SAPTCO signs SAR 470.2M Jubail school transport contract
Saudi Public Transport Company signed a five year school transport contract in Jubail Industrial City with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu worth SAR 470,202,973.65 including VAT.
Top Stories from the Middle East
Gulf markets, sovereign issuers, and regulatory developments across the region.
Market overview
GSN covers four Middle East markets: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Three of them are Gulf Cooperation Council members whose exchanges opened to foreign money only in the last decade, and the ownership rules that came with that opening still shape every story about them.
Read the full overview and sources
Saudi Arabia runs the largest of the Gulf markets. The Capital Market Authority regulates it and the exchange operates two boards: the Main Market, whose benchmark is the Tadawul All Share Index, and the parallel market, Nomu. In the CMA’s Quarterly Statistical Bulletin for the First quarter 2026, TASI stood at 11,249.54 points with a market capitalization of 9,858,847.45 million riyals across 269 listed companies, on a price earnings ratio of 16.87. Nomu held 125 listed companies and a market capitalization of 38,846.23 million riyals over the same quarter. The gap between the two boards is the point: Nomu is a qualified-investor market that feeds the main board rather than competing with it.
Foreign access is rule-bound rather than open. Under the CMA’s Rules for Foreign Investment in Securities, foreign natural and legal persons may invest in all listed securities, debt instruments and fund units, but a non-resident foreign investor other than a foreign strategic investor may not own 10% or more of the shares of a listed issuer, and all foreign investors other than strategic investors may hold no more than 49% of an issuer in aggregate. Companies’ own articles of association can restrict ownership further, and the exchange must publish the resulting ownership statistics.
Qatar’s market sits under a separate but comparable architecture. The Qatar Financial Markets Authority’s Offering and Listing, and Mergers and Acquisitions Rules 2025 divide the Qatar Stock Exchange into a main equity market and a second equity market and set the takeover trigger at different levels for each: a person crossing 75% of share capital on the main market, or 90% on the second market, must notify the Authority and make a compulsory offer for the remaining shares. The Authority may exempt a buyer whose acquisition is no more than 3% of capital if it sells down below 75% within 3 months.
In the United Arab Emirates the federal Capital Market Authority publishes the laws, regulations, circulars and procedures governing the securities markets, including a set of unified advisory rules for the GCC, one of the few genuinely cross-border rulebooks in the region. The World Bank’s Gulf Economic Update frames the shared macro backdrop: diversification away from oil is the central economic priority, non-oil sectors have proved resilient, and lower oil prices have increased fiscal pressures across the bloc, which is what keeps sovereign and quasi-sovereign issuance in the news.
Israel is the outlier. In the FTSE Equity Country Classification of Markets as at September 2023, Israel is classified Developed, alongside Japan and Canada, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are Secondary Emerging. That single line explains much of the divergence in investor base, index weighting and disclosure expectations that GSN’s regional coverage runs into.
Sources
This overview is based on the official documents listed below, last checked 2026-09-03. Figures are as stated in those documents.
- Quarterly Statistical Bulletin, First Quarter 2026 · Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia · 2026-09-03
- Rules for Foreign Investment in Securities · Capital Market Authority of Saudi Arabia · 2026-09-03
- Offering and Listing, and Mergers and Acquisitions Rules 2025 · Qatar Financial Markets Authority · 2026-09-03
- Regulations · Securities and Commodities Authority of the United Arab Emirates · 2026-09-03
- Gulf Economic Update · World Bank · 2026-09-03
- FTSE Equity Country Classification of Markets · FTSE Russell · 2026-09-03
Top stories
Techno Q reports first-half net profit of QR 9,520,015
Qatar Electronic Systems, which trades as Techno Q, posted a net profit of QR 9,520,015 for the six months to 30 June 2026, down from QR 9,784,210.
Parkin signs memorandum of understanding with Bahrain Car Parks Company on smart parking
Dubai parking operator Parkin agreed an exploratory framework with Bahrain's Amakin covering platform integration, digital payments and mobility data analysis.
