Clear insight

Blogs 18 January, 2018

The Saudi corruption purge in 5 charts and tables

Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on corruption briefly reappeared on the radar of international media outlets this week with the news that Prince Muteb bin Abdullah, previously head of the Saudi national guard, had been released...

Blogs, Sport 16 November, 2017

Sporting passions in MENA – Motorsport

In 1977 Frank Williams, then owner of a fledgling Formula 1 racing team, took the unusual step at that time of travelling to Saudi Arabia in search of sponsorship....

Blogs 27 August, 2017

The Independent’s Saudi investor

More details about Sultan Mohamed Abuljadayel have gradually been emerging since the announcement on 28 July that he had acquired 30 per cent of Independent Digital News and Media, owner of the Independent digital newspaper....

Blogs 27 March, 2017

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS: Mohammed Al Abbar, Noon.com and Adeptio

Amazon’s announcement this week that it has agreed to acquire Souq.com for an estimated USD650m sets the scene for a battle between the global online retail giant and a soon-to-launch regional competitor in the shape of Noon.com....

Blogs 24 January, 2017

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS: UAE Exchange Center

One of the most prolific outbound UAE investors,UAE Exchange Centeris now part of the same network as Travelex, following the latter’s acquisition by well-known UAE entrepreneur BR Shetty at the end of 2016....

Blogs 19 January, 2017

Who will stand to benefit from the lifting of sanctions on Sudan?

This week the US government announced that it was lifting its longstanding sanctions on trade with Sudan. In one of Obama’s final acts in office, the US will adopt a new approach to Sudan – allowing more freedom of trade with...

Blogs 3 January, 2017

COMPANIES IN THE NEWS: SPA Sovac Algerie

Volkswagen and Sovac have announced a joint venture in Algeria....

Blogs 19 December, 2016

Iran – sealing the deal

On Saturday the first concrete steps were taken to rehabilitate Iran in the global economy, when it was announced that many of the international sanctions gradually imposed on the country over the last 15 years or more had been...

Blogs 26 November, 2016

Tangier, Morocco and Diligencia – a growth story

Last week I made one of my regular trips back to Tangier, the town where I was born and a city where Diligencia now has a team of over 20 researchers helping us provide reliable and accurate company information for the MENA...

Blogs 16 November, 2016

Charitable foundations or conglomerates? – Iran’s bonyad system

Bonyads (charitable foundations) are at the centre of Iran’s informal social welfare system. They are significant to Iranians, particularly the retired and war-wounded, as providers of social support. However, they are of further...

Blogs 25 October, 2016

The new UAE bankruptcy law – surprise announcement?

It was announced today that new UAE legislation on bankruptcy had been decreed into law, a first draft of which was only approved by the country’s federal cabinet last month. In a move which may take many of the legal and...

Blogs 4 October, 2016

What are Saham-e Edalat? A glimpse into the process of Iranian ‘cooperativisation’

The Justice Shares (saham-e edalat) scheme is one of the more mystifying examples of Iranian government bureaucracy. Designed in the early 2000s by the populist Ahmadinejad government, the scheme was designed to allow the...

Blogs 5 September, 2016

Feast and famine: current investor sentiment towards Saudi Arabia

Institutional investors are salivating over Saudi Arabia’s first international debt sale, likely to be held next month, as reports1over the weekend suggest a “clamour” of interest – reportedly prompting Riyadh to consider a...

Blogs 1 June, 2016

The 2015 UAE Commercial Companies Law – Clarified by Diligencia

It is only a month to go until companies need to have taken all necessary action to comply with the new UAE Commercial Companies Law1as enacted last year, otherwise they will as per the (rather dramatic) ruling be “automatically...

Blogs 6 November, 2015

Gulf investments in West Africa

Despite being historically Africa’s earliest trading partner, news of the Middle East region’s more recent investments into the continent have sometimes been pushed into the margins by headline-grabbing initiatives by China and...