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RIYADH: ������Ƶ led the Gulf Cooperation Council’s projects market in the third quarter of 2025 with $28.1 billion in contract awards, a new report showed.    

According to Kamco Invest, this represented 51.3 percent of total GCC awards — just over half of regional activity.  

Across the region, total GCC contract awards fell 27 percent year on year to $54.8 billion in the third quarter, with nine-month awards down 30.5 percent to $154.4 billion.  

In its report, Kamco stated: “Contract awards are expected to gain momentum in the fourth quarter of the year, driven primarily by recoveries in ������Ƶ and the UAE.”   

It added: “However, despite a strong project pipeline, overall project awards in 2025 in the GCC are expected to decline and fall short of the 2024 record contract awards.”   

Sectorally, six of the GCC’s eight industries recorded year-on-year declines in the third quarter. Construction dropped 62.4 percent to $11.1 billion and power decreased 13.3 percent to $17.1 billion, while gas and oil were the only sectors to post growth.    

Within ������Ƶ, power led with $9.8 billion in awards, compared with $17.1 billion a year earlier, while construction totaled $5.2 billion; there were no chemical sector awards and oil stood at $3.9 billion.     

Notable awards included an $853 million road package for Almabani General Contractors and a $167 million contract for a Pirelli tyre plant in King Abdullah Economic City. Over the first nine months, awards nearly halved to $61.5 billion from $116.6 billion.    

������Ƶ’s lead comes as contracts awarded under its giga-projects surged 20 percent in 2025 to $196 billion, according to Knight Frank.     

The report said the increase reflects a clear shift from planning to execution across major developments, particularly in real estate, tourism, and infrastructure, signaling steady progress in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 diversification drive.    

Kamco’s report stated: “Overall project activity in ������Ƶ has been sluggish throughout 2025. However, the Kingdom’s broader economic performance has been better than previously expected.” 

In the UAE, third-quarter awards fell 65.8 percent year on year to $6.7 billion, moving the country from the GCC’s largest projects market in the second quarter to third place in the third quarter.   

Over the first nine months, awards declined 18.0 percent to $59.7 billion. Construction led with $5.4 billion despite a 56.2 percent slide, and there were no oil and gas awards in the quarter.    

Major announcements included a $593 million contract for Sharjah’s Madar Mall and a $300 million award for the Erisha Smart Manufacturing Hub in Ras Al-Khaimah.   

Qatar was a bright spot, with contract awards jumping 115.9 percent year on year to $13.6 billion in the third quarter and rising 27.6 percent to $20.5 billion over the first nine months, supported by preparations for the 2030 Asian Games.   

Oil and gas led sector allocations, and China Offshore Oil Engineering won roughly $4 billion of contracts for the Bul Hanine offshore field.   

Kuwait’s market improved, with third-quarter awards up 33.8 percent year on year to $4.3 billion and first-nine-months awards up 25.3 percent to $7 billion.   

The quarter was dominated by the $4 billion Al Zour North IWPP phases two and three, alongside an $84 million upstream oil contract and a $65 million public-buildings package in Al Mutlaa Residential City.   

Looking ahead, Kamco expects awards to gain momentum in the fourth quarter on recoveries in ������Ƶ and the UAE, although full-year 2025 awards are still seen finishing below 2024’s record.   

The GCC’s pre-execution pipeline totals about $1.78 trillion, led by construction with $624.2 billion, transport with $300 billion and power with $294.2 billion.   

������Ƶ accounts for roughly $887 billion of upcoming projects and the UAE $434.0 billion; Saudi Aramco plans 99 projects over the next three years and currently has about $50 billion of engineering, procurement, and construction contracts under execution. 

RIYADH: Egypt’s credit rating was raised by S&P Global to ‘B’ from ‘B-’, while Fitch reaffirmed its ‘B’ rating, citing reform progress and macroeconomic stability. 

S&P said the upgrade reflects reforms implemented over the past 18 months, including the liberalization of the foreign exchange regime, which boosted competitiveness and fueled a rebound in growth.  

In September, Egypt’s Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation reported that the economy expanded 4.4 percent in fiscal year 2024/25, driven by a strong fourth quarter when gross domestic product growth hit a three-year high of 5 percent. 

Welcoming the move, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said: “Both S&P and Fitch have confidence, despite all challenges, that the Egyptian government will continue implementing its economic reform program, and that the returns from this program will grow further in the coming period.”  

According to S&P, economic reforms in the country have also boosted tourism and inward remittances and improved external and fiscal metrics.   
Since March 2024, the Egyptian pound has traded under a more flexible regime, helping stabilize the balance of payments and restore investor confidence. 

“The stable outlook balances our view of Egypt’s improving growth prospects and improving balance of payments trends against continued high government deficits and debt, including external commercial obligations,” said S&P Global. 

The agency said Egypt’s economy has benefited from the $8 billion loan program provided by the International Monetary Fund in March 2024, which helped stabilize the currency and support policy reforms. It also noted more than $10 billion in additional funding from other multilateral donors. 

“The government’s reform efforts, supported by the IMF, have attempted to reduce key structural constraints to growth. These include the large informal sector; relatively weak, albeit improving, governance and transparency of state-owned enterprises; and barriers to competition that prioritized public and military-owned companies and restricted private-sector activity,” said the report.  

In March 2024, the EU announced a €7.4 billion ($8.1 billion) financial and investment package for Egypt over four years, comprising about €5 billion in concessional loans, €1.8 billion in investments, and €600 million for bilateral projects. 

S&P Global said it could consider raising Egypt’s credit rating if the country’s net government and external debt positions improve significantly faster than currently expected. 

The ratings could also be upgraded further if economic diversification progresses steadily and the government opens key sectors to foreign investment, thereby benefiting the broader economy. 

On the downside, S&P Global warned that it could revise Egypt’s outlook to negative if the government’s commitment to macroeconomic reforms — including exchange rate flexibility — weakens, or if economic imbalances such as foreign currency shortages reemerge. 

In a separate report, Fitch Ratings affirmed Egypt’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating at ‘B’ with a stable outlook, citing the country’s large economy, relatively high potential GDP growth, and strong support from bilateral and multilateral partners. 

However, Fitch noted that these strengths are offset by weak public finances, including exceptionally high debt interest-to-revenue ratios, sizable external financing needs, a record of volatile commercial financing flows, elevated inflation, and geopolitical risks. 

According to Fitch, Egypt’s gross international reserves rose by $2.1 billion in the first nine months of 2025 to reach $47 billion. 

The Central Bank of Egypt’s net foreign asset position stood at $10.7 billion in August, remaining broadly stable this year, while the banking sector’s net foreign asset position improved by $13.7 billion during the first eight months of 2025. 

“Our projection for broad stability in external finances partly reflects a steady narrowing of the current account deficit to 2.8 percent of GDP in FY27, following the 1.2 percentage points improvement in FY25 to 4.2 percent of GDP. This is driven by robust expansion of remittances which surged 66 percent in FY25 and tourism, offsetting a widening trade deficit,” said Fitch.  

The report further noted that Egypt’s foreign direct investment is expected to rise to an average of $15.5 billion in FY2026–2027, up from $13.2 billion in FY2025. 

According to Fitch, the country’s rating could be upgraded if Egypt strengthens its international reserves, narrows its current account deficit, and implements structural reforms that reduce the risk of renewed imbalances while improving access to international markets. 

Conversely, the rating could be downgraded if a further escalation of regional conflict heightens instability and security risks in Egypt, resulting in larger negative spillovers for tourism, Suez Canal revenues, or investor sentiment.