Gilat Signs $14M Peru Broadband Deal to Expand Satellite Connectivity
Gilat Satellite Networks, a provider of satellite-based broadband communications, has signed a $14 million agreement to deploy fiber-optic infrastructure across southern Peru.
ACWA Power signs 6,000 MWh of Saudi battery storage agreements
ACWA Power signed three Storage Services Agreements with the Saudi Power Procurement Company for 500 MW battery plants at Haden, Muwayh and AlKahfah, each with 2,000 MWh of capacity on 15-year terms.
Mosanada lifts first-half revenue to QAR 77.6 million as margin narrows
Mosanada reported revenue of QAR 77.6 million and total comprehensive income of QAR 20.3 million for the first half of 2026, alongside two new contract awards and its Old Doha Port mandate.
Yalla Group reports second quarter revenue of US$82.6 million as monthly active users rise 12.3%
The Dubai based social networking and gaming company posted Q2 2026 net income of US$29.3 million and guided to Q3 revenue of US$78.0 million to US$85.0 million.
Pulsenmore receives second AI grant from Israel Innovation Authority
The Israeli home ultrasound company secured $1.27 million in funding for its SmartScan AI program, bringing total recent grants to $1.6 million.
Arabian Centres Company Wins CMA Approval for Bonus Share Capital Increase
Saudi regulator CMA approved Arabian Centres Company's capital increase from SAR 4,750,000,000 to SAR 5,176,587,620 through a bonus share issue.
MEEZA secures additional QAR 1.6 billion Murabaha facility from Dukhan Bank
MEEZA said the QAR 1.6 billion Commodity Murabaha facility will fund M-VAULT 6, 7 and 8 and about 44 MW of new data centre capacity in Qatar.
ALEC Holdings reports 67.6% first half revenue growth as backlog reaches AED 32.5 billion
The Dubai contractor posted first half revenue of AED 8,990 million and net profit of AED 214 million, with backlog of AED 32.5 billion at 30 June 2026.
Ceragon Networks lifts second quarter revenue 14.2% on Indian demand, trims margin outlook
Ceragon Networks reported second quarter revenue of $93.9 million on August 11, 2026, up 14.2% year over year, and lowered its non-GAAP margin guidance for 2026.
ADES Holding posts 49.0% first-half revenue growth and declares SAR 220.9 million interim dividend
ADES Holding reported first-half 2026 revenue of SAR 4,544.1 million, up 49.0% year over year, with net profit down 3.7% and an interim dividend of SAR 220.9 million recommended.
Baladna shareholders approve one for four rights issue
Baladna's adjourned extraordinary general meeting on 22 July 2026 approved a rights issue of one new ordinary share for every four held, the first cash equity raise since listing.
UAE regulator renews du public telecommunications licence for a further 20 years
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications said its Public Telecommunications Licence runs from 9 August 2026 to 8 August 2046 with material terms unchanged.
MIND C.T.I. discloses two Nasdaq compliance notices with second quarter results
MIND C.T.I. disclosed Nasdaq letters on the minimum bid price and audit committee rules on August 6, 2026, alongside second quarter revenue of $4.6 million.
Al Moammar Information Systems Reports First-Half 2026 Revenue of SAR 910,083,628
Al Moammar Information Systems reported first-half 2026 revenue of SAR 910,083,628 against SAR 709,832,204, with net income down to SAR 55,653,050 and borrowings up to SAR 1,220,047,535.
BHM Capital connects to Astana International Exchange as a market making member via Tabadul
The Dubai listed broker says it is the first UAE financial institution to join the Kazakh exchange as a market maker through the ADX operated Tabadul platform.
Nano-X Imaging prices $8 million registered direct offering with a single institutional investor
Nano-X Imaging priced an at-the-market registered direct offering of 8,000,000 ordinary shares and warrants, expecting gross proceeds of about $8 million.
