Yousef Haddad, Author at icnlive

GCC Economy

Iran war impact hits Kuwait and Qatar hardest as Gulf economies diverge

The Iran war impact has fallen unevenly across the Gulf, and two economies are absorbing the worst of it. Kuwait and Qatar are forecast to contract this year, while their neighbors keep growing at a slower pace. The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), a regional lender based in Abu Dhabi, laid out the split in an 80-page report on Arab economies.

Why Kuwait and Qatar sit most exposed

Both countries depend almost entirely on the Strait of Hormuz to ship their hydrocarbons. The strait is the narrow sea passage that connects the Gulf to global buyers. It carries more than a fifth of the world’s traded oil. When conflict between Iran and the United States disrupted the route, Gulf oil exports from these two states had few alternatives. Oil and gas earnings make up more than two-thirds of government revenue in Kuwait and Qatar, according to their governments. That concentration left little room to cushion the blow. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, neither state can route cargoes through a pipeline that reaches the sea beyond Hormuz.

Qatar holds the world’s third largest proven gas reserves. The Strait of Hormuz closure has cut off most of its Qatar LNG exports, the shipments of liquefied natural gas that anchor its economy. Iranian missile and drone strikes on Qatari energy sites added to the damage.

How the Iran war impact splits the GCC

The wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has fared better. Saudi Arabia and the UAE run large non-oil sectors, and each operates a pipeline that carries crude around Hormuz. Those routes kept their shipments moving. Oman drew the least harm because its main export terminals sit outside the strait. Bahrain leans little on crude sales, since its oil resources are limited.

The AMF growth forecast puts numbers on the gap. For 2026, it projects Saudi Arabia to expand 3.2 percent, Oman 2.9 percent, the UAE 1.7 percent and Bahrain 1.4 percent. Kuwait is set to contract 2.9 percent and Qatar 5.9 percent.

“Qatar and Kuwait are affected by the crisis more than the other GCC countries because their non-oil economies are not very big and they are almost completely dependent on Hormuz for their hydrocarbon exports,” said Jamal Banoun, manager of the Saudi SMS economic consultancy centre.

Kuwait economy under strain

The Kuwait economy shows clear signs of pressure. Repeated Iranian strikes have hit the country. To cover the gap, it has raised borrowing from both local and foreign markets, a step that points to a worsening cash position. The Iran war impact here reaches beyond lost sales and into public finances.

A rebound projected for 2027

The same report expects the region to recover quickly next year. Its GCC growth forecast for 2027 shows Saudi Arabia at 4.2 percent, the UAE at 9.8 percent, Qatar at 5.5 percent, Kuwait at 6 percent, Oman at 3.1 percent and Bahrain at 2.9 percent. Those figures assume the disruption eases and trade routes reopen.

For now, the Iran war impact continues to divide a region often treated as one bloc. Access to open water, not oil wealth alone, is deciding which economies hold up.

By Yousef Haddad
3 min read

Regulations

EU AI content labeling rules now in force with fines up to €15 million

The European Union’s AI content labeling rules took effect on 2 August, requiring companies to mark realistic content made or altered by artificial intelligence with visible and machine-readable signals.

The measure sits inside the EU AI Act, the first broad legal framework for the technology. Its aim is to cut misinformation and give people a clear signal when a machine, not a person, produced what they see or read.

The AI content labeling rules reach across formats. Companies must tell users when they interact with an AI chatbot or view synthetic media built to look real. Providers of generative systems must embed markers so images, audio, video, and text can be detected as AI-generated content. Text published to inform the public on matters of public interest also needs a clear label.

The duty splits in two. Firms that build generative systems embed the machine-readable marks. Those that deploy the output must disclose it, above all when the content could pass for real.

How the marking works

For most formats, the mark works on two levels. A watermark sits inside the content, and signed metadata travels with it. Plain text is treated differently and does not carry the watermark. Detection tools can then flag the material as artificially generated or changed. Fines under the AI content labeling rules are now a reality.

Penalties are steep. Breaches can draw fines of up to €15 million or 3% of a company’s total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. For deepfakes, the duty is direct. Anyone using AI to create one must disclose that the content was generated or manipulated.

