Author: Stuart

Saudi Arabia’s banking app market will hit SAR 121.71 billion by 2030, growing at 4.88% annually as the Kingdom accelerates its shift toward cashless transactions. On 9 June, over 50 young professionals walked into Alinma Bank’s Riyadh headquarters to begin a 12-week intensive programme designed to prepare them for that reality. The gap between demand and talent has never been wider. The Future Bankers Program, delivered in partnership with Kaplan Professional MENA, targets the skills banks desperately need: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data management, fraud prevention, and digital banking operations. Participants—mostly Alinma employees and fresh graduates selected through a competitive process—will…

Capcom announced Tuesday that Resident Evil Veronica will launch in 2027, marking the latest revival in a franchise that has shifted 201 million units since 1996. The Osaka-based publisher confirmed the remake during its 8th June disclosure, targeting both longtime devotees and newcomers to the survival horror series. The title drops the “Code” from the original’s name. Resident Evil Code: Veronica debuted in 2000 on the Dreamcast, carving out a devoted following despite landing between the PlayStation’s numbered entries. It followed Claire Redfield’s search for her brother Chris across a remote island facility, introducing mechanics that later instalments would refine.…

Where Rehabilitation Meets the Water For many wounded veterans, the first weightless breath underwater changes everything. Adaptive scuba diving for veterans uses modified techniques and dedicated support so that injury or disability no longer closes the door on the sport. Darrell Seale has built much of a long diving career around opening that door and keeping it open. An internationally recognized scuba instructor since 1999, the diver has logged more than 2,500 dives and certified over 300 students, and operates between Trophy Club, Texas, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The mission, however, has always been about people more than…

Monster Hunter: World has cleared 30 million copies sold, making it Capcom’s single best-selling title in the company’s 43-year history. The milestone arrived quietly on Monday, tucked inside a broader announcement: Ascendance, a paid expansion for Monster Hunter Wilds, will launch in 2027. Two years after Wilds hits store shelves. The expansion extends the storyline that began when Wilds launched in February 2025, adding new quest ranks, additional locales, fresh monsters, and expanded weapon actions. Capcom described the add-on as “massive” but offered no pricing, no specific release date, and no indication of scale beyond that single adjective. What the…

Win your match, get free shots for the table. That’s the promise buried inside Rixos The Palm Dubai’s pricier World Cup viewing package, unveiled Tuesday for the 2026 tournament. Bar1, the hotel’s venue on Palm Jumeirah’s eastern crescent, has launched two watch-party packages ahead of next summer’s tournament across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The time zones will test fans’ commitment—many matches will kick off before breakfast in Dubai. The top-tier option costs AED 249 per person. Called The Full 90, it includes three hours of unlimited premium spirits, house wines and beers, plus a personalised welcome cocktail. Groups…

Nearly two decades at one company would make most executives institutional fixtures. For Ashok Kumar, that longevity just earned him the mandate to tear down what he helped build. RoyalJet announced Tuesday that Kumar has been appointed Vice-President for Resources and Transformation, a newly configured role that hands the finance veteran responsibility for steering the Abu Dhabi-based private jet operator through digital transformation and fleet replacement. The appointment, revealed on 8 June, elevates Kumar from his previous post as VP of Finance and Corporate Services—a position he used to oversee operations generating roughly AED 1 billion annually. The timing signals…

The UAE real estate market will hit AED 2.98 trillion by 2031, according to Statista Market Insights. That’s five years to absorb a wave of residential towers, commercial districts and mixed-use developments spread across a country already synonymous with architectural ambition. The projection, released Tuesday from Dubai, signals sustained investor confidence despite global economic headwinds. Population growth and foreign direct investment continue to fuel demand, whilst the Emirates positions itself as a destination for capital seeking stability and returns. For developers, the timeline poses a practical question: how do you plan, finance and sell projects that won’t exist for years?…

Sung Woo Ahn has overseen exits worth more than KRW 1 trillion across two decades. The deals included taking golf equipment maker Titleist public on the New York Stock Exchange, selling Coffee Bean to Philippines-based Jollibee Foods for $350 million, and steering pre-IPO investments in Twitter and Impossible Foods through to liquidity events. Now he’s applying that experience to a different challenge. 500 Global announced on Wednesday that Ahn will join as Partner to lead the venture capital firm’s Seoul office, a move that brings institutional-grade exit expertise to a portfolio of more than 90 Korean technology companies the firm…

Dubai South recorded 1,357 property sales worth AED1.6 billion in May 2026, marking its third consecutive month as the emirate’s top-performing real estate zone. The figures cap a seven-month run in the top five areas, with transaction volumes climbing 15.9% from April. The surge accelerated after regional conflict erupted at the end of February. Since then, residential sales transactions across the sprawling master development have jumped 36.4%, according to a market report from fäm Properties released on Wednesday. Developer off-plan sales drove the gains. Those transactions climbed 24.8% in May to reach 1,233 deals, following a 35.71% spike in April.…

Sixty-nine percent of procurement professionals now wield more influence inside their organisations than they did two years ago. The timing could hardly be worse. Just as procurement teams across the Middle East secured a seat at the strategic table, they’re being asked to navigate AI disruption, geopolitical instability and supplier networks that keep fracturing under pressure. Cost management—the function’s traditional bread and butter—has become almost quaint. The reckoning will play out in Riyadh this October. The CIPS MENA Procurement and Supply Chain Futures Forum will gather regional and global leaders to confront what happens when a profession gains power during…