Savola Group first-half profit rises to 452,081 thousand riyals as revenues grow
Savola Group reported six-month revenues of 13,587,592 thousand Saudi riyals and profit for the period of 452,081 thousand, in statements authorised for issue on August 5, 2026.
Aramex posts record second quarter revenue of AED 1.83 billion as profitability recovers
The UAE logistics group reported Q2 2026 revenue of AED 1.83 billion, up 22% year on year, with net profit of AED 47 million and first half revenue of AED 3.43 billion.
Kamada signs three-year plasma supply agreement expected to generate about $50 million
Kamada said on July 20, 2026 that a new three-year plasma supply agreement is expected to generate about $50 million in revenue, with first sales in the fourth quarter.
East Pipes reports 35.17% rise in quarterly sales and higher net profit
East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry reported quarterly sales of SAR 520,665,521 and net profit of SAR 122,917,040, both higher than a year earlier, in a disclosure dated 21 July 2026.
Nanox.AI Presents Coronary Calcium Detection Data at SCCT 2026 Meeting
Nanox.AI, the AI subsidiary of Nano-X Imaging, presented new clinical study data on incidental coronary artery calcium detection at the SCCT 2026 annual meeting.
Market Explainers
The Insider Register and the Closed Period: How Qatar Restricts Trading by Those Who Know Results First
Weeks before financial results are published, trading by a narrow circle inside a listed company stops. An educational explainer on the insider register, the closed period and post-trade disclosure in Qatar's market.
Who Sets the Rules for Measuring Profit in Saudi Arabia: How Accounting Standards Are Endorsed Before They Reach Company Financial Statements
Companies listed on Tadawul do not apply IFRS exactly as issued globally, but a locally endorsed version. How endorsement works, what is added such as zakat, and who verifies the figures.
From Book Close to the Trading Screen: How Listed Companies in Qatar Publish Their Periodic Results
An educational explainer on periodic financial disclosure in Qatar: the quarterly and annual reporting calendar, the difference between a limited review and a full audit, and the order in which the figures reach the market.
Saudi Arabia's post-listing lock-up period: how major shareholders' shares are restricted and who actually enforces it
After an IPO closes, the stakes of the substantial shareholders named in the prospectus stay untradable for at least six months. What Article 72 says, how the restriction follows beneficial ownership and bonus shares, and what it does not restrict.
Why the Qatar Stock Exchange Sets Two Different Listing Thresholds, and How a Company Moves From One to the Other
An educational explainer on the dual listing structure of the Qatar Stock Exchange: what distinguishes admission requirements on the Venture Market from the Main Market, and how the transfer mechanism between them is organised.
Who Holds a Saudi Public Investment Fund's Assets, and How Its Unit Price Is Set
An educational explainer on Saudi public investment funds: separation of manager and custodian, the fund board's role, and how net asset value and forward pricing work.
How the Qatar Stock Exchange Index Is Built: From Constituent Selection to Free Float and Weight Caps
How Qatar Stock Exchange indices are built: eligibility rules and buffer zones, free float adjusted weighting, single constituent weight caps, and the divisor that keeps the series continuous.
From the Monthly Auction to the Credit Spread: How the Saudi Riyal Yield Curve Is Built
An educational explainer on how riyal government sukuk are issued through the National Debt Management Center's auction calendar and its primary dealers, and how that builds the benchmark for pricing corporate debt.
The Debt Holders' Representative: How a Covenant Breach Becomes a Collective Decision in Qatar's Market
An educational explainer on how an independent representative is appointed for holders of listed bonds and sukuk in Qatar, and how a covenant breach shifts from an individual claim to a collective decision taken by contractual majority.
How buying shares turns into a mandatory offer to all shareholders in the Saudi market
An explanation of the control threshold in Saudi Arabia's Merger and Acquisition Regulations, and how crossing it forces a buyer to make a mandatory offer for every shareholder's shares on the same terms.
