Gulf

1. Saudi’s climate stall
2. UAE’s Mars playbook
3. Turnaround at Oman Air
4. Talabat delivers IPO
5. Doha office slump ends

The $450 million Mundi painting re-emerges from seclusion.

Saudi pushing back on climate pledge

Saudi Arabia is reportedly opposing efforts at the COP29 climate summit to renew commitments to transition away from fossil fuels, the landmark pledge made at last year’s UN talks. Diplomats from the world’s top oil exporter are reportedly using delaying tactics and blocking maneuvers to prevent the pledge from being included in the COP29 agreement, The New York Times and Bloomberg reported, citing diplomats and officials involved in the talks in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Last year, Saudi Arabia initially resisted the deal before being swayed by fellow OPEC member and COP28 host, the UAE. While the kingdom is working to diversify its economy, oil revenues remain essential to funding its development projects. With a likely budget deficit this year and the potential for declining oil prices under a Trump administration that aims to encourage increased US drilling, Saudi Arabia may need to boost output to maintain its market share rather than phase out fossil fuels.

Syga Thomas is the CEO of Ensah Advisory Partners and a former US diplomat.

The UAE’s tech diplomacy model

International partnerships have propelled the UAE’s progress in space and technology, a strategy other nations are now keen to emulate, Omran Sharaf, UAE Assistant Foreign Minister for Advanced Science and Technology, told Semafor. Sharaf — who led the design and launch of the $200 million Hope Probe which reached Mars orbit in 2021 — said countries have to maintain relationships across partisan divides in order to achieve their goals. As more face similar challenges like the UAE, the ones “who are able to navigate that the best are the ones who get the most out of the opportunities that are there globally, whether economic or other areas that involve science and tech.”

Talabat rings in IPO

Talabat is cruising toward an IPO success story for Dubai. The Middle East unit of Delivery Hero had demand for all shares in its $1.5 billion initial public offering of a 15% stake minutes after subscriptions opened. The top end of its IPO price range implies a $10.2 billion valuation for Talabat, which got its start in Kuwait, before the existence of Google Maps.

The exit makes it a very good buy for parent company Delivery Hero, which picked up Talabat for $170 million in 2015, and which is now worth only slightly more than its Middle East unit, with a market cap of $11 billion. Indian-listed competitor Zomato — which also has operations in the Gulf — went public in 2021 and hit an all-time high this month.

Oman Air’s turnaround

Oman Air has the distinction of being one of the few Gulf airlines to ditch First Class — but it’s so far working out for the “old school” carrier out of Muscat, according to CEO Con Korfiatis. “Corporates are less and less willing to let even their senior executives book first class. So the minute we call it business class, we’ve seen an immediate quadrupling of business in that cabin,” he told travel blog Head for Points.

The industry veteran was brought in by the airline in May to lead a four-year transformation plan which has included streamlining the carrier’s fleet and revising routes. And it isn’t trying to compete with international hub-makers like Emirates, Qatar Airways, or newcomer Riyadh Air: Oman Air sees a niche for drawing tourists to the Gulf, Korfiatis said.

Doha’s prime office market rebound

The occupancy rate of Grade-A office buildings in prime areas in Doha, the highest level since 2015, according to Cushman & Wakefield Qatar. Government and state-affiliated companies are driving leases in the West Bay and Msheireb Downtown areas, reversing an almost decade-long slump in occupancy. Rents are poised to rise for the first time since 2015, according to the consultancy. Other commercial districts in the city, however, are suffering, as companies move to more modern and energy-efficient offices: rents in secondary areas are less than half those in the prime neighborhoods and occupancy is around 75%.

Automobiles

• Sotheby’s will test Dubai’s driving obsession at an upcoming auction of super cars. A 2014 Pagani Zonda 760 LM Roadster will lead the sale, with a 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie Coupé and a 2017 Lamborghini Centenario LP770-4 Roadster also on the block.

Planes

• Dubai Airports is preparing to share the skies with air taxis, according to CEO Paul Griffiths. US mobility company Joby Aviation is looking to start operations in Dubai in 2026 with construction of the first flying station, near DXB, now underway. — The National

Energy

• Aramco, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., and Fujian Petrochemical Co. broke ground on a refining and petrochemical complex in China’s Fujian Province. The facility will refine 320,000 barrels per day, produce 1.5 million tons of ethylene a year, and start operations in 2030. Aramco recently canceled a chemicals project in the kingdom as it focuses on expanding in Asia where the bulk of its crude is sold.

The mystery of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi’s whereabouts may soon end: The $450 million painting will anchor a museum in King Salman Park, AGBI reported. The painting — last seen publicly when auctioned by Christie’s in 2017 to Saudi Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud — will be a draw to the new museum being built in what will become the world’s biggest urban park. Set to serve as Riyadh’s cultural centerpiece, the park will play a prominent role when the capital hosts the World Expo in 2030.

Advisors close to President-elect Donald Trump are pushing for a renewed US-Africa policy which focuses on “deals and deterrence” and rows back some of what they see as overly progressive or “woke” diplomacy under the Biden White House, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke wrote.