Gulf

1. Qatar’s diplomacy shines
2. SKorea’s big Qatar deal
3. Gulf banks’ loan surge
4. Bahrain gets free-zones
5. Saudi women’s moment

Selfridge’s Saudi glow-up.

Qatar mediates Russia-Ukraine swap

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange children to be reunited with their families — facilitated by Qatari mediation, the latest sign of the Gulf’s rising diplomatic heft and ambition. Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children, confirmed that six boys and one girl, aged 11 to 16, were returning to relatives in Ukraine. Two Russian boys, aged seven and nine, were also repatriated to their families from Ukraine. Qatar’s prime minister agreed following visits to Russia and Ukraine in June and July 2023 respectively that Doha would mediate the reunification of minors separated from their families by the war, and a Qatari official said Doha’s embassy in Moscow would host the seven children returning to Ukraine.

Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia have all served as mediators on various issues between Russia and Ukraine, facilitating the exchange of thousands of prisoners as well as many children this year. Those efforts may pay off when the time comes for more substantive peace talks. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed openness to Riyadh’s offer to host negotiations.

Japan-South Korea’s big Qatari project

The value of the contract a Japanese-South Korean group won to build a desalination and power plant in Qatar, the biggest South Korean overseas development project of the year. Qatar’s utility Kahramaa awarded the project, which includes a 2.4 gigawatt gas power plant and a facility producing 500,000 tons of water daily, located in Ras Abu Fontas south of Doha. The plants will supply 16% of Qatar’s electricity and 17% of its desalinated water when operations start in 2029. Financing was provided by Export-Import Bank of Korea and other lenders, aligning with South Korea’s strategy to combine construction with equity investments to improve returns on major overseas projects, the Korea Economic Daily reported.

Gulf Banks lending boom continues

Publicly-listed banks in the Gulf recorded their fastest credit growth in nine quarters, reflecting strong economic activity despite lower oil prices. Loans grew by 10.1% in the third quarter, driven by non-oil sector expansion and implementation of long-term development projects, according to KAMCO Investment Co., a Kuwait-based asset manager. Saudi Arabia led the region in credit growth, followed by Qatar and Bahrain, while UAE banks maintained the lowest loan-to-deposit ratio. The rapid pace of lending could strain Saudi banks, forcing them to seek external funding to continue financing domestic projects, KAMCO said.

Semafor will be on the ground in Davos for the World Economic Forum, the annual gathering where the world’s most powerful come together to strike deals, tout their good deeds, and navigate the snow — sometimes getting stuck long enough to share a scoop or two with us.

We’ll deliver exclusives on the high-stakes conversations shaping the world. Expect original reporting, scoops, and insights on all the deal-making, gossip, and lofty ambitions — with a touch of the pretentious grandeur Davos is famous for.

Bahrain ramps up manufacturing

Food, pharmaceuticals, and clothing. These are the products Bahrain plans to produce more of locally as it establishes new tax-exempted zones to boost manufacturing capacity and reduce dependence on imports, AGBI reported. Already an important global aluminum producer, Bahrain is intensifying its industrial efforts amid lower oil prices. The International Monetary Fund estimates the kingdom needs oil at $135.7 per barrel to balance its budget, but brent crude is expected to average around $80 a barrel this year. Non-oil activity makes up 85% of the country’s economy.

Workin’ 9 to 5

Something like optimism is rising among Saudi Arabia’s growing female workforce — and it’s boosting the economy. Since 2018, reforms have nearly doubled women’s labor participation rate to 37% — still lagging the US, UK, and regional rival UAE — as the kingdom granted driver’s licenses to women, allowed them to set up businesses without male consent, work while pregnant, and travel alone, Bloomberg reports. These changes have added 12% to GDP, according to Capital Economics.

“We are becoming more open and moving toward a different place of exposure,” a Riyadh-based venture capitalist told Bloomberg. Still, gains are uneven: Manal al-Sharif, a prominent women’s rights activist in the kingdom before the reforms, has not returned since leaving in 2017 out of fear of government retribution. Women outside the financial hub of Riyadh or from more conservative families also have fewer opportunities.

Beer

• Heineken and a Dubai-based alcohol distributor plan to establish the Gulf’s first major commercial brewery, set to begin production by the end of 2027. Abu Dhabi introduced a “fermentation permit” in 2021, and the UAE currently has one operational microbrewery. — Khaleej Times

+ Scratch-offs

• After a year-long hiatus, the UAE’s national lottery returns with a major draw on Dec. 14, offering a 100 million dirham ($27.2 million) jackpot. Tickets cost 50 dirhams, and residents can buy tickets online or via the Botim superapp.

Better call…

• American lawyers are descending on Riyadh as the kingdom’s mega-projects create contract negotiations — and disputes — galore. Atlanta-based King & Spaulding, and Chicago’s Baker McKenzie are among those who have set up shop. — AGBI

A Saudi beauty brand is making it to London’s luxury retail market. Moonglaze — founded by Saudi makeup artist and influencer Yara Alnamlah — will be sold at Selfridges London, the department store soon to be co-owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund. The makeup line has cultivated a following on Tiktok for its saturated pigments, such as Princess Peach, and will be sold starting on Dec. 4 at the Oxford Street institution.

French telecoms company Orange plans to partner with Meta and OpenAI to develop new artificial intelligence models trained on African languages, Semafor’s Alexander Onukwue reported. Orange’s project comes amid rising interest in making AI tools available to African audiences, but it may not be an easy undertaking for a diverse continent in which more than 3,000 languages are spoken, Onukwue wrote.