Qatar's control threshold: how buying a large stake turns into a mandatory takeover offer
An educational look at the regulatory mechanism that requires anyone crossing a set percentage of voting rights in a Qatar Stock Exchange listed company to offer to buy out the remaining shareholders, and at how that offer is carried out.
Why Saudi Arabia Reopens Existing Sukuk Issues Instead of Offering New Tranches
An educational explainer on how reopening existing domestic sukuk tranches works under the program managed by Saudi Arabia's National Debt Management Center, and how it builds a riyal benchmark yield curve.
Reopening an Issue: How Qatar's Government Debt Grows Without a New Security
An educational look at sovereign reopening (tap) issuance: why amounts are added to an existing line with the same coupon, how the clean price is set, and why buyers pay accrued interest at settlement.
Rights Issues in the Saudi Market: How Unsubscribed Shares Turn Into Cash
An educational explainer on how rights issues work on Saudi Arabia's Tadawul market, from the deposit and separate-symbol trading of rights to the rump offering and the distribution of its surplus to holders who did not subscribe.
How the Qatar Stock Exchange Decides Who Receives a Cash Dividend, and Why the Share Opens at an Adjusted Price
The record date, the ex-date and the T+2 settlement cycle together decide who receives a cash dividend on the Qatar Stock Exchange, while the reference price is adjusted automatically on the ex-date.
How a stock's closing price is set on the Saudi Exchange, and why it is not the last trade
An educational look at the closing auction on the Saudi Exchange: the phases of a trading session, the ranked criteria that pick a single price, and why indices and fund valuations rest on it.
From Complaint to Ruling: How Securities Disputes Are Decided in the Saudi Market
An educational look at the investor protection path in Saudi Arabia, from the mandatory complaint to the Capital Market Authority to a claim before the securities disputes committee and its appeal stage.
Direct Custody in Qatar's Market: How an Investor's Assets Are Kept Separate From the Broker's
An educational explainer on Qatar's direct custody model, from the central depository investor number to client money segregation, broker licensing conditions and the complaints route.
How Opening Prices Are Set on the Qatar Stock Exchange Before Any Trade Occurs
An educational explainer on the pre-opening session and opening auction at the Qatar Stock Exchange, and how the trading system selects a single price that maximizes executable volume before continuous trading begins.
When Are You Entitled to Know? How Disclosure Rules Force Tadawul-Listed Firms to Reveal Their Numbers
Saudi Arabia's mandatory disclosure regime sets precise deadlines for publishing financial statements and material events. Here is how it works and why it matters to every investor.
Why Qatari Companies Issue a 'Profit Warning' Before Their Official Financial Results
Why Qatari rules contain no standalone profit warning regime, and how the duty to disclose material non-public information handles an expected shortfall in results, with its deadlines and the conditions for delaying it.
When Must a Listed Company Disclose Accumulated Losses? The CMA's Three Thresholds
An explanation of the mandatory accumulated-losses disclosure mechanism in the Saudi market, and how a listed company's obligations escalate at 20%, 35% and 50% of paid-up capital.
Two Regulators, One Balance Sheet: How Dual-Listed Israeli Firms Manage Two Earnings Calendars
Israeli companies listed in both Tel Aviv and the United States answer to two securities regulators at once. Here is the structural machinery that lets them reconcile currencies, accounting rules and filing deadlines without duplicating their disclosure work.
How Trades on Tadawul Are Cleared and Settled: From Muqassa to Edaa and the T+2 Cycle
An explainer on how trades on the Saudi stock market (Tadawul) are cleared and settled, and on the roles of the Securities Clearing Center (Muqassa) and the Securities Depository Center (Edaa) in the standard two-business-day (T+2) settlement cycle.
Why a Stock Drops With No Bad News on a Single Day: How Dividend Payouts Work on UAE Exchanges
An explanation of how cash dividends move from a company's balance sheet to a shareholder's account on UAE exchanges, from the board's proposal to the exchange's reference price adjustment on the ex-dividend date.
