Revolut gets VARA IPA for UAE crypto services, KSA emerges as leading buyer of Taiwan's drones, Bahrain’s Islamic finance industry seen surpassing $100B by 2027, Malaysia continues to lead SEA IPO market, India may reintroduce merchant discount rate on UPI transactions
Here’s a look at today's biggest tech stories in the MENA+:
- Revolut gets VARA in-principle approval for crypto services
- CBUAE, India resolve FX deposit issues
- Former DP World chief now oversees Malaysia’s MMC Port
- UAE boosts nuclear, radiation regulatory capacity at IAEA Meeting
- ADIA invests in Indian steel supplier SG Mart after SBI Funds
- Saudi-backed Lucid dismisses possible bankruptcy plan
- Biggest-ever cyber challenge to be held in Riyadh as part of Black Hat MEA
- US approves $2B worth of weapons sales to KSA
- Real estate, construction firms now account for 23% of total SMEs
- Kingdom emerges as leading buyer of Taiwan’s drones
- National program planned to stabilize commodity prices, supply chains
- SCZone inks 7 investment deals across logistics, clean energy
- TEDA seeks more land to expand China-Egypt industrial zone
- Number of investors in precious metals funds surge 14% to 329K
- EGX in talks with listed firms to revive Global Depository Receipts market
- Crypto regulator PVARA seeks clarification after Islamic edict
- IMF expects inflation to hit 8.4% in FY2026/27
- Import rules on forced labour tightened amid US tariff concerns
- Pakistan seeks $6.7B Saudi oil facility for 15 years
- Govt rules out privatization of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad airports
Other MENA+ Developments
- Oil prices continue to rise amid escalation fears
- Saudi AI firm Think raises $8M in region’s largest AI infra pre-seed round
- JPMorgan to ramp up hiring, expand corporate banking footprint
- Bahrain’s Islamic finance industry seen surpassing $100B by 2027
- Morocco's central bank slashes fees on domestic card payments
Southeast Asia Developments
- Active users on Google Gemini in SEA surge 2x in a year
- Thai SEC considers updating shareholder disclosure framework
- 43% of businesses in Thailand now using AI but maturity lags
- Indonesia seeks Nvidia investment to boost data center capacity
- Malaysia continues to lead regional IPO market in H1 with 36 listings
India Developments
- Govt may reintroduce merchant discount rate on UPI transactions
- Merchandise exports growth stalls despite manufacturing push
- Cabinet approves India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 with $13B budget
- Investors write off SaaS startups amid AI boom
- 9,000 physical AI jobs open locally as global demand reaches 80,000
