Gulf

1. Trump’s developer eye
2. CapitaLand eyes Gulf
3. Oman’s US push
4. Abu Dhabi’s NY lawyer
5. DP World enters Syria
6. MBS, Trump win new fans

The choice between private and first class just got tougher.

Trump ‘amazed’ by Saudi progress

US President Donald Trump was struck by the scale and quality of the palaces and cities he visited in the Gulf last week, according to a Riyadh-based real estate executive who has known him for more than 40 years.

“He couldn’t believe” how far things had come since his 2017 trip, Jerry Inzerillo, group CEO of Diriyah Company, told Semafor. “He was just amazed.”

Inzerillo met with Trump three times last week during the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia, including to present the masterplan for Diriyah — a $63-billion development in Riyadh that aims by 2030 to feature 42 hotels, hundreds of tech and media firms, 500 retail stores, 100 restaurants, two universities, 26 mosques, and housing for 100,000 residents.

Trump later toured the site with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before a dinner at Diriyah. With 85 cranes at work, the project dwarfs New York’s Hudson Yards, which had 13 cranes in operation at its peak, Inzerillo said. “As a developer, he loves scale, he loves quality, he loves finishes.”

CapitaLand fundraises in Gulf for India AI

Gulf investors are being courted for a $200 million-$250 million fund to build data centers in India as the world’s most populous country emerges as an artificial intelligence powerhouse. Singapore’s CapitaLand Investment — a real estate investment firm with $90 billion in funds under management backed by sovereign wealth fund Temasek — is looking to deepen its investments in AI infrastructure in India at a time when the country is undergoing rapid technological transformation.

Of all the Gulf state-backed AI investors, the UAE has the largest foreign footprint, pouring billions into opportunities abroad — in India, as well as France, Italy, and the US. Last week, it joined up with Italian artificial intelligence startup iGenius to develop a major AI supercomputer in Italy, as part of a $40 billion investment commitment the UAE has made into the European country.

Oman opens DC trade office

Oman has opened a trade office in Washington, in an effort to ramp up bilateral dealmaking and investment flows. The sultanate wasn’t included in US President Donald Trump’s recent tour of the Gulf, but during a speech in Riyadh he did include Muscat in a list of Gulf cities where he said “transformations have been unbelievably remarkable.” While he may have been thinking of the Trump-branded hotel and residential project at Aida, on the outskirts of the city, bilateral trade is far more extensive and longer-standing than that. Oman has had a free trade deal with the US since 2009 and around a fifth of the Oman Investment Authority’s portfolio is in the US, where it has invested in tech companies like xAI, electrolyzer maker Electric Hydrogen, and battery developer Our Next Energy.

Abu Dhabi’s ‘man in Manhattan’

He is a “deal doctor” and a “tall-building lawyer” — but most importantly, Martin Edelman has long been Abu Dhabi’s man in Manhattan. The Jewish American lawyer is described in a Bloomberg profile as a consequential power broker working on behalf of the ruling Al Nahyan family, “the American face in the boardroom” at the center of some of the largest deals to transform the UAE from oil-rich to diversified. His influence has extended from helping orchestrate the 2008 purchase of Manchester City football club to driving the more recent negotiation for greater Emirati access to Nvidia chips.

DP World leads Gulf’s Syria push

The value of the deal Dubai port operator DP World signed to develop and operate a multi-purpose terminal at Syria’s Tartous Port. The project also includes the creation of industrial zones and freight transit points around the country. It could be followed by a wave of other Gulf investments, after US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan has promised his country will be among the first to support Syria’s economic recovery, while Qatar is helping to revamp Damascus International Airport, paying government salaries, and supplying gas for power generation via Jordan.

Masses praise Trump, MBS

The biggest geopolitical breakthrough of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf tour came with a surprise pledge to lift sanctions on Syria — and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reaction went viral. “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump said during his speech Tuesday, as cameras cut to MBS placing his hands on his heart.

Praise for both leaders poured in from across the region, especially in Syria, with people celebrating in streets and lighting up the mountain above Damascus with a message of thanks to Saudi Arabia. Syria’s almost 70-year-old economy minister Nidal al-Shaar, misty-eyed on Al Arabiya, thanked the kingdom and then switched to English to praise Trump: “Thank you Mr. President, the great man.”

Automotive

• Saudi Arabia’s push to build up a domestic car manufacturing industry is making headway. South Korean automaker Hyundai has broken ground on an assembly plant in King Abdullah Economic City with the first vehicles expected off the line in late 2026. — Arab News

Sovereign Wealth

• PIF plans to double its investments and purchases in Europe to $170 billion by 2030, despite uncertainty over sustainability regulations and other laws that are inhibiting capital flows to the continent, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund’s governor said at the FII Priority Summit in Albania. The fund has invested $85 billion in Europe since 2017. — Saudi Gazette

Mining

• An American miner has been tapped by Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden to jointly develop a rare earth supply chain in the kingdom. MP Materials signed the deal on the sidelines of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit.

Education

• Carnegie Mellon University — the Pennsylvania institution known for cranking out computer whizzes — will keep its Qatar campus for at least another decade, after signing an extension deal with its local partner, the Qatar Foundation.

Human Rights

• As Saudi Arabia embarks on becoming the world’s biggest construction market, Human Rights Watch says migrant workers are dying in “gruesome yet avoidable ways.” The group called for full investigations and proper compensation for families.

The battle for super-luxury supremacy in the skies never really stops and Dubai’s Emirates is trying to up its game once more. The world’s largest operator of international first class seats is now offering its pampered customers an enhanced cheeseboard presented on rustic slates by gloved attendants and unlimited caviar served in engraved bowls designed by Robert Welch. There will also be keepsake menus that explore the finer points of its wine list — featuring greats such as Château Cheval Blanc and Château d’Yquem — and binoculars to better enjoy the view.

Rival carriers will no doubt respond soon enough: The region’s newest airline, Riyadh Air, has already promised a “game-changing” first class. But the real competition is just as much with charter flights: Private jets have privacy and the hassle-free convenience of small airfields in their favour, but Emirates is betting that some customers would still prefer a ‘zero-gravity’ bed and the ability to order wagyu sliders and Dom Pérignon champagne to their suites.

It’s been 10 years since Takeshi “Tak” Niinami became the first non-family member to lead Suntory, the drinks company behind Yamazaki, Maker’s Mark, and Orangina. In that time, Niinami has advised four Japanese prime ministers, chaired Japan’s top business lobby group, and sat on numerous international CEO councils.

What he calls old-fashioned capitalism hasn’t worked for those in need, Niinami told Semafor’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson: “MAGA is a big lesson to us.” And unless corporate leaders embrace “inclusive” capitalism, they should expect populism to get “worse and worse.”