Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the world's largest aluminium smelter on one site, held discussions with key industry stakeholders, at the London Metal Exchange (LME) Week 2026 event, exchanging perspectives on market developments and trends shaping the global aluminium industry.
The GCC countries have built an investment base of $426 billion across nearly 22,000 factories, contributing 13% of regional GDP in 2025, said a report. About 40% of the industrial investments are concentrated in key sectors such as plastics, refined petroleum products, aluminium and iron and steel.
The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reached approximately AED3.8 trillion ($1.03 trillion) in 2025, recording growth of 27% compared to 2024 and 44.3% compared to 2023. It also achieved growth of 65% and 97.4% compared to 2022 and 2021 respectively, exceeding twice the level of 2019.
Leading German group Achenbach Buschhütten has announced that it has secured a major contract from Saudi-based Tahweel Metal Industry Corporation (TMIC) for a fully integrated aluminium foil production plant to be established in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has reached an agreement with Red Sea Aluminium Holdings (RSAH) to jointly develop an single integrated downstream aluminium complex in Yanbu. The duo aims to introduce advanced smelting and continuous-casting technologies to the Saudi market.