The AI labeling requirements apply to chatbots, virtual assistants, and any system meant to interact with people. Such systems must be built so users know they face a machine.

Exemptions and grace period

The law carves out clear exceptions. Artistic, satirical, and fictional works stay outside the mandate, as does material made by individuals for personal use. A private group-chat joke is safe. Creative work still carries a lighter disclosure, one shaped so it does not spoil the piece.

One carve-out matters for publishers. AI-written text escapes the labeling duty when a person with real editorial responsibility reviews it and stands behind it. An editor who checks and approves an AI draft can meet that bar.

Developers of existing AI systems get a four-month window to reach full compliance. New systems placed on the EU market face the 2 August date now.

AI transparency rules and public trust

To help firms apply the AI transparency rules, the European Commission published guidelines and a voluntary Code of Practice on the transparency of AI-generated content. Independent experts drew up the code with input from hundreds of stakeholders. Following it is optional. The underlying Article 50 duties are law.

Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said the guidelines support the smooth application of the AI Act and help citizens recognise when they deal with AI. She tied the work to building trust and giving innovators firmer ground.

The AI content labeling rules arrive as some technology firms question the wide scope of content that needs a mark. Those same firms back the broader effort against AI-driven misinformation. A separate simplification package could push the machine-marking deadline later in the year, though the core obligations apply now.

By Yousef Haddad
3 min read

Banking

CBI’s first-half 2026 profit jumps 68% on legacy recoveries and loan growth

CBI’s first-half 2026 profit reached AED156 million, up 68 percent from the same period a year earlier. The result at Commercial Bank International rested on a wider balance sheet and money recovered from older accounts.

Second-quarter pre-tax net profit came to AED104 million. Recoveries linked to the clearing of legacy accounts lifted the quarter, and that pattern shaped the half-year figure.

What lifted CBI’s first-half 2026 profit

Net interest income rose 8 percent year-on-year to AED207 million. Growth in customer assets carried the increase. In the second quarter, net interest income climbed 9 percent to AED103 million, up from AED95 million a year earlier. The bank earns net interest income on the gap between what it charges borrowers and what it pays depositors. A bigger loan book widened that gap over the half.

The rise in CBI pre-tax net profit also tracked a sharp move in provisions. CBI booked a net impairment recovery of AED69 million. The figure reflects better asset quality as older accounts were settled. Legacy accounts are older loans and exposures a bank flags as troubled. Clearing them frees capital and can turn past write-downs into gains when borrowers repay, or assets sell.

Balance sheet and deposits

Total assets rose 12 percent year-on-year to AED23 billion. Loan growth and a larger strategic investment portfolio drove the gain. Customer deposits grew 7 percent to AED16.4 billion, which strengthened liquidity and the funding base.

The capital adequacy ratio stood at 16.5 percent. That level sits above the minimum set by regulators, leaving room to fund further lending. A cushion above the regulatory floor lets a bank keep lending through a downturn without breaching its limits.

Ali Sultan Rakkad Al Amri, chief executive of Commercial Bank International, tied the results to the bank’s transformation. The chief executive said the first-half figures reflected continued momentum, with profit growth built on disciplined execution, balance sheet work, and progress in resolving legacy accounts. He called the operating model resilient.

Al Amri pointed to solid fundamentals behind the performance. He cited a focus on a customer-centred experience across products, services, and channels, and on longer customer relationships.

Where the numbers sit among UAE bank results 2026

The half-year figure followed a first quarter in which CBI reported pre-tax net profit of AED52.1 million, up 14 percent year-on-year. For the full year 2025, the bank posted pre-tax net profit of AED311 million, its highest annual figure on record. The CBI first half 2026 profit outpaced the first-quarter run rate by a wide margin.

Commercial Bank International began operating in 1991 and is based in Dubai. Its shares trade on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and the Central Bank of the UAE and the Securities and Commodities Authority oversee it. Set against the broader run of UAE bank results 2026, the bank’s steadier asset quality and firm capital position point to a lender closing the gap on larger peers.

Looking ahead, Al Amri said the bank would keep building its operational strength and financial position. He linked that work to supporting customers and delivering sustainable growth and long-term value for clients and shareholders.

By Yousef Haddad
3 min read

Yousef Haddad