China Asset Management (Hong Kong) and Qatar's Lesha Bank have agreed to establish Qatar's first Sharia-compliant China equity fund. The fund could potentially scale up to $1 billion to provide GCC high-net-worth investors direct access to Chinese equities.
Chinese investment banks and securities brokerages are expanding their presence in the Gulf by setting up offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre. Beijing-based China Securities established a regional DIFC office covering equity, debt, investment banking, and asset management, following a prior move by CICC.
An analysis published in the South China Morning Post examines geopolitical pressures facing major Gulf aviation hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. Passenger traffic at Dubai International dropped 31.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026 following strikes, airspace closures, and heightened operating risks. The author questions whether the region's dominant hub-and-spoke transit model connecting the West and Asia can maintain its pre-conflict market share.
Saudi Arabia's central bank ended its participation in the mBridge multi-CBDC platform after finishing a proof of concept in May 2025, according to an analysis published by the South China Morning Post citing the Financial Times. The project continues with participants including mainland China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE, alongside the recent activation of the Monetary Authority of Macao. The author argues that payment diversification reflects practical settlement efficiency rather than an outright abandonment of the US dollar.
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