How Is the Yield on Qatari Treasury Bonds Set Without a Public Auction?
How the yield on Qatari treasury bills and bonds is set in an auction open only to local banks, and why the number can still be re-derived from the published discount formula and secondary market prices.
Why Some of the Busiest Trading Minutes on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Have Nothing to Do With Company News
A look at how the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange calculates free-float weighted indices like the TA-35 and TA-125, and why scheduled rebalancing dates trigger mechanical trading from passive funds regardless of company fundamentals.
The Foreign Ownership Limit in UAE Markets: Who Sets It and What Happens as It Fills
Three layers govern the foreign ownership limit on UAE-listed companies: the Commercial Companies Law, the order check inside the trading system, and index providers' foreign headroom formula.
Foreign Investment in Saudi Securities: Who May Buy and What the Ownership Ceilings Are
The Rules for Foreign Investment in Securities, as amended on 05/01/2026, let foreign persons invest in all listed securities, subject to a 10% ceiling for a non-resident investor and 49% for foreign investors in aggregate. How the ceilings, the exemptions and their enforcement work.
A Dual Perimeter in Qatar's Market: How Oversight Splits Between Two Regulators
Two neighboring firms in Doha can answer to entirely different regulators and legal systems. Here is how the line is drawn between the Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the QFC Regulatory Authority.
One Filing, Many Offerings: How Israel's Shelf Prospectus Mechanism Works
A single base prospectus filed with the Israel Securities Authority can let a company raise capital multiple times over two years using only short shelf reports. Here is how the mechanism actually works.
How Sukuk Are Structured to Generate Returns From a Real Asset Instead of Interest
An explainer on how Sharia compliant sukuk are structured through a special purpose vehicle and a tangible asset, and why their periodic distributions differ fundamentally from conventional bond interest.
Why Do IPO Underwriters Sell More Shares Than They Actually Own?
An educational look at how the greenshoe (over-allotment) option works in UAE IPOs, and how underwriters use it to cover excess demand and support share price stability after listing.
How New Shares Are Priced on the Qatar Stock Exchange: Fixed Price Versus Book Building
When a company lists new shares on the Qatar Stock Exchange, the pricing and allocation method determines how many shares each subscriber actually receives. This explainer breaks down fixed price versus book building, and how shares are allocated when an offering is oversubscribed.
Why Some Israeli Government Bonds Grow With Inflation, and Others Don't
A look at how Israel's CPI-linked "Galil" bonds index both principal and coupons to inflation, and how that differs structurally from fixed-rate "Shahar" bonds.
Covered Lending: The Mechanism That Allows Short Selling in UAE Financial Markets
An explainer on the share borrowing and short-selling framework regulated by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, and how it works on the Dubai and Abu Dhabi exchanges from eligibility to settlement.
The Difference Between Tadawul's Main Market and Nomu: Why Some Listed Shares Aren't Open to Every Investor
An explainer on the structural differences between Saudi Arabia's Main Market and the Nomu parallel market, from listing rules and free float requirements to why Nomu shares are restricted to qualified investors.
Qatar Stock Exchange: How the Foreign Ownership Cap Controls the Fate of Buy Orders
An explainer on how the Qatar Stock Exchange tracks the foreign ownership ceiling for each listed stock, and what actually happens to foreign buy orders once that ceiling is reached.
The Corporate Vote Where a Controlling Shareholder's Own Shares Don't Count
Under Israeli law, some deals involving a controlling shareholder must pass a separate vote of non-controlling investors alone, a safeguard structured differently from ordinary board or shareholder approval.
How Saudi Arabia's Capital Market Authority Reviews Prospectuses
Before a new stock reaches the trading screen, its prospectus undergoes months of rigorous regulatory review. Here's how the process works.
