-900 aircraft for its budget subsidiary Flyadeal from the European manufacturer, Bloomberg reported.

Troves of untapped mineral resources — worth an estimated $2.5 trillion — have put mining at the front of Saudi’s economic transformation plan with the aim of doubling the size of the sector over the next decade. The industry is proving to be a bright spot in sputtering foreign investment efforts: in addition to the Airbus deal, Saudi Arabia has drawn investors from China and India to mine copper and zinc. Metal prices have risen on Russian sanctions and the trade war uncertainty, giving a premium to the kingdom’s exports, S&P Global Ratings said in a recent report.

UAE partners with Africa space agency

The African Union launched the inaugural African Space Agency in Cairo, the second such regional body after Europe’s, in a sign of the continent’s growing space ambitions.

AfSA will coordinate the space exploration efforts of the AU’s 55 member countries as well as collaborations with international space partners. In an initial partnership with the European Space Agency, the body will work on climate-based Earth observation missions. A second partnership with the United Arab Emirates Space Agency will be centered around developing small satellites.

More than a dozen African countries have satellites in space but none have deployed an astronaut mission. The continent also largely depends on foreign space launch facilities for its activities. AfSA marks “a pivotal step” in “consolidating the continent’s role as an active player in the global race for technological advancement,” the Egyptian minister of foreign affairs and migration said at the body’s launch on Sunday.

Business as usual no longer works — today’s challenges are moving too fast. AI is redrawing entire industries. Economic volatility is rising, and long-established trade patterns are fracturing. To make sense of this moment, we convened some of the world’s sharpest minds to create The Semafor View — a new annual guide for navigating global uncertainty. This year’s edition breaks down the businesses, policies, and technologies reshaping the global economy.

Energy Transition

• Omani carbon capture startup 44.01 — which counts Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates as backers — took home $1 million from XPRIZE for its pilot project with ADNOC to take carbon out of the air and turn it into rock. Teams were judged on if their solution is a viable way to remove CO2 in a cost-effective way and at a potential scale large enough to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

• India and Saudi Arabia agreed to boost cooperation in energy, defense, and petrochemicals, including plans to build two oil refineries in India. Almost 2.7 million Indians live in the kingdom, which is New Delhi’s fourth-largest trading partner.

Technology

• Dubai is leaning on tech to resolve your traffic complaints. The Roads & Transport Authority is aiming to reduce travel times by as much as 30% over the next five years under a new artificial intelligence strategy.
• Dubai fuel delivery startup Cafu is considering its first stake sale. The seven year-old business, beloved by UAE residents who take not wanting to pump their own gas another step further, has also added fees to its once-free delivery service. — Bloomberg, Khaleej Times

Checking In

• Saudi Arabia has begun restricting access to Mecca, turning away foreigners who don’t live in the city or hold a pilgrimage visa. The kingdom hosts millions of pilgrims during Hajj, and overcrowding is a major challenge — around 1,300 people died last year due to extreme heat and congestion. — Saudi Gazette
• Webook, the Saudi event-booking platform, is going global. After selling 10 million tickets and capturing over 90% of the Saudi Pro League market, the Riyadh-based company plans to expand to Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UK. — AGBI

Dubai has built a reputation on making dreams come true — so long as you can pony up the cash. No longer. Developers, riding high on record-breaking demand for luxury properties, are getting choosy. Take 22 Elemental: the 39-unit building in Jumeirah Garden City is now accepting applications for its remaining units in the wellness-themed condo complex. The strategy is part of a broader trend toward competition. Employment is at a three-year low while Dubai’s population grew 6% in 2024, according to recruiting agency Cooper Fitch.

Elon Musk isn’t the only one fighting to keep OpenAI a nonprofit.

More than 30 individuals, including Nobel laureates, former OpenAI employees, and law experts, submitted Wednesday a 25-page letter to the attorneys general of California and Delaware, asking them to block OpenAI’s proposed restructuring to a for-profit entity, Semafor’s Rachyl Jones reports.

While Musk’s argument revolves around a breach of contract claim, the central issue remains — that OpenAI abandoning its nonprofit structure violates its original charitable mission.