UAE Sukuk: How Asset Ownership Replaces Interest Under Islamic Ijara Structures
An explainer on how Islamic sukuk issued by UAE entities work, granting certificate holders ownership stakes in assets like real estate that generate periodic lease income instead of conventional interest.
Why Rights Suddenly Appear in Your Portfolio: How Capital Increases Work on the Qatar Stock Exchange
How rights offerings work in companies listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange, from board approval to new share listing, without reference to any specific company or event.
How Corporate Bonds Actually Get Rated and Traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
A bond can carry a solid local credit rating and still sit untraded for days at a time. Here is how Tel Aviv's corporate bond market actually assigns ratings and sets prices.
How a Dollar Bond Gets Priced and Allocated to International Investors: A Journey From Order Book to Allocation
Before a dollar bond reaches your portfolio, it passes through hours of order-book building, negotiated pricing, and allocation, a process that determines who receives the security and at what price.
How Margin Trading Actually Works in the Dubai Financial Market and What Are the Collateral Requirements
How margin trading functions in financial markets, how stocks are evaluated for financing eligibility, and when financing providers issue margin calls to protect pledged collateral.
How Regulators Review Tougher Disclosure Proposals Before Adoption
Before any new disclosure rule becomes binding law, it typically passes through a lengthy review process that includes public consultation, impact assessment, and sometimes substantial amendments, explaining why regulatory changes can take months or even years.
What Is a Dutch Auction IPO? Inside the Mechanism That Lets the Market Set the Price
In a Dutch auction IPO, investors, not bankers, effectively set the offering price by submitting bids that are later matched into a single clearing price for everyone.
Perpetual Bonds: How Debt Can Live Forever
Why issuers agree to borrow money without any legal obligation to repay it on a specific date, and how investors weigh this absence against other advantages.
How Market Makers Work in the Saudi Stock Market
Why can you still buy or sell a stock instantly, even during quiet periods? An explanation of the market-making mechanism and its role in providing liquidity on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
How Sovereign Credit Ratings Work: Beyond the Letter Symbol
Understanding how credit-rating agencies evaluate countries and what a rating change means in practice for government-bond holders, without speculation or investment guidance.
Why a Profit Beat Can Still Send a Stock Lower
Earnings headlines fixate on whether a company beat forecasts, but markets often care far more about what management says comes next.
How Anchor Investors Get Chosen Before the Market Ever Sees a Share
Days before public subscription opens, a large block of shares is locked in for specific investors. Here's how the anchor investor mechanism actually works across global markets.
Why One Stock's Rise Doesn't Equally Move the TASI
A simple explanation of how the TASI index is constructed in the Saudi market, and how weighting by free-float market cap determines each company's impact on the index's overall movement.
How Sukuk Restructure the Relationship Between Investor and Asset
When an investor buys a sukuk, they're not lending money to the issuer in the traditional sense, they own a stake in a real asset, a structural difference that fundamentally reshapes everything from the nature of returns to liquidation priority.
Inside a Full Buyout Tender Offer Under Israeli Securities Law
A controlling shareholder can force out the minority entirely, but only after clearing a specific legal gate: how Israel's full tender offer regime and its squeeze-out threshold actually work.
How Stock Index Weights Are Calculated for Real Estate Companies
A real estate company with billions in assets may have an index impact of just fractions of a percentage point. Here's the calculation mechanism that determines that.
Dual-Class Shares and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: The Rule That Keeps Them Off the Main Board
Israeli law requires a company listing in Tel Aviv to have one class of voting shares. The exception, and the dual-listing route around it, decides where founders with weighted voting end up.
How IPO Prices Are Set in the UAE: From Order Book to Final Allocation
A practical explanation of how UAE markets price initial public offerings, from determining the initial price band to allocating shares among institutional and retail investors.
How the Dubai Financial Market's Circuit Breakers Halt Trading at Peak Moments
How financial markets use circuit breakers to control sharp price fluctuations, and when these mechanisms activate during